Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, And prudent in their own sight!
Isaiah 5:20-21 NKJV
Is this relevant to the church today? You bet. What Isaiah foresaw was a time when Israelites challenged God's authority. They think they have better definition of what is right or wrong, better than God. And therefore they even challenged God for him to hasten his work of judgement (Isa 5:19). So what exactly is the church today doing that is calling evil good and good evil, and calling darkness light and light darkness?
1. LGBT - Bible is clear, homosexuality is Sin, just like any other sins. In the name of love, many has accepted the concept. Thinking that it is out of love that they accept them for who they are. Just like how the church ought to deal with anyone in the congregation who steals, are vulgar or even abusive, sexual sinners alike are ought to be dealt with, LGBTs are no exception. This is not a statement to drive all sinners away, for God is Love and does not delight in judgement . But if they reject counsel, then they reject God, and he will have to judge. It's simple as that. It is not for us to justify their nature. There is simply no such thing as a Christian butch or a Christian Gay.
2. Biblical truths - Do you hear Christians today telling you, "Everyone has different ways of intepreting the bible, so who is anyone to judge who is correct or not?". While it is true that there are some degrees of differences from person to person, some "differences" are simply heretic. Many of the idealogies that are taught in church today are more or less influenced by Antinomianism, Legalism, Dominian Theology, New Apostolic Reformation, Prosperity gospel, Christian Science or even Psycho Analysis, etc. Are Pastors today teaching according to sound biblical context or man's opinions? Are Christian idealogies today based on sound biblical principals or human idealogies? One good example is to accredit Sickness to Sin, and poor believers are made to confess all their sins in order to recieve healing, this is worse than Legalism.
3. Worldliness - Does your church teaching allow you to pursue your own life without having to serve God? While we cannot judge if any individual is actually pursuing Godliness in their lives, we can certainly say that the teachings of the Prophets and Apostles are too compelling to be ignored. Apostle Paul teaches that Coveteousness is idolatry (Col 3:5). This is exactly what Isaiah meant in Isaiah 5:22. Wine in his prophecies is a picture of luxuries and worldliness. There is absolutely nothing wrong for one to aim to upgrade his home, car or even enjoy a fine meal or holiday. But the idea of getting drunk with wine (Isaiah 5:11) is also a picture of one who indulges himself with pleasures of life. Do you often tell yourself that "Maybe I will consider serving God when my career is established and my kids are grown up, I'm sure God understands."? Or perhaps some don't even consider that because all they think about is getting a bigger house, nicer car, higher pay check, and God is simply confined to Sunday Service? That is exactly what Isaiah had in mind when he foresaw God's judgement, and we know his is coming back with a winnowing fork to seperate the tares from the wheat.
Romans 3:20-22 clearly says that we are not jusified by the deeds of the Law, but by Jesus Christ alone. But Romans 6 clearly states that those who are saved under Grace will be slaves to righteousness. Those who are truly saved will reflect the true nature of Christ who lives us. It needn't be an immediate transformation, but it will be a sincere progression to reflect his Christlikeness. At the end of the day, we have to question ourselves if we are truly Christians or we are actually rejecting God's Laws without realizing it.
Therefore, as the fire devours the stubble, And the flame consumes the chaff, So their root will be as rottenness, And their blossom will ascend like dust; Because they have rejected the law of the Lord of hosts, And despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.
Isaiah 5:24 NKJV
Are we ostracizing believers who impede us from the pursuit of Worldliness? Are we persecuting those who promote the pursuit of Godliness? Are we calling evil good and good evil?
No comments:
Post a Comment