Thoughts in Worship
Message Magazine's Online Devotional for Thursday, June 20, 2019
Audio Link: http://bit.ly/ThoughtsinWorship
This is devotional thought number 61 in our devotional series titled, “The Faith I Live By”
“Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die.” (Ezekiel 18:4).
Stand up and take your punishment like a man! Stop trying to deflect. You will soon get what you deserve!
For many, the thought of standing trial for any offense is frightening! The judge who’s wearing that black robe is supposed to be impartial, but the judge has the gavel and sentencing authority. The jury is supposed to be duly instructed on matters regarding the particular law related to their case, but sometimes people don’t understand, and make decisions based on feeling, and not evidentiary proof. WItnesses are supposed to tell the truth and nothing but the truth, but you hope for the best. The defence and the prosecution both should be interested in the truth, but their positions sometimes dictate their focus. Lady Justice is supposed to be blindfolded and have perfectly calibrated scales that do not lean either way until the appropriate weight is applied, but sometimes she peeks and the scales are off. How can we get a fair shake? Is the whole system rigged?
There was a rumour going around during the time of the Old Testament prophets (really, they called it a proverb). It stated that, “The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge.” (Ezekiel 18:2). The thought was that God would judge children for their father’s sins. When I say judge, I am not talking about certain natural consequences that come through bad behavior, which can have generational impact. That is a different discussion altogether. They errantly believed that if daddy sinned, both daddy and offspring would go to hell. Is that clear? As our theme text emphasizes, this is not the case. We are ultimately responsible for our own decisions. Condemnation or exoneration comes based on our own actions or inactions. Those who sin will die an eternal death, and never rise again … unless! Pause.
The Bible teaches that the devil loves nothing more than to accuse and deflect. He’s a wiley foe indeed. He instigates all sin crimes, deceives as many people as possible, distracts them as long as possible, and attempts to hide the goodness of God from their view. However, God is so much smarter and more powerful that that evil foe. He said, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9). This means that when we surrender ourselves to Him, regardless of our past, we can be delivered from all penalties and memories of our sin predicament. And for those of you who have been mistaught that somehow the God of the Old Testament is different from the One in the New Testament, let me just say that God has no personality disorders. God is not wishy washy. He’s the same yesterday, today, and forever! Here’s what He said way back then: “I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, And will not remember thy sins.” (Isaiah 43:25). Do you believe it? Play.
Now we have context for my opening statements. Since the devil has no evidence against those who confess and forsake our sins; since he has no evidence against those whose sins even God will not remember, he has no evidence. No evidence, means no condemnation for those who are covered by the righteous life of Jesus Christ, which makes all of this possible. Therefore, the devil, according to the Old Testament rules, being a lying witness with no evidence will have to take the punishment he hoped to thrust upon you! And God will say to him, regarding your case, “Stand up...