Tag Sin

The Sins That Matter Most: A Quint of Quotes

Todd R Leave a comment

Dear fellow travelers,

Here is another “Quint of Quotes” from my collection on the theme of sin, which is all around us, but also within us:

“God had one Son without sin; but He has no son without temptation.” – Charles Spurgeon, on Luke 11:4

“Oh, this was the great ploy of Satan in that kingdom of his: to display such blatant evil that one could almost believe one’s own secret sins didn’t matter” – Corrie ten Boom, speaking of the Holocaust

“What good was the Promised Land if the Israelites were just as wicked as the nations already living there?” – Life Application Study Bible, on Deuteronomy 1:1-2

“I have more trouble with D. L. Moody than with any man I know.” – D.L. Moody

“If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” – 1 John 1:8-9

Godly Offspring Aren’t an Accident

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“And God blessed them. And God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.’” – Genesis 1:28
“Did he not make them one, with a portion of the Spirit in their union? And what was the one God seeking?  Godly offspring. So guard yourselves in your spirit, and let none of you be faithless to the wife of your youth.” – Malachi 2:15

The first recorded words that God spoke to man and woman were “be fruitful and multiply”.  So, as close to man’s beginning as you can get, God created the family.  If God’s intention from the start was to build His kingdom, it needed people in it for Him to love.  Malachi confirms: “what was the one God seeking?  Godly offspring”.  He wanted a family for Himself, and for each other.

After this early command, one might expect the Old Testament between Genesis (the first book) and Malachi (the last) to be an instruction manual on having a Godly family, and many are only familiar with the “hero” stories learned in Sunday School.  In total though, it’s difficult to find examples of good parents in the Bible.  There are plenty of examples of bad parents, but the most striking story is perhaps that of Judah in Genesis 38.  (And here I feel I should provide a warning that this story has a lot of sexual content.  The full Bible is not a PG movie)

The story[1] starts with Judah taking a foreign (Adullamite) wife, named Shua, against God’s guidance to only marry Israelites so as not to be tempted by foreign gods and religious practices[2].  Judah fathers three sons by Shua, named Er, Onan, and Shelah.  Judah takes Tamar to be Er’s wife, but Er died before having children.  Preserving the family line through descendants was extremely important in ancient Israel, and a brother would marry his fallen brother’s widow to bear children in his place[3].  Therefore, Judah told his second-born, Onan, to take Tamar, but Onan would “waste the semen on the ground” because he selfishly didn’t want the children to belong to his older brother.  Onan also died before having children.  Having lost two sons, Judah sent Tamar to live with her father instead of giving the last son, Shelah, to her.  Judah claims that the reason was that Shelah was not old enough, but it’s implied in the story that Judah thinks Tamar is somehow responsible for the two son’s deaths.  Judah had created his own narrative to explain his misfortune as Tamar’s fault, when it was really God’s judgment for the sins of Judah and his sons.  Genesis makes it clear that God was displeased with Judah marrying a foreigner, that Er died for his own wickedness (verse 7), and that Onan died for avoiding his responsibility as a brother (verse 10).

When Judah’s wife died, he waited a while, but then decided to seek a prostitute.  Tamar, having never been wed to Shelah even though he was now old enough, sought offspring by disguising herself as a prostitute and soliciting Judah.  He did not recognize Tamar, and she conceived a son by him.  Prostitution was common in the land then and was often associated with cult fertility rituals for local gods.  Not only did Judah commit a sexual sin, but he was probably also worshiping other gods.  Later, when Tamar is clearly pregnant, Judah accused her of immorality, but she was able to prove that Judah was the father by producing items he left with her when she was disguised.  Ashamed of being discovered, he “did not know her again”.

In just one chapter, we have the command to produce Godly offspring violated by: foreign marriage, wickedness, refusal to conceive, refusal to offer the third brother, and prostitution.  God must be frustrated with His struggling family, but He does not give up.

In the last chapter of Malachi, shortly after the “Godly offspring” reference and before going silent for 400 years, God ends the Old Testament with:

“Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes.  And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.” – Malachi 4:5-6

A restoration of proper family relations is the promise that ends the Old Testament.  “Elijah the prophet” is later revealed as a reference to John the Baptist, also spoken of in Isaiah 40:3 as the one who would prepare the way for the Lord Jesus.  The same Jesus who is announced in the genealogy that opens the New Testament in the gospel of Matthew:

“The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.…and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram” – Matthew 1:1, 3

Here is the miracle of the grace of God: the children born of Judah and Tamar were twins named Perez and Zerah[4].  Matthew could have chosen only those “heroes” of the Bible taught in Sunday School to show Jesus’ superior lineage, but instead chooses to highlight the story of Genesis 38.  Why include these people?  Because there is no other kind.

God’s purpose in creating His kingdom, populated by His family, will not be thwarted by sin because sinners are the only people available to join His family and to raise His family on earth.  Isaiah 53:6 declares:

“All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way;
             and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”

Through the death of His only begotten Son on the cross, God became Father of His people through adoption into His eternal family.

But if God’s purpose is inevitable, then why should we bother to be good parents and people?

In the movie Tenet, released in 2020 during the pandemic, there is a scene where one character sacrifices himself for another.  The movie revolves around a technology called “inversion” which allows objects and people to be reversed in time.  Near the end of the story, two characters have a conversation “before” one character travels backward to sacrifice himself to save another character, but “after” the other character has been saved.  They both realize the sacrifice was essential to victory, but also that in the “before” character’s timeline, it hasn’t happened yet.  Can the sacrifice be avoided?  Then comes one of the best quotes of the movie: “What’s happened, happened. Which is an expression of faith in the mechanics of the world. It’s not an excuse to do nothing.”

In God’s view from eternity, “what’s happened, happened”, but He has taken into account all the sins and successes of mankind.  The choices we all make, including the mistakes, are part of the “mechanics of the world”.  All the mistakes will be borne in judgment either by the sinner, or on the cross with Christ.  But we also know “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:10).  Doing God’s work is His will, is our purpose, and will be rewarded in heaven.  Doing nothing is not an option.

[1] The following two paragraphs summarize Genesis 38
[2] Deuteronomy 7:3-4
[3] Deuteronomy 25:5-10
[4] Genesis 38:27-30

When Our Seeds Only Grow Thorns

Todd R Leave a comment

Sometimes we feel like we’re putting in a lot of effort but getting no results from it.  We’re sowing good seeds but not reaping any harvest.  At times, it seems disappointment is our only reward.  Often this can just be the way things are at the time – we’re doing nothing wrong but it’s just not obvious what God is doing at that time.  We don’t need to change anything.  But there may be times where we’re not reaping good things because we’re deceived that what we’re sowing is what we’re supposed to be sowing.

According to the prophet Jeremiah, the nation of Judah had this problem and as a result they ended up in exile.  In the first half of Jeremiah 12:13, the prophet says of Judah:

“They have sown wheat and have reaped thorns;
            they have tired themselves out but profit nothing.”

The nation of Judah thought they were sowing good seeds, but they weren’t and there are several examples in Jeremiah’s book.

First, Judah thought they were on the right side politically, with powerful friends and therefore secure.

The nation of Judah allied itself alternately with Egypt and Assyria, who they thought could protect them from Babylon.  Surely these powerful nations could keep Judah from doom at Babylon’s hands.  However, in Jeremiah 3:36 the prophet says:

“How much you go about,
            changing your way!
You shall be put to shame by Egypt
            as you were put to shame by Assyria.”

Because Judah had trusted these nations, other than God, for their salvation God would put them to shame by His own hand, from which there is no escape.  While there are many good ways to work with others, we should never trust anyone with the help that only God can provide.

Next, Judah thought they had the right cultural heritage.

The people of Judah wouldn’t listen to Jeremiah’s prophesies of doom for the nation because they thought God wouldn’t destroy what they saw as His own nation.  Israel had been taken into captivity by Assyria, but Judah thought it could never happen to them because they were the heirs of Jewish culture.  The people would repeat the phrase, “This is the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD,” to remind themselves that they were special because they had the temple, but Jeremiah says in Jeremiah 7:4,

“Do not trust in these deceptive words: ‘This is the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD.’”

The temple was provided as a way to approach God, but Judah thought of it like a magical talisman that would keep God happy so they could do their own thing.  However, God doesn’t want us to follow a checklist – He wants us.  All cultural and political institutions – including ones provided by God – are useless outside of God’s purpose for them.  What He provides He can take away if we abuse it.  When Judah was taken into captivity by Babylon, the temple was torn down and burned.

Last, Judah thought they had the right religion and were diligently practicing it

Judah’s religious leaders and people were diligent in observing the practices laid out in God’s ceremonial law.  They faithfully made the morning and evening sacrifices, observed the three main Jewish festivals, and followed many other ordinances, but in Jeremiah 7:22-23, the prophet said:

“For in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, I did not speak to your fathers or command them concerning burnt offerings and sacrifices.  But this command I gave them: ‘Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be my people. And walk in all the way that I command you, that it may be well with you.’”

Because Judah was putting observance above obedience to God, He would therefore discipline them.  The sacrifices were not the objective – the relationship was the objective, but the people made their religion about the sacrifices themselves, not the relationship they were designed to restore.

Do we sometimes practice similar things in the modern church?  Of course we do.

The modern-day equivalent of Judah’s first mistake is when we expect from a political party what only God can give.  Our expectations of them become idolatrous, and we become more likely to compromise God’s principles to support them.  We commit the second mistake when we are convinced our denomination has it all right – the right history, traditions and doctrine – and therefore God will always favor us.  The last mistake happens when we put external religious observances ahead of internal devotion to God.  We may be executing the acts and rituals our religion requires of us, and our peers expect from us, but not giving ourselves fully to God.  We may go to church, but when we leave the church building we don’t take Jesus with us.

Sometimes we think through our political, cultural, and religious activities we should reap wheat, but what is happening when we keep reaping thorns?  Sometimes we need to check that we aren’t repeating Judah’s mistakes.

“They have sown wheat and have reaped thorns;
            they have tired themselves out but profit nothing.
They shall be ashamed of their harvests
            because of the fierce anger of the LORD.”

Cleaning the Conscience

Todd R 1 Comment

A great thing about Psalms is that they are written general enough to be used by different people in different ways.  Psalm 19 makes a great prayer for anyone and is one of my favorite Psalms.  In it, David writes about how creation proclaims the glory of God in ways that everyone everywhere can see and understand.  This is what we’d call “general revelation.”  Next David writes about the law of God, how it is “perfect,” “pure,” “true,” and several other things.  This law also glorifies God, in what we’d call “special revelation,” or things revealed about God mostly through His word.

Then, after a brief interlude, the Psalm ends with verse 14, which says:

“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
            be acceptable in your sight,
            O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.”

What a closing to a prayer!

The Lord, as “my rock and my redeemer,” rules nature (the literal rocks, etc.) and His Word redeems His people.  How can our “words” and “meditation” be acceptable to such a God?  The answer is first, because He loves us enough to redeem us, and second, because He is transforming us into people who are like Him.  In fact, the “interlude” I referred to before (verses 12 and 13) are David’s prayer that God would keep him from sin and make him acceptable in God’s sight.  Those verses say:

“Who can discern his errors?
            Declare me innocent from hidden faults.
Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins;
            let them not have dominion over me!
Then I shall be blameless,
            and innocent of great transgression.

David first points out that we can’t find any errors in God, either in what’s revealed by nature or in His law, but on the other hand God knows all of our faults.  David knows better than to ask God to show him all of his flaws – that may be overwhelming – but instead David asks for a clear conscience.  To get there, David needs a solution for both his “presumptuous sins” – the outward actions that he’s probably aware of – and his “hidden faults” – the inner attitudes and sins that he may not be aware of.  To be declared innocent and blameless by God requires being forgiven for sins that we don’t even know about!

Photo by Nicole Queiroz on Unsplash

Which brings us back to the final verse:

“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
            be acceptable in your sight,
            O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.”

In my reading of this, “the words of my mouth” correspond to the “presumptuous sins,” the sinful outer actions taken in defiance of God, and “the meditation of my heart” corresponds to David’s (and our) “hidden faults.” These sins may be secret to everyone but God but we may feel guilty about them anyway.  When praying this prayer, David knows only God can cleanse him (or anyone) beyond just skin deep, and beyond skin deep is what we really need to deal with because Jesus told us “every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit.”[1]  Only by healing the inside can we heal the outside.  David asks for relief from guilt so he can live acceptably in both public and private ways, before both men and before God.

We all need routine cleaning of our inner self on a regular basis.  A redirection of our conscience toward right and wrong as defined by God.  If you feel in need of this, try praying Psalm 19 today.

[1] Matthew 7:17

Do You Want a Perfect Government?

Todd R 1 Comment

Immediately after beginning His public ministry with His baptism by John the Baptist, Jesus was led into the desert to be tempted by the devil three times.  One of those temptations went like this:

“And the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, and said to him, “To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will.  If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.”” – Luke 4:5-7

As you probably know, Jesus did not succumb to this temptation but suppose Jesus had decided to take authority over all the nations of the world in this way. He would have decisions to make.  What form of government would He choose for “all the kingdoms of the world”?  There are so many to choose from, and certainly He’d have the wisdom to pick the right one, right?

Here in the United States, technically a federal constitutional republic, people often just call it a democracy.  For many, it’s a good form of government, and as Winston Churchill said, “No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed it has been said that democracy is the worst form of Government except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.…”.  Churchill was saying that no system of government is perfect, but regardless we should choose the best.  The best available option is what we should aim for, right?

However, Jesus refused to succumb to the temptation of accepting authority over the imperfect nations from the devil (and under the devil), and we should be very thankful He did.  To us, it seemed like a very enticing offer, but from Jesus’ perspective, was it as attractive?  Was it attractive at all?  How does the Bible describe God’s attitude toward the world’s nations that Jesus was tempted to rule?

In Psalm 2:4, Jesus “laughs” at all the worldly kingdoms and “holds them in derision”.  In that Psalm, He sees all of mankind’s attempts to govern themselves as laughable!  Isaiah 40:17 perhaps takes this even further:

“All the nations are as nothing before him,
            they are accounted by him as less than nothing and emptiness.”

From His perspective, “all the nations” are “less than nothing and emptiness.”  Why rule these kingdoms that are laughable and empty?  Kingdoms that are infinitely less than perfect?  Therefore, Jesus wasn’t overcome by the devil’s temptation because His objective was a perfect kingdom made up of perfect people.  Being offered “all the kingdoms of the world” was not at all attractive to Him under those circumstances.

If it wasn’t tempting to Him, why should we be tempted by it?  Why is worldly power so attractive to us, and why do we sometimes act like a perfect government can exist in this world?

We might act like this because we believe the perfect system can overcome the imperfections in each person’s heart.  Therefore, we focus on the political system; the form of government instead of the nature of its people.  However, all the power of earthly kingdoms can’t heal the human heart; only God’s can.  Any system made up of imperfect people is inevitably imperfect.  Jesus’ mission was to create a new people willing and able to live in a perfect kingdom absolutely ruled by Him.  Perfection can be achieved no other way.

Fortunately for us, instead of falling for the devil’s temptation in the desert and forming an imperfect government of imperfect people, Jesus’ response was:

“And Jesus answered him, “It is written,
             “‘You shall worship the Lord your God,
                        and him only shall you serve.’”” – Luke 4:8

Whatever system of government we live under, that government is temporary and will inevitably be abolished by the kingdom of God that already should rule in His people’s hearts.  Therefore, “worship the Lord your God” and pray for the culmination of His kingdom, while faithfully loving God and loving our neighbor, regardless of our form of government.  God’s rule of love is relevant everywhere and will outlast all the kingdoms of this earth, proving each of them to be “less than nothing and emptiness.”

Jesus knew what He was doing when rejecting the world’s kingdoms and He wants us to follow His example.