Don't touch that stone!
Last week I mentioned the teaching in Mathew where Jesus warns us to enter through the narrow gate, which leads to eternal life.
I have observed a sad practice occurring in the church over the years. It is best described in Proverbs 22 and verse 28, which warns, "Do not move an ancient boundary stone set up by your forefathers."
In the old days property boundaries were designated by boundary stones set on the corners of the property.
A dishonest person could steal some of his neighbor's land by moving the stone. Now, one wouldn't move a stone a lot or it would be noticed, but if he just moved it a foot or so each year, it would go undetected and a foot or two each year would amount to a fair amount of stolen land after a few years.
I see the same thing happening in the church. The ancient boundaries set up by our forefathers are slowly being moved.
What I see happening is that our culture, as well as our spiritual leaders, are slowly chiseling away at the narrow gate that leads to eternal life.
Our apostate theologians are using their intellectual hammers and chisels to chip away at the narrow gate to make it accessible to more people.
There are some issues that God takes very seriously and yet we don't hear many warnings about them from our leaders.
One of these issues is forgiveness. We hear a lot of teachings about the unconditional love of God, and that's good, because His love has been shed abroad on all of us in equal measure.
Listen, forgiveness is not available to us unconditionally, there is a basic condition and we qualify for it as we forgive others. It's in the Lord's Prayer, right?
Jesus also teaches on this in his Sermon on the Mount. He says that if we don't forgive our fellow man his offenses against us, our Heavenly Father WILL NOT forgive us our sins. SERIOUS STUFF!
The seriousness of the problem is shown in Mathew 18 with the parable of the ungrateful servant. In this story a man owed the King a lot of money, the debt was so large that it was impossible to be repaid, as much as all the money in the whole world. The King forgave him his debt after the servant begged his forgiveness, but the servant would not forgive his fellow servant the debt of only a few dollars. The King heard about it and threw the ungrateful servant in prison until he could pay the debt, which was forever since it was impossible to repay.
We owe God a huge debt; our debt of sin is so huge that it is impossible to pay; yet God paid it for us by dying on the cross to cancel our debt.
One of the problems that I see with the breakdown of the family, which leads to divorce, is that divorce usually takes place because of unforgiveness.
One or both of the marital partners offends the other or thinks that they have been offended and it soon turns into contempt, which leads to hatred. Hatred says that you owe me and I am not going to forgive you. Sound familiar?
If unforgiveness is the primary cause that leads to divorce, what does the Bible have to say about people who hang on to this expensive baggage?
In IITimothy chapter 3 and verses 1-3 Paul warns Timothy that in the days just before Jesus returns people will be unloving and unforgiving, among other things. They will act and look religious but will lack the power of God. You can read it for yourselves.
Here is what these verses tell me. People who carry unforgiveness as baggage in their lives may look and act like Christians, but it is only on the outside because they have rejected the power to make them Godly.
What is the power that can transform them? Repentance!
Mathew chapter 5 and verses 23 and 24 instructs us, "So if you are standing before the altar in the temple, offering a sacrifice to God, and you suddenly remember that someone has something against you, [or if I may add, you have something against someone] leave your sacrifice there beside the altar. Go and be reconciled to that person. Then come and offer your sacrifice to God."
If we won't forgive our fellowman their offenses against us, it's our pride that keeps us from doing that, our Heavenly Father will not forgive us our sins and the eternal condition of our souls is very bleak.
Remember the narrow gate? Modern theology is trying to widen it by teaching that God's love is so big that there is room for all of us to pass through.
I am afraid that it is indeed too narrow for anyone to pass through it with the baggage of unforgiveness strapped tightly to our backs.
See you next weekend with another, but lighter blog.
Last week I mentioned the teaching in Mathew where Jesus warns us to enter through the narrow gate, which leads to eternal life.
I have observed a sad practice occurring in the church over the years. It is best described in Proverbs 22 and verse 28, which warns, "Do not move an ancient boundary stone set up by your forefathers."
In the old days property boundaries were designated by boundary stones set on the corners of the property.
A dishonest person could steal some of his neighbor's land by moving the stone. Now, one wouldn't move a stone a lot or it would be noticed, but if he just moved it a foot or so each year, it would go undetected and a foot or two each year would amount to a fair amount of stolen land after a few years.
I see the same thing happening in the church. The ancient boundaries set up by our forefathers are slowly being moved.
What I see happening is that our culture, as well as our spiritual leaders, are slowly chiseling away at the narrow gate that leads to eternal life.
Our apostate theologians are using their intellectual hammers and chisels to chip away at the narrow gate to make it accessible to more people.
There are some issues that God takes very seriously and yet we don't hear many warnings about them from our leaders.
One of these issues is forgiveness. We hear a lot of teachings about the unconditional love of God, and that's good, because His love has been shed abroad on all of us in equal measure.
Listen, forgiveness is not available to us unconditionally, there is a basic condition and we qualify for it as we forgive others. It's in the Lord's Prayer, right?
Jesus also teaches on this in his Sermon on the Mount. He says that if we don't forgive our fellow man his offenses against us, our Heavenly Father WILL NOT forgive us our sins. SERIOUS STUFF!
The seriousness of the problem is shown in Mathew 18 with the parable of the ungrateful servant. In this story a man owed the King a lot of money, the debt was so large that it was impossible to be repaid, as much as all the money in the whole world. The King forgave him his debt after the servant begged his forgiveness, but the servant would not forgive his fellow servant the debt of only a few dollars. The King heard about it and threw the ungrateful servant in prison until he could pay the debt, which was forever since it was impossible to repay.
We owe God a huge debt; our debt of sin is so huge that it is impossible to pay; yet God paid it for us by dying on the cross to cancel our debt.
One of the problems that I see with the breakdown of the family, which leads to divorce, is that divorce usually takes place because of unforgiveness.
One or both of the marital partners offends the other or thinks that they have been offended and it soon turns into contempt, which leads to hatred. Hatred says that you owe me and I am not going to forgive you. Sound familiar?
If unforgiveness is the primary cause that leads to divorce, what does the Bible have to say about people who hang on to this expensive baggage?
In IITimothy chapter 3 and verses 1-3 Paul warns Timothy that in the days just before Jesus returns people will be unloving and unforgiving, among other things. They will act and look religious but will lack the power of God. You can read it for yourselves.
Here is what these verses tell me. People who carry unforgiveness as baggage in their lives may look and act like Christians, but it is only on the outside because they have rejected the power to make them Godly.
What is the power that can transform them? Repentance!
Mathew chapter 5 and verses 23 and 24 instructs us, "So if you are standing before the altar in the temple, offering a sacrifice to God, and you suddenly remember that someone has something against you, [or if I may add, you have something against someone] leave your sacrifice there beside the altar. Go and be reconciled to that person. Then come and offer your sacrifice to God."
If we won't forgive our fellowman their offenses against us, it's our pride that keeps us from doing that, our Heavenly Father will not forgive us our sins and the eternal condition of our souls is very bleak.
Remember the narrow gate? Modern theology is trying to widen it by teaching that God's love is so big that there is room for all of us to pass through.
I am afraid that it is indeed too narrow for anyone to pass through it with the baggage of unforgiveness strapped tightly to our backs.
See you next weekend with another, but lighter blog.
posted by Jim Burton at 8:09 AM
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