Loyal To Our Notions

misplaced loyaltyYesterday two men and three women decided that God no longer matters in America. In fact, these five impious and immoral jurists elevated homosexuality above righteousness. The body should never be surprised at the severity of skin sores when it is infected with leprosy. As I responded to many people’s inquiries to my thoughts, one verse kept coming to mind and I responded with it:

    “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” (Judges 21:25)

The debtor disobedience always comes calling for its payment and it only accepts debauchery, disease, and ultimately death as payment. God has given us free will to obey or disobey His commandments. Our obedience means blessing; our disobedience always results in a curse:

    “Behold, I set before you today a blessing and a curse: the blessing, if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you today; and the curse, if you do not obey the commandments of the Lord your God, but turn aside from the way which I command you today, to go after other gods which you have not known. Now it shall be, when the Lord your God has brought you into the land which you go to possess, that you shall put the blessing on Mount Gerizim and the curse on Mount Ebal. Are they not on the other side of the Jordan, toward the setting sun, in the land of the Canaanites who dwell in the plain opposite Gilgal, beside the terebinth trees of Moreh? For you will cross over the Jordan and go in to possess the land which the Lord your God is giving you, and you will possess it and dwell in it. And you shall be careful to observe all the statutes and judgments which I set before you today.” (Deuteronomy 11:26-32)

Political compromise and pragmatism at the expense of God’s laws always has its cost. However, those in the political arena only get away with what the pulpits and the pew sitters accept. We explain all our disobedience with rational thinking and persuasive words, convincing ourselves and others that this is the most prudent approach to overcoming evil. The Apostle Paul warns there is only one outcome to such an approach:

    “Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not be partakers with them.” (Ephesians 5:6-7)

To look across the fruitless plain of America could bring feelings of despair and defeat. One colleague of mine yesterday commented to me that he couldn’t understand how I could stay so calm in light of what the Supreme Court decided. First, I knew they would do what they did, and second, I know how this all turns out. God wins!

We who call ourselves born again Christians must understand the awesome responsibility that comes with salvation. We do not have the luxury of cultural compromise or political pragmatism when we have been saved by the blood of Jesus Christ:

“Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away. For if the word spoken through angels proved steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just reward, how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him, God also bearing witness both with signs and wonders, with various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to His own will?” (Hebrews 2:1-4)

I came up with a term in 2012 during the presidential campaign: CPS (Candidate Projection Syndrome). CPS is the malady a supporter suffers trying to defend an indefensible position of his or her candidate. They apply pretzel logic to the reasoning of the candidate’s godless position by applying what the supporter wishes the candidate actually said and/or meant. We Christians are too often guilty of the same approach.

We try to apply to the gospel what we want it to mean to defend our disobedience. Oswald Chambers explains it this way:

“It is never right to think that my obedience to a word of God will bring dishonor to Jesus. The only thing that will bring dishonor is not obeying Him. To put my view of His honor in place of what He is plainly impelling me to do is never right, although it may arise from a real desire to prevent Him being put to open shame. I know when the proposition comes from God because of its quiet persistence: When I have to weigh the pros and cons, and doubt and debate come in, I am bringing in an element that is not of God, and I come to the conclusion that the suggestion was not a right one. Many of us are loyal to our notions of Jesus Christ, but how many of us are loyal to Him? Loyalty to Jesus means I have to step out where I do not see anything (cf. Matt. 14:29); loyalty to my notions means that I clear the ground first by my intelligence. Faith is not intelligent understanding, faith is deliberate commitment to a Person where I see no way.”

Please understand that I do not doubt the salvation of most of the self-professed Christians who disobey God’s commandments nor do I doubt their motives. Of course there are always those who peddle Christ and His cause for filthy mammon. I rarely deal with such; I trust God to deal with them. But the majority of these men and women have been hoodwinked into believing that their own notions of Jesus are Biblical when the slightest light of Scripture exposes them. I know this for a fact; I used to be among them and if I am not careful I can fall back into that trap.

We need not curse the darkness and pall over our nation. Light always pierces the darkness. Let us shine the gospel light and its illuminating truth into the conversations that have already arisen this week. Let us stand on the Solid Rock of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Have you planted your feet there? Do you even know Him?

In Christ
Dave
Ps. 37:4

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    Copyright © 2013 David Jeffers

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