Luke 14:16-24 Then said he unto him, A certain man made a great supper, and bade many: (17) And sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, Come; for all things are now ready. (18) And they all with one consent began to make excuse. The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it: I pray thee have me excused. (19) And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them: I pray thee have me excused. (20) And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come. (21) So that servant came, and shewed his lord these things. Then the master of the house being angry said to his servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind. (22) And the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room. (23) And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. (24) For I say unto you, That none of those men which were bidden shall taste of my supper.
Your property, cars, and family are important to God. God knows we need these things to function properly in our society. He is the source of every blessing.
Where we get off balance is putting these before things of eternal importance.
God does require sacrifice [Romans 12:1-2] but he also wants us to use wisdom and not overdo it to the point of exhaustion and discouragement. [Matthew 23:23] Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.
We should notice two things about the above scripture. Jesus wasn't saying not to sacrifice, He told them "these ought ye to have done". But he also said Judgment, Mercy, and Faith were weightier matters of the law and "and not to leave the other undone. It all comes down to balance and we must each seek the Lord's will to be sure that we have this proper balance of sacrifice and mercy.
To the pharisees, who were so harsh and so critical of others he said, "But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless."
[Read in Context] They had condemned the disciples for picking corn to eat on the Sabbath.
Pharisees always get mad and look down on others when their rules are not kept. Pharisees also think they are more spiritual than others and feel "justified" in condemning those they feel are compromising. Remember, when the "rules" are etched in stone, common everyday needs may sometimes get in the way. Let us not be so inflexible that we don't see the "needs" of others and bend the rules at times. I am not saying we should allow sin in our lives and not repent of them.
Inflexibility can cripple God's revival. This needs to be applied to everyone in the church.
You see, you cannot legislate righteousness. That's where the Law failed. It let us know what God expected of us and helped us to know that we needed a savior [Galatians 3:23-25]. The Law was a schoolmaster to lead us to Christ. Look at the progression in that last passage. 1] Before faith (in Jesus Christ) we were under the law [Verse 23]. 2] The law was supposed to teach us [schoolmaster] that we needed Jesus and that we could be justified (declared righteous) through faith in Him [Verse 24]. 3] When faith in Jesus comes we are no longer under the law (the schoolmaster). Now at this point we must say that this is not a license to break God's holy moral laws. Remember that Paul said, "shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid." [Romans 6:15 Read in context]
So how does this thing work, for we are not under the law but shouldn't sin and sin is the transgression of the law [1 John 3:4 Read in context].
Here it is and why the New Covenant is so much more effective than the Old.
"...because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us." [Romans 5:5 Read in context]. The love of God is now in our heart through the Holy Spirit (Ghost) that we have received. The law was only an external code, much like "mans rules" but when we experience the new Birth [John 3:3-8; Acts 2:38], we receive the Holy Spirit and a love for God. The Love of God and for God enables us to keep the righteousness of the moral law like never before. When you truly love someone you want to please them, especially in the case of an individual who is all good and always fair and has loved us so much He was willing to die for us.
It's so important that after we receive the Holy Spirit that we follow Jude's advice.
But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, (21) Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. [Jude 1:20-21]
Keep building yourselves up, praying in the Holy Ghost, to keep yourselves in the love of God!
Strive for balance so we are available to God and others as the two most important commandments state... Love God and your neighbor as yourself.
CYA,
Puddles
No comments:
Post a Comment