When I was younger, I saw a small sculpture of the
three little monkeys which displayed the images of see no evil, hear no evil,
and speak no evil. At that time, I
considered them as a positive message for all society, thinking they presented
a warning to guard ourselves against evil; do not look at evil, listen to evil,
or speak evil. During President Obama’s
campaign, he stated that it was his mission to bring back “hope and change” by
“fundamentally transforming America
Whether we have realized it or not, we have been drifting
farther and farther away from God, His moral standards, and godly principles
for quite some time. Those who were born
during the thirties and forties, especially Christians, have been firsthand
witnesses of the moral, social, and cultural decline within both the body of Christ,
and our nation. Nationally, we have
passed federal, state, and local laws that are contrary to the word of God, effectively
removing the constraints of evil, which were once provided by the influence of
Judeo-Christian principles and ethics. Essentially, these laws have worked to
remove God (Jehovah God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) from practically every
public venue. Historically in America Washington
D.C.
There was a time when every child, Christian or not, was at
least exposed to the teaching of our Lord.
Every morning in school, we stood to pray the Lord’s Prayer and say the
Pledge of Allegiance, stating “in God we trust.” The Ten Commandments, if not in every class
room, were posted somewhere on the walls of the school. Some schools, that I attended, even had a
teacher who came in at least once a month to teach us a Bible lesson. I grew up having a vague notion that surely
everyone believed in the Bible and Jesus.
Not until I was in the sixth grade, was I aware that there were those
that did not necessarily believe in Jesus, but still His teachings were held in
high esteem. Going to church, believing
in God and the Bible was my experience, and also for most of my friends. All this began to change for me in the early
sixties. I was in the ninth grade, and
suddenly by the passing of a federal law, we were no longer allowed to pray in
school. This was just the beginning of a
dramatic downfall in our families and the nation as a whole. I don’t wish to turn the subject of this
paper into one that is focused upon the change in our political status. If you are interested in that, there are
several papers on our website, written by my husband, that explore that topic in
much greater depth.
Let us return to our original topic of the possible meaning
of the sculpture of the three monkeys and its connection to evil. As we have walked away from God, we have
walked farther into the realm and influence of evil, due to our increasing
unbelief in the biblical God. The
secular world doesn’t mind if anyone believes in some kind of god. Their agenda is just to limit, or better yet,
remove all semblances of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and we must
never be heard praying in the name of Jesus.
The Bible tells us that Jesus is the light of the world. Believers are supposed to be alike unto Him;
we are supposed to become instruments of love, being His light in a dark and
fallen world, to expose evil where evil exists, that God’s grace may much more
abound. Additionally, through the power of the Holy Spirit within us, we are
meant to be the salt of the earth, acting as a preservative, to constrain, or
hold back, the flood of evil into the entire world. Christians are supposed to spread the good
news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ throughout the world, not to force
others to believe, but that they might choose to believe.
As God, the Bible, and Christians have become increasingly
watered down, marginalized, and secularized, the world has become more
welcoming of evil. Heterosexual
immorality, abortions, homosexuality, sin in all forms have always existed
since the fall of Adam and Eve. It is
not the existence of sin that is bringing the judgment of God upon us as a
nation. At one time, if someone flaunted
their sin for all to see, it was met with strong rebuke, in an effort to
encourage each person to turn from sin and return to the ways of the Lord. Encouraging one another to turn away from sin
was at one time a vital function of the church.
Exposing sin, revealing our need to seek forgiveness, was never meant to
be used as a means to condemn or bludgeon one another with guilt and shame, but
rather to guard and protect each other from the harm that the practice of evil
brings, for “the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal
life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”(Romans 6: 23)
However, in today’s secular world, we have practically stopped
administering rebuke, reproof, and correction, for now it is frowned upon, and
characterized as being judgmental, a
plague that is worse than death. The
tool of correction, meant to build character and morality, has been twisted and
perverted by this passive atmosphere which seeks to deny the existence of evil,
and the need to take responsibility for our actions. Therefore, as a nation we have begun passing
laws which celebrate the practice of sin, and elevate sin to the status of
good. As people have come out of the
shadows to openly demonstrate and flaunt the practice of sin, we no longer try
to encourage them to repent and be forgiven.
Instead, we praise them for being so courageous, while the rest of us
pat ourselves on the back and congratulate one another for being so
tolerant. We have created a society
which is unable to discern between good and evil. We have chosen to turn from standards set by
God, preferring to create standards based upon man’s opinions, exalting and
declaring through law that evil is good, and good as evil. We have lost our moral compass and forgotten
God in all our ways.
What difference has this transformation made in my own mind
about the meaning of the sculpture of the three monkeys? I no longer see them as crying out a warning
to resist the evil of the world, but rather as sinister beings that are crying
out and urging all to deny that evil even exists. The darkness of evil has so encroached upon
us that we choose remove entirely the use of godly discernment and good
judgment. We have become so spiritually
deaf, dumb and blind that we no longer see evil as evil, nor can we hear and
perceive the difference between the truth and that which is a lie. No longer do we see a need to put a guard before
our mouth that our speech may not sin against God, and come back to harm
us. If we dare ask anyone to be more
considerate about the kind of language they use, we are the ones that are
accused of doing wrong and being judgmental.
If we should speak out the truth of the Bible, we are labeled as being
intolerant, hate mongering bigots.
The church is guilty of allowing these same ungodly
practices and standards to encroach upon us and even prevail within the body of
Christ. We are contaminated with the
poison of not wanting to look different from the rest of the world, desiring
the world’s acceptance, rather than its rejection. As the church continues to forget God and His
ways, is it any wonder that we are less willing to obey the Lord? If we can no longer see sin as sin, how can
we ever be moved to regret our sin that we may be truly sorry for it? If we never feel sorry for our sin, we will
never understand that we need our Savior.
If we can never perceive our need for our Savior, we will never ask for
His forgiveness. If we never see our
need for forgiveness through faith in God, we will never be able to receive the
free gift of salvation by the grace of God. If we never see our need to be born
again through faith in Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we will have condemned
ourselves, will die in our sin, and will send ourselves to Hell. Removal of reproof, rebuke, and correction
brings forth, not just a slippery slope that leads us away from the Lord, but
rather helps to create a condition that can better be described as an avalanche
which leads to total destruction.
This present train
of thought in my mind has been an ongoing endeavor to understand the realm of
influence and role that rebuke, reproof, and correction are supposed to play in
the life of every believer. It is meant
to help restrict the flood of evil into our lives as individual believers, the
entire body of Christ, and even into the world at large. Every time I believe I have finished with the
topic, the Lord calls me back to reveal another piece of the puzzle. Isn’t that just like Him? Of all the books I have read and studied, the
Bible is the only one that is truly worthy of being read, pondered, meditated
upon, and studied again and again, preferably on a daily basis, if we desire to
grow and mature in our knowledge and faith in the Lord.
Being close to the Lord, and being rooted and grounded in
His word, go hand in hand. Learning to
truly love and obey the Lord is a life long process, not a one time experience
or event. When we are born as babies, we
don’t pop out as full grown and mature human beings. Our physical birth is only the beginning;
there is much that has to be experienced, learned, and endured. Our physical growth will be attained at some
point, but spiritual maturation is a continual process as long as we have
breath. The Bible is the most important
book given to mankind as spiritual food to produce spiritual growth, just as
natural food aids our physical growth. Most other books that I have read, once
completed, leave me with a willingness to set it aside with an attitude of “been
there, done that, and now, on to something new.” However, the Bible can be read over and over
again. With each reading, the Holy
Spirit will surprise us with a brand new jewel of wisdom and knowledge that we
had not seen before. It contains a
treasure trove of goodies, like a treasure chest which has no limits of height,
width, or depth. His word leaps from the
pages, right into your heart, creating a joy and peace which is unknown by the
world, but made alive in the heart of every believer. It truly does make you want to “clap your
hands” and “shout unto God with the voice of triumph!” (Psalm 47:1)
The scriptures are the written word of God, and Jesus is
the living word of God in the flesh; both are alive and filled with the
transforming power of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It is this living power which makes the Bible
unique and different from any other written work. God’s word is just like He is. His mercy and grace are new every morning;
His faithfulness is without end. (Lam. 3: 22, 23) It is the only book that is the true and inerrant
word of God. It is the only book that is
given by God. The men of old, who wrote
it, did so as the Holy Spirit moved upon them to write His Story, to be passed down as a map or instruction book for all
generations. Each of the Lord’s scribes,
or secretaries, are not conveying their own thoughts, but rather the thoughts
of God, that we might know Him and His ways, be drawn unto Him, and believe in
and follow, or obey, Him. In today’s
realm of technology, I suppose you could compare the work of the scribes to the
function of word processors. God
downloaded the information into them, enabling them to record, distribute and
pass it on to all future generations.
Our salvation is not found through the searching of the
scriptures to know them, but rather is found through faith in Jesus Christ whom
the scriptures reveal to us. Every time
we are drawn to the word, we are drawn into a deeper personal relationship with
God, as He pours out His Holy Spirit to be with us and in us. It is through the work of the Holy Spirit in
us that we are enabled to know the great love that God has towards each of us,
as if you and I were the only persons on earth.
What an Almighty Living God we serve!
His word is true for all generations. If you doubt that, I ask you to read it that
you may see the proof that it could be given from no other source than God
Himself, who alone knows the beginning, the end, and all that is in
between. At least twenty five percent of
the Bible is prophetic, telling that which is to come before it happens. The infallible prophecies of God can not be
equated with the fallible predictions of man, which may or may not come true. The prophecies of God can be depended upon to
come true one hundred percent of the time, for “God is not a man that He should
lie.” (Numbers 23: 19 ) One of many prophetic examples found in the
word is Isaiah 53, which foreshadows the death of Jesus on the cross, hundreds
of years before the event ever occurred.
No man has the ability to know all; only God has that ability. These prophecies are scattered throughout
both the Old and New Testament.
God is a God of order, not a god of disorder, chaos, and
confusion. It is His Holy Spirit that
constrains and restricts the powers of evil that exist within the world. Before Jesus left the realm of Heaven to come
to earth in the form of man, we can read about how His Holy Spirit moved upon
and spoke through the prophets to teach and guide His people. The Word was first given to the Jew, and
later through them to the gentile and into the entire world. After His death
and resurrection, Jesus ascended back into Heaven. Since that moment in time, He now sends His
Holy Spirit to live within “whosever” would choose to believe in Him (Jesus
Christ), as Lord and Savior; thus forming a personal relationship with each
believer. It is this personal
relationship which makes Christianity different from all other religions. They depend upon man’s efforts to do enough
good works to earn his own salvation; whereas, salvation through faith in Jesus
depends upon the work of Christ on the Cross and the grace of God towards man.
As a carnal man, we only have a fallible and insufficient
conscience, built within every human to guard against evil. However, once we are born again, it is the
indwelling Holy Spirit who guides and leads us into all truth, that we might be
empowered to rightly discern between good and evil, equipping us to resist
temptation to sin. The journey through
this life on earth, as our temporary home, is fraught with danger, for we live
in a fallen world. We are constantly
warring against the desires of our flesh, the world, and the powers and
principalities of the darkness of this world.
Satan is like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. (I Peter 5: 8) The word says that our Lord will teach our “hands
to war” and our “fingers to fight.” (Psalm 144: 1) There is always the conflict between good and
evil. Remember, before Adam and Eve ate
of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, they knew only good. They didn’t know evil until they rebelled in
disobedience to God. Each of us is
infected with that same propensity to sin.
Having laid a foundation to help us understand, at least
partially, what the believer is up against as we travel from this life into our
eternal life with the Lord, let us look further into the role and possible
purposes for rebuke, reproof, and correction within the individual believer,
and within the church as a whole. How is
it to be used, and what is it supposed to produce in the heart of every
believer? First of all, Psalm 139: 23,
24 instructs us to ask the Lord: “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me,
and know my thoughts: and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in
the way everlasting.” We should open our
hearts to Him, to be corrected and even chastised as needed, if we are to
become the person that He has designed and planned us to be. In addition, He may also choose to use our brothers
and sisters in Christ, and even those who do not believe in Him, to confront
and rebuke us for sin in our life. Read
II Samuel ch. 11 and 12. God sent Nathan to confront King David with the sin
that he thought was hidden from view.
King David could have chosen to harden His heart, but because he loved
the Lord, he repented of all that he had done.
He still suffered the consequences of his actions, but he did not have
to suffer the judgment of God that he rightly deserved.
The key to true Christian reproof is that it should never
to be delivered in a self righteous, judgmental, or accusatory manner. None of us is free of sin; therefore, none
can consider himself to be a “better Christian” than anyone else. Judgmental accusations are from the devil,
for He is the accuser of the brethren, always going to the Lord like a spoiled
brat tattle tail, seeking to point out our failures before the Lord, to bring
us under condemnation. Reproof and
correction are meant not for our condemnation, but rather for our good that we
might not fall into condemnation and bring the judgment of the Lord upon
ourselves. Conviction of sin is
different from condemnation for our sins.
The latter says we are guilty and forgiveness is impossible. Conviction of sin by the Holy Spirit is that
which is able to convince us of our need to recognize sin and confess it to the
Lord that we may be forgiven. God does
not want anyone to die in their sinful state and go to Hell. Hell is meant for Satan and his followers,
not for man. It is God’s delight to
declare us forgiven, sanctified, and washed clean. Not only is there forgiveness by the grace of
God, but, as we are faithful to confess our sins before God, He is also
faithful to remove our sin as far as the east is from the west. (Psalm 103: 12)
One of the main problems today that allows the darkness to
gain more and more of a foothold in the church, and promote the tolerance of
evil, is the perversion and twisting of the definition of the word
tolerance. Properly used, the idea of
tolerance is to be equated with the principle of “hate the sin, but love the
sinner.” However, in today’s atmosphere
of anti-Christian multiculturalism and secularism, the perverted and politically
correct concept of tolerance asserts that all
who refuse to condone and accept sin are now defined as intolerant bigots. The secular world seeks to be inclusive of
all religions, as if all are of equal value.
Christians must not bow down to this deception of politically correct thinking. As I previously stated, recognition and
confession of sin is a vital and necessary key, if we are to be saved by faith
in Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord.
One must be able to see his sin in order to understand his need for our
Savior, who is the only God that can grant forgiveness of sin. There is no remission of sin, except through
the shed blood of Jesus Christ. Jesus,
because He was all God in the form of man, is the only one that led a sinless
life; thus He is the only one that is qualified to die and pay the sin debt
that we owed.
Assuming that all religions and gods are equal is the same
as idolatry in the sight of
God. As Christians, we are to believe
in God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, having no other gods before Him.
(Deut. 5:7) The secular world’s agenda
is characterized by the following: the promotion of multiculturalism,
secularism, and inclusiveness of all religions; the belief that all gods are of
equal value; encouragement for all religions to worship together; the
acceptance of the idea that there are many paths to God, and the belief that
there are no absolutes for right and wrong.
Isn’t it ironic?
Christians are tolerant of those who want to believe differently than we
do. Whereas, those who profess to be so
tolerant are tolerant of everything, and everyone, except of those who believe that there is only one true God, and
only one path to God the Father through faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and
Lord. As a result, we are rapidly
progressing towards a point in time in America Middle East .
Acknowledgment and confession of sin go hand in hand with
receiving Christ as your Savior. We can
not, and must not turn a blind eye to evil where evil exists. Being saved by grace means that you are saved
from enslavement to sin; it does not mean that you are saved that you
may sin all the more. Because of the
false definition of tolerance, we are encouraged to believe that there are no
absolutes for right and wrong, but that all is relative to what a society may
decide is good and acceptable, instead of trusting in God’s standards of right
and wrong. His word is established, it
does not change; thereby making it dependable, trustworthy and true for all generations. Believing that right and wrong is relative to
standards set by mans’ opinion, creates standards which are always
unpredictable; thereby making them neither dependable nor trustworthy, but
changeable from place to place, moment to moment, and person to person. No wonder one of the most frequent statements
we hear is, “I used to believe this, but now my thinking has evolved, so now I believe thus and so.”
Today,
any effort to confront sin through godly judgment and discernment between good
and evil, based upon the word of God, is often met with the declaration, “Judge not lest ye be judged!
In this manner, they seek to silence all voices that would expose sin as
sin. Remember, according to today’s new
and perverted definition of tolerance, we are supposed to condone and accept
sin, not acknowledge and confess sin as sin.
As the voice of correction is silenced, the encroachment of the darkness
will spread and become darker and darker.
The silencers of the voice of God, which would have alerted us to our
need for correction, now work for the purpose of presenting the idea that, not
only will God not see our sin, but there is no God to declare what sin is. Therefore, according to this new idea of
tolerance, we should just live life with the following attitude: “And I’ll say
to myself, ‘You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy and eat, drink, and be merry’.”
(Luke 12: 19) In other words, live a
self centered life with no regard for God; do what pleases yourself, as if this
temporary life is all that matters, for tomorrow you may die.
Confronting sin is sometimes seen a criticism. We must not automatically discard criticism
under the presumption that it is mean- spirited, or given with the intent to
judge, condemn, and bring harm to us.
That is what the secular world would have us think. Remember it is not the pointing out of sin in
our life that we are condemned by, but rather the fact that we refuse to
acknowledge the existence of sin, or the need for our Savior. It is not our act of sin that condemns us,
but rather our choice not the receive Jesus Christ, His forgiveness, and His
plan for our salvation. By our own
choice to go our own way without Him, we have condemned ourselves to be
destined for Hell.
Whether criticism is given in a positive or negative manner
is not of importance. More important is
our decision to at least take it under consideration. It can be used to provoke thought, prayer,
and the action to seek the wisdom and guidance of the Holy Spirit. It may possibly be used as a tool from the
Lord to help us see sin, confess sin, take responsibility for our actions, and
instruct us in how we need to change for the better. Regardless of the manner of delivery of the
message, or the intent of the messenger, might it not be far more advantageous
for us to take the matter before the Lord that He may reveal to us how it could
best be used to work for our good, and not for our harm?
Our biggest problem in this situation is not only deception
caused by the redefining of tolerance by the secular world, but also our own
pride, which often desires to deny the fact that maybe we are not as perfect as
we thought we were. Unfortunately, we
are not always open to being confronted with and dealing with the evil
within. Instead, we are more prone to
simply tolerate it, refusing to acknowledge it or take responsibility for its
existence. It seems we are, more often
than not, diligently intent upon making excuses for ourselves, choosing to
think that we have a right to hold on to
the practice of our “pet sins,” choosing to love ourselves more than we love
God.
If only we would all choose to repent and ask for
forgiveness of sin, as King David did when Nathan was used of God to confront
him with the sin in his life. Because he
did truly love the Lord, he was open to the voice of the Holy Spirit, who does
not condemn us of sin, but will prick our heart to convict us of sin, that we
may be convinced to turn our hearts back to God. The Holy Spirit is always there to prepare
the heart, mind, and spirit of both the one who is to give the correction, and
the one who needs to receive it, just as He did for both Nathan and King David. All must be done in the spirit of the love of
the Lord, without malice, under the direction of the Holy Spirit. Understanding that all have fallen short of
the mark, we should all the more have compassion and understanding for one
another as we endeavor to strive against sin in our life. None of us can assume that there is any form
of sin that could not tempt us. If we
do, we are deceiving ourselves and providing for our own downfall through pride. Be assured, if Satan perceives a weakness in
us, he will use that very thing to try to attack and destroy us. All the more reason to put on the full armor
of God, that we may be equipped to stand against sin, no matter what form it
takes. When one of us falls by the way
side, but then truly desires to give up the practice of sin and seeks to be
forgiven, we should forgive them just as we have been forgiven, and accept him
back into the fold with loving arms.
In the body of Christ, whether we are on the giving or
receiving end of correction, which may often be perceived as criticism, I
reiterate, we must be careful not to deliver it as condemnation; lest we be
guilty of neglecting the grace of God which is poured out upon all who seek the
Lord, to know and serve Him. Neither is
there any sin, except the blaspheming of the Holy Spirit, which can not be
forgiven, if we are willing to confess our sins and ask the Lord’s
forgiveness. Knowing our human
frailties, we should all the more be willing to encourage and help one another
to gain victory over sin. For sure, none
of us is righteous, for our righteousness is as filthy rags when compared to
God’s standards of righteousness. The
righteousness which redeems and reconciles us to God is that which has been
imparted, or given to us, through faith in Jesus Christ. All that we have that has eternal value is
that which we have received from our Lord.
All is due to the mercy and grace of God, and is nothing that we could
ever earn through our own works.
If we are to strive to be holy, as the Lord is holy, we
must be willing to be confronted with sin, and deal with it, when sin
exists. Cooperate with the Holy Spirit by
contributing your efforts to acknowledge sin, and willingness to work
diligently to remove sin from your life.
Don’t give place to the devil by tolerating evil. If your help and encouragement is needed by
your brother or sister in Christ, or one who is seeking to know the Lord, we
must be willing to be of help, but do not be a hindrance by condoning or
accepting sin in order to try to make another feel good about himself, or
comfortable with the practice of sin in his life. That is a lying and deceiving spirit which
only contributes to the downfall and destruction of the one you are supposed to
be helping. It is the fair weather
friend that is willing to tell you what you want to hear, but unwilling to tell
you what you need to hear. Demonstrate
love and compassion, not the sloppy kind of sentimentality and emotionalism that
is often mixed with flattery, which tries to deny the existence of sin and
seeks to deliver a message of “you’re okay, and I’m okay.” Do you really want to see that person go further
and further down the drain? However, we
must also remember, once we have done our best to help them, but they do not
want to be helped, we must let go, and let them go their own way. Maybe, when they hit rock bottom, they will
realize what they have lost, and want to return to God and His ways.
As a young mother, after the birth of my third baby, I
attended a God centered parenting conference.
I wish I had attended something similar to that far earlier, and on a
continual basis to learn more of God’s parenting principles and skills, and how
to apply them more diligently and consistently.
With a husband who had to be away much of the time, I often had to
function as a single parent. I’m not
seeking to place blame or make excuses for my errors, but rather stating the
facts of our situation. My husband was
doing all that he could to provide for his family the best way he knew how. When he was home, he was a great Dad and
Husband. No person(s) is ever a perfect
parent, but if we were more informed of God’s methods, and diligent to practice
them, we may have found that we could have had more success in creating a more
stable home, in better equipping our children for life, and in raising them
under the nurture and admonition of the Lord in a more competent manner.
In the parenting class which I spoke of, I learned two
principles that stand out in my mind. I
have to admit that I was not always successful in applying them, but I do
believe that I did improve, at least to some extent. The first one was, do not discipline in
anger. Secondly, we should be careful not to let discipline and correction be
contaminated by a love of self over love for the one that is in need of
correction. All too often, we are more intent upon being friends with our
children, instead of being intent upon administering correction properly,
whether or not they like it or us. In so
doing, we abdicate our responsibility to take authority over them for their own
good. What is more important for their
good, acting out of love for them, or acting out of love for ourselves? For instance, if the child needs correction and
discipline, do we choose to administer little of no discipline because, either
consciously or unconsciously, we are too busy reflecting on how disagreeable it
felt to us when we were rebuked or corrected as a child? If that is the case, we must ask ourselves
again, who are we truly loving, our children or ourselves? As a parent, we must not focus on whether our
children liked us or not, but rather upon what will help them develop into a
child with honesty, integrity, respect for others, and the love of the Lord. In addition, being consistent is of vital
importance. If we administer discipline,
but then immediately counteract our own measures by trying to rescue them from suffering
the consequences for their bad behavior, we will have effectively wiped out all
hope of change for the better, which we had originally hoped to produce in the
child. We will have entirely undermined our
own efforts, or the efforts of our spouse.
The child will never learn to recognize the wrong that he has done, nor
will he ever regret the harm that he has done to himself or others. We will have been successful in raising a
child who is completely self centered, void of any idea of self discipline,
decency, or care for the feelings of anyone besides himself. Is that really the condition that we want to
produce within our child? Will that
equip him to live a satisfying life with others, or will we have succeeded in
preparing them for a life that can only be lived out in the confines of a jail?
What has this parenting situation got to do with the role
and purpose of administering proper correction and rebuke to ourselves and to
one another in the body of Christ? God
says He chastises His children for their good, not for their harm. He even says that if he abdicates His
responsibility to exercise His authority over us, He will not have acted in
love towards His children, but rather he has treated them as if they were
bastards, and none of His own. (Hebrews 12: 8)
Does not the Word tell us that we are to love the Lord our
God with all our heart, mind, and strength?
Does it not say that we are to have no other gods before Him? Does it not say that He has loved us first,
so much so that He was willing to send His very own Son to die for us that
through Him (Christ), whosoever would believe might have eternal life? Yes, we are saved by the grace of God. He has received us “as we are,” but He does
not intend to leave us as we are. People
are always ready to gobble up all the ideas of how much He loves us, and how
He’s going to shower us with blessings. However, the minute He wants to point
out our need to take responsibility for our sin and sinful actions, and our
need to turn away from sin, we respond loudly and defiantly, “JUDGE NOT LEST YE BE JUDGED!” For our
own good, He wants to expose our sin to us.
Again, what do we do? We stick
our fingers in our ears like rebellious spoiled brats, not wanting to hear His
rebuke or warnings of consequences for our sinful and disobedient behavior. We
don’t want to hear of the coming
judgment that we will suffer, if we refuse to listen and turn from our wicked
ways. Yes, He does choose to tutor and
train us through His word and His Holy Spirit.
But He has also given us pastors, teachers, brothers and sisters in
Christ, and sometimes even worldly people, to act as His instruments of love to
turn us away from evil, to correct us for our good, and not for our harm.
Somehow, we have twisted and turned everything upside down. We seem to have lost the understanding that
true love and respect towards Him should first and foremost be characterized by
our demonstration of total submission and obedience unto Him, in thought, word,
and deed. If we were more diligent to
listen to Him, we might not need to be subjected to giving or receiving
correction and rebuke from one another.
However, when we seem to continually ignore Him, do we truly want Him,
and others, to care so little that they would be unwilling to come to us in the
love of the Lord, to remind us that we are headed in the wrong direction which
will surely bring us harm? I have this
request of Him, “Lord, if I get that stubborn, throw the book at me; do what
ever it takes to get me to turn around and come back to you!”
If we are truly rooted and grounded in the word of the
Lord, why does it seem that we are increasingly less willing to agree with and
be obedient to God, and more willing to agree with the secular world and
disagree with the absolute truth of the word of God? By those standards, who are we loving more,
ourselves or God? Who are we putting
first, ourselves or God? Eli, in I Samuel
chapters 2 and 3, demonstrates the horrendous results of not acting in love
towards His sons. Proper discipline and
correction should help the one who receives it to not only be sorry for his
disobedience, but also influence him enough that he would do all that he could
to change and turn away from the wrong (sin) that he is doing. Eli failed to discipline his children; they
neither felt sorry for their behavior, nor did they change their behavior. Because Eli abdicated his responsibility, he
aided in sending them in the direction of Hell.
Christians today, with respect to their own lives and our brothers and
sisters in Christ, are less and less willing to be that instrument to act in
love towards one another, administering and receiving rebuke and correction
when it is meant for our own well being.
We have more fear of not being accepted by the world than we do of not
being accepted in the sight of the Lord.
With this “I’m okay; you’re okay,” “evil doesn’t exist” attitude, we
seem to be blind to what we are doing to ourselves and one another, or perhaps
we have slipped more into the pit of “I don’t care, and I did it MY way!” Whatever the cause or reason, it can all be
reduced to this fact; we refuse to act in true love towards God, or in true
love towards one another.
God forbid that we should continue to walk farther away
from God and His ways. God forbid that
we continue to allow ourselves to be deceived by the secular mentality that
emotional sentimentality and condoning and acceptance of sin is the true
demonstration of love towards one another.
God help us if we do not return our hearts to true obedience, acting in
love first towards the Lord, not esteeming ourselves greater than Him. We must be diligent to attain and retain
godly wisdom and knowledge, godly discernment and judgment, understanding that
tolerance and true love for God and one another is found in “hating the sin,
but loving the sinner.” The fear of the
Lord is to hate evil, not to condone or accept it. (Prov. 8: 13)
I ask you to read I Cor. Ch. 5. It gives an example of the
proper order for exercising godly chastisement when dealing with disobedience
and the practice of sin within the body of Christ. I can testify personally of many times that I
have received rebuke and correction which worked for my own good. Yes, it was hardly ever pleasant at the
time. Yes, I may have rejected it for a
period of time. But no matter who, what,
or how it was given unto me, I can honestly say that I owe a debt of gratitude to
God for correction, given unto me through the power of His Spirit and
word. I am also ever thankful for those
who were willing to be used by Him for my good.
Administering rebuke and correction to another is not an easy thing to
do. Because they chose to be obedient unto Him, and cared, and loved me enough
to point out the sin in my life, I was given numerous opportunities in my life
to “sorrow unto repentance,” seek forgiveness, and turn from my wicked (sinful)
ways. I’ll admit it didn’t always seem
as if the correction was delivered in the spirit of love. Even so, it can still present the opportunity
to “test the spirits” to see if some truth may be contained and worthy of
consideration. We don’t have to wallow
in guilt or condemnation, but we do have to see sin in order to be moved to ask
for forgiveness, and be willing to seek God to help us change for the
better. If we are only sorry that we
“got caught in sin”, but do not recognize sin as sin and seek forgiveness, we
will continue in the practice of it, becoming an increasingly hard hearted and
rebellious person(s), till we pass the point of no return, no longer able to
hear the voice of the Holy Spirit, or respond to Him.
I refer you to a few of the scriptures which have often
spoken so clearly to my heart, to remind me of the best attitude to have
towards criticism, chastisement, correction, reproof and rebuke. I encourage each of us not to reject His
correction when it comes, but let it perform that good work in us that it was
meant to do. Let the word of the Lord
minister His truth into our lives and transform each of us into the image of
Christ.
If it were not possible for
us to be deceived, He would not have said:
Galatians 6: 7
“Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a
man soweth, that shall he also reap.”
I John 4:1
“Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the
spirits whether they be of God: because many false prophets are gone out into
the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of
God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is
from God.”
God is not, and never will
be, tolerant of false gods. He regards those who think that He is only one of
many gods as idolaters. (II Kings 17: 6-35)
The Apostle Paul pronounced a curse upon those who pervert the gospel.
(I Cor. 5: 1-13; Gal. 1: 6-9) If we
Christians join with other religions to worship together as encouraged by
multiculturalists, we will “give the appearance of evil,” as if we condone evil
by supporting or tolerating their falsehoods.
To do so, is not acting in love towards God, but would be behaving entirely
contrary to the word of God.
Speaking about Jesus of
Nazareth (Acts 4: 10 ) who
was crucified, dead, and buried, and whom God raised from the dead, it is
written:
Acts 4: 12
“Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is
none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”
Correction and reproof must
be important in the sight of God else He would not have said this concerning
the scriptures:
II Tim. 3: 16-17
“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is
profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in
righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto
all good works.”
Herein resides both true hope and change:
Romans 5: 8 – 21; 6: 1 - 14
“Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon
all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came
upon all men unto justification of life.
For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the
obedience of one shall many be made righteous.
Moreover the law entered, that the offence may abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more
abound: That as sin has reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through
righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.”
“What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may
abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any
longer therein? Know ye not that as many
of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into His death? Therefore we are buried with Him by baptism
into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the
Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. Knowing this, that our old man is crucified
with Him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should
not serve sin. For he that is dead is
freed from sin. Now if we be dead with
Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him: For in that He dies, He
died unto sin once: but in that He liveth, He liveth unto God. Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead
indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Finally, it is written: [This
is the one that has been used time and again to minister God’s love and
correction to my heart, to help me to understand that reproof, rebuke, and
correction can be one of God’s most valuable tools, to work for my good, and
not for my harm. I pray that it may do
the same for you!]
Psalm 141: 3-5 (KJV)
“Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth; keep the door
of my lips. Incline not my heart to any
evil thing, to practice evil works with men that work iniquity: and let me not
eat of their dainties. Let the righteous
smite me; it shall be a kindness: and let him reprove me; it shall be an
excellent oil, which shall not break my head: for yet my prayer shall yet be in
their calamities.” [“for my prayer
will still be against the deeds of the evil doers.” (NIV]
Be not spiritually deaf, dumb, and blind as the three
monkeys who refuse to recognize that evil exists. They say, “I see no evil. I hear no
evil. There’s no need for change
here. There’s no need of a Savior here. I will continue to think, speak, and act in any
evil manner that I want to. Why should I
put a guard before my mouth? I choose to
perceive evil as good, and proclaim good to be evil. Speak no word of rebuke or correction unto
me. Nothing shall have authority over
me!” Doesn’t that sound much like the
child who is brought up in an atmosphere of permissiveness, in which the parents
refuse to administer godly rebuke and correction, thus producing a child void
of discernment between good and evil, good judgment, self discipline and love
for the Lord and His ways? By refusing
to give or receive correction, aren’t we also being like the parent who was
more concerned about whether he is perceived as being likeable, rather than
being perceived as one who has acted out of love towards God and one another? Without
the exercise of godly rebuke and correction aren’t we, the church, creating false
Christians who are only equipped and prepared to live eternal life in the
forever prison of Hell?
God forbid, let our hearts not be hardened towards
God. Silence not the voice of reproof,
rebuke, and correction. If the bell,
meant as a signal to warn of danger, is never rung, how can we heed the sound
of the alarm that informs of the need to change? How can we be made aware of the truth which
may be contained therein, to restrain or prevent impending doom that stems from
a rebellious and hardened heart? Choose
not to declare all criticism, reproof, and correction as if it is judgmental hate
speech, but rather choose to reflect upon it as if it is an “oil” upon your
head, meant as a “kindness,” and as an opportunity to be changed more and more
into the image of Jesus Christ our Savior, by the washing of the word through
the power of the Holy Spirit. Be not
deceived by the redefining of the word tolerant, which would have you condone
and accept sin. Step into the light of
the Living Word, and be saved by the grace of God through faith in Jesus
Christ. Let us endeavor to return to the
godly view that we must open our eyes to see our sin as sin, open our ears to
hear the Holy Spirit as He convicts us of sin and convinces us to turn back to
Him. Let us determine to ask the Lord to
put a guard before our mouths that we might not speak evil, which is a sin
against God, and brings harm upon ourselves and others. If
you have not already done so, ask Jesus to come into your heart and receive Him
as your Lord and Savior. Praise the
Lord, for He has done great things! What
He’s done for others, He will do for you.
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