He will have the last word!

Why should the Christian speak out against wrong doing? Why should the faithful earnestly try to teach the faithless? Why is it important to do both, the acts of loving service that lets the light of Christ shine through us, and the act of loving correction? Why is it not okay for Christians to be tolerant?

As I read this morning, I was led to two passages of scripture.

Hebrews 12
6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
7 If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?
8 But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.
9 Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?
10 For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness.
11 Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.

Notice how God uses the structure of the family in His instruction. If you can take just a moment and consider how your own household, how your own children, how you and your authority in the house, would operate if you treated it with the exact same reverence, or lack there of, as you do to the Father in heaven.

If everything is just about love, no rules, no accountability, no consequences for choices, then why did God create a hell? Let me ask it this way, if all there is is love, then why do you need time-outs? Why do you have rules in the house? Shouldn’t you be more tolerant to your child’s disobedience? You are probably saying that this is not the same at all, but it is. It is exactly the same. When God talks any where in the bible about his relationship with us he uses familial terms. Marriage, bridegroom, bride, father, son, and so on. He is using something that we are very familiar with because we all go through it. Some of us have great experiences of the family, others not so much. But God says, through his word, that this is what a family looks like, this is what rules in the house looks like and this is what consequences look like. Now many people are thinking that God’s love is what saves them instead of thinking that BECAUSE of God’s love there is a pathway to salvation. However, it is the very thing they are claiming will save them from hell without them repenting or living in faith that will condemn them, the love of God. A parent cannot have multiple children, and then tell them that this is the reward for obedience and that this is the consequences for disobedience, and then share the same reward with both the obedient and disobedient children. How do you think that would go over with your kids? How would that have went over with you when you were a child? You may not have been able to stop it, but what would you have thought of your parents. You see, if God does that, then he makes himself out to be a liar, a fraud, unfair, unrighteous, and will bring wrath from the minds of his children against him. There is nothing that God does that earns our wrath. Anything we do that has a negative consequence is a result of our own unacceptable and fleshly intervention. So when believers say, on behalf of a sinner, that Christians should stop hating and start loving by not talking about the consequence of sin is death (pure bible words by the way) you are completely misunderstanding, egregiously misrepresenting and grossly underestimating God’s love.

Solomon was the wisest man that ever lived, according to the bible. The book of Proverbs are know for pure and never outdated wisdom. Just reading one proverb a day, every day of every month, is an exercise a lot of Christians do just because of the wisdom in these chapters. I wasn’t going to give you a whole chapter, but chapter 29 is full of the wisdom about right and wrong, and correction. These God inspired words tell us that there is good in the leadership of obedient Children of God, and there are indeed consequences for disobedience. It tells us that the love we often use to justify sin does not work with the wicked. That people who live in sin bring about wrath, not peace.

Proverbs 29
29 He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.
2 When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn.
3 Whoso loveth wisdom rejoiceth his father: but he that keepeth company with harlots spendeth his substance.
4 The king by judgment establisheth the land: but he that receiveth gifts overthroweth it.
5 A man that flattereth his neighbour spreadeth a net for his feet.
6 In the transgression of an evil man there is a snare: but the righteous doth sing and rejoice.
7 The righteous considereth the cause of the poor: but the wicked regardeth not to know it.
8 Scornful men bring a city into a snare: but wise men turn away wrath.
9 If a wise man contendeth with a foolish man, whether he rage or laugh, there is no rest.
10 The bloodthirsty hate the upright: but the just seek his soul.
11 A fool uttereth all his mind: but a wise man keepeth it in till afterwards.
12 If a ruler hearken to lies, all his servants are wicked.
13 The poor and the deceitful man meet together: the LORD lighteneth both their eyes.
14 The king that faithfully judgeth the poor, his throne shall be established for ever.
15 The rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame.
16 When the wicked are multiplied, transgression increaseth: but the righteous shall see their fall.
17 Correct thy son, and he shall give thee rest; yea, he shall give delight unto thy soul.
18 Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.
19 A servant will not be corrected by words: for though he understand he will not answer.
20 Seest thou a man that is hasty in his words? there is more hope of a fool than of him.
21 He that delicately bringeth up his servant from a child shall have him become his son at the length.
22 An angry man stirreth up strife, and a furious man aboundeth in transgression.
23 A man’s pride shall bring him low: but honour shall uphold the humble in spirit.
24 Whoso is partner with a thief hateth his own soul: he heareth cursing, and bewrayeth it not.
25 The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe.
26 Many seek the ruler’s favour; but every man’s judgment cometh from the LORD.
27 An unjust man is an abomination to the just: and he that is upright in the way is abomination to the wicked.

At the end of the day, no one likes to be corrected. But for the purging of sin from our life, it must be done. For the purpose of raising children, it must be done. In just one home that has no discipline and structure you can see the fate of an entire country that is slowly doing the same. Leaving the rules and codes of morality up to man is no different than letting the kids run the house. Let them make up their own rules and see how fast the parent is out the door. There is one difference between the father that lives in the home, and the Father that lives in heaven. The Father will never be divorced from his bride the church, He will never be evicted from heaven (someone much more powerful than man tried that once and failed huge), and He will have the last word.

I chose to follow that Father, I chose to follow those rules, I chose to be obedient (and I know I will fail daily, but I will be obedient in seeking his forgiveness and I will forever seek sanctification), and I will forever love my brothers and sisters on earth so much that I will never stop speaking the Gospel of Jesus Christ!

If you stand in the mirror, what will the reflection tell you about your relationship with God and what are you going to do about it? May the peace of God be abundantly heaped upon you and your home, straight from the cross to the Christian!