Read Genesis 6&7 and 2 Peter
We must remember that this world is not our home, and just like the last world that was destroyed because of sin, the rampant wickedness of this world will meet a similar end. God communicated to Noah that He saw that the world was wicked. God told Noah that He was going to destroy it. And then He commanded Noah to obey some specific direction. By grace, Noah obeyed. Had Noah disobeyed, there would have been no ark to climb into when the rains came. And after it was completed, Noah had to further obey God’s command by getting into the ark. 2 Peter 3:7 says that “by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.” And we wait, just as Noah waited. And God commands us to “be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace.” God’s grace enabled Noah to be found in this way, and by God’s grace we are enabled to endure to the end, so that we may be found the same way. As God commanded Noah to “Come into the ark”, He commands us to “Come to Christ”. The only hope that anyone had of surviving the flood was to be in that ark. There were those who scoffed and laughed. But the flood still came. There were those who evaluated the ark and decided it was not worthy of consideration. Noah himself could have surveyed the ark and then decided not to get in. But he had grace. If you hear the Gospel and respond by desiring to obey God and keep His commands, it is only by grace that you have done so. And you will be able to persevere, even through heart-breaking loss and circumstances, as God provides you with peace, when everything else is hard to understand. As Noah was called out of the world and into the ark, we are called out of this world and into Christ, renouncing its ways and obeying God’s commands.
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
What Sin Reveals About God
Read Genesis 6:1-13, 2 Corinthians 5:17-21,
Romans 8:5-8, James 1:21
The entire life of the Christian is to be a life lived for God’s glory…a life of worship. Worship is the response to God revealing Himself to us. As God reveals Himself we learn more about ourselves, our condition, and our desperate need for a Savior. In Genesis 6, sin reveals a lot to us about God… or we could say that God reveals a lot to us about Himself in His perfectly just and perfectly righteous response to sin. In just a few chapters before we see God observing all that He created and saying “It is good!” Now He observes His creation and says, “I am grieved…I will destroy them…” What happened? What changed?
The huge change came when sin entered the picture. Sin is corrosive. Adam and Eve turned from God’s design in the garden and the result was death. And from that point sin infected humanity. This is no small problem. All of humanity had turned from the worship of their Creator and become consumed with the flesh. Not only were all of their actions evil, but not even a good thought or intention could be found. And in the midst of all of creation walking according to the flesh, we see God’s response. He repeatedly points out the corruption and violence and reveals His sorrow and grief.
Rather than being wiped out with the old creation, in Christ, God makes us new creations. Now we have new roles, new minds, new desires, new longings, and new passions as we no longer live according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. And as we set our minds on the things of the Spirit, we should see sin as God sees it. Rather than welcoming sin into our lives and experiencing again its completely corrosive nature, we present our members to God as instruments of righteousness. We put away filthiness and rampant wickedness. We will face temptation, but now God has given a way of escape and a way of endurance. In Christ, we put on the new self showing steadfast endurance, going to God for wisdom, setting our minds on the things above, and letting the word of Christ dwell in us richly, transforming us by the renewal of our minds. God’s disdain for sin and its effects should keep us pursuing holiness and purity, glorifying and honoring Him who pulled us from our sin and gave us new lives as new creations in Christ.
Romans 8:5-8, James 1:21
The entire life of the Christian is to be a life lived for God’s glory…a life of worship. Worship is the response to God revealing Himself to us. As God reveals Himself we learn more about ourselves, our condition, and our desperate need for a Savior. In Genesis 6, sin reveals a lot to us about God… or we could say that God reveals a lot to us about Himself in His perfectly just and perfectly righteous response to sin. In just a few chapters before we see God observing all that He created and saying “It is good!” Now He observes His creation and says, “I am grieved…I will destroy them…” What happened? What changed?
The huge change came when sin entered the picture. Sin is corrosive. Adam and Eve turned from God’s design in the garden and the result was death. And from that point sin infected humanity. This is no small problem. All of humanity had turned from the worship of their Creator and become consumed with the flesh. Not only were all of their actions evil, but not even a good thought or intention could be found. And in the midst of all of creation walking according to the flesh, we see God’s response. He repeatedly points out the corruption and violence and reveals His sorrow and grief.
Rather than being wiped out with the old creation, in Christ, God makes us new creations. Now we have new roles, new minds, new desires, new longings, and new passions as we no longer live according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. And as we set our minds on the things of the Spirit, we should see sin as God sees it. Rather than welcoming sin into our lives and experiencing again its completely corrosive nature, we present our members to God as instruments of righteousness. We put away filthiness and rampant wickedness. We will face temptation, but now God has given a way of escape and a way of endurance. In Christ, we put on the new self showing steadfast endurance, going to God for wisdom, setting our minds on the things above, and letting the word of Christ dwell in us richly, transforming us by the renewal of our minds. God’s disdain for sin and its effects should keep us pursuing holiness and purity, glorifying and honoring Him who pulled us from our sin and gave us new lives as new creations in Christ.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Corrupt…in God’s Sight
Read Genesis 5:28-6:13
In the time of Noah, evil existed in a way that we have not seen since. We have seen evidences of this kind of evil. We have seen families torn apart and division run rampant because people choose to go against God’s design. But, in the antediluvian world, with the exception of Noah, “every intention of the thoughts of every heart was only evil continually”. These weren’t people who were just trying some “new” things and, in their immaturity, stumbled upon folly and sin. NO. They had “matured” to a point of deliberate and intentional evil…ONLY. And this was the entire earth’s population, with the exception of Noah. If God had not placed his hand on Noah and his family, we would not be here to discuss the flood, because we would have died in it.
While the effects of this rampant wickedness can be discussed at length, the worst is that it “grieved God’s heart”. Now God is not an emotional push-over. He is holy. He is sovereign. He is Creator. And He has been wronged. It says he was “sorry” that he had made man on the earth. What is being explained here is that God was now repentant. Not of sin, like we should be. Rather, he is taking action, according to His perfect justice and righteousness, and not only turning from this less desirable world, but to a positive course of action in which redemption is found.
Every day we will be presented with the opportunity to make an exception to the “rules”. At some point, so many exceptions can be made, that the rules no longer seem to exist. The “rules” are from God. They are commands that result in a completely different life-style and mindset. We either respond obediently or we respond disobediently. Disobedience communicates that either “God does not exist” or “God does not matter”. He tells us to love Him with all of our heart, soul, and might. If we do this, there will be those who ridicule us. We will be presented with options that will make us “happier”. But we must endure. We must ask God for wisdom. And we must remember that He promises that as Noah was protected in the Ark, so we have protection and redemption in Christ. Even death cannot separate us from His love.
In the time of Noah, evil existed in a way that we have not seen since. We have seen evidences of this kind of evil. We have seen families torn apart and division run rampant because people choose to go against God’s design. But, in the antediluvian world, with the exception of Noah, “every intention of the thoughts of every heart was only evil continually”. These weren’t people who were just trying some “new” things and, in their immaturity, stumbled upon folly and sin. NO. They had “matured” to a point of deliberate and intentional evil…ONLY. And this was the entire earth’s population, with the exception of Noah. If God had not placed his hand on Noah and his family, we would not be here to discuss the flood, because we would have died in it.
While the effects of this rampant wickedness can be discussed at length, the worst is that it “grieved God’s heart”. Now God is not an emotional push-over. He is holy. He is sovereign. He is Creator. And He has been wronged. It says he was “sorry” that he had made man on the earth. What is being explained here is that God was now repentant. Not of sin, like we should be. Rather, he is taking action, according to His perfect justice and righteousness, and not only turning from this less desirable world, but to a positive course of action in which redemption is found.
Every day we will be presented with the opportunity to make an exception to the “rules”. At some point, so many exceptions can be made, that the rules no longer seem to exist. The “rules” are from God. They are commands that result in a completely different life-style and mindset. We either respond obediently or we respond disobediently. Disobedience communicates that either “God does not exist” or “God does not matter”. He tells us to love Him with all of our heart, soul, and might. If we do this, there will be those who ridicule us. We will be presented with options that will make us “happier”. But we must endure. We must ask God for wisdom. And we must remember that He promises that as Noah was protected in the Ark, so we have protection and redemption in Christ. Even death cannot separate us from His love.
Adam, Enoch, Noah & Others
Read Genesis 5
As we read about the descendants from Adam to Noah, we encounter great men with long lives. In the midst of the Patriarchs, we find one that shines even brighter. Enoch’s story is a bit different. Rather than just living a certain number of years after fathering Methuselah, God wants to specifically communicate that Enoch walked with God. We then find that Enoch, whose life on earth was significantly shorter than the other Patriarchs, after 365 years does not experience the sting of death, but rather “he was not, for God took him.” Hebrews 11:5 tells us that it was by faith that he was taken up and that he was commended as having pleased God. In Jude 14-15 we also see that Enoch was especially insightful of the fault of the ungodly…an insight that comes from walking with God for over 3 centuries. So as we ask in every piece of Scripture that we study, “where is Jesus in this?” If we hope to please God and receive eternal life…if we hope to live lives of godliness….then we MUST walk with God. Sin keeps us from walking with God. It separates us from Him. Amos 3:3 says, “Do two walk together, unless they have agreed to meet?” How could we possibly convince the only true, sinless, perfect God to meet with us? We can’t. We must have a Mediator. Jesus is our Mediator. And it is only by the work of the cross in which our sins are forgiven and we are made able to stand before the Lord. So I urge you to cling to Christ, your only hope, and walk with God in faith. And with every step, as you overcome each obstacle, and as you move forward in your journey, give God all of the glory. Acknowledge what it is that His hand has done that you could not do even with all of your might. Stay humble, always being mindful of the fact that each breath is borrowed, and it is only by the merciful and graceful will of God that you are made able to walk with Him in Christ.
As we read about the descendants from Adam to Noah, we encounter great men with long lives. In the midst of the Patriarchs, we find one that shines even brighter. Enoch’s story is a bit different. Rather than just living a certain number of years after fathering Methuselah, God wants to specifically communicate that Enoch walked with God. We then find that Enoch, whose life on earth was significantly shorter than the other Patriarchs, after 365 years does not experience the sting of death, but rather “he was not, for God took him.” Hebrews 11:5 tells us that it was by faith that he was taken up and that he was commended as having pleased God. In Jude 14-15 we also see that Enoch was especially insightful of the fault of the ungodly…an insight that comes from walking with God for over 3 centuries. So as we ask in every piece of Scripture that we study, “where is Jesus in this?” If we hope to please God and receive eternal life…if we hope to live lives of godliness….then we MUST walk with God. Sin keeps us from walking with God. It separates us from Him. Amos 3:3 says, “Do two walk together, unless they have agreed to meet?” How could we possibly convince the only true, sinless, perfect God to meet with us? We can’t. We must have a Mediator. Jesus is our Mediator. And it is only by the work of the cross in which our sins are forgiven and we are made able to stand before the Lord. So I urge you to cling to Christ, your only hope, and walk with God in faith. And with every step, as you overcome each obstacle, and as you move forward in your journey, give God all of the glory. Acknowledge what it is that His hand has done that you could not do even with all of your might. Stay humble, always being mindful of the fact that each breath is borrowed, and it is only by the merciful and graceful will of God that you are made able to walk with Him in Christ.
Cain, Abel, & Life Outside The Garden
Read Genesis 4
In the fourth chapter of Genesis, we get the first glimpse of what life was like outside of the garden. Cain and Abel both brought an offering to the Lord. Abel’s was accepted while Cain’s was not. Mark Driscoll comments that the sin was not what Cain brought in his offering but what Cain brought in his heart. We see further evidence of the effect of Cain’s heart when his anger becomes so great that he kills his brother Abel. God reminds us here that sin’s desire is to rule over us as it is always “crouching at the door”. And if we do not take seriously the insight from God that we MUST rule over it, we see that the results are catastrophic! The first city ever established is further evidence of this truth. The city, Enoch, was named after Cain’s son. In this first city we see trade, commerce, poetry, musical instruments, and forged tools. But none of these things were used for the glory of God. The city was entirely selfish and Godless. Polygamy was even introduced by an arrogant poet named Lamech, who referred to his wives as “wives of Lamech”.
A huge point that develops in Genesis 4 is that we must see sin as God sees sin. It is a matter of the heart. You can go through all of the motions and outwardly look very religious. But if your whole heart is not in it, the sin that is crouching at the door will eventually consume you. We also learn that God redeems a people for his glory. In the close of the chapter, God blesses Adam and Eve with another son, Seth. It was at this time that people began to call upon the name of the Lord.
In the fourth chapter of Genesis, we get the first glimpse of what life was like outside of the garden. Cain and Abel both brought an offering to the Lord. Abel’s was accepted while Cain’s was not. Mark Driscoll comments that the sin was not what Cain brought in his offering but what Cain brought in his heart. We see further evidence of the effect of Cain’s heart when his anger becomes so great that he kills his brother Abel. God reminds us here that sin’s desire is to rule over us as it is always “crouching at the door”. And if we do not take seriously the insight from God that we MUST rule over it, we see that the results are catastrophic! The first city ever established is further evidence of this truth. The city, Enoch, was named after Cain’s son. In this first city we see trade, commerce, poetry, musical instruments, and forged tools. But none of these things were used for the glory of God. The city was entirely selfish and Godless. Polygamy was even introduced by an arrogant poet named Lamech, who referred to his wives as “wives of Lamech”.
A huge point that develops in Genesis 4 is that we must see sin as God sees sin. It is a matter of the heart. You can go through all of the motions and outwardly look very religious. But if your whole heart is not in it, the sin that is crouching at the door will eventually consume you. We also learn that God redeems a people for his glory. In the close of the chapter, God blesses Adam and Eve with another son, Seth. It was at this time that people began to call upon the name of the Lord.
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