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Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two
opinions? if the Lord be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow
him. And the people answered him not a word. (1 Kings 18:21)
Life
is full of choices. Choices are important since they determine our future
success, failure, wealth, poverty, health, or even illness. The gravity of the
spiritual choices we make are infinitely (and I do mean infinitely) of greater
import than any temporal choices we make in this life. The choices we make in
serving the Lord our God have eternal consequences not only in Hell, but in the
rewards of Heaven.
It
would be a great benefit if the people of God were as the kingdom of the ant.
The ant labors season after season in storing up provision for the future when
there is no other provision. Should the Christian not do likewise in storing up
treasures in Heaven in anticipation of the coming ruin of this world when none
other is available? As Jesus said to the rich young ruler, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou
hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come,
take up the cross, and follow me. (Mark 10:21) The rich, young ruler desired
the wealth of this world that he could sift between his fingers, but the
treasures we stow in Heaven are on safe deposit for the day when life cannot be
sustained by earthly treasures – and it pays an unimaginably high dividend in
interest.
What
are the Treasures of Heaven? The Treasures of Heaven are those good works we do
for others, or rather allow God to do THROUGH us for others. 34 Then
shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father,
inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 For I
was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was
a stranger, and ye took me in: 36 Naked, and ye clothed
me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. 37 Then
shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and
fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? 38 When
saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? 39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto
thee? 40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I
say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of
these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. 41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart
from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his
angels: 42 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was
thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: 43 I was a stranger, and
ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye
visited me not. 44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw
we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison,
and did not minister unto thee? 45 Then shall he answer
them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one
of the least of these, ye did it not to me. 46 And
these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life
eternal. (Matt 25:34-46)
It
is at once obvious that these treasures are not the kind that can be stolen
away for they ascend immediately to the Throne of Grace. They are not, either,
to be boasted of since they are no longer ours, but belong to Heaven until we
go to claim them. 26 If
any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but
deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain. 27 Pure religion and undefiled
before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their
affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world. (James 1:26-27) Do
you have this PURE religion? This is not merely an order to the ordained of the
church, but to every member of the Body of Christ as ministers of God.
The
question that Elijah posits to the people of God was not simply a question for
the moment of its being spoken, but just as literally addressed to us today as
to those yesterday. When the issue of homosexual marriage, abortion, or
intentional sin arises, the churches are either totally silent, or even join as
accomplices to the apostasies. There has arisen a postmodern approach to
Christianity that ignores the Word of God and relies upon feelings and human
opinion concerning right and wrong. It is a form approaching secular humanism.
Even the science of genetics is ignored in order to justify transgenderism.
When it comes to homosexuality or gender identity, the science of chromosomal
identity is ignored completely and the role of CHOICE is emphasized to the
detriment of science. If a baby is born with an XY chromosome, that child is,
by scientific definition, a male. The same is true of the female born with the
XX chromosome. This is simply scientific fact, and the way one feels about this
has nothing to do with the fact. It would be like denying that gravity is in
force and walking under a falling boulder of five hundred pounds. The result
would be a flat corpse notwithstanding the opinion on gravity to the contrary.
We
are all born with a proclivity to sin in some ways. We may be born with an
inclination to lie, cheat, steal, gossip, or even murder. The sin becomes
cardinal when we act upon the impulse. If we are tempted and drawn to the same
sex, that would be sin if acted upon in a similar manner. No one is born
‘homosexual.’ Of course, there are influences of life that may enter in, even
to a child that might create the perversion to sex. But even if a person were
born with homosexual inclinations, there is no sin as long as that person
remains celibate. 12 For there are some eunuchs, which were so born from their mother's
womb: and there are some eunuchs, which were made eunuchs of men: and there be
eunuchs, which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake. He
that is able to receive it, let him receive it. (Matt 19:12) Some
eunuchs are born as such; others are made so by the perverse art of man.
So,
when we live our lives, we are confronted with many temptations to sin. It is
the concession we pay to sin, and the approbation of society itself, that
places our souls in danger of damnation. Yes, Christ is able to forgive all
sin, but we are to go, and sin no more. If we commit sin by omission or
commission, we confess our sins and continue with all intent to forebear sin.
I
am disappointed when the people of our land ignore biblical morality, but I am
not discouraged. It is not the role of a minister to change hearts – that is
the doing of the Holy Ghost. It is the preacher’s role to preach the truth and
to warn the people. 16 Thus
saith the Lord, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths,
where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for
your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein. 17 Also I set watchmen over you, saying,
Hearken to the sound of the trumpet. But they said, We will not hearken. (Jer 6:16-17)
Jeremiah lost no faith when the incorrigible people of Israel refused to follow
God, but THEY DID!
God
has given us choices to make in life just as the story of AESOP regarding the
ants and the grass hopper. The grass hopper played all summer long while the
ants worked diligently. He even made light of the ants’ industry. But when the
leaves began to fall, and the winter snows began to sprinkle the landscape, the
grass hopper began to be in want of food and shelter. He went to the ants, but
they refused help to one so sluggardly. We have choices between good and evil
so that we can rejoice at the blessedness of righteousness over the opposite
side of the coin. We can never fully appreciate light until we have experienced
smothering darkness.
Remember
that the Creation of God at Eden began with a choice, did it not? 9 And out
of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant
to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the
garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. (Gen 2:9) 16 And the Lord God
commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: 17 But of the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou
eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. (Gen 2:16-17) Adam had a simple choice of all
of the trees of the Garden (including the Tree of Life representing the Lord);
but Adam ate of the ONE tree only of which God had commanded him not to eat. WHAT
A CHOICE!
Look
at the wonderful history of America while it was yet young and righteous.
Remember the songs and music of grandeur – My Country ‘Tis of Thee, America the
Beautiful, Hail, Columbia, God Bless America, School Days, etc. What ages of
innocence we enjoyed as a nation under God. But what went wrong? We forgot the
old songs, didn’t we. We adopted vulgar and pornographic lyrics for our songs.
Our sons and daughters became addicts of alcohol, drugs, and perversions of
sex. We told God he was no longer welcome in our public schools or the public
forum – after he had been present in those venues for two hundred years without
objection. Someone stole our innocence away. But who? It was the same old
Serpent of the Garden whose voice we heard and heeded. His minions walk the
halls of Congress and labor in the courts to entangle us in every effort to
restore morality to our sin-besieged land. I pray that we will not stop before
the tree, or heed that voice longer.
