God wants believers to serve Him in truth. In fact, it is this very issue that will determine “of what sort” our work is at the judgment seat of Christ.
When an individual gets things right with God, he should likewise look for opportunities to make things right with others he might have done wrong.
Many people choose to continue in sin thinking that the consequences are not mounting up. The scriptures indicate something quite different.
Every man requires rest from his labour. Failure to take time away from life's pressures eventually take time away from the sum total of a man's years.
Most people assume the Lord’s actions are motivated almost solely because of His love for man. Yet, God works for His own glory and for His own name’s sake.
Man views pleasure as offering some type of lasting joys; however, it generally delivers nothing more than a temporary happiness. More often, those who seek pleasures are left emptier than if they had never sought the pleasures in the first place. James’ understanding of this truth is reflected by his declaration: “Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton” (James 5:5). Paul joined the chorus when he admonished the widows: “she that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth” (1 Timothy 5:6). Seeking and living in pleasure offers no lasting fulfillment. In John 4:13, the Lord said, “Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again” and so it is with pleasure. Satisfaction, fulfillment, joy, and life only come through a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.
Throughout history, man has battled the idea that he is the only one who has had to endure temptation with a desire to do right (1 Kings 19:13-14). This lie was conceived by the father of lies (John 8:44) with the intent of convincing the believer into thinking that no one understands his difficulty. Though it is true that one man’s specific temptations may differ from that of another man, the basic premise is true: “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man” (1 Corinthians 10:13). In Elijah’s day, there were 7,000 others (probably referring to only those in Israel) who experienced temptations similar to those experienced by Elijah (1 Kings 19:18).
The relationship between the master and his stewards is one built upon trust. The master places his possessions into the hands of a steward. He will be reluctant to do this unless that man has proven himself trustworthy. The apostle Paul found no shame in claiming to be a faithful steward of God (1 Corinthians 4:1). As such, he understood the principle that the ministry was placed under his care because God had entrusted it to him (1 Corinthians 9:17; Colossians 1:25; 1 Thessalonians 2:4; 1 Timothy 1:11; Titus 1:3). This fact affected everything the apostle said and did. This truth constantly reminded him that he did not live for himself, and that one day he must give an account for his stewardship.
Sin can never be flippantly disregarded. If the Lord is just, and He is, He must mete out consequences for rebellion. The biblical descriptions of the Lord’s reaction to rebellion varies from “he will be wroth” (Joshua 22:18) to “then shall the hand of the LORD be against you” (1 Samuel 12:15) to “ye shall be devoured with the sword” (Isaiah 1:20) to “I will come up into the midst of thee in a moment, and consume thee” (Exodus 33:5) to “I will purge out from among you the rebels” (Ezekiel 20:38) to “I will even send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings” (Malachi 2:2). Though there are variations in the response, the constant truth remains that the Lord hates rebellion and responds to the rebellion with judgment.
Man’s opinion concerning the sinfulness of sin very rarely reflects God’s holy, perfect, and righteous declarations. This is because man does not think like God. The Lord expressed these sentiments in Isaiah 55:8-9 when He said, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, . . . For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.” Even a cursory study of rebellion verifies these truths as a man generally thinks of it more lightly than he ought. Man describes rebellion as strong willed or independent; however, God provides an accurate description as He states that “rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.” Because God likens rebellion to witchcraft, the Old Testament punishment for rebellion was likewise death (Deuteronomy 21:18-23). There can be no doubt as to the seriousness of this sin from God’s perspective.
