In Whom do You Delight?

Lies vs Truth

Psalm 1:1-2 ESV

 

“Blessed is the man

    who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,

nor stands in the way of sinners,

    nor sits in the seat of scoffers;

but his delight is in the law of the Lord,

    and on his law he meditates day and night.”

 

The lie says you can confess Jesus as your Savior, believe he is living in your heart, that your sins are forgiven, and that you are on your way to heaven while you willingly choose to walk (conduct your life) in sin, in wickedness, in doing what you know is opposed to God, and then to continue in that sin.

 

You say you have faith in Jesus Christ, but faith is submission to Christ as Lord, and it is obedience to his commands, and it is walking the walk and not just talking the walk. Faith is dying with Christ to sin and it is living to Christ and to his righteousness, by the Spirit of God (Lu 9:23-26; Rom 6:1-23; Eph 4:17-24; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6).

 

Even though you are willfully, premeditatedly, and defiantly living in sin, you make excuses for it, and you call it something other than what it is, or you cast the blame on or deflect to other people, or you quote Scripture out of context to try to give yourself permission to keep on in your sinful practices.

 

But we must be willing to examine the Scriptures to see what they are teaching us, and we must not close our ears to the truth just because we don’t like what the truth says. And, the truth says if we walk in sin, we are going to die in our sins, not live with Christ (Gal 5:16-21; Rom 8:1-17).

 

You claim you love Jesus because you do “good deeds” for others, or because you read your Bible, or because you watch religious TV shows, or because you attend church services once a week religiously. But Jesus isn’t your Lord and you don’t love him because your god is your idols, and love is obeying God (Matt 7:21; 1 Jn 2:3-6).

 

You think Jesus is altogether like us, but he isn’t. You think his love is tolerance of sin, never correcting you, never getting in your face about your sin, never getting angry or upset with you, and always being there to comfort, love, and allow for continued sin without punishment or chastisement. Wrong! (Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Rom 2:6-8; 2 Co 5:10).

 

You think God’s love for us is unconditional. Yes, we did nothing to earn or to deserve our own salvation. Yes, it is by God’s grace, through God-given faith in Jesus Christ that we are saved from our sins, and this not of ourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works lest any of us should boast (Eph 2:8-9).

 

But, that doesn’t mean his love for us is unconditional or that our salvation from sin is unconditional. For, we must walk according to the Spirit and not according to the flesh if we want eternal life with God. We must obey obedience, which leads to righteousness and to eternal life, and we must not obey sin, if we want to not die in our sins (Rom 8:1-17; Rom 6:16).

 

You say your heart’s desire is to obey the Lord, and yet you don’t obey him. You continue living in your sin, doing what your flesh desires. If we live to gratify the sinful desires of our flesh our desire is not to obey the Lord, for the flesh is opposed to the Spirit and the Spirit is opposed to the flesh. So, we must put those evil desires to death (Gal 5:16-24; Eph 4:22; Col 3:5).

 

Also, what is in our hearts is what comes out in our words and in our behaviors and attitudes (Matt 12:34; Matt 15:8; Matt 15:18-19; Lu 6:45). “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matt 6:21).

 

You have had some hardships in your life, and God is a God of love and compassion regarding those, I assure you. But we can’t use those hardships as excuses for continued willful premeditated and rebellious sinning against God. Our Lord does not make allowances for sin just because we have faced hardships in our lives.

 

He is not understanding about us turning to idolatry, sexual immorality, drug addiction, pornography, alcohol addiction, and the like, to meet what we feel are our needs in place of him. He is not going to be sympathetic about us trusting in our idols in place of putting our trust in him (1 Co 6:9-10; Gal 5:16-21; Eph 5:3-6; Col 3:5-11; Rom 6:16; Rom 2:6-8; 2 Co 5:10).

 

Yes, not one of us is perfect, and we won’t be perfect until we are with Jesus and we no longer live in these flesh bodies. But the Scriptures are clear. If we walk (conduct our lives in practice) according to the flesh (in sin), we are going to die in our sin, not live with Christ for eternity (Rom 8:1-17).

 

Our Lord has to draw the line somewhere. Our salvation from sin is not permission to keep living in sin without guilt, without remorse, and without punishment. Yes, God is gracious, but his grace instructs us to say “NO!” to ungodliness and fleshly passions and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives while we wait for his return (Tit 2:11-14).

 

The Righteous & The Wicked

Psalm 1:3-6 ESV

 

“He is like a tree

    planted by streams of water

that yields its fruit in its season,

    and its leaf does not wither.

In all that he does, he prospers.

The wicked are not so,

    but are like chaff that the wind drives away.

 

“Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,

    nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;

for the Lord knows the way of the righteous,

    but the way of the wicked will perish.”

 

When we are living for the flesh, to please the flesh, in direct opposition to God and to his word, we are not at peace with God. We are not at rest. We are restless, always craving more of the flesh. Regarding God’s eternal kingdom, we are fruitless and worthless.

 

But, when we are walking with the Lord, in fellowship with him, doing his will, following his lead, and obeying his commands, then we are at peace. We are at rest. We know true joy. We are fruitful for God’s eternal kingdom, and we are assured we are making a difference in other people’s lives for the kingdom of God.

 

Those who have chosen a path of wickedness for their lives will not stand in the judgment. Even if they profess that Jesus is their Lord, they will hear the Lord say, “I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.”

 

But, those who have chosen the path of righteousness, which few travel, they will have eternal life with God. But this is not because of their own goodness, but because of the goodness of God in delivering them from their slavery to sin and in empowering them to live for him and for his righteousness.

 

Oh, to Be Like Thee, Blessed Redeemer

 

Lyrics by Thomas O. Chisholm, 1897

Music by W. J. Kirkpatrick, 1897

 

Oh, to be like Thee! blessèd Redeemer,

This is my constant longing and prayer;

Gladly I’ll forfeit all of earth’s treasures,

Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.

 

Oh, to be like Thee! full of compassion,

Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,

Helping the helpless, cheering the fainting,

Seeking the wandering sinner to find.

 

O to be like Thee! lowly in spirit,

Holy and harmless, patient and brave;

Meekly enduring cruel reproaches,

Willing to suffer others to save.

 

O to be like Thee! while I am pleading,

Pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy love;

Make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,

Fit me for life and Heaven above.

 

Oh, to be like Thee! Oh, to be like Thee,

Blessèd Redeemer, pure as Thou art;

Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;

Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.

 

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