NO MAGIC ERASER FOR SIN

If MAGIC ERASER ever had a Hall of Fame for people who loved their product, my wife would be one of the first enductees. She loves those little white sponges that can clean anything! And I do have to admit that I have been impressed with them too. I used one on my car's headlights one night and I was amazed how much brighter the lights were.

 

While Mr. Clean's MAGIC ERASER is very powerful in many areas, there is one area it cannot touch. Sin. No MAGIC ERASER or any other product can clean away the sin in our lives. In fact, there is nothing that we can do on our own to remove the sin from our lives. Only God can do that through the blood of Jesus.

 

No matter how much we try to be a better person or try to stop falling into the traps that temptation lures us into, we are hopeless without Jesus. The old hymn is correct when it asked a question, "What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus."

 

The Bible is very clear that we are going to held accountable for our actions and we will be rewarded or punished accordingly. If you want to hear the Lord say, "Well done, My good and faith servant..." (Matthew 25:21), then we have to stop relying on our own will power or resources and start relying on God to forgive us as we repent and confess our sins to Him.

 

Hebrews 9:22 (ESV) 22 Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.



"WHAT KIND OF DIRT ARE YOU?"

Last night in our Bible study, we discussed the parable of the sower in Matthew 13 and the question was 'Of the four examples in this text, how many of them illustrate someone who is a born again Christian?'. Here is the passage that we were discussing...

Matthew 13:3-9 (ESV) 3 And he told them many things in parables, saying: “A sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. 5 Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, 6  but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away. 7 Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. 8 Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 9 He who has ears, let him hear.”

Here is the question that really got interesting in that discussion, 'Obviously the good soil represents someone that is a Chrsitian. But since the seed also sprouted up in the rocky soil and among the thorns, wouldn't they be Christians too?'. So read this passage where Jesus explains the parable and we will go from there.

Matthew 13:18-23 (ESV) 18 “Hear then the parable of the sower: 19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path. 20 As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, 21 yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away. 22 As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. 23 As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”

In order to answer the questions from above, it is important to remember what the seed represents which is the 'word of the kingdom' or the Word of God. It is the seed that springs up in the rocky soil and the thorny soil in spite of the bad conditions of the soil which represents the condition of our hearts. The rocky soil receives the word 'with joy' but has no depth which enables us to endure the testing of our faith. This describes the people who get excited when they first hear about Jesus but their emotions are not enough to carry through the hard times in life.

The seed sown among the thorns hears the word but allows the 'cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches' to choke out any possibility of endurance. Again we see a group of people who appeared to have received God's Word but were distracted by the things of this world so they didn't last very long either.

So back to the last question 'since the seed also sprouted up in the rocky soil and among the thorns, wouldn't they be Christians too?'. The answer is no. And you might say, 'But they sprouted up too, why aren't they Christians?'. To anwer that question, you have to go back to what the seed represents... God's Word, not us. God's Word is alive and will take root when given the opportunity to do so but if our hearts are not willing to receive it and live by it, then we are the problems.

How did Jesus say that we would be able to recognize the false teachers?

Matthew 7:15-20 (ESV) 15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16 You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. 18 A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.

Obviously the good soil in the parable represents the person that receives the Word of God and lives by it which produces 'fruit' or proof that they are Christians. We are not saved by works (Ephesians 2:8-9) but the 'fruit' proves that we are Christians. This fruit is symbolic of the obedience that God is looking for in each of us.

Did the rocky soil and the thorny soil produce fruit? No. In both cases the plant didn't last very long at all. It wasn't the seed's fault because it was the same seed in all four soils. It was the same sower of the seeds in all four scenes as well. The only difference was the condition of the soil in each scene so make sure that your soil is good (that your heart is open to the Word of God and that you receive it and live by it which will produce much fruit). Got it?

'I NEVER SAID WE WERE PERFECT'

There has never been a time that I have experienced that the church has been under attack. We as the church have been called judgmental, haters, bigots, and so much more but we shouldn't be surprised. Look what God said in His Word through Paul's letter to Timothy...  

2 Timothy 3:1-5 (ESV) 1 But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. 2 For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, 4 treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.

As the church, we have a serious choice to make, one that should be very obvious but it will take a strong commitment to Jesus Christ. So many people are telling the church that we have to adapt to the new way of thinking but the Bible commands us to remain true to His Word. Society is trying to convince us that the new way is better but the Bible has already warned us about those who will try to lead us astray. Even God is being discussed in this new way with thoughts like "God wants you to be happy" or "God would never judge you for doing that". But let me remind you that the Bible is filled with warnings that we are to repent or else face the consequences.

So when we stand up for what is right, we have to endure, no matter what. Yes, there will be lots of ridicule, but we must be consistent in our speech and in our actions. No, we are not judging others. No we are not against anyone. WE STAND UP FOR WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS. Period.