Skip to main content

Mutual Hatred

Proverbs 29:27 The righteous detest the dishonest; the wicked detest the upright.

We have a problem here, don't we? There is a constant detestation going on between two sectors of society. In one sense, there are no righteous. The Bible reminds us of that point in Romans 3:10. However, the redeemed are righteous in Christ. 

The wicked are described as both evil and dishonest. So, we could say that all wicked are crooked and all dishonest are corrupt; they are the same. Again Romans 3 gives us insight where it says, "there is none that does good, not even one." 

This understanding helps us to know that the Christian way is unique. It is an impossible way without redemption. Jesus told his men, "I am the way the truth and the life, no man comes to the Father, except by me." So, the way to God, and perfection, is through Jesus Christ. There is no other way to get to Him. 

Being a Christian does not make a person perfect, but it does make that person different from society. The new life in Christ shines His light on our insufficiency and inability to be righteous and good. So, with this understanding, the Holy Spirit works His righteousness in and through us. 

At this juncture, the hating society shows its ugly head. Society cannot stand to see a righteous one in its midst. Travel back to Sodom and Gomorrah for a glimpse of society's reaction to righteousness. There, the men circled Lot's house to get a piece of the two angelic visitors. Only when they were struck blind did they leave the two alone. And, even then, they groped for the door! 

Christian, you are different. You are salt and light in a world needing both. The world killed the Son of Righteousness, and they will kill you too if given the opportunity. Don't be discouraged. Jesus said, "I have overcome the world!" and, "Love those who persecute you." However, when He returns, He will destroy all wickedness and punish with everlasting torment. 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Twenty Buck Challenge

Well I went and done it! That's bad grammar I know. But I done it anyway. We've been having a Bible study with Esmano and Genesie and their two kids Jennifer and Jadson, for about seven weeks now. This week Jennifer threw out a challenge. "Let's memorize a verse!" I thought that was a great idea. I told them that if they did memorize the verse that I would give them each an American coin. Esmano, their dad usually sits in on the study but he hasn't really been a part of it. When I mentioned the coin idea his eyes lit up a little. I then reached into my wallet and said, "If YOU memorize that verse I'll give you $20 bucks! His eyes really lit up then! Was it a good idea? I doubt it. No one has ever offered me money for memorizing verses. However, this will be the first verse that this man has ever memorized. If he does it. It is not a conventional way of doing memory work and it could cost me a bill for nothing. But if God uses this simple chall...

What About the Property?

Some of you have been asking about the land purchase. In fact I got a note from my friend Tom asking about it just this morning. So, I decided to respond to Tom's question and send the note to everyone on my list.  Tom Funny that you should ask about the property. We talked about it last night in our team meeting. We see three options.  We could buy a piece of land near the neighborhood and build.  We could buy a couple of houses that are side by side and remodel or  We could buy just one house and expand as we grow.  We have R$37,000 ($22,000) available to choose our option. We decided last night to pray and ask God for specific guidance as we proceed. We plan to talk to a man next week about option one . There is a huge piece of property next to our neighborhood and we will be asking him to sell us a 600 meter square piece. If he does we will have our land but no money for construction. If the man say, "No" we will consider that God is closin...

If this is the kingdom of God, do I really want it?

If this is Kingdom Living, Do I Want it? Matthew 5:3 "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. 6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. 7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. 8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. 9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. 10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 "Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. In a study of the Sermon on the Mount to this point we might be tempted to say, “I don’t want to be that happy!” If this is Kingdom living then I want to go to Disney World. This place is depressing.  What Jesus describes here seems to highlight all of the ...