When Sin Is Embedded in the church

 

Good day! I’m Duane Matz and this is Today’s Living Word.

 

Moving on to chapter 10 of Ezra and this matter of taking on pagan (unbelieving) spouses continues. Ezr 10:1 Now while Ezra was praying, and while he was confessing, weeping, and bowing down before the house of God, (because of the national sin of marrying pagans) a very large assembly of men, women, and children gathered to him from Israel; for the people wept very bitterly.

 

They had forgotten that this was one of the first commands God gave to His people before they entered the Promised Land. and they dropped the ball!

 

God said in  De 7:3 "Nor shall you make marriages with them. You shall not give your daughter to their son, nor take their daughter for your son.

 

Why? What’s the big deal about marrying an unbeliever? What’s the harm?

 4 "For they will turn your sons away from following Me, to serve other gods; so the anger of the LORD will be aroused against you and destroy you suddenly.

Disobeying this command leads the believer away from the faith  AND it  stirs up the wrath of God and that’s not a good place to be. So the church wept bitterly.

 

This was mass remorse, mass conviction over this particular sin, people were actually trembling over what they had done and what they had coming to them for their disobedience.

 

Imagine if something like mass remorse would happen in your church!  Holy Spirit generated conviction of sin. It can only happen when the preaching of God’s Law  is set before the people, and of course when the bitter weeping comes, be prepared with the solution to turn God’s wrath away….namely repentance and the gospel.

 

An example of deep[y embedded sin in the church today is fornication. : Who is speaking out what God’s Word says these days  about fornication? (Sex before marriage) It has become an acceptable and even expected arrangement in the world and the church has joined in, by (for the most part) looking the other way.

 

God’s solution is simple and it’s still another one word command from Him. Are you ready to hear that command?

It’s found in 1Co 6:18 Flee fornication.

 

Mean  business! Don’t just walk away…..run, and let your “partner” know why you are moving out. You are leaving because your love for Jesus trumps your love for your “partner”

 

Parents, fear a strained relationship with their children if they bring the subject up! Keep loving your children but when the “partner” comes along to spend the night, it’s separate bedrooms only. Take a stand!

 

As pastors we far too often steer away from the specifics of sins and speak in generalities so as to not offend anyone. And the sins sink their claws in deeper and deeper.

Thankfully the Lord is on our side: He is able to pull us out of compromise and set us on the Rock! Ps 40:2 He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, Out of the miry clay, And set my feet upon a rock, And established my steps.

 

I’m Duane Matz and that’s Today’s Living Word