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WEEKLY
Volume 2 Number 38
17 February 2008
Sentence against an
Evil Work
(Message
delivered by Rev Hien Nguyen at the Sunday Worship Service, 2 pm, Feb
10, 08)
Text:
Eccl 8:11-14
The world is getting worse and worse morally and
spiritually. Many indulge in ungodly pleasures or entertainments, in
sins, lies, drinking, gambling, drugs, fornication, adultery,
homosexuality, crimes, etc. Many books, novels, articles, movies
blaspheme God, His Word and Jesus’ Name. Even there is no more fear and
honour of God and His Word in many churches, promoting self and
human ideas or tolerating sins, worldliness, and unbiblical doctrines!
We even see the wicked prosperous and successful, and this makes them
more arrogant and emboldened to say, write and do wicked things! Why?
God’s Word gives us the answer, “Because a sentence against an evil
work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is
fully set in them to do evil” (Eccl 8:11).
God’s Judgment is Delayed and God’s
Goodness is Abused
Sometimes, God carries out His judgment quickly so that
people may fear Him and honour His Word. In the OT, we see Nadab and
Abihu devoured by fire from the Lord when they offered strange fire (Lev
10:1-2; Num 3:4). Miriam became leprous when she spoke against Moses,
God’s servant (Num 12:1-10). Uzzah was struck dead when he touched the
ark (2 Sam 6:7), etc. In the NT, we see Ananias and Sapphira struck dead
when they told a lie. King Herod Agrippa I was smitten by the angel of
the Lord and was eaten to death by worms because he did not give God the
glory (Acts 12:23), etc. Dear friends, if God carries out His judgment
against sin right away, no one can survive before His righteous
judgment!
Thank God for His great love, grace, mercy, goodness and
longsuffering that He gives mankind more time and opportunities to
repent and to be saved. Sadly, with the totally depraved, corrupt, and
sinful nature of human beings, they abuse God’s goodness, take God’s
love for granted, and keep on sinning against Him and His Word, “Or
despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and
longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to
repentance?” (Rom 2:4; 2 Peter 3:9). Seeing that they are not judged
and punished right away, with their sinful nature, “the heart of the
sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.” Their feet run to evil
(Prov 1:16). They rejoice to do evil (Prov 2:14), desire evil (Prov
21:10), proceed from evil to evil (Jer 9:3), love the evil (Micah 3:2),
and love darkness than light because their deeds were evil (John 3:19).
Dear friends, do you and I take God’s love, grace, mercy, goodness and
longsuffering for granted by constantly sinning against God and His
Word?
Evil before the Lord
Most of us understand that committing serious crimes such
as fornication, adultery, murder, drug trafficking, kidnapping, etc. are
evil deeds before God. The Scripture not only tells us about “evil
doers” (Ps 26:25), “evil man” (Ps 140:1), “evil woman”
(Prov 6:24), “evil congregation” (Num 14:27), “evil people”
(Jer 13:10), “evil generation” (Luke 11:29), “evil workers”
(Phil 3:2), “evil deeds” (Ezra 9:13; 2 John 11), “evil eye”
(Prov 23:6; Mark 7:22), “evil speaking” (Eph 4:31; 1 Peter 2:1)
but also tells about “evil heart” (Jer 3:17; 7:24), “evil
conscience” (Heb 10:22), “evil thoughts” (Mark 7:21; James
2:4),“evil way” (Ps 119:101), “evil communications” (1 Cor
15:33). Human religions, psychology and education try to deal with
evil/wicked deeds, but fail to see the evil source, the evil heart of
man. Our Lord Jesus says, “For from within, out of the heart of men,
proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, Thefts,
covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye,
blasphemy, pride, foolishness: All these evil things come from
within, and defile the man.” (Mark 7:21-23), “And GOD saw that
the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination
of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Gen 6:5).
Moreover, it is also an evil thing to:
Forsake the Lord:
“For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the
fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns,
that can hold no water” (Jer 2:13). King Rehoboam “did evil,
because he prepared not his heart to seek the LORD” (2 Chron
12:14). Serving and worshipping other gods is doing evil before God!
(Deut 17:2-7; Judges 2:11; 1 Kings 14:9; et al). How about you and me?
Shall we choose to worship the Lord our God and serve Him only? (Deut
6:13; Matt 4:10).
Not Believe in God and His Word:
“Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of
unbelief, in departing from the living God” (Heb 3:12). Exactly,
“whatsoever is not of faith is sin” (Rom 14:23). May the Lord keep
you and me from an evil heart of unbelief!
Murmur against God:
“How long shall I bear with this evil congregation, which murmur
against me? I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel, which
they murmur against me” (Num 14:27). When we murmur or complain
against God, we are not happy or satisfied with God’s will, God’s way,
or God’s dealings, and this is evil because we mean that we are better
or wiser than God! May God help us thank Him and rejoice in Him in all
things.
Cast Doubt on God’s Word, Love and Power:
It is an evil/wicked thing before God to make
others doubt God and His Word, His love and His power. When exploring
the Promised Land, except Joshua and Caleb, the other ten spies did not
see their loving, faithful and almighty God but only saw the giants and
then gave an “evil report,” saying, “We be not able to go up against
the people; for they are stronger than we” and “they brought up
an evil report of the land which they had searched unto the
children of Israel, saying, The land, through which we have gone to
search it, is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof; and all the
people that we saw in it are men of a great stature” (Num 13:31-32).
This is God’s judgment for them, “Even those men that did bring up
the evil report upon the land, died by the plague before the
LORD” (Num 14:37). Dear friends, it is serious offence to give an
evil report causing others to doubt God and His Word. Sadly, because
God’s judgment against an evil work is not executed right away, many
nowadays cause young believers to doubt God and His Word, His love and
His power by giving “evil report” in their preaching, teaching, or
writing, arguing that no human is perfect so it is impossible to have a
perfect process of transmission of God’s Word, and as a result, there
are no extant copies of the Scripture that are exactly the same as the
original manuscripts! They only see men and human impossibility
regardless of the loving, faithful and almighty God, who is able to
preserve His Word as He says (Ps 12:6-7; Matt 5:18; 24:35; et al).
Truly, “For with God nothing shall be impossible” and “The
things which are impossible with men are possible with God” (Luke
1:37; 18:27).
Remove the landmark:
This is a commandment of the Lord, “Thou shalt not remove thy
neighbour’s landmark, which they of old time have set in thine
inheritance, which thou shalt inherit in the land that the LORD thy God
giveth thee to possess it” (Deut 19:14; cf. Prov 22:28; 23:10), and
“Cursed be he that removeth his neighbour’s landmark. And all the
people shall say, Amen” (Deut 27:17). A piece of land was a property
and inheritance of the Israelite tribes and families, a blessing from
the Lord. This inheritance must be passed down from generation to
generation and it was highly valued. A landmark, usually made of stones
of posts in early days, was used to determine the estate of the owner. A
greedy and dishonest man might want to remove his neighbour’s landmark
to enlarge his own estate. Usually, when there was a controversy over
the landmarks between the two parties (Deut 19:17), witnesses were
required to settle the controversy. If it was found out that the man was
a false witness, he would be judged to “put the evil away from” among
the people (Deut 19:19). The Scripture tells a story about Naboth (1
Kings 21), who refused to exchange his vineyard, the inheritance of his
fathers, for a better one or for money offered by King Ahab, so Jezebel
set up false witnesses against Naboth, let him be stoned to death, and
took the vineyard. However, God’s Word spoke to Ahab through the prophet
Elijah, “Hast thou killed, and also taken possession?... In
the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick thy
blood, even thine” (v 19), and Elijah said to King Ahab, “I have
found thee: because thou hast sold thyself to work evil in the
sight of the LORD” (v 20). Ahab and Jezebel, whose consciences were
dull and hardened, not seeing it evil before God to take another’s
inheritance, were finally judged as God said. Sadly, because
God’s judgment against an evil work is not executed right away, the
younger generation of Life BPC want to remove FEBC and possess all the
property regardless of God’s commandment and the founding Pastor of the
church and the founding Principal of the College!
Be partial: It is
evil before the Lord to be partial, “Are ye not then partial in
yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts?... But if ye
have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as
transgressors” (James 2:4, 9).
Be boastful: It is
evil before the Lord to boast of oneself regardless of God’s will and
help, “But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is
evil” (James 4:16).
Marry unbelievers:
“Shall we then hearken unto you to do all this great evil, to
transgress against our God in marrying strange wives?” (Neh 13:27).
In brief, it is an evil thing before the Lord when we do
not love Him with all our heart, our soul, our mind, and our strength by
worshiping Him, trusting Him, serving Him, keeping and obeying His
Word.
God’s Judgment Is Sure
Although God’s judgment may be delayed because of His
goodness, mercy and longsuffering, His judgment is sure and no one can
escape it, “And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do
such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of
God?” (Rom 2:3), and “For God shall bring every work into
judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be
evil” (Eccl 12:14). The Lord says, “And I will punish the world
for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the
arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the
terrible” (Isa 13:11; cf. 2 Peter 3:6-7), even our words, “But I
say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give
account thereof in the day of judgment” (Matt 12:36), and “they
were judged every man according to their works” (Rev 20:13).
Proper Attitudes
Repent: Acknowledging
our evil thoughts, words, deeds before God, we should repent and confess
our sins, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive
us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John
1:9).
Ask for God’s Renewal:
God’s Word confirms, “Can the
Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? then may ye also do
good, that are accustomed to do evil” (Jer 13:23). We should
appreciate God’s salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ and the regeneration
by the Holy Spirit and by God’s Word (John 1:12; 3:5; 1 Peter 1:23), and
like David, we cry unto the Lord, “Create in me a clean heart, O God;
and renew a right spirit within me” (Ps 51:10).
Fear God and Depart from Evil:
“Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and
depart from evil” (Prov 3:7; cf. Job 1:1,8), even “Abstain from
all appearance of evil” (1 Thess 5:22).
Not Envy the Wicked nor Avenge Them:
The wicked may be prosperous and successful, but understanding their
end, we shall not envy them nor avenge them (Ps 37:1-2; 73:17-19; Rom
12:17, 19).
Trust in God’s Timely Judgment or Final Judgment:
“Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto
wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the
Lord” (Rom 12:19).
Trust in God’s Sovereignty and Commit Everything to
the Lord: Let us learn from Joseph’s
experience, “But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God
meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much
people alive” (Gen 50:20; cf. Rom 8:28), and then trust in God’s
sovereignty and commit everything to Him, like our Lord Jesus, “Who,
when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened
not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously” (1 Peter
2:23).
Conclusion
Dear friends, God’s judgment is sure
although it may be delayed because of His goodness, love and
longsuffering, which we should not abuse. May the Lord grant us a new
heart of fearing Him, loving Him and obeying His Word, trusting Him and
His Word without any doubts or murmurings. May the Lord deliver us
from every evil work, and preserve us unto his heavenly kingdom (2 Tim
4:18). All glory be unto Him alone. Amen.
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