Category Archives: Rebuke Wrong Behavior

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Shall We Continue to Sin So That Grace May Increase?

It is a very important concept for followers of Jesus Christ to understand. When we ask Jesus to be our Lord and accept His offer of salvation by grace through faith that He died for our sins, we must also recognize that we are not to abuse that grace. For us to abuse grace by intentionally continuing to sin is to not truly submit to the lordship of Christ over sin and self. It is to not truly accept His offer of salvation.

We all sin, but let us never embrace it intentionally under the excuse that His grace will cover our sins. Instead let us seek to repent from sin, to turn away from it and toward the Father. Let us die to self and sin and rise in Christ to a new life. We need His help and He will provide it to those who truly invite Him in to be Lord of their life.

Romans 6

Believers Are Dead to Sin, Alive to God

      1What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? 2May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it? 3Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? 4Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. 5For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection, 6knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; 7for he who has died is freed from sin.

      8Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, 9knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him. 10For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. 11Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.

      12Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts, 13and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. 14For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace.

      15What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? May it never be! 16Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness? 17But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed, 18and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. 19I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, resulting in further lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness, resulting in sanctification.

      20For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. 21Therefore what benefit were you then deriving from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the outcome of those things is death. 22But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life. 23For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

I can well remember a variety of sinful habits that I seemed unable to break on my own power. The more I turned my life over to the Father, the more I sought to learn and understand His word and apply it in my life, the more the Holy Spirit has revealed Himself in my life to guide me and strengthen me in my daily walk… in rejecting sin. I have been able to turn away from habits and behaviors that had me beat and stay away. However, temptation remains a challenge, trying to draw us in. Remain vigilant and focused. Choose righteousness over sin. The rewards in this life and beyond are priceless.

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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? Are you living today filled with the peace and joy of truly knowing and following Jesus Christ? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Forgive Others / Seek Forgiveness, Grace / Forgiveness, Hebrew Roots / Commands / Law, Holy, Holy / Set Apart, Obeying God, Offering Sacrifices, Rebuke Wrong Behavior, Repenting from Sin, Through Prophets

Sin Is Still Ugly, Even When It Is Unintentional

There is much symbolism and cultural context we could study throughout Leviticus. However, as I read Leviticus 4 today, something much more basic shouted at me from the text. Something that many of us understand, but many still do not take ownership for. Sin is sin… even if it was unintentional. When we sin unintentionally, it may seem as if it is not as bad as intentional sin, but it is still sin. It still may hurt us or others. It still separates us from the Father. We are called to repent of our unintentional sin once we become aware of it… just as we should repent of intentional sin.

Leviticus 4

The Law of Sin Offerings

      1Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2“Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘If a person sins unintentionally in any of the things which the LORD has commanded not to be done, and commits any of them, 3if the anointed priest sins so as to bring guilt on the people, then let him offer to the LORD a bull without defect as a sin offering for the sin he has committed. 4‘He shall bring the bull to the doorway of the tent of meeting before the LORD, and he shall lay his hand on the head of the bull and slay the bull before the LORD. 5‘Then the anointed priest is to take some of the blood of the bull and bring it to the tent of meeting, 6and the priest shall dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle some of the blood seven times before the LORD, in front of the veil of the sanctuary. 7‘The priest shall also put some of the blood on the horns of the altar of fragrant incense which is before the LORD in the tent of meeting; and all the blood of the bull he shall pour out at the base of the altar of burnt offering which is at the doorway of the tent of meeting. 8‘He shall remove from it all the fat of the bull of the sin offering: the fat that covers the entrails, and all the fat which is on the entrails, 9and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them, which is on the loins, and the lobe of the liver, which he shall remove with the kidneys 10(just as it is removed from the ox of the sacrifice of peace offerings), and the priest is to offer them up in smoke on the altar of burnt offering. 11‘But the hide of the bull and all its flesh with its head and its legs and its entrails and its refuse, 12that is, all the rest of the bull, he is to bring out to a clean place outside the camp where the ashes are poured out, and burn it on wood with fire; where the ashes are poured out it shall be burned.

      13‘Now if the whole congregation of Israel commits error and the matter escapes the notice of the assembly, and they commit any of the things which the LORD has commanded not to be done, and they become guilty; 14when the sin which they have committed becomes known, then the assembly shall offer a bull of the herd for a sin offering and bring it before the tent of meeting. 15‘Then the elders of the congregation shall lay their hands on the head of the bull before the LORD, and the bull shall be slain before the LORD. 16‘Then the anointed priest is to bring some of the blood of the bull to the tent of meeting; 17and the priest shall dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle it seven times before the LORD, in front of the veil. 18‘He shall put some of the blood on the horns of the altar which is before the LORD in the tent of meeting; and all the blood he shall pour out at the base of the altar of burnt offering which is at the doorway of the tent of meeting. 19‘He shall remove all its fat from it and offer it up in smoke on the altar. 20‘He shall also do with the bull just as he did with the bull of the sin offering; thus he shall do with it. So the priest shall make atonement for them, and they will be forgiven. 21‘Then he is to bring out the bull to a place outside the camp and burn it as he burned the first bull; it is the sin offering for the assembly.

      22‘When a leader sins and unintentionally does any one of all the things which the LORD his God has commanded not to be done, and he becomes guilty, 23if his sin which he has committed is made known to him, he shall bring for his offering a goat, a male without defect. 24‘He shall lay his hand on the head of the male goat and slay it in the place where they slay the burnt offering before the LORD; it is a sin offering. 25‘Then the priest is to take some of the blood of the sin offering with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering; and the rest of its blood he shall pour out at the base of the altar of burnt offering. 26‘All its fat he shall offer up in smoke on the altar as in the case of the fat of the sacrifice of peace offerings. Thus the priest shall make atonement for him in regard to his sin, and he will be forgiven.

      27‘Now if anyone of the common people sins unintentionally in doing any of the things which the LORD has commanded not to be done, and becomes guilty, 28if his sin which he has committed is made known to him, then he shall bring for his offering a goat, a female without defect, for his sin which he has committed. 29‘He shall lay his hand on the head of the sin offering and slay the sin offering at the place of the burnt offering. 30‘The priest shall take some of its blood with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering; and all the rest of its blood he shall pour out at the base of the altar. 31‘Then he shall remove all its fat, just as the fat was removed from the sacrifice of peace offerings; and the priest shall offer it up in smoke on the altar for a soothing aroma to the LORD. Thus the priest shall make atonement for him, and he will be forgiven.

      32‘But if he brings a lamb as his offering for a sin offering, he shall bring it, a female without defect. 33‘He shall lay his hand on the head of the sin offering and slay it for a sin offering in the place where they slay the burnt offering. 34‘The priest is to take some of the blood of the sin offering with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and all the rest of its blood he shall pour out at the base of the altar. 35‘Then he shall remove all its fat, just as the fat of the lamb is removed from the sacrifice of the peace offerings, and the priest shall offer them up in smoke on the altar, on the offerings by fire to the LORD. Thus the priest shall make atonement for him in regard to his sin which he has committed, and he will be forgiven.

Sin is ugly, whether intentional or not. Do not let yourself make excuses like “I did not mean to.” The Father still calls us to repent, change our ways, and ask forgiveness. Let us not excuse our sin, but rather ask forgiveness for it and strive to do better and sin less.

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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? Are you living today filled with the peace and joy of truly knowing and following Jesus Christ? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Consequences of Sin, Disobeying, Rebelling Against, Ignoring God, Doubt / Lacking Faith, Forgive Others / Seek Forgiveness, Idols / False Gods, Rebuke Wrong Behavior, Repenting from Sin

Confronting Sin In The Camp

Moses went up on the mountain to spend time with Jehovah, our Creator. He left the people for a period of time in the charge of Aaron, his brother, who had been at Moses’ side through all the miracles and power demonstrated by God before Pharaoh to lead the people out of Egypt. Of course, the people themselves witnessed these miracles of great power from God as well while they were delivered from slavery.

One would think that the people could behave at least for awhile, but, in fact, they did not last long at all once Moses. left. They claimed to celebrate in the name of God, but they built an idol and worshipped the way the pagans worshipped their false gods. Jehovah was angry, but Moses intervened and Jehovah agreed not to destroy the people.

Knowing they had sinned, when Moses came upon the camp and saw the revelry and pagan style worship he was angry. So angry he actually shattered the tablets he had brought down from God.

How should he confront this situation as leader of these people?

Exodus 32:19-35

Moses’ Anger

      19It came about, as soon as Moses came near the camp, that he saw the calf and the dancing; and Moses’ anger burned, and he threw the tablets from his hands and shattered them at the foot of the mountain. 20He took the calf which they had made and burned it with fire, and ground it to powder, and scattered it over the surface of the water and made the sons of Israel drink it.

      21Then Moses said to Aaron, “What did this people do to you, that you have brought such great sin upon them?” 22Aaron said, “Do not let the anger of my lord burn; you know the people yourself, that they are prone to evil. 23“For they said to me, ‘Make a god for us who will go before us; for this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’ 24“I said to them, ‘Whoever has any gold, let them tear it off.’ So they gave it to me, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf.”

      25Now when Moses saw that the people were out of control—for Aaron had let them get out of control to be a derision among their enemies— 26then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, “Whoever is for the LORD, come to me!” And all the sons of Levi gathered together to him. 27He said to them, “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, ‘Every man of you put his sword upon his thigh, and go back and forth from gate to gate in the camp, and kill every man his brother, and every man his friend, and every man his neighbor.’” 28So the sons of Levi did as Moses instructed, and about three thousand men of the people fell that day. 29Then Moses said, “Dedicate yourselves today to the LORD—for every man has been against his son and against his brother—in order that He may bestow a blessing upon you today.”

      30On the next day Moses said to the people, “You yourselves have committed a great sin; and now I am going up to the LORD, perhaps I can make atonement for your sin.” 31Then Moses returned to the LORD, and said, “Alas, this people has committed a great sin, and they have made a god of gold for themselves. 32“But now, if You will, forgive their sin—and if not, please blot me out from Your book which You have written!” 33The LORD said to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against Me, I will blot him out of My book. 34“But go now, lead the people where I told you. Behold, My angel shall go before you; nevertheless in the day when I punish, I will punish them for their sin.” 35Then the LORD smote the people, because of what they did with the calf which Aaron had made.

Moses reaction was quite strong by our standards today, but keep in mind that he changed God’s mind so that all the people would not be destroyed. He was now dealing with those who would not even repent and come to the Lord’s side even after he returned.

First, Moses destroyed the idol. He removed a key focal point associated with the rebellion against God. He did not have a council meeting to discuss all points of view. He knew it was wrong. He was the leader of the camp and the people. He destroyed it in a lasting way, scattering the gold in a way that it would not soon be gathered back together.

He confronted the leadership that was supposed to be watching over the people and instead facilitated and endorsed their rebellion, Aaron. Aaron’s response is completely unsatisfying. There is no direct admission of guilt and repentance. He blames the people for “making him do it” and blames Moses for being gone a long time and then says the golden calf just “leapt” out of the fire as if it sculpted itself. The truth is that Aaron gave in to pressure to rebel against God’s ways and tried to make excuses that they were still worshipping the Lord.

In verse 26, now Moses addresses the people and calls for repentance… for them to come to the Lord’s side. Those that still refuse, after all the earlier events since Moses’ return are dealt with very harshly. Their sin was serious. It was not to be ignored.

We can have a very meaningful discussion about when and in what situations we would be called to exact such harsh punishment today. Jesus died for our sins and calls for us to rebuke and then remove sinners from our midst, but not to execute them.  However, we can not say that Moses was wrong to do so… remember that Jehovah Himself was going to destroy all the people except Moses.

While the punishment and reconciliation is now different with the death and resurrection of Christ, the behaviors that please God and those that anger Him have not changed. When we find sin in the camp in our lives, we are to confront it and not ignore it. Our “camp” may be our family or our workplace or our church. We are to remove idols and other things which are clearly wrong from our midst. We are to confront and rebuke the leadership of the wrong behavior and then follow up to confront and rebuke the people who refuse to repent and separate ourselves from them.

If we are involved in such a rebellion, rather than make excuses like Aaron did, admit we have done wrong, ask forgiveness, and repent. Help others involved to know they should repent and then don’t repeat our error.

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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? If you die today, do you know for sure that you would be with God in heaven? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Father / Yahweh, Forgive Others / Seek Forgiveness, Grace / Forgiveness, Justice / Judgment, Loving / Kind, Merciful, Prayer, Rebuke Wrong Behavior, Repenting from Sin, Salvation

Can God Forgive My Sin?

All of us sin. Yes, all of us… even that one person you think is really righteous and does everything right. So what differentiates us in our lives and relationships with Jehovah, our Father in heaven? Let us consider David, who God said was a man after His own heart.

1 Samuel 13:14 (prophet Samuel speaking to King Saul)

14“But now your kingdom shall not endure. The LORD has sought out for Himself a man after His own heart, and the LORD has appointed him as ruler over His people, because you have not kept what the LORD commanded you.”

Was David free of sin? Absolutely not. Did God make a mistake when He said David was a man after His own heart? Absolutely not. One characteristic that seems to exemplify David is that He genuinely tried to follow God’s instructions and commands and when he messed up, he genuinely and wholeheartedly repented.

What a beautiful picture of a relationship with our Creator. Though there are often consequences for our sin, He still loves us and invites us to return to Him, with a repentant spirit. David turned from his sin and prayed for forgiveness and genuinely tried to change His behavior and attitudes to be in line with God’s direction.

Psalm 51

A Contrite Sinner’s Prayer for Pardon.

For the choir director. A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.

     1Be gracious to me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness;
According to the greatness of Your compassion blot out my transgressions.

      2Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity
And cleanse me from my sin.

      3For I know my transgressions,
And my sin is ever before me.

      4Against You, You only, I have sinned
And done what is evil in Your sight,
So that You are justified when You speak
And blameless when You judge.

      5Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,
And in sin my mother conceived me.

      6Behold, You desire truth in the innermost being,
And in the hidden part You will make me know wisdom.

      7Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

      8Make me to hear joy and gladness,
Let the bones which You have broken rejoice.

      9Hide Your face from my sins
And blot out all my iniquities.

      10Create in me a clean heart, O God,
And renew a steadfast spirit within me.

      11Do not cast me away from Your presence
And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.

      12Restore to me the joy of Your salvation
And sustain me with a willing spirit.

      13Then I will teach transgressors Your ways,
And sinners will be converted to You.

      14Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, the God of my salvation;
Then my tongue will joyfully sing of Your righteousness.

      15O Lord, open my lips,
That my mouth may declare Your praise.

      16For You do not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it;
You are not pleased with burnt offering.

      17The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.

      18By Your favor do good to Zion;
Build the walls of Jerusalem.

      19Then You will delight in righteous sacrifices,
In burnt offering and whole burnt offering;
Then young bulls will be offered on Your altar.

For those who do not remember the details of David and Bathsheba, David committed adultery and then essentially killed the woman’s husband to cover his sin. This was no “small” sin. Yet we see a picture of a genuinely repentant heart turning back to God and asking forgiveness… and getting it.

Though sacrifices are no longer necessary for us as believers, since Jesus Christ has died as our sacrifice to cover our sins, there is still an important lesson in the closing scripture verses for us today. God does not delight in a public show of holiness and repentance (e.g. David making sacrifices) unless it is accompanied by a broken and contrite heart. This is true today. One can not simply keep sinning and just call on Jesus’ name to cover and forgive sins… without any true repentance in their heart. That is simply not how it works. We must truly turn away from our sin and seek the ways of God. We must be submitted to God.

What an amazing Father we have, who can forgive us no matter our transgressions! Come before Him today and humbly ask Him to reveal to you any sin in your life and to help you turn from it and restore or create a closer relationship with Him.

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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? If you die today, do you know for sure that you would be with God in heaven? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Can God Use Me?, Consequences of Sin, Help / Serve Others, Rebuke Wrong Behavior, Strong in Our Weakness

We All Make Mistakes; Keep On Helping Others

Moses made quite a mess by killing an Egyptian in anger in an effort to stop injustice. He had to deal with the consequences and leave the country, eventually settling in Midian. However, although Moses likely recognized his error, he did not stop trying to honor God by helping others. We see in Exodus 2 that Moses continues to help others when he sees they are in need. This time he is does so more effectively… without killing anyone. It is his act of helping others that actually opens up the door to marrying Zipporah and finding fellowship in the land of Midian.

Exodus 2:11-22

     11Now it came about in those days, when Moses had grown up, that he went out to his brethren and looked on their hard labors; and he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his brethren. 12So he looked this way and that, and when he saw there was no one around, he struck down the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. 13He went out the next day, and behold, two Hebrews were fighting with each other; and he said to the offender, “Why are you striking your companion?” 14But he said, “Who made you a prince or a judge over us? Are you intending to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid and said, “Surely the matter has become known.”

Moses Escapes to Midian

      15When Pharaoh heard of this matter, he tried to kill Moses. But Moses fled from the presence of Pharaoh and settled in the land of Midian, and he sat down by a well.

      16Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters; and they came to draw water and filled the troughs to water their father’s flock. 17Then the shepherds came and drove them away, but Moses stood up and helped them and watered their flock. 18When they came to Reuel their father, he said, “Why have you come back so soon today?” 19So they said, “An Egyptian delivered us from the hand of the shepherds, and what is more, he even drew the water for us and watered the flock.” 20He said to his daughters, “Where is he then? Why is it that you have left the man behind? Invite him to have something to eat.” 21Moses was willing to dwell with the man, and he gave his daughter Zipporah to Moses. 22Then she gave birth to a son, and he named him Gershom, for he said, “I have been a sojourner in a foreign land.”

We are all subject to making mistakes on some level when we try to step out in faith to obey God’s commands and stop unrighteous behavior. Of course it is an even bigger mistake to not obey God’s commands by rebuking the wrong behavior. The wise will seek to learn from their experiences, change and improve how they intervene. Do not turn away from obeying God’s commands and serving Him just because of a bad experience in how you intervened in a situation before.

Be encouraged, even Moses, one of the greatest of God’s prophets, made mistakes. He learned from them and continued with a passion to obey God’s commands and fight unrighteous behavior and injustice. God was able to develop him and use him to great glory for the kingdom of God.

Have you had one or more bad experiences in the past when you tried to intervene to help someone who experienced injustice from others? Are you letting it discourage you from intervening in new situations you see around you? Pray for God to help show you how you can intervene more effectively and continue to rebuke wrong behaviors when you see them and help others when they are in need.

“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” Edmund Burke

Philippians 2:3-4  3Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; 4do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.

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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? If you die today, do you know for sure that you would be with God in heaven? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.