They said to him, "You are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways; now appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have." 1Samuel 8: 5
As all the other nations have. How
sad. The outside culture of the world, infecting the people of God. That is
where Baal came from. Baal was believed to be the son of El and believed to be
the Lord of Heaven in the Canaanite religion. These are the same Canaanites God
had repeatedly warned
And so it goes today as well. The church, which is supposed to be salt and light to the world, is instead being infiltrated by the world. The names have changed and ways are more subtle but false Gods do not have to be made of wood or stone. They can be anything that we place before God. The world worships money and the pursuit of wealth far above God and thus we see prosperity doctrine borne not out of a love of God but a love of money. The world worships independence and self-reliance above God and thus the feel-good doctrine is borne where there is no hell, nor consequence for sin. In this model that many have bought into, God does not decide what is right and wrong, but man does. The outside culture accepts things that are anathema to God and some factions within the church side with the anathema rather than God. Baal worship is still alive today. Politics is Baal worship. Money is Baal worship. Acceptance of sin is Baal worship. In his final instructions to Timothy, the Apostle Paul instructs us all:
Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage--with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.
The instruction is clear PREACH THE WORD. Not the newest fad. Not the most widely accepted philosophy that draws the most people. Narrow is the gate beloved! The time has come when men are not putting up with sound doctrine. Instead we see sound doctrine mocked and ridiculed and those who profess it are labeled intolerant or bigoted. They have gathered around them a great number of teachers to tell them that everything is all right. That it is ok to reinvent God. They have turned aside from the truth of the Word of God and instead of invested themselves in the myths which man creates to make himself feel better about his perpetually sinful state.
Going back to the key verses from
Jeremiah however we see the true offense is not merely the sin issues of how
people represent themselves or even the worshipping of false Gods. No; it is that
then the people of
And so it is in some modern day
churches. The stain glass is polished, the crosses are hung with care but the
building may as well be the whitewashed tomb Jesus referred to the Pharisees
as. Clean on the outside. Clean in appearance. All the right things are said
but not necessarily done because on the inside there is still a lot of filth.
Our righteousness is but filthy rags and you can cover up those rags with as
many hallelujahs as you want but they are still filthy on the inside. Only the
presence of Jesus Christ can make those rags white as snow. The words of the
Prophet Jeremiah ring true today as they did in his time. The audience may have
changed from the remnant of
Reverend Anthony Wade September 1, 2009
