The Last Straw--the last in a series of unpleasant events that finally makes someone feel that they cannot continue to accept a bad situation: that final burden (trouble, trail) that pushes a diffcult situtation into the realm of the unbearable.
The actions of many in our land mimic, even rival and surpass the wickedness that infected the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.They had sunk down to the lowest depths of the fiery flames wallowing in the most brazen deeds of the flesh. Conspiring to particpate in vile, forbidden, atrocities of the flesh that God had never intended. Acts that saddened and angered a Holy and Righteous God as His perfection in creation (let Us make God in our imagine, in our likeness...Gen. 1:26) had been brought to such a lowly estate.
From the moment that Eve believed the lie of that serpent of old, the devil or satan. He promised her if she would eat the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil they would be like God. God forbade and warned them otherwise, "if you eat you shall die." She then passed that forbidden delicacy to Adam who likewise had his eyes opened to their nakedness and shame.
The disobedience of Sodom and Gomorrah ripened to such a lowly and abominable state (Lev.18:22; 20:13; Romans 1:26-27) that God's only recourse was to wipe them from the face of the earth into everlasting destruction from the presence of God and glory of His power. The weeping and gnashing of teeth their eternal doom. An eternity that Jesus Christ Himself called a fiery furance, unquenchable fire, eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels, eternal punishment. Emphasized while God's One and Only Son sojourned on earth. The end for those who practice what God has declared detestable transgressions. A never ending experience of misery under God's wrath. (John 3:36;5:24)
In Ezekiel the prophet tells us: “‘See here—this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters had majesty, abundance of food, and enjoyed carefree ease, but they did not help the poor and needy. They were haughty and practiced abominable deeds before me. Therefore, when I saw it I removed them." (Eze. 16:49-50)
Those cities had gotten so depraved, so disgustingly vile and wicked that cries went up to God. So blatantly profane and perverse their actions to a Holy and Righteous God. That the LORD determined He had no other recourse than to rain down fire and brimstone and wipe them from the face of the earth. Total annihilation from the physical realm and everlasting punishment in the spiritual domain. (Rev. 20:11-15) God's only option as their continual and increasing disobedience, their vile wickedness and perversion poisoned mankind and culminated in the final abomination that attacked the very act of creation itself. Mankinds ability to bring forth progeny to continue the species through the ages.
The Apostle Paul showed us in his epistle to the Romans that which leads up to the Last Straw in the economy of God. Scripture says we can know there is a God by everything that is around us. All of creation reveals that God exists. But rather than worship the One True and Only God. The world turned to idols, animals, creeping things and even venerated mortal human beings, worshipping the creation itself rather than God.
A time comes when God says enough is enough. And God hands mankind over to their own evil, wicked abominable thoughts and actions. Culminating in the most detestable, heinous, morally polluting perversity that finally seals the fate of those who practice such things: "For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due. (Romans 1:26-27 NKJV) God gave them over to a reprobate mind;
a vain empty mind, worthless, good for nothing devoid of all true knowledge and judgment; incapable of approving what is truly good, or of disapproving that which is evil; a mind that has lost all conscience of things, and is disapproved of by God, and all good men: (John Gill Romans 1:28)
Yet in all this God still reveals His mercy. He has provided even to the most hardened, vicious, depraved, corrupt person. In who's heart God is moving, convicting and calling, by grace through faith and not of themselves. A Blessed Hope from the sin that plagues them. He can deliver even the most vile, perverse person that He choses to regenerate. To a peace with God, that transcends all understanding, through Jesus Christ the Lord. (1 Cor. 1:26-31) He came to save those who God the Father gives Him to New Life. A Blessed Hope--living for the God who bought them at a price. For as scripture says "he has mercy or whom he wills."
Prehaps God is working in your heart to know His truth. Revealing to you that there's something amiss, adrift and wrong in your life. You are sick with sin, spiraling down the road to destruction. You need the great physican. He can heal your pain and shame. God has the answer. For in mankinds state of unbelief God is still working. God is still calling out those he has chosen from the foundation of the world. I myself believe everyone brought from darkness to light, from death to life is a miracle of God's grace and mercy. I attest to that fact myself. As the beloved hymn proclaims:
Jesus paid it all,All to him I owe
Sin had left a crimson stain
For if you confess with hour mouth Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. For God is a consuming fire. The wicked do not go unpunished. We must all stand before the judgement seat of Christ. (Romans 14:10; 1 Cor 5:10)
Will you stand before Him in your own filthy rags of unrighteousness.(Isaiah 64:6) Or be covered by that righteousness of God's One and Only Son? It's not that we loved God but that God loved us and sent His Son to be an atoning sacifice for our sins. He came, He died, He rose, He reigns. Come to him all you who labor and are heavy laden and Jesus Christ will give you rest. For those without Jesus Christ, the Way, the Truth and Life, they will experience everlasting punishment. (Matt. 25:46) But those who have the righteousness of Jesus Christ imputed to their account by grace through faith. They will experience everlasting life, in the presence of God and the glory of His power. Which is far better than the alternative.
And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. (Matthew 10:28)
“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." (Matt. 7:13-14) Jesus said, I am the door. If anyone enters by me, they will be saved. (John 10:9)
Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit or have any share in the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate [by perversion], nor those who participate in homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers [whose words are used as weapons to abuse, insult, humiliate, intimidate, or slander], nor swindlers will inherit or have any share in the kingdom of God. And such were some of you [before you believed]. But you were washed [by the atoning sacrifice of Christ], you were sanctified [set apart for God, and made holy], you were justified [declared free of guilt] in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the [Holy] Spirit of our God [the source of the believer’s new life and changed behavior]. (1 Cor 6:9-11AMP)
God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. (1 Cor. 1:27-39)
But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. (John 1:12-13)
If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. (Romans 10:9)
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. (2 Cor. 5:17)
No comments:
Post a Comment