Monday, we covered Creation, and God's demonstration that without his righteousness, and his personal, intimate relationship, every inclination of man's heart is lacking. Genesis 6:5. Cue the Flood.
Depravity has not changed since Noah's time. Lust and violence continue, unrestrained in some quarters. There is immorality, ungodliness, greed, rebellion - and among our contemporaries - porn, X-rated movies, human trafficking and more.
After centuries of biblical influence, many are inclined to live by civil standards, but not everyone honors the God of those standards.
John, the disciple probably closest to Jesus, wrote:
Friendship with the world is enmity.
Do not love the world or anything in the world. For everything in the world - the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does - comes not from the Father but from the world.
The world and its desires will pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever. 1 John 2:15-17
James, the half-brother of Jesus, later martyred, wrote:
You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.
Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. James 4:4, 7, 8
God cursed the ground we live on,
and cursed the vegetation.
Jesus is our peace with God. He removed enmity with his body on the cross, reconciling to himself all who believe. Ephesians 2:14-16
No comments:
Post a Comment