By David Brenneman
It doesn't take much to look back on your life to the early days of when you began experiencing revenge or learning what your 'rights' were.
I have heard many things said along these lines in my life. One such is a in taking the "turn the other cheek" to mean if they hit you on yours, hit them back on theirs.
We live in a world these days that is bent on rights, being offended and revenge.
The sermon series where we go to be with the Church on Sundays is called Offended.
Being offended is pretty much the new "out" to get your way in some instances. In its own way it's a claimed "right" to be able to be offended.
Rights these days seem to keep getting rewritten depending on who is wanting to claim them,
A right to this thing or idea or that one.
In as much as the world is focusing on these things we forget to look at what's deserved.
God says that sin deserves death. Those who sin are deserving of a death sentence.
In Romans 6:23 NASB "For the wages of sin is death, but the gracious gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."
But who deserves this? Surely not I! Says someone reading this. "What did I do?!?" Hmmm.
Romans 3:23 NASB "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,"
WOW. We are all born in sin. Guilty of sin as long as we understand what it is between good and evil. But if this is true, what rights do I have? One right. The right to choose.
You see, Jesus stands ready to take your penalty upon Himself. He stands ready to not only wipe away your death sentence, but to also grant you all the rights and privileges of a Child of God. He stands ready but you must choose to accept His offer of salvation in Christ Jesus. It's the only offer on the table that can prevent your sentence from being carried out.
Sin offends the Holy God of the Bible. Your sin so offends God that it will forever prevent you from entering His Heaven.
Nobody who's reached that age of accountability can ever do enough good deeds to wipe away a single sin. The god of this world would tell you otherwise. He would tell you that you can work your way to Heaven. That your deeds matter! That's not what the Bible says.
Revelation 20:11-15 NASB "Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them; and they were judged, each one of them according to their deeds. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire."
Countless trillions of people all discovering that all their good deeds amounted to nothing before God.
My Dear Reader the key reason Jesus had to come over 2,000 years ago was to become the answer to sin's problem. He says of Himself that He is the Way the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father (that is to enter Heaven) but through Him.
People are try to force their way into Heaven. Creating rules to live by that aren't what the Bible says. Creating these things in order to keep their rights and desires rather than putting it all at the foot of the cross of Christ Jesus. Claiming to be speaking for God they deceive millions of people. Claiming you can live in your sin yet go to Heaven. That you can keep your rights and go to Heaven.
Our sin offends a Holy God.
Your sin, my sin, offends a Holy God.
Salvation and the forgiveness of sins is only through what Jesus did on the cross. The only one who can forgive and erase sins is Jesus.
Revenge...anger..."Karen's"...that is angry irrational women...doesn't get you anywhere in life.
Oh it may feel good for a moment but you will eventually reap bitter fruit.
I can tell you many stories from my life where indeed I left the revenge to Jesus to handle. To say the least what He did to protect me far exceeds anything that I was capable of coming up with on my own.
Rights. Oh how Satan's thrusting this into this world these days. It's not enough anymore to have rights, you are being forced to voice your approval of someone else's rights even if you personally don't agree.
Add to this Satan's using situations to strip the innocent of their rights. He is a master manipulator.
You might be one of his victims. Angry maybe even at God because He doesn't agree with what you love about your life that the Bible calls sin. Angry because someone's life is filled with conflict or difficulty so you blame God for not doing anything. Angry because the Bible says a certain lifestyle is sin and people who live it will never see Heaven.
Satan's capable of instilling a false sense of peace. Those who claim to be preacher’s who in all reality teach things contrary to the Word of God are living peaceful lives. Jesus said to look at their fruits. If their fruits don't match up with His Word you know who's side they are on.
Satan's loving people who stays perpetually enraged. He loves it when people get angry and stay angry because rational thought is cast out.
There's this...
Romans 12:19 NASB "Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, "VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY," says the Lord."
We are also to yes get angry by what angers God. But there's a time limit. Do not let the sun go down on your anger.
Ephesians 4:26-27 NASB "Be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil an opportunity."
James 1:20 NASB "for a man’s anger does not bring about the righteousness of God."
We entertain sin when we take it too far. James 4:17 NASB "Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin."
Leave it all at the foot of the cross. There's no room for anger, for revenge for our idea of justice. We cannot achieve what God's wanting or needing to be done if we are calling the shots.
If you're reading this and haven't come to Christ for salvation, let today be the day. Let Him reign in your life and remove your sin.
Romans 10:8-13 NASB "But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart”—that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes in Him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; for “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
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