Sunday, April 19, 1998 This Week’s Lesson:
In this week's lesson, which came from Genesis 3:1-6, Mark 10:17-18, I John 1:5, I Peter 1:15-16, Isaiah 5:20-21, and Malachi 2:17, we learned that God is the only true Standard for determining right and wrong. Even though many people try to define their own rules for right and wrong, our standard for right living should be based upon Him and His principles. In the passage from Genesis, we saw that Adam and Eve temporarily forgot God's nature. They ate of the fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, and they suffered severe consequences. In the passage from Mark, Jesus was approached by a young man who wanted to know how to obtain eternal life. Jesus rebuked the young man for having called Him good, saying that only God is good. In I John, we saw that in God there is no darkness. We do not like to hear this, but human beings lack the wisdom, experience, or authority to define what is good and bad and right and wrong because much of what we do is for ourselves. Most of the time, our selfish motivations disqualify us from making good, godly decisions about our behavior. Therefore, we must turn to Him if we are to ever order our lives in a godly fashion.
In I Peter 1:15-16, we learned that God calls us to live a holy life. He commands us to do what is right, and He prohibits us from doing what is wrong. As Christians, we should always strive to make our lives obedient and pleasing to Him. If we want to do good and be good, then we need to act in ways which reflect His character. We need to embrace His unchanging basis for right living and live by it if we are to know, understand, and demonstrate the difference between right and wrong. In the passages from Isaiah and Malachi, both prophets accused the people of Israel of teaching morals which contradicted God's teachings. Situational ethics often rule the day, but God will never lower His standards for any reason, much less to accomodate the selfish desires of others. Because we live in a world where many or most do not know the Lord, we who know Christ as Savior should always try to maintain personal standards which exceed those of secular society.
While He lived, Jesus accepted all people, and so should we. But He also challenged them to leave their life of sin behind so that they could follow Him. As Christians, we should first accept His challenge for ourselves. We should turn from our lives of sin and follow Him. After that, we should set the right example for others and try to encourage them to also leave their sinful life and follow Him. As you go through the coming week, ask the Holy Spirit to use you in ways which will draw others to Him.
Tom of Spotswood"He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life." (I John 5:12)
"And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart." (Jeremiah 29:13)
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