The End Result of Disobedience
by Dr. Paul Chappell
“And as some spake of the temple, how it was adorned with goodly stones and gifts, he said, As for these things which ye behold, the days will come, in the which there shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.”
Luke 21:5–6
Charles Spurgeon told of a man who came to him and said that he had been a Christian for forty years, but had never been baptized. Spurgeon said, “I felt grieved that he had so long been disobedient to a known duty, and I proposed to him that he should be baptized at once. It was in a village, and he said that there were no conveniences. I offered to go with him to the brook, and baptize him, but he said, ‘No; he that believeth shall not make haste.’ Here was one who had willfully disobeyed his Lord, for as many years as the Israelites in the wilderness, upon a matter so easy of performance; and yet, after confessing his fault he was not willing to amend it, but perverted a passage of Scripture to excuse him in further delay.”
When we do what God says, we receive the reward of obedience. When we choose instead to go our own way, we receive the penalty of disobedience. In almost every case the problem is not one of knowledge, but of will. It is usually not that we do not know what we should do, but that for one reason or another we do not want to do what God says. Instead we choose to go our own way. Both the Bible and history are filled with examples of the tragic results of persistent disobedience to God. It always leads to destruction. God is not impressed with our rationalizations and excuses for failing to do what He says. He does not grade on a curve. Nothing less than full and complete obedience is what He deserves and what He demands.
Luke 21:5–6
Charles Spurgeon told of a man who came to him and said that he had been a Christian for forty years, but had never been baptized. Spurgeon said, “I felt grieved that he had so long been disobedient to a known duty, and I proposed to him that he should be baptized at once. It was in a village, and he said that there were no conveniences. I offered to go with him to the brook, and baptize him, but he said, ‘No; he that believeth shall not make haste.’ Here was one who had willfully disobeyed his Lord, for as many years as the Israelites in the wilderness, upon a matter so easy of performance; and yet, after confessing his fault he was not willing to amend it, but perverted a passage of Scripture to excuse him in further delay.”
When we do what God says, we receive the reward of obedience. When we choose instead to go our own way, we receive the penalty of disobedience. In almost every case the problem is not one of knowledge, but of will. It is usually not that we do not know what we should do, but that for one reason or another we do not want to do what God says. Instead we choose to go our own way. Both the Bible and history are filled with examples of the tragic results of persistent disobedience to God. It always leads to destruction. God is not impressed with our rationalizations and excuses for failing to do what He says. He does not grade on a curve. Nothing less than full and complete obedience is what He deserves and what He demands.
Today’s Growth Principle:
God’s law cannot be flouted and disobeyed without serious consequences.
No comments:
Post a Comment