Some Lessons on Sin - Psalms 43-45 and Acts 27:27-44
Sometimes, it is hard for us to figure out why things are not going well for us. The psalmists who wrote these psalms were grappling with their personal problems and the problems of the nation of Israel. They couldn't figure out why the bad things were happening to them. They were following the outward parts of the covenant with God. They were doing the sacrifices and keeping the feasts, for the most part, but God was allowing their enemies to oppress them. The reason was personal sin and national sins. We can go to church and do a lot of good things, but that does not cause God to pass over our sins. God loves righteousness and hates wickedness. He will punish all sin, because He wants us to see how deadly it is. Therefore, our first reaction to trouble should be to ask God to show us our sin, not to try to justify ourselves to God, because we are going to church. In some cases our troubles are to strengthen us or to show the power of God, as we have said. If that is the case, God will show us eventually, that they were not caused by our sin. In either case, we must proceed by being as obedient to God as possible with a thankful heart.
Look at Paul. He had to go through a shipwreck. Why did this happen? Was this because of sin? I believe it was because of sin. It was not Paul's sin. He tried to tell the centurion in charge of the prisoners not to set out to sea at that time of year, but he would not listen. The sin was impatience or poor judgment, but it effected many people, not just the centurion. That is true of sin. A drunk driver may kill several people. They did not sin, but the driver's sin caused them to die. That is the nature of sin, too. It not only effects the one who sins, but it effects those around him or her. We must be even more diligent not to sin, because of this. It might have a terrible effect on our loved ones, our friends, or on people we don't know. The principle is that sin is destructive, and we must stay as far away from it as we can with the help of the Holy Spirit guiding us.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Psalms 46-48 and Acts 28.
Look at Paul. He had to go through a shipwreck. Why did this happen? Was this because of sin? I believe it was because of sin. It was not Paul's sin. He tried to tell the centurion in charge of the prisoners not to set out to sea at that time of year, but he would not listen. The sin was impatience or poor judgment, but it effected many people, not just the centurion. That is true of sin. A drunk driver may kill several people. They did not sin, but the driver's sin caused them to die. That is the nature of sin, too. It not only effects the one who sins, but it effects those around him or her. We must be even more diligent not to sin, because of this. It might have a terrible effect on our loved ones, our friends, or on people we don't know. The principle is that sin is destructive, and we must stay as far away from it as we can with the help of the Holy Spirit guiding us.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Psalms 46-48 and Acts 28.