God often gently convicts His people of their sinfulness and rebelliousness even when the sins of His people might seem like an insignificant sin, lest such a sin grow into fruition. But when a nation commits idolatry, God also does not withhold from punishing and rebuking them. In this passage, we learn how to avoid being in opposition or hostile to God and His ways in our daily lives.
We live in a culture which promotes freedom from accountability, regulations, rules etc. But in Christianity, the church cannot be sustained without certain organisational structure. The Lord has instituted His church with certain structure, operated through pastors, elders and deacons to counsel, guide, correct, rebuke and restore the congregation or an individual towards righteousness. This function is often referred to as Church Discipline. It is one of those essential marks of a healthy church. In this passage, we learn the nature of Church Discipline and why Christians need it.
Christianity’s message about the gospel of hope, forgiveness and eternal life is also effective when Christians maintain their integrity and uprightness. The gospel witness and our testimony is at stake when we are double-minded people who don’t live as per our profession of faith in Christ. In this passage, we learn the ways in which we can maintain our integrity so that the world would see Christ in us and glorify Him.
We live in the world of injustice. What we see is evil, murder, abuse, corruption, partiality, discrimination, rape and the list goes on…We can all sense the injustice around us because we are made in the image of God, we have been given the ability to do Justice. The other sad reality is that we’re not just the recipients or victims of injustice, but also the perpetrators of injustice (even if it’s done in small ways). So how does a just and righteous God deal with injustice around us and injustice because of us? What does God expect from us? Listen to the sermon to find out.