It seems that many of us who say we are Christians have lost the fear of the Lord. We forget that our lives are not our own and that Christ should increase while we should decrease. We make decisions without asking God for direction, then we presumptuously petition Him to bless our plans that He had nothing to do with. It seems like we expect the Creator of the universe to serve us His creatures, forgetting we are supposed to be His slaves. I know we don’t like to use the words slaves, but it is Biblical.
Slaves, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in the sincerity of your heart, as to Christ; not by way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart. Ephesians 6:5-6
We might not want to think of ourselves as slaves of Christ, instead we act as if we are entitled as Christians and we demand our rights, which sometimes are wrong. The Apostle Peter tells us to act as free people, and not to use our freedom as a covering for evil but use it as bondservants of God. (See 1 Peter 2:16). Merriam-Webster defines a bondservant as one bound to service without wages. That my friends is a slave. And so, we do not have the privileges we think we do, even though we are children of God.
And which of you, having a servant plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come at once and sit down to eat’? But will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare something for my supper, and gird yourself and serve me till I have eaten and drunk, and afterward you will eat and drink’? Does he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I think not. So likewise you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do.’ ” Luke 17:7-12
In Leviticus 10, Nadab and Abihu, Aarons son’s had the privilege of being priests offering sacrifices unto the Lord, but misused their position and served Him improperly, offering the wrong kind of fire to Him. The version I read calls it “profane fire”. I wondered how many times I may have offered profane fire to God, which was not what He had commanded. How many times have we gone against the Word of God in ministry and in our lives? We are supposed to be a holy priesthood, ministering to God with our lives. But, is what we are giving a holy God , holy and according to what He has commanded? When we worship God in song, do we ever ask Him what He wants to hear or are we worshipping with the most popular songs that please people and not Him. That is profane fire. We must be thankful we serve a merciful God who has not consumed us in fire because of His wrath as He did to Nadab and Abihu. Reading Leviticus this time around is making me think a lot differently about my life. Reading it in a group and reading comments makes this book even more profound to me. I recognize even more how God is into the details and He wants to be in every part of our lives – what we watch, how we dress, our relationships, our actions and our thoughts. He should be in control of every part of our lives, and we should be seeking Him and waiting for Him to give us instructions about how we are to live every moment of our lives.
Leaders will be held accountable for leading their flocks astray as so many are motivational teachers and false prophets telling the people what they want to hear instead of what they need to hear to live holy lives unto the Lord. Many church leaders are in position, because of their influence, charisma and selfish-ambition, but not because God put them there and so many suffer because of this. I was just reading how adulterers’ punishment was death, yet many Christians and Christian leaders are falling into adultery and trying to cover it up, but they can’t hide from a God who sees everything. Their sin affects many lives as leaders. Where are the lives that are to be holy unto the Lord? Where is the fear of the Lord?
Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the Lord and depart from evil. It will be health to your flesh, And strength to your bones. Proverbs 3:7-8
Many Christians don’t like to take the Bible literally, although I agree that there are parts that are figurative. However, let us not try to explain the simple away. The fact is many of us are sick because of our direct involvement in evil as we do not fear the Lord. Illnesses are caused by many factors, but sin as a factor should not be ruled out or explained away. Plus, there are many other consequences to sin that can affect more persons than the one who committed the sin.
Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. James 5:16
We like to quote the last part of the above verse, but the first part is equally as important. Actually, if sin is not confessed, we may see many unanswered prayers. Well, God will probably answer the prayer, but the answer may be no or not yet, because sin has to be dealt with first. We need to fear the Lord, and when we do, we will live our lives submitted to Him and sin won’t be so easy for us to commit, as we will want to be holy as He is holy.
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