Tag: shrinks back

36.v. “Lest you be swept away.”

 

 

 

Genesis 19:26  But Lot’s wife, behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.

 Genesis 19:17    And as they brought them out, one said, “Escape for your life. Do not look back or stop anywhere in the valley. Escape to the hills, lest you be swept away.”

 Proverbs 14:14    The backslider in heart will be filled with the fruit of his ways, and a good man will be filled with the fruit of his ways.

 Luke 17:31-32    On that day, let the one who is on the housetop, with his goods in the house, not come down to take them away, and likewise let the one who is in the field not turn back.  Remember Lot’s wife.

 Hebrews 10:38    but my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.”

Her looking back indicated the place of her real treasure. She failed to trust whole-heartedly, or to obey. Lot’s wife lingering behind her husband, and looking back, contrary to the express command of the Lord, is caught in the sweeping tempest, and becomes a pillar of salt. His wife looked back, through curiosity, or unbelief, or desire of what she left, or from all these causes. 

The temptations of the flesh and of this world are always within a finger’s touch away from thought and yearning for its pleasures and comforts. Be mindful of this always. They will always be at the doorstep of our hearts and minds, tempting and luring our souls with their satisfaction, gratification, fulfillment, delight, and enjoyment. 

Let us be firm in our turning away and flee from every thought and sight that tempts and hinders our focus, service, obedience, following, and reliance on Jesus Christ and our eternal home with Him in heaven. 

19.e. “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

John 20:14   Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.” Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

Psalms 78:11-22     They forgot his works and the wonders that he had shown them.  In the sight of their fathers he performed wonders in the land of Egypt, in the fields of Zoan.  He divided the sea and let them pass through it, and made the waters stand like a heap.  In the daytime he led them with a cloud, and all the night with a fiery light.  He split rocks in the wilderness and gave them drink abundantly as from the deep.  He made streams come out of the rock and caused waters to flow down like rivers.  Yet they sinned still more against him, rebelling against the Most High in the desert.  They tested God in their heart by demanding the food they craved.  They spoke against God, saying, “Can God spread a table in the wilderness?  He struck the rock so that water gushed out and streams overflowed. Can he also give bread or provide meat for his people?”  Therefore, when the LORD heard, he was full of wrath; a fire was kindled against Jacob; his anger rose against Israel,  because they did not believe in God and did not trust his saving power.

Hebrews 3:12     Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God.

Hebrews 10:38-39   but my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.”  But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.

Thomas had doubts about what the other disciples to him about seeing Jesus.  Thomas would have seen Jesus hung on the cross and watched His death and being stabbed with a sword to make sure.  He was absolute in the fact that Jesus died.  Now to have his fellow disciples tell him Jesus was alive made no sense what so ever.  Thomas says I don’t care what you say, I saw Jesus die and there is no way you can get me to believe He is alive now unless I put my fingers in His side. Surely he would have heard from Peter and John that the grave was empty.  He also would have heard Mary saying she saw Jesus.  Thomas can not discount what he saw and override what he knows as truth, that once you are physically dead you do not come to life unless Jesus calls you to life.  How can Jesus, who is dead, raise Himself from the dead?  He did not care about the disciple’s witness or testimony.  He can not believe it true without physical confirmation.  

“Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”  Faith is the substance of things hoped for and proof/conviction of things not seen. Faith comprehends as fact what cannot be experienced by the physical senses.  By faith, we are transformed, born again, made new, realize forgiveness, and inherit eternal life.  Therein is where our hope rests by faith.  We can not add anything to faith and make ourselves better.  In fact, adding anything more to faith in the complete work (death and resurrection) of Jesus is to take away from what is rightly and solely glorified in Jesus.  Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father but through Me.”  It is by faith alone.  Faith alone. Faith.  Our sins were paid in full by Jesus Christ if we believe (have faith) in Him alone.  We can not allow thoughts of needing to be good enough to receive the gift of salvation, redemption, and forgiveness of our sins to block us from Faith (relying on, clinging to, and trusting in) in Jesus Christ alone.  Faith casts out all doubt.  Faith allows us to cast out the doubts of being good enough.  By faith, we understand that we are not and will never be good enough and we surrender all of our hope in self-goodness relying fully on the grace, mercy, and love of Jesus Christ

15.z. “For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness”

John 6:65  And he said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.” After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. So Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?” Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.” Jesus answered them, “Did I not choose you, the twelve? And yet one of you is a devil.” He spoke of Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the twelve, was going to betray him.

Matthew 12:41   The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.  The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here.  “When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, but finds none.  Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when it comes, it finds the house empty, swept, and put in order.  Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there, and the last state of that person is worse than the first. So also will it be with this evil generation.”

2 Timothy 4:10    For Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me

Hebrews 10:38   but my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.”

2 Peter 2:20-22    For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first.  For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them.  What the true proverb says has happened to them: “The dog returns to its own vomit, and the sow, after washing herself, returns to wallow in the mire.”

The Son of God was in their presence.  He spoke wisdom greater than the wisdom of Solomon and preached greater than the preaching of Jonah.  There were in His presence and many rejected Him.  In 2 Peter he says; “it would be better for those who did not know the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back.” Jesus said, “the last state of that person is worse than the first.”  When a person who knows the message of the Gospel and is aware of eternal life through it, and then chooses to reject it, then falls away or is drawn away by worldly passions and pleasures, what is it that so easily pulls them away from Jesus Christ?  How does a person who has tasted what the blessings of forgiveness are and then comes to reject the forgiver?  There are many things that come to mind.  Pleasures and things of this world devour the light of Jesus Christ.  They choose to become blind and deaf to things of God but open their ears and eyes to things of this world.  They choose to believe a lie rather than the truth of the Gospel.

The day of salvation is now.  If you hear His voice speaking to your heart and soul, do not reject Him.  Let Him in.  Hunger and thirst for Him.  A time is coming when the offer of salvation in the presence of the Holy Spirit will cease.  Rejecting it now means you reject eternal life and choose to go to eternal damnation and torment, hell.  You may not ever get another chance.  There are many who say they will choose to believe but sometime later in their lives.  We are not guaranteed a single day in the future.  Think about all of the people who die each day from a host of various accidents.  I am sure they would have said, “if I had only known today was my last day I would have come to Jesus Christ.”  The “day of salvation is now”, do not reject the Gospel of Jesus Christ a single moment longer.

12.n. “But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.”

Zephaniah 1:1 The word of the Lord that came to Zephaniah son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hezekiah, during the reign of Josiah son of Amon king of Judah: Judgment on the Whole Earth in the Day of the Lord “I will sweep away everything from the face of the earth,” declares the Lord. “I will sweep away both man and beast; I will sweep away the birds in the sky and the fish in the sea— and the idols that cause the wicked to stumble.” “When I destroy all mankind on the face of the earth,” declares the Lord, “I will stretch out my hand against Judah and against all who live in Jerusalem. I will destroy every remnant of Baal worship in this place, the very names of the idolatrous priests— those who bow down on the roofs to worship the starry host, those who bow down and swear by the Lord and who also swear by Molek, those who turn back from following the Lord and neither seek the Lord nor inquire of him.”

Psalms 10:4    In the pride of his face the wicked does not seek him; all his thoughts are, “There is no God.”

Isaiah 1:4     Ah, sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, offspring of evildoers, children who deal corruptly! They have forsaken the LORD, they have despised the Holy One of Israel, they are utterly estranged.

Jeremiah 2:17     Have you not brought this upon yourself by forsaking the LORD your God, when he led you in the way?

Jeremiah 15:6     You have rejected me, declares the LORD; you keep going backward, so I have stretched out my hand against you and destroyed you— I am weary of relenting.

Hebrews 10:38-39    but my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.”  But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.

2 Peter 2:21-22   For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them.  What the true proverb says has happened to them: “The dog returns to its own vomit, and the sow, after washing herself, returns to wallow in the mire.”

 Zephaniah was almost certainly born during the long, wicked reign of Manasseh, whose reign began 55 years before the start of Josiah’s reign. Josiah was a godly, young king who brought great revival and reform to Judah but Josiah reigned for 10 years before he led his great revival. Zephaniah was likely written in the years before the revival, and God used this prophecy to bring and further revival.  Zephaniah didn’t waste any time getting to the point. Delivering the message of the LORD, he warned of harsh and complete judgment that would consume everything before the LORD. God addresses the royalty of Judah in a way they aren’t used to hearing. He tells them to “shut up” and listen to His pronouncement of judgment – a sacrifice of judgment made against a wicked nation. Our ability to proclaim our innocence when we are deep in sin is pretty amazing, but through it all God tells us to be silent in the presence of the Lord GOD.  This warning came to a godly king during a time of reform. God warns Josiah and the whole royal community what will happen if they don’t follow through on their turning to God. (Enduring Word)

The bible is clear in its warnings of judgment and the reason for it.  Why do we insist on our innocence and act as though we are not guilty?  Why do we shun the true words of warning and cling to lies of self-assurance?  Be silent and listen!  We are born again, a new creation, adopted children of God.  Our new birth requires food and water for growth.  The food and water of this new birth is the bread of life and the living water of Jesus Christ.  How often do we come to the table of Jesus Christ and eat and drink of Him and with Him?  How is there growth without this bread of life and living water?  There isn’t.  There is only stagnation, withering, drying up, and weakness.  Zephaniah, David, Jeremiah, Isaiah, Paul, Habakkuk, Solomon, Peter, James, John, and nearly all of the writers of the Word of God give the warning to neglect, complacency, being lukewarm, trueing away from fully committed to following, obeying, honoring, glorifying, worshiping, and trusting Jesus Christ.  Our ability to proclaim innocence when we are clinging to and dancing with sin is a direct result of the intentional choice to live this way.  Renew your commitment to Jesus Christ.  The warnings are clear.  Judgment is certain.  It is close at hand.

12.d. “But my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.”

Habakkuk 2:4  “Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him, but the righteous shall live by his faith.”

Daniel 4:37    Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, for all his works are right and his ways are just; and those who walk in pride he is able to humble.

Luke 18:14     For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Daniel 5:20-23     But when his heart was lifted up and his spirit was hardened so that he dealt proudly, he was brought down from his kingly throne, and his glory was taken from him.

John 3:36    Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.

Hebrews 10:38    but my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.”

Pride and arrogance are very dangerous for the soul.  They will blind you in darkness and shut out any light of the working of the Holy Spirit of God.  Satan, the Prince of darkness reigns and is the king of darkness, dark-things, dark-thoughts, dark-actions, dark-words, dark-wants, dark-pleasure, hatred, anger, jealousy, coveting, pride, arrogance, immorality, neglect, complacency, fear, defiance, etc…. Our sinful nature seems to have a great deal of this darkness attached to our heart, mind, and soul.  This darkness has an appetite for more and more and, once tasted, hungers for more.   The Word of God brings light into the dark places of our soul and exposes all darkness.  It is very possible and probable that we have darkness in some areas of our lives.  How can this be?  We neglect His Word which will expose this darkness.  We have closed the door to our hearts, mind, and soul for some areas of our life.  Through neglect of His Word our hunger and thirst for humbly serving, honoring, following, obeying, and trusting Him leaves areas in our life in darkness. We need to be very mindful of the fact that there is no neutral state in a Christian’s life.  There is either growth or decay.  When our lives are stagnating, darkness festers and want for the Word of God is not to be found.     The shadow of darkness grows bigger and bigger as we slide further and further away from the light of God’s Word.  It is hard to see the light of Jesus Christ when the only light you have in life is that of darkness.  It is also impossible for those areas of our life, where we have chosen to keep in darkness, to ever change if we are not humbly submitting our hearts, minds, and souls to the life-changing Word of God.  Be ever conscious of the sinful nature within you that wants to keep some areas of your life darkness.  Our faith will never grow in darkness, it needs the Light of God’s Word. We do well to have a heart like David and this be an ever-present prayer on our heart. “Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!   

And they turned back

“ If they were wise, they would understand this; they would discern their latter end!”

John 6:66  After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him.  So Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?”  Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life,  and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.”

2 Timothy 4:10    For Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia.

2 Timothy 1:15    You are aware that all who are in Asia turned away from me, among whom are Phygelus and Hermogenes.

Hebrews 10:38    but my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.”

2 Peter 2:20    For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first.

1 John 2:19   They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us.

Many of His disciples turned away and no longer walked with Him.  Scripture today gives examples of those who once had the appearance of walking with Jesus but deserted Him.  How would you like to go down in history with your name in the bible for turning away.  Worse than this is hearing “Depart from me for I never knew you”.  Being complacent and negligent in humbly serving, honoring, following and obeying God does not end well.  There is too much distraction if we don’t place Him first in our life.  When I say first I am not saying the first you come to when in a trial or situation but rather the first one you think of when you awake and your heart, soul and mind are seeking to know Him deeper every moment.  Your heart seeks to see His hand at work in your life and your ears are open seeking to hear His leading for you each day.  Open His word and feast on it.  What is God speaking to your heart about through what you have read.  Think about it through out the day.