Is This Us? {an Excerpt}

Against Thee, and Thee only have I sinned. Sin should grip our souls. We

know that it is God that we sin against, let all else be set aside. That's the

truth!

First, if we are true then we are convinced that when we stop and we examine

our sin, first and foremost we sin against someone who has been good to

us. We don't sin against a nonexistent entity. We don't sin against just some

statute. We sin against one who has been good to us. In Psalm 103:10, we

read that He has not dealt with us after our sins nor rewarded us according

to our iniquities. In Matthew 5:44, Jesus says, "But I say to you, love your

enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray

for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you. It may be that God

would make them to be at peace with us. Copy this, we were once enemies

of God, but are now reconciled by Christ. The only living enemy that cannot

be turned was thrust out of heaven. Let us hear ourselves who say we

believe, who say we are being saved, who say we are striving for the mastery

to be among the 144,000, let us hear ourselves for just a moment, because

it’s to us that we need to address these remarks mostly. Because we are the

ones who profess Christ. And for those who don't know Christ, these doubly

apply as well, but especially for the child of God. We read it in Psalm 145. I

will extol thee, my God, O king; and I will bless thy name for ever and ever.

Every day will I bless thee

Every day will I bless thee; and I will praise thy name for ever and ever. Great

is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable.

One generation shall praise thy works to another, and shall declare thy

mighty acts. I will speak of the glorious honour of thy majesty, and of thy

wondrous works. And men shall speak of the might of thy terrible acts: and I

will declare thy greatness. They shall abundantly utter the memory of thy

great goodness, and shall sing of thy righteousness. The LORD is gracious,

and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy. The LORD is good

to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works. All thy works shall praise

thee, O LORD; and thy saints shall bless thee. They shall speak of the glory

of thy kingdom, and talk of thy power; To make known to the sons of men his

mighty acts, and the glorious majesty of his kingdom. Thy kingdom is an

everlasting kingdom, and thy dominion endureth throughout all generations.

The LORD upholdeth all that fall, and raiseth up all those that be bowed

down. The eyes of all wait upon thee; and thou givest them their meat in due

season. Thou openest thine hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living

thing. The LORD is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works. The

LORD is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in

truth. He will fulfil the desire of them that fear him: he also will hear their cry,

and will save them. The LORD preserveth all them that love him: but all the

wicked will he destroy. My mouth shall speak the praise of the LORD: and let

all flesh bless his holy name for ever and ever. Is this us?

What has God ever done to us that He deserves our response in sin? How

has he ever slighted you or me? What has He ever said against us or done

against us? What has He ever caused to happen that we have a right to

stand in his face and say, "I know what you want, but I want something else,

and too bad about you." Because that's what sin is. It’s "in His face." It’s

Behind closed doors

never done in private; it’s never done behind closed doors. It’s always done

immediately in His presence, and it’s always done with an impudent face.

And we're always saying to Him, "Yes, you've been good to me, but I don't

care! I want something else instead--I want what I want, not what you want!"

And yet, who's the one who gives us breath, has fed us, and who's the one

that has clothed us, and who's the one that has kept us, and who is the one

that has forgiven us, and who is the one that has provided for us; who is the

one that has arranged all situations and every interstitial moment to bring us

to Him who gives us the promise that "all things work together for the good

to those who love God and to them that are the called according to his

purpose."? Who's the one who has given us His Word? Who's the one who

causes that sun to rise every morning and to set every night and to give us

the seasons and to give us the love and the families that we enjoy? Who is

it that's given us all things in this life to indulge in to great delight, to enjoy

Who is it that given us all things in this life

our food, to enjoy our music, to enjoy all the pleasures that we have of friends

and family and life? And yet when we sin, never forget it, we sin against Him

who is constantly giving to us out of His goodness, and we're sinning against

Him personally! We're saying, "Your goodness isn't good enough." We read

that passage in Psalm 145. Can't we imagine what God said to Israel--He

did at times, through the prophets--"I led you through the wilderness; I

delivered you from Egypt; I gave you manna to eat; I broke open a rock which

poured out water to follow you through the wilderness. When you didn't' want

that, I let the quails come down. I provided for you so that your clothes didn't

wear out, your shoes grew with your feet, I provided for you so that you didn't

grow weary in the wilderness. And when you sinned, I always forgave you; I

always turned around." And yet, when we sin, we're sinning against that One

who has never acted any way toward us, but in goodness. We sin against a

good God. When we allow ourselves to detach the reality of our sin being a

personal affront to Him and to His goodness to us--His constant, daily

provision and care, we become religious zealots and not sons and daughters

of God. Is this us?