Good day People of God in Christ Jesus. You are all welcome to another new day. Glory to God for the gift of life.
This is Part 494 of our series of studying and understanding the Bible, titled:
You Have Practised Adultery With Many Lovers
Jeremiah Chapter 3 gives a picture of religious infidelity. Jeremiah is seen here using the strongest possible illustration to describe how Israel had on several occasions forsaken God and worshipped other gods, thereby describing Israel as an unfaithful woman religiously sleeping around with other gods, which resulted in total alienation from God. Judah’s sin was even worse, having seen her Sister’s actions, took her own prostitution to another level. She was doing it boldly to slight God. She was not ashamed of it and, in the process, defiled the land.
After all this, Judah pretended to have returned to God only to discover that she was not sincere.
What was their prostitution all about? Both Israel and Judah were busy worshipping stones and trees, forsaking God completely. You will find all these illustrations in Jeremiah Chapter 3:1-10
This is exactly the situation of some people today. There are many people who are pretending to be born again but are not. The Bible calls them false believers.
How do you recognise them?
They only wear Christian name tags and appear churchy every Sunday, but far away from God in their hearts. There are “Pastors” too, whose messages are completely different from what they practise (Matt 15:8 and Isaiah 29:13) – they do not reflect the finished work of Christ to the people. All the works of the flesh are still evident in their lives (Gal 5:19).
How do you recognise believers in Christ?
They are truly born again, and you will always notice signs of spiritual growth and maturity through the way they devour the Word of God and practise it. You will see the Fruit of the Spirit evident in their lives. Believers in the finished work of Christ are lovers of God, humanity, and everything about God.
So, back to Jeremiah Chapter 3. Let’s see what message Prophet Jeremiah gave to the people of Israel and Judah from verse 11.
11 And the Lord said to me, “Faithless Israel has proved herself less guilty than treacherous Judah [a land of renegades].
12Go and proclaim these words toward the north [where the ten tribes have been taken as captives] and say, ‘Return, faithless Israel,’ says the Lord; ‘I will not look on you in anger.
For I am gracious and merciful,’ says the Lord; ‘I will not be angry forever.
13 Only understand fully and acknowledge your wickedness and guilt, That you have rebelled (transgressed) against the Lord your God And have scattered your favors among strangers under every green tree, And you have not obeyed My voice,’ says the Lord.
14 ‘Return, O faithless children [of the twelve tribes],’ says the Lord, ‘For I am a Master and Husband to you, and I will take you [not as a nation, but individually] one from a city and two from a [tribal] family. And I will bring you to Zion.’
You will notice a Call to Salvation in Jeremiah’s voice in the above verses. It means no matter the gravity of your sins. God’s offer of Salvation is still valid for you, so far you are still alive to decide.
Now, the question many people usually ask is that if God keeps forgiving sinners like this, will He not be treating sin too lightly, especially if He keeps forgiving even the worst sinners freely?
How will someone, who has slept with many partners repeatedly, committed many frauds, maltreated his or her children, committed various abortions, killed many people, involved in secret cults etc, now receives forgiveness simply because he or she believes the Gospel and receives Christ? “This is not fair at all…”
The question in the above paragraph are very common among even believers in Christ. They are still finding it hard to come to term with how God forgives sins and letting people go scot free.
First of all, forgiveness of sin by God does not mean a sinner cannot be punished by the law of the land. Neither does it mean a fornicator cannot catch STD. Those are consequences of man’s actions and they are inevitable in one way or the other, depending on which sin you commit.
However, when it comes to forgiveness from God, it is a free gift adding no price or conditions. All you need do is believe and receive Him and let Him by the power of His Spirit, change the way you think, which will automatically reflect in the way you behave. And with Christ in you, He can also heal you of any sickness or problem acquired as a result of sins.
I think I will recommend we study very well, the parable of Jesus about the prodigal son in Luke 15:11-32, which narrates the story of a wayward son who squanders his inheritance but returns home to find that his father could still forgive him. He was not only forgiven but also celebrated.
This of course did not go down well with his older brother, who saw it as unfair. But then, if we look at it from the angle of Roman 3:23, it will suffice for us to agree that every human being on earth is a sinner. It is the individual’s time of getting saved that differs.
The fact that you got born again 10 years ago does not mean you should undermine or disregard the opportunity for another sinner like you to get born again today. Afterall, God did not condemn you before you got born again many years ago.
So, why then are you angry that God has forgiven another sinner? Oh! Is it because according to you, the gravity of his own sins is more than yours? That is where many people get it wrong. The truth is a sinner is a sinner and sin is sin. It is only by grace and the blood of Jesus that price for any sin has been paid.
What you should have done is to be happy, rejoice and celebrate the new convert just like the Angels always do each time a sinner repents and gets saved. (please read Luke 15:7).
If you are reading this message and you are yet to become born again, this is another opportunity for you. God loves you and your forgiveness has been fully paid by the blood of Jesus Christ. All you need do is believe and receive Him and this will produce a genuine repentance in you and from there you keep on growing unto maturity through constant study of the Word and prayer. Feel free to navigate through all our blog posts for Bible teachings that will help you grow in Christ and to know God more.
Let us pray:
- By the authority in the name of Jesus, I declare God’s grace has rescued you and your family from the bondage of sins and translated you into the Kingdom of God in Christ Jesus.
- I declare continue to rule as authority carrier. Subjugate the devil and his cohorts and dominate all life circumstances, in Jesus name.
- This month of August shall be fruitful for you and you will recoup every good thing you might have lost, in Jesus name.
Bible Readings For Today: 2 Chronicles Chapters 5, 6 & 7 with Psalm 103.
I call you blessed now and always.
Tuesday August 4, 2020 (DDMI)
