“Hush Money” This was the reason that Jesus was so radical. It’s why the religious leaders of His day came out against Him. They stayed in power and kept people under their thumb by holding the wrath of God over their heads. They said, “We’re the ones who have the truth. If you don’t come to our synagogue, give us your tithe, and all these other things, then God will get you!” It’s like the mafia. Guido comes and knocks on your door. He says, “There’s sure a lot of arson in this area, and many stores have been broken into. Your business stands a good chance of getting robbed or burned to the ground. But if you pay me, the boys and I will keep that from happening.” Of course, Guido and the boys are the ones doing all this, but he wants you to pay them their “hush money.” In a sense, this is what many churches are preaching. “God is angry with you, and He’s fixing to get you. But if you will come to church, pay your tithes, read the Bible an hour a day, do this, and do that, then you can appease the wrath of God. Then He won’t send your children to the hospital, wreck your marriage, or otherwise destroy your life.” I believe that to a large degree the church is like the mafia, saying, “If you’ll pay up, if you will keep up on our list of things to do, then God will stay off your case for one more week.” That’s how they’re trying to motivate people to serve the Lord—and wrongly so. The Word reveals that God was in Christ not imputing man’s sins unto them. Jesus—both by His life and His message—declared, “God isn’t mad at you anymore. Your sins aren’t a problem!” Many Christians would like to stone you for standing up and saying, “Your sin isn’t a problem with God.” They’ll ask, “How could you say such a thing? You’re making light of sin. You’re acting as though there is nothing wrong with sin.” No, that’s not what I’m saying. I’m not encouraging anyone to sin. If you just stick with me, I’ll be putting all of this into perspective. Sin Isn’t the Issue Anyone who takes what I’m sharing and says, “This is awesome. I love it! Now I can go live in sin,” needs to be born again. The Word declares: Every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure. 1 John 3:3 If you are truly born again and have the hope of being like Jesus, then you’re looking for a way to overcome sin—not indulge it. If you take what I’m saying and tell people, “Andrew is encouraging people to sin,” you’re either lying or you’ve misunderstood what I’m communicating. When people accuse me of making light of sin, I respond, “You’re making light of Jesus!” I’m not saying that sin isn’t bad and that you can just go live in it. Sin is terrible, but it’s not as big as Jesus. The Lord paid for our sins. (1 Cor. 6:20; 7:23.) The payment He made is infinitely greater than the sins of the entire world. One drop of Jesus’ blood was more holy, more righteous, more pure than all of the impurity and ungodliness of this entire world put together. When the Lord Jesus Christ died for our sins, His sacrifice forever satisfied the wrath of God. Sin isn’t the issue.
Posted on: Thu, 20 Mar 2014 05:23:05 +0000
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