Proverbs 14:12 - “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but
the end thereof are the ways of death.”
Said ABC Nightline's Ted Koppel one night: "We
have actually convinced ourselves that slogans will save us. 'Shoot up if you
must, but use a clean needle.' or, 'Enjoy sex whenever and with whomever you
wish, but protect yourself.' No! The answer is no! Not because it isn't cool or
smart or because you might wind up in jail or dying in the AIDS ward, but
because it's wrong!”
Believe it or not wrong is still wrong. It’s unusual that someone in the liberal
media – in the humanistic world system – in the ranks of the worldly wise
recognizes that wrong is still wrong.
But all around us, this world is struggling to find answers to the same
old questions. They are struggling with
that built-in sense that wrong is wrong and right is right. They are struggling with the innate desire to
please a divine being. Yes, God put that
desire into each one of us. We know that
there is a God – we know that He wants us to do right – we know that there is
eternal accountability. But where do we
find the way to please Him? Where do we
find the answers to those questions that struggle within us?
And of course, the answers are in His Word. He gives us guidance – He gives us direction
– He gives us leading. All we have to do
is turn our lives over to God’s Will – turn our hearts over to Christ for
salvation – turn our will over to the leadership of the Holy Ghost. He gives us all the answers in His Holy Word.
But too often, we don’t want to do things His way. We want to devise our own ways. In Genesis 4, Cain decided he didn’t want to
do things God’s way and offered an unacceptable sacrifice that led to His
slaying of his brother Abel. In Leviticus
10, Nahab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, decided they didn’t want to do things
God’s way and offered strange fire before the Lord that led to their being
devoured by fire from heaven. In 2
Samuel 6, David, the man after God’s own heart, decided he didn’t want to do
things God’s way and transported the Ark of the Covenant on an oxcart, rather
than at the hands of the Levites, that led to the death of one of David’s
servants when he reached out to steady the ark and was struck down by God.
In today’s church, we have abandoned the methods God has
prescribed to win souls, the preaching of the Word, and have decided to try
entertaining the lost and hope that works.
We’ve abandoned preaching on hell and have decided to try plays and
cantatas. We’ve abandoned preaching
against sin and have decided to try puppet shows and artistic dance. In today’s church anything goes. It’s come as you are instead of Sunday best. It’s children’s church instead of letting
them sit under old fashioned preaching.
It’s worship centers instead of sanctuaries. It’s gospel concerts instead of
preaching.
The modern churches have taken the deity of Christ out of
their preaching. They’ve taken hell out
of their preaching. They’ve taken
accountability out of their preaching.
They have bowed to the desires of sinful man rather than taking a stand
for what is right and against what is wrong.
They’ve built for themselves cisterns that hold no water. They’ve climbed in another way. They’ve heaped to themselves teachers having
itching ears. “There is a way that
seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.”
"Lord, Thank you for the way you constantly work in our lives - for teaching us right from wrong. Help us to always do things your way, not our own way - our way is always wrong. Amen."
