9:8
“We are covered with shame because we have sinned against you”. When we sin it brings shame upon us, when a nation rejects God it brings shame upon that nation. The individual or the society will often react to this by seeking to bring shame upon anyone who calls the nation out, just as happened to the prophets who went to Israel. And the same happens in our society today, just witness what happens to anyone who questions the LGBTQ agenda. The only way to get rid of shame is to acknowledge our sin and to repent.
9:9
Our natural reaction to being told we are sinners (denial, self-justification or excusing ourselves) is useless. It is also based on a fundamental misunderstanding, and that is that if we are indeed guilty of the sin we are accused of, then God will take that as a reason to condemn us. But Jesus said He did not come into the world to condemn it, John 3:16-21 sums up the situation perfectly. It is often misunderstood by thinking that it means Jesus does not tell us that any of our ways are wrong. That is not what it is saying. Rather it is saying that the result of our admitting our sin will not be condemnation, but forgiveness. “For the Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against Him”. However, if we refuse to admit our sin, then we are “condemned already” (John 3:18).
No comments:
Post a Comment