As Long As You Live - Deuteronomy 31:12-13

“Gather the people together, men and women and little ones, and the stranger who is within your gates, that they may hear and that they may learn to fear the Lord your God and carefully observe all the words of this law, and that their children, who have not known it, may hear and learn to fear the Lord your God as long as you live in the land which you cross the Jordan to possess.”
- Deuteronomy 31:12-13

    In the iconic Sinatra tune, “My Way,” he sings, “Regrets, I’ve had a few . . .” Couldn’t we all make that same claim? And when you’ve reached my age there may certainly be more than a few. But my greatest regret is that I failed to come to saving faith before I had reached the ripe young age of fifty. I think of the years I squandered my chances of finding rest in the Lord. And there are many in my life who still hold reservations about the veracity of my faith. I hold no grudges; all of us will be judged, myself and my detractors.
    My second greatest and most painful regret is that I failed to bring my children to Christ. I know well what our Savior had to say about those who are the cause of another’s unbelief. “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea.” - Matthew 18:6. My consternation is not with my children; it is with myself - I am the one who failed. It is my fervent hope and prayer that one day my children will pick up a Bible and let the Holy Spirit open their eyes and hearts.
    Reflecting on our title verse we see there are four basic tenets tied neatly together by a final declaration by God - hear, learn, fear and observe - as long as you live! The law was provided not only to show us how to live but also to act as a witness against us when we fail to live as instructed. For those of us who refuse to comply with God’s law, it would have been better for us if there had never been any law! But we have the law and the command of God -  “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.” - Deuteronomy 6:6-7.  I challenge any living pastor or theologian to contradict the command of God. No vagaries will do. There is no ambiguity: we are to teach our children! This is no window dressing for appearance sake; this is what we are to do. We are to do this for our children’s sake - “and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.” - 2 Timothy 3:15.
    This is the day - this is the hour - this is the moment. Let us rejoice knowing - “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.” - 3 John 1:4. That we may all find rest in Christ the Savior, is my fervent prayer.

The Silent Witnesses - John 3:19-20

And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. - John 3:19-20

“Chicago Police are on the hunt for five or six men who live streamed on Facebook the sexual assault of a 15-year-old girl to an audience of at least 40 people — none of whom said a word to law enforcement, authorities said Tuesday”. - by Safia Samee Ali for NBC News, March 21, 2017

    The concepts of good and evil are as fixed and immovable as the stars set in the night sky. Their systematic immutability is fundamental to the correct understanding of the doctrine of salvation as taught by John in his Gospel. It is this understanding of the difference between good and evil that separates the lawful from the lawless, the citizen from the criminal, and right from wrong. There must be a foundation to build both a doctrine of redemption and a doctrine of salvation because without the former there can be no latter.  Without such a foundation we are adrift in a turbulent sea without headings, rudders or moorings . . . for all eternity.
    If the actions of men are not held to a standard of righteousness who then can condemn them or their behavior? There’s no standard; to each his own. “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” Judges 17:6. Are we still foolish enough to believe that the criminal mind is incapable of recognizing the difference between right and wrong? Can those of us who do nothing to prevent or stop wrongdoing excuse our actions with our indifference? Can we justify our inaction as we watch it unfold before us?
    There can only be one explanation for our participation in or silent assent of, in the face of iniquity and one warning - “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!” - Isaiah 5:20. There is, as John boldly states, “condemnation” for these darkened souls. As for those who sit by indifferently and allow the unrighteousness to continue. It is as though they silently assented to the iniquity - they too are guilty!  “And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.” - Romans 1:28 -32.
    It makes no difference whether the criminal is a foreigner, a visitor, a sojourner, a neighbor or a family member; they are criminals! Do not be fooled. God will not be mocked and His eternal justice will prevail, over the perpetrator, their advocates, and those of us who remain silent in the face of iniquity.

On Civil Disobedience - Hebrews 3:18-19

  
 And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who did not obey?  So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief. - Hebrew 3:18-19

    We live in a tumultuous time when citizens take to the streets daily in an attempt to disrupt civil society. At the very core of their behavior lies the deliberate intent to refuse to obey the law of the land. Forgive me for going out on a limb here but I am of the opinion that these very same miscreants seldom find a seat in the congregation on Sundays. After all, violating the law is their raison d'être. “Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness.” - 1 John 3:4.
    Human choice is the primary area where sin has taken up residence. While many make the right choice, far many more do not, as is evidenced by daily life. The litterer in the car in front of you; the pushy person at the grocery store; the obnoxiously loud person at the theater, and the list goes on. It certainly would be hard for human law enforcement to keep up with the petty wrong-doings of the citizenry. Look at how difficult it is for them to contain serious crime. So is there no recompense for daily disobedience? Far be it. “And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.” - Hebrews 4:13.
    God has made it clear in many Scriptural passages that there is nothing hidden, even behind the facade of respectable or non-serious transgressions. “For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil.” - Ecclesiastes 12:14. And if every work is brought into judgment would that not include serious civil disobedience? Our sovereign Lord has made it clear that all authority comes from Him and that included our civil authorities from the local meter readers up to and including the President of the United States! And unless the person in authority is demanding that we as Christians break God’s laws, then we are compelled by God’s word to respect and follow the law of the land. “Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves.” - Romans 13:1-2.
    Most of the current civil disobedience that we are subjected to on the nightly news is being committed by avowed anarchists and there is nothing that chafes the soul of an anarchist like the binding authority of God! They will not obey because they do not believe in the authority that God Himself has put in place. As a result of their unbelief, they will not enter His rest - a very bitter pill to swallow for a fleeting feeling of personal autonomy.
    Let us be reminded that all authority on earth comes from the providence of God and unless that authority rebels against Him we are to follow it to the letter.