Friday, June 28, 2013

8, 9, 10! Y'er Out!

"The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person.  For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden whether it is good or evil" (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14)

We've all seen it, beloved, in the movies if not in real time: the referee crouched over the fallen boxer, counting slowly and deliberately - "8, 9, 10!  Y'er out!"  Then with a dismissive gesture much like that of a baseball umpire signaling that a sliding base-runner is safe, he walks to the still standing opponent and raises his arm in victory.  I believe that the term for the unfortunate loser is "down for the count."  Down and out!

So much is being broadcast today - some on the printed page, some behind the microphone in front of a television camera, and much on public media means such as Face Book, Twitter, and personal blog sites.  The message seems to be that God and His holy standard for mankind are officially "down for the count."  Down and out!  With such dismissive words as we read today, God is deemed to be irrelevant, out of touch, obsolete, and (modern media will love this one) yesterday's news.  You see, we are now "enlightened" as a society.  We've learned our lesson.  We've discovered the liberating truth that we and only we set the moral standards for our own lives, that we and only we have the right to say what is acceptable and what is not.  I would challenge you to check your home page on Face Book on any given day and you will find this alarming trend filling its spaces.  We slap ourselves on the back for being so liberated, so progressive, so "in touch" with mankind.  The only standard for us is now that anything goes and that no one has the right to say that it does not.

Really?  Perhaps we need to go back and consider the words of Solomon, by God's estimation the wisest king whom He ever allowed to rule the nation of Israel.  It was he who wrote the words that are our main focus here.  I love the truths found in these words, beloved, eternal truths, unchanging truths, truths that cannot be dismissed by even the largest majority of foolish mankind.  You see, though we may say or write anything that we please about God and His supposedly outdated standard, though we may refer to the "religious right" as bigoted or narrow-minded or just plain wrong, the truth is that God has given to none of us a vote on the matter.  He is the Creator and Lord and His standard has always been, is now, and forever will be in force.

Consider, then, what Solomon in his wisdom said about the "conclusion," that which will happen when all is said and done, when the last editorial has been published, the last microphone and t.v. camera turned off, the last Face Book thought posted.  Solomon said that when that moment comes - "when all has been heard" - the only conclusion to which we must come is that you and I owe to God reverential awe for His glory and our obedience to His standard for our lives.  In fact, at last God will "bring every act to judgment," all of them, yours and mine.  None will be overlooked or omitted.

I suppose that people will go right on posting comments and sending tweets and publishing articles, expressing the mistaken notion that we are only "free" when we place ourselves above the God who made us.  I suppose that we will keep reading such tragic remarks on Face Book and receiving them on Twitter from whomever wherever whenever.  But one irrevocable truth stands undaunted by all of the trivialities of fallen man.  God and God alone will have the last word.  What was that again that Solomon said?  Oh, yes.  God will "bring every act to judgment."  The Apostle Paul said that mankind lives under a "deluding influence, so that they will believe what is false" (2 Thessalonians 2:11).  We are seeing that lived out before our very eyes today, beloved, and it is tragic to see how pervasive it has become.

The good news is that not only is God not irrelevant but He is loving and gracious.  Not only is He not out of touch but He is merciful and forgiving.  Not only is He not yesterday's news but He is willing even now to cleanse and to transform any and all who will turn to Him in repentance and faith.  And if you and I who know how relevant and in touch and on time God is will only listen very, very carefully, we just might be able to hear a heavenly voice counting over Satan - "1, 2, 3, 4, 5...!  Very soon, beloved, we will hear those glorious words "You're out!" as the arms of the Lord Jesus Christ raise in glorious and eternal victory!

Ron