On more than one occasion, someone has said, “That’s Your Opinion”. I have probably used that phrase myself.
However, when it comes to “What Does The Bible Say?”, there must be an understanding that the Bible is the guidebook and not my opinion.
The decisions that are made by so many of our judges and politicians are made without ever looking to God or to His Word for guidance and sadly many don’t believe there is a guide we can go to either. And if they use that guide (the Bible, God’s Word) they may say that it doesn’t mean what it says.
President John Quincy Adams called both Houses of Congress together for a Special Session. He walked in carrying two “bushel” baskets and said, “The bushel measure in my right hand came from South Carolina; the one in my left hand came from the city of New York. One of these bushel baskets measures contains 68 cubic inches more than the other.” He paused a moment to let that fall on the minds of the Senators and Representatives.
Then, he walked to a table and picked up two one-pound weights and said, “This weight in my right hand came from Massachusetts; this other one came from Maine. One of them weighs nearly an ounce more than the other.” He gave them time to think about it, and then he concluded, “Gentlemen, we need a standard measurement and a standard weight measurement for the United States of America.”
The result of that speech and demonstration was the establishment of The Bureau of Standards of Weights and Measures. Now, wherever you live there are sixteen ounces in a pound.
So, I’m asking, is there a Standard to go to? Is there a standard of right and wrong? Is there a way of knowing for sure what is acceptable and what is not acceptable behavior?
Right and wrong cannot be defined by opinion polls. If you are an Old Testament student, you know that God never tolerated His people when they did their own thing and when they followed their own opinions.
In Jeremiah’s day the people, the king and his advisors did not want to hear what God was saying through the prophet. The Babylonians had already encircled the city, and the king still would get upset when Jeremiah, speaking for God, said things were going to get worse for the nation of Israel. The Assyrians had already sacked the northern kingdom, but Judah did not believe the same thing would happen to them.
How can we believe that we will escape judgment?
WE CAN HAVE A STANDARD; it is just not known and respected. What was said about Hosea’s day could be said about ours. “My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge…” (Hosea 4:6).
I want everyone I know to look to Jesus Christ and His word for hope and salvation. But when I say that Jesus is the only way, then I am accused of being unloving and judgmental.
If I think I can have my way and exclude God and His Son out of from my life then I will fail, just like Judah did.
Thankfully we have a loving God Who will see us through tough times. The Good News for A Change is that we can come to Him on His terms.
