Thursday, 7 March 2013
“Their feet are swift to shed blood;… Romans 3:15
This verse is taken first from Solomon in the book of Proverbs –
For their feet run to evil, And they make haste to shed blood. Proverbs 1:16
Isaiah builds upon it in his writings as well –
Their feet run to evil, And they make haste to shed innocent blood; Their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; Wasting and destruction are in their paths. Isaiah 59:7
The heart has shown its state – the words have come up from the throat, they have been shaped by the tongue and passed through the lips (v 13), from there they have issued from the mouth (v 14). Now the words are carried into action. The first recorded sin in the Bible outside of Eden was the murder of Abel by Cain. Adam’s sin in Eden separated man from his Creator. Cain’s sin in the fallen world separated man from man. Abel sacrificed animal life to his God for restoration; Cain sacrificed human life out of jealousy, leading to condemnation.
Within about 1600 years of Cain’s crime, the world had become so wicked that God destroyed it by flood. The same pattern occurs time and again throughout the post-flood world. At the time of King Manasseh it says that he, “shed very much innocent blood, till he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another, besides his sin by which he made Judah sin, in doing evil in the sight of the Lord.” 2 Kings 21:16
The world is once again at a state of such violence and degradation, that human life has little value. The process of abortion is a mill of death. Euthanasia has become an acceptable method of human disposal, murder rates in cities such as Chicago are higher than war deaths in Afghanistan. TV shows and newscasts are so filled with crime scenes that one cannot determine reality from Hollywood. All of this stems from the intent of the heart. Jeremiah rightly called out the words of the Lord as he looked at the world around him –
The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it? I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give every man according to his ways, According to the fruit of his doings. Jeremiah 17:9, 10
Life application: Yes, the Lord does search the heart and He is able to heal its desperately wicked state, but it takes moving from the fallen world to the risen Christ. Without this action, there can be no true peace. Take time to learn the following five verses which show how to make this move. Think about them and how you can rightly explain them to others. Then go and share the message –
1) There is none righteous, no, not one. Romans 3:10
2) …for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, Romans 3:23
3) For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23
4) But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8
5) For “whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.” Romans 10:13
Glorious God, despite our wicked hearts, You sent us Your Son to reconcile us to You. Help each of us to commit to telling others about Jesus and His beautiful deeds which can restore the bridge between us. Help us to get our priorities right and to never waste an opportunity to share this good news of peace and restoration. Amen.