The Plumbline

For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. (Romans 3:23-24) All really doesn't mean there are any exclusions - it means ALL have sinned, no one is exempt. That may be hard for some to palette, but it is an inescapable fact. God set a standard - we fall short of it each and every time we attempt to even approach it, so we needed his Son to do it for us. Grace has been and is still being extended to all who would trust him for this great gift of redemption. Redemption is a big word that really means we are made right with a holy God by trusting in the finished work of Jesus. He bridged the gap between our imperfection and God's perfect holiness. We are able to come boldly into his presence now because we have received his grace. The standard was met in Christ - we just need to meet Christ in order to receive grace...

Anyone who rebukes a mocker will get an insult in return. Anyone who corrects the wicked will get hurt. So don’t bother correcting mockers; they will only hate you. But correct the wise, and they will love you. Instruct the wise, and they will be even wiser. Teach the righteous, and they will learn even more. (Proverbs 9:7-9) We might disapprove of many things we see or hear these days, making it almost hard to stay quiet, but does our 'disapproval' or 'condemnation' of those things fall upon deaf ears and wayward hearts intent on not changing their course? If so, we are probably rebuking one given over to making very foolish decisions based upon the wickedness they have embraced in their own hearts. It is almost impossible to correct the wicked - we can stand against wickedness, but it is impossible for us to change their hearts. That is a job for God alone! A mocker is really a scoffer or scorner as used in this passage. One that makes light of th...

So do you think we should continue sinning so that God will give us more and more grace? Of course not! Our old sinful life ended. It’s dead. So how can we continue living in sin? Did you forget that all of us became part of Christ Jesus when we were baptized? In our baptism we shared in his death. So when we were baptized, we were buried with Christ and took part in his death. And just as Christ was raised from death by the wonderful power of the Father, so we can now live a new life. (Romans 6:1-4) If you haven't realized it yet, we do 'continue to sin' even after we say yes to Jesus. There is still a struggle with temptation. We don't just magically 'stop sinning' - we must deal with the urges to do what is wrong when we know what is right. Good news is that we don't do it alone! We have Christ in us to help us with that very real struggle. Did you ever wonder what purpose water baptism plays in a person's life? If we are honest, some of us may have ...

There are always going to be people in our lives who poke fun or find fault with something we do or don't do in life. We might not dress the way they feel we should, with perhaps a little bit of a 'square' look to our style, but if it is modest and it is clean, is there anything wrong with it? We might not believe in zombies and a zombie apocalypse, but we do believe in the second coming of Christ and the Tribulation times, and that difference might just get us some ribbing. Perhaps we don't cuss at the drop of hat and find it a little more than offensive to be around those that do, but is our lack of 'free speech' really all that bad? The more we find ourselves 'fitting into' the pattern Christ gave to us on how it is we should treat ourselves and others, the more others might just find opportunity to 'poke holes' in that lifestyle. Why? It may just be they are a little 'threatened' by the true freedom we have in this life! Have some of ...