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There are many excuses recorded in the Bible. Excuses serve no other purpose than to either delay our duty or place the blame on someone else. James says,
Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin (James 4:17).Let us examine a few of these excuses.
This was Adam's excuse for his sin in the garden of Eden after he disobeyed God's command not to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. He blamed Eve for his sin when he said,
The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat (Genesis. 3:13).Likewise, the woman blamed the serpent for her sin.
The Scriptures teach that each person is responsible for his deeds done on this earth. Paul said,
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad (2 Corinthians 5:10).
In the parable of the marriage feast, Jesus teaches the importance of putting God first (Matthew. 22:1-14). When we put God first in our lives, everything else will fall into place. Jesus, in Matthew 6:33, says,
Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.There is never a moment when God is too busy. So, why should we become so busy that there is never room in our lives for God?
This excuse was given by those in the parable of the talents in Matthew 25:14-30. God gives all men certain abilities. There are some talents that we are born with, and there are others that we develop on our own. Failing to utilize our talents for the Lord, whatever they may be, results in a diservice in bringing others to him and encouraging church growth.
There are other reasons people use this excuse. These include being afraid to stand up for the truth which may result in the losing of one's job or some form of persecution, and being fearful of what the world might think while living the christian life. We must fear God, rather than men. Jesus said,
fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell (Matthew 10:28).A good example for all men, Peter and the rest of the apostles, rather than giving in to the demands of the high priest to quit preaching in the name of Jesus, they continued to preach the gospel. Both Peter and the other apostles said,
We ought to obey God rather than men (Acts 5:29).
This was the excuse of Felix who put off the opportunity to become a Christian until some future day. Luke says that he, "reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come," (Acts 24:25). Like Agrippa in Acts 26, he was "almost" saved.
It is important to take hold of the opportunity to be saved because another one may not present itself. The Bible says, "behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation," (2 Corinthians. 6:2). There is no better time to obey the gospel than today.
Furthermore, we do not know when the end of our lives shall be. James says,
Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away (James 4:14).If you should die tonight, not having obeyed the gospel, what will you say when Jesus comes again?
Whatever circumstance we find ourselves in, we must try to refrain from giving excuses, whether it be accepting blame for our wrong-doing or obeying the gospel call of salvation. After this life has ended and we stand before the judgment seat of Christ, it will then be too late to give an excuse for the things we have neglected to do on this earth.
Ira Mikell
ira@thechristianexaminer.com
Generally, human beings like to be prepared for disasters. Many of us have insurance policies on our cars, homes, lives, and other things in case something terrible should happen to them. We watch weather reports to be ready for whatever mother nature may throw at us. We have developed sophisticated technologies to give advance warnings of hurricanes, tornadoes, and other natural disasters so that lives may be saved.
There is one impending event, however, that most human beings are not prepared for. In fact, many people scoff or laugh at the notion of such an event. Those who have embraced the truth, however, believe strongly in this event, and work diligently to prepare for it. I am talking about the Judgment of our Lord.
Many passages discuss the Judgment, but I would like to point out 2 Peter 3:7-15a:
But the present heavens and earth by His word are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men. But do not let this one {fact} escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up. Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, on account of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat! But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells. Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless, and regard the patience of our Lord {to be} salvation;
We see here that the day will come like a thief; we will not know when His return shall be beforehand! And what a day it shall be! The earth and its works will be burned up; the temperature at which this will take place is unfathomable. We are all moved when we see pictures of destruction wrought by an earthquake, or a hurricane, or a tornado; how much more powerful would our reaction be to the end of the earth and its works?
Peter's question in verse 11 must be asked by every person upon this earth: what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking toward this great day of the Lord? We all run from the coasts when a hurricane approaches; we all head to the storm shelters when the tornado warning is sounded. Christ has sounded the alarm of Judgment with His death and resurrection; how shall you act? Will you delay and be caught unprepared for the Judgment or shall you turn to the Lord this day and anxiously await His return?
Ethan R. Longhenry
ethan@thechristianexaminer.com
www.deusvitae.com
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