Scripture: Romans 2:1-6, 9:22-26; 1 Timothy 1:12-16;
Galatians 5:22-26
I think that most folks believe that God
has little patience for those who are not completely in tune with his
commandments. For Israel through the
centuries, there were times of uncertainty when their fortunes seemed to fall
apart, but in those early days before the prophets were raised up, and without leaders like
Moses and Joshua, people always seemed to go their own way, and they had no
idea as to what would be coming next (Judges2:10-15).
Consider the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah
– wiped out in the blink of an eye because of the depth of their sinfulness (Genesis 18:20-21, 19:1-29);
consider the priests of Baal from last week’s message – confident in their misplaced
allegiance, until Elijah challenged their faith (1Kings 18:16-40); consider Ananias and his wife
Sapphira who lied about their gift to help the needy, and paid a price that was
much higher than the proper gift would have cost (Acts5:1-11); and, of course, the list could go on
and on.
The point is that God’s word is upon us all,
and his word is not only our guide, but also our warning. In Matthew 7:25-27, Jesus compares the future of the house that was built upon the rock
(his word), versus that of the house that is built upon the sand (our own way). The question of how long the Lord will let us
try life in our way can only be answered by him – but the time of resolution
will always come, one way or another.
So that brings us to today’s problem –
how patient will God be as we go about this life depending only on what we
know and what we believe!
Read Romans 2:1-6
We no longer have any excuse! Isn’t that comforting! But an excuse for what, you may ask? In Paul’s introduction to this letter, he
writes “The
wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and
wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known
about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them.” (Romans 1:18-19) And at the end of that chapter,
Paul writes “Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do
such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things
but also approve of those who practice them.”
There are no longer any excuses - for
ignoring the word of God! And the
issue that Paul is emphasizing is that of judging others for doing the same
things that we have doing. Just as
Ananias and Sapphira were deceitful when they claimed that their offering was
the full price of the property they had sold, when the truth of the matter was
that they had kept a portion of the receipts for themselves! The lie they told wasn’t so much to the
disciples, as it was to the Lord! They had been part of the community of faith,
they knew the Lord’s truth about honesty, and yet, they ignored it for their
own gain.
We also have to note that Paul isn’t saying
that our judgment of others needs to be pure, but rather that any judgment
of others is a sin, that only God can judge with a full and truthful wisdom. But do we really appreciate the divine
honesty and patience that has been his hallmark as he worked for our betterment
throughout our years of life?
Paul calls our failure to grasp the love
and passion that our Almighty God has for us as “contempt for the riches of his
kindness, tolerance and patience”. And what does he ask in return for the
gift of his riches? A rejection of the
world’s ways, and a return to his.
So what our brother Paul is suggesting
is that we have a decision to make. Will
we remain “stubborn” and “unrepentant” and “judgmental”, or will we let those
old ways fall by the wayside, and allow the Lord to begin working his ways
within us?
He's been waiting patiently for us to give
his way a try, you know!
Read Romans 9:22-26
What if God had chosen to show his wrath
to those who were completely deserving of destruction, but then chose, instead,
to allow his great patience to delay that wrath, to give the condemned of earth
time to let righteousness begin to work in their lives? This isn’t a change of God’s mind, though, as
his wrath, and patience, and love, and grace and mercy all exist within him,
simultaneously and eternally, to the same degree and to the same intensity. And it isn’t on a whim that causes him to make
changes to which of these we are experiencing at any given moment!
It's already worked out in his eternal
and infinite plan.
And what if God chose to let his glory
and mercy become a blessing to those who had acted in a way that justified
his wrath? But since we all have
difficulty in understanding Godly ways, think about it this way. What if a man had committed such a grievous murder
that he was sentenced to be electrocuted for his crime. But before the order could be carried out, what
if it was overturned by the judge in an act of mercy. The man is released from prison, free to live
his life again.
How do you think the man would feel? Would he be focused on the joy of his
release? Or on the Mercy he had received? Or the opportunity to begin again? Or simply the chance to go back to his old
life, with a renewed effort to not get caught the next time? Which would be the heart-felt choice?
Which choice have you made – to accept
the Lord’s mercy and opportunity to lead a new life, or to challenge his
patience and grace, and keep on doing what you have always done?
In Paul’s quotations from Hosea, the prophet
was talking about Israel’s unfaithful lives, and how God would be forgiving to
them if they came back to him. They had
violated the covenant that the Lord had put in place for them, but by repentance
and a renewed life, they would be welcomed back, just as Gomer, Hosea’s
unfaithful wife had been. (Hosea 2:23 & Hosea 1:10) And in the Lord’s patient and
gracious nature, we have been included in that offer. We have to come to grips with how much we
have received as God’s loved ones, as God’s very own people.
Does God have patience in the working of
his great plan? More than we will ever
know, but how much patience have we shown to him?
Read 1 Timothy1:12-16
No matter how great a sinner we may have
been, the Lord will give us time to come to our senses and give him a chance, in
our lifetime! In this passage from his
first letter to Timothy, he offers his own testimony regarding the Lord’s
patience with him. He says that he had
been the worst of the worse, and in Philippians3:3-7, he lists his personal articles of pride
and arrogance, which had been the reason behind the blasphemy and persecution
and violence that had marked so much of his adult life as a Pharisee. But now, through God’s patience which brought
a renewal that he had never thought about before, those things that he had once
cherished no longer held any importance for him.
It was now the love of Christ that made
all the difference for him. And not only
is the Christ the reason for his changed life, but he also acknowledges the Lord
as the one who has brought mercy into his life, the only one who could overturn
his sentence of death and destruction.
And why has God done this for him?
So that he could share this new life, as well as the Savior who has made
it all possible, with as many people as he possibly can, that they, too, might turn
the futility of their lives over to their newly found Savior.
Read Galatians
5:22-26
Immediately preceding these verses is
Paul’s discussion of the “desires of the flesh”, which stand in direct
and stark contrast to the Fruit of the Spirit.
The ways of the flesh can never stand in the presence of the Spirit, and
the Spirit can never work through those who place their allegiance in the world’s
way of the flesh. This fruit, which is
singular in nature, not plural, is given in totality to all who surrender the
old life, and accept Christ’s gracious gift of newness and salvation. They are unified, and no one will receive a
few of them, and loose out on the rest.
If some, or even one, appears to be missing in our life, we have none of
them.
So we have seen just how patient God is
with us, for the sole reason of our salvation, as he works out his great plan within
us. Has he been patient with you? He certainly has been with me! He patiently waited for me to come to his
ways through 46 years of all my shenanigans and worldly attitudes, and then for
the next 9 years, he patiently led me to a weekly prayer group where I
discovered his love and encouragement and his call into one new effort after
another, like 25 years of nursing home ministry, then 10 years of prison
ministry, and it was in Waymart prison where I finally accepted his call into these
past 18 years of pastoral ministry, and where will he will lead me next? It is
still unknown to me, but I truly don’t think he has finished with me yet!
And what does he desire from us? He wants us to be patient with him, but more
importantly, he desires our faithful allegiance to his way and to his call on
our lives. Patience is Godly – it is a
way that has always had a place in his life and plan, but that isn’t
necessarily true for us. Godly patience
is a gift of the Spirit, but only when we come to Christ and confess him as our
Lord and Savior.
Is God’s “love, joy, peace, patience…” and
all the rest part of you? If not, the
Lord is offering it out to you this very day.
Accept Jesus, and receive all that God has held out to you since the moment
of your first birth. Are you ready to
receive the second one? (John 3:1-10)
