Psalm 15:1–5 (ESV) — 1 O Lord, who shall sojourn in your tent? Who shall dwell on your holy hill? 2 He who walks blamelessly and does what is right and speaks truth in his heart; 3 who does not slander with his tongue and does no evil to his neighbor, nor takes up a reproach against his friend; 4 in whose eyes a vile person is despised, but who honors those who fear the Lord; who swears to his own hurt and does not change; 5 who does not put out his money at interest and does not take a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things shall never be moved.
NOTE: No one can stand on God's holy hill. None of us are worthy; none of us are clean. I think that was the point of the previous Psalm 14; everyone is guilty of sin. In this psalm, verses 2-5 are the goal, but no one can do those things all the time. They are also encompassed in the second half of Jesus' summation of the law, love your neighbor as yourself. This is the problem with the Christian church today and is the reason our witness is so ineffective. People do not see us as loving. We are just as cruel and sarcastic and "in-you-face" as the world around us. We put up memes which are intended to hurt. We don't show respect to our enemies let alone "love them."
I like Spurgeon's thought from the Treasury of David,
Impertinent curiosity frequently desires to know who and how many shall be saved; if those who thus ask the question, “Who shall dwell in thy holy hill?” would make it a soul-searching enquiry in reference to themselves they would act much more wisely. Members of the visible church, which is God’s tabernacle of worship, and hill of eminence, should diligently see to it, that they have the preparation of heart which fits them to be inmates of the house of God. Without the wedding-dress of righteousness in Christ Jesus, we have no right to sit at the banquet of communion. Without uprightness of walk we are not fit for the imperfect church on earth, and certainly we must not hope to enter the perfect church above. (Spurgeon, C. H. (n.d.). The treasury of David: Psalms 1-26 (Vol. 1, p. 176). Marshall Brothers.)
We must live differently. We have the Holy Spirit. We are free from slavery to sin. We have the power. We are different. But we are not connected to our spiritual lifeline and so we are ineffective.
PONDER:
- Does my life really attract people to Christ? Has any unbeliever asked me about knowing my God or told me that I have something they don't have.
PRAYER: Father, we need to be connected to the source, your spirit. We need a daily walk. We need to care for others. We need your loving heart. Change us and make us more like you.
No comments:
Post a Comment