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Tag: To be or not to be

Nahum 3:19 – To be spared or not to be (that is the question)

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On September 11, 2013

In Christian, Nahum, Through the Bible

The latter part of Nahum 3:19 poses a question – “Upon whom hath not thy wickedness passed continually?” While the direct reference here is to the city of Nineveh and its wicked king, it can be extrapolated that the Assyrian king is a reference to the devil, as stated by prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 14:25). By beguiling Eve and through her Adam (2 Corinthians 11:3; Genesis 3), the deceiving serpent (the devil) subjected the entire creation to become sinful and be subject to death (Romans 5:12) and in that sense, the wickedness of the devil has passed over all continually since the willful disobedience of men.

Interestingly though, just as the last verse in the book of Nahum, an oracle against the city of Nineveh, ends with a question, so also the book of Jonah, which concerns the city of Nineveh, ends with a question – a question posed by God. The question is “Should I not spare Nineveh, the great city, its people and even its cattle?” God spared Nineveh, a little over 150 years ago (during the time of Jonah around 780 to 750 BC) but Nineveh had willfully chosen to revert to its wicked and evil ways, bringing God’s judgment on them, and this time, it was not going to be spared (during the time of Nahum around 615 to 612 BC).

Points to ponder:
The question is “Has not the wickedness of the evil one (devil) passed over us?” In other words, “Are we sinful?” All have sinned and come short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). And with sin came death for the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). There is no one righteous, no not even one (Romans 3:10) meaning that all deserve death. Though the wicked (sinful) deserve to die, God is a God who spares, for he spared not his own Son, Jesus Christ (Romans 8:32). Jesus Christ willfully accepted to become the sacrifice for sin (Hebrews 10:12) and paid the wages of sin by his death (John 19:30).  Jesus was crucified in our place. So everyone who believes in him has eternal life (John 3:16).

And those who have believed, let us not revert back to our sinful ways (as did the people of Nineveh), drawing back into perdition (Hebrews 10:39). for if we keep on willfully sinning after having received the knowledge of the truth, there remains no more sacrifice for sins but a certain fearful expectation of judgment and fiery indignation of the Lord (Hebrews 10:26-27), which shall devour his enemies (friends of the world – James 4:4).

Have you believed in Jesus Christ to be spared? If you have, are you living according to the Spirit and not according to the flesh (Romans 8:1)?
To be spared or not to be – that is the question.

Nahum 3:19 (KJV)
19 There is no healing of thy bruise; thy wound is grievous: all that hear the bruit of thee shall clap the hands over thee: for upon whom hath not thy wickedness passed continually?

Jonah 4:11 (KJV)
11 And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?

Hebrews 10:26-27 (KJV)
26 For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,
27 But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.

Romans 8:1 (KJV)
1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

To be good or not to be

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On January 4, 2010

In Christian

Shakespeare’s soliloquy in Act III, Scene One of his play Hamlet starts with “To be, or not to be – that is the question: …”
The Bible in Micah 6:8 can be paraphrased into something similar, such as “To be good, or not to be  – that is indeed the question”

No one who is good can enter into the kingdom of God, unless they believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, who was murdered for the sins of the world (you and me), who by the power of God the Father who sent Him, rose again on the third day, conquering sin and death, once and for all and is the perfect and final sacrifice (no other sacrifice is needed) accepted by God. It is grace and grace alone that saves and not any works of anyone. No amount of penance and self-inflicted acts of righteousness can save anyone. However, those who are saved by the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, are called to do good works. Jesus said, let your light so shine amongst men, that they may see your good works and glorify God the Father, who is in heaven (Matthew 5:16).

People say, I am waiting for God to show me what he wants me to do? or I do not what the will of the Lord is?  The answer is in the Bible and is quite straightforward. We are called to do good works. We are saved by GRACE (God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense) but are called to do good works. The question then arises, what is good? Micah 6:8 gives us the answer.

That which is good is what God requires of us and that is to

  1. do justly
  2. love mercy and
  3. walk humbly

To do justly is to treat others with fairness, executing justice as God the Righteous judge would rewarding each one according to their deeds (1 Corinthians 3:8).
To love mercy is to be compassionate as God is, slow to anger, abounding in love (Numbers 14:18). Blessed are the merciful for they will be shown mercy (Matthew 5:7).
To walk humbly is to put on the mind of Christ and take the attitude of a servant (Philippians 2:7), diligently waiting on the master (Psalm 123:2), and becoming obedient even unto the death (Philippians 2:8) [of the self, and to sin].

And remember, the litmus test of whether our good works are good or not is in the result. Our good works should not bring us the glory nor praise, but those who see our good works must glorify God the Father in heaven, for the impact our lives have in theirs.

Point(s) to ponder:
Is your life/my life one that glorifies God the Father who is in heaven. In other words, are we doing justly, loving mercy and walking humbly; are we doing good works which is required of us? If not, let’s take a stand to start now! To be good, or not to be – that is indeed the question.

Micah 6:8 (KJV)
8 He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?

To be or Not to be – a Witness? That is the question

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On February 21, 2009

In Christian

Interestingly, the word for witness in Greek is ‘martyr’. To be a witness of Jesus is to be a martyr, willing to lay one’s life down for Jesus, just as Jesus did for us. To be a disciple of Jesus is not to just COUNT the cost, but PAY it (easier said than done). Can it be said of us that “For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21) or will Jesus rebuke us saying that “We are a generation of little faith”, often forgetting His promises, “Fear NOT” and “Lo, I am with you ALWAYS – Be my Witness.”

As a witness, we are not only called to be martyrs, but Bridge Builders. We have been given 2 pieces of wood and 3 nails to build the cross –‘The ONLY Bridge’ for man to be able to reach God. We are tasked to build the bridge in the shielded minds of those who don’t know Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior.

Points(s) to ponder:

  1. Isn’t it time for us to start building the Bridge to God?
  2. Isn’t it time for us to not just count the cost, but be willing to pay it –
    To be or not to be – a witness? That is our question.

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