November 14
Guilty of Double-dealing
And I will cut off from this place . . . Those who bow down and swear to the Lord and yet swear by Milcom. - Zephaniah 1:4-5
These people thought they were safe because they were with both parties: they went with the followers of Jehovah and bowed at the same time to Milcom. But duplicity is abominable with God, and His soul hates hypocrisy.
The idolater who distinctly gives himself to his false god has one sin less than he who brings his polluted and detestable sacrifice into the temple of the Lord, while his heart is with the world and its sins.
To hold with the hare and run with the hounds is a coward's policy. In the common matters of daily life, a double-minded man is despised, but in religion he is loathsome to the last degree.
The penalty pronounced in the verse before us is terrible, but it is well-deserved; for how should divine justice spare the sinner who knows the right, approves it, and professes to follow it, and all the while loves the evil and gives it dominion in his heart?
My soul, search yourself this morning and see whether you are guilty of double-dealing. You profess to be a follower of Jesus-do you truly love Him? Is your heart right with God? Are you a member of the family of old Father Honest, or are you a relative of Mr. Shady?
A name for being alive is of little value if I am actually dead in trespasses and sins. To have one foot on the land of truth and another on the sea of falsehood will involve a terrible fall and a total ruin. Christ will be all or nothing.
God fills the whole universe, and as a result there is no room for another god. If, then, He reigns in my heart, there will be no space for another reigning power.
Do I rest alone on Jesus crucified and live alone for Him? Is it my desire to do so? Is my heart set on doing so?
If yes, then blessed be the mighty grace that has led me to salvation; and if no, then, Lord, pardon my sad offense, and unite my heart to fear Your name.
Family Bible reading plan
verse 1 1 Chronicles 3, 4
verse 2 Hebrews 9
Devoted to God: Blueprints for Sanctification
By Sinclair Ferguson
As Christians, we become transformed by the renewing of our minds. Ultimately, how we think, as shaped by our hearing the Word of God, will determine how we will live for God’s glory.
Author and pastor Sinclair Ferguson describes this transformative process in what he describes as a ‘blueprint for sanctification’. Devoted to God builds a strong and reliable framework for practical Christian living, stressing several fundamental issues, such as: union with Christ, spiritual growth, the reality of spiritual conflict, and the role of God’s law.
Here is a fresh approach to an always relevant subject, and a working manual to which we can turn again and again for biblical instruction and spiritual direction.
Click here to learn more about Truth For Life
From Morning & Evening revised and edited by Alistair Begg copyright © 2003. Used by permission of Crossway Books, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers, Wheaton, IL 60187, www.crossway.org.