Over the last couple of days I've posted teaching notes from a teaching that pertains to the question of "Why do people who don't know God seem to do just fine in life?" I was asked to do that teaching as part of a summer long series that were often unrelated - hence, Potpourri.
If you haven't read parts 1 & 2, I'd suggest you go back and read them first. Either way, this is the final part of the teaching, and in it I summarize WHY knowing God is essential, regardless of whether a person is "doing fine" in life or not.
Picking up from where we left off yesterday....
If you haven't read parts 1 & 2, I'd suggest you go back and read them first. Either way, this is the final part of the teaching, and in it I summarize WHY knowing God is essential, regardless of whether a person is "doing fine" in life or not.
Picking up from where we left off yesterday....
Why seek to orient life around God, with faith in
Christ, and a desire to follow his ways?
That’s worth thinking about…my primary point is simple:
God is Just and all of Life will eventually
be Accountable to Him
The writer of Ecclesiastes hits the nail on the head…
Ecclesiastes 9:1-2 (ESV)
1 But all this I laid to heart, examining it all, how the righteous and the wise and their deeds are in the hand of God. Whether it is love or hate, man does not know; both are before him.
2 It is the same for all, since the same event happens to the righteous and the wicked, to the good and the evil, to the clean and the unclean, to him who sacrifices and him who does not sacrifice. As the good one is, so is the sinner, and he who swears is as he who shuns an oath.
1 But all this I laid to heart, examining it all, how the righteous and the wise and their deeds are in the hand of God. Whether it is love or hate, man does not know; both are before him.
2 It is the same for all, since the same event happens to the righteous and the wicked, to the good and the evil, to the clean and the unclean, to him who sacrifices and him who does not sacrifice. As the good one is, so is the sinner, and he who swears is as he who shuns an oath.
Ecclesiastes 9:9-11 (ESV)
9 Enjoy life with the wife whom you love, all the days of your vain life that he has given you under the sun, because that is your portion in life and in your toil at which you toil under the sun.
10 Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might, for there is no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol, to which you are going.
11 Again I saw that under the sun the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favor to those with knowledge, but time and chance happen to them all.
9 Enjoy life with the wife whom you love, all the days of your vain life that he has given you under the sun, because that is your portion in life and in your toil at which you toil under the sun.
10 Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might, for there is no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol, to which you are going.
11 Again I saw that under the sun the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favor to those with knowledge, but time and chance happen to them all.
Before the bumper sticker was ever invented, the writer
of Ecclesiastes saw the reality – STUFF HAPPENS – So, enjoy life to the best of
your ability, but don’t compare it with others, because that is not a based on knowing why things happen, or don't happen to us or others.
BUT, be assured of this…while there is no guarantees in
this life, there is a sureness of accountability for life.
Ecclesiastes 8:12-13 (ESV)
12 Though a sinner does evil a hundred times and prolongs his life, yet I know that it will be well with those who fear God, because they fear before him.
13 But it will not be well with the wicked, neither will he prolong his days like a shadow, because he does not fear before God.
12 Though a sinner does evil a hundred times and prolongs his life, yet I know that it will be well with those who fear God, because they fear before him.
13 But it will not be well with the wicked, neither will he prolong his days like a shadow, because he does not fear before God.
The issue isn't that we measure life on the basis of how good someone seems to have it, or how "not good" they seem to have it. That is merely looking at life from the standpoint of the visible surface. What is reality is that all of life must be accountable to God, and IS accountable to God. Paul made this clear in Romans 2…
Romans 2:6-11 (ESV)
6 He will render to each one according to his works:
7 to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life;
8 but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury.
9 There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek,
10 but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek.
11 For God shows no partiality.
6 He will render to each one according to his works:
7 to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life;
8 but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury.
9 There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek,
10 but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek.
11 For God shows no partiality.
What we should be clear on is that last sentence…God shows
no partiality.
At the end of the day, it's simple, I wouldn’t worry about others, just focus on yourself.
What should we think then in terms of God’s view of
people who prosper when they care nothing about him?
2 Peter 3:8-10 (ESV)
8 But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.
10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.
8 But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.
10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.
God is good, kind, merciful and gracious. He is always seeking to show humans the need for life in Him. BUT...there is an end that will come someday.
We go back to the Psalm that started this:
Psalm 73:11-13 (ESV)
11 And they say, “How can God know? Is there knowledge in the Most High?”
12 Behold, these are the wicked; always at ease, they increase in riches.
13 All in vain have I kept my heart clean and washed my hands in innocence.
11 And they say, “How can God know? Is there knowledge in the Most High?”
12 Behold, these are the wicked; always at ease, they increase in riches.
13 All in vain have I kept my heart clean and washed my hands in innocence.
That’s how some feel when it comes to issues of
obedience, faithfulness, etc…What's in it for me? Why try when others seem to get along fine without trying? It seems so difficult to understand, but then the Psalmist gets a reality check.
Psalm 73:16-17 (ESV)
16 But when I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task,
17 until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I discerned their end.
16 But when I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task,
17 until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I discerned their end.
It's in this place of worship that we are called to “Think, Just Think”…Do we really believe a life without God is better? Do we really believe that somehow we can live without seeking to know God and still be fine? It's a foolish person who does not acknowledge God. (Psalm 14:1)
What is our comfort in knowing God? In knowing His Word? In obedience and faithfulness to our commitment to Him? Notice the words below...
Psalm 73:23-26 (ESV)
23 Nevertheless, I am continually with you; you hold my right hand.
24 You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me to glory.
25 Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.
26 My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
23 Nevertheless, I am continually with you; you hold my right hand.
24 You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me to glory.
25 Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.
26 My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
Psalm 73:27-28 (ESV)
27 For behold, those who are far from you shall perish; you put an end to everyone who is unfaithful to you.
28 But for me it is good to be near God; I have made the Lord GOD my refuge, that I may tell of all your works.
27 For behold, those who are far from you shall perish; you put an end to everyone who is unfaithful to you.
28 But for me it is good to be near God; I have made the Lord GOD my refuge, that I may tell of all your works.
This is the believers hope...not that life will always be great, that we will be materially "better off" than others, but instead that God is worth giving our lives to.
In the end, here's a couple of Practicals to remember:
> Material
Things Are not a Gauge of God’s Blessings.
> In
the end, it doesn’t matter that people who don’t care, who are evil, bad,
prosper…they have a free choice. God is
not going to coerce followers.
> What we must do as believers is make sure the shape of our own soul.
Matthew 16:24-26 (ESV)
24 Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.
25 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
26 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?
24 Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.
25 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
26 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?
At the end of the day, our relationship with Christ is all that counts. Everything else is temporary.
Peace
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