Well hello there friends and family of Riverview Church,
My name is Justin. Coming to you with one more thing from our From Faith To Faith series
in the book of Romans coming off the weekend of November 11th.
And this is where Paul finds us in the middle of a treatus about the sin nature and the complete inability
for humans to be made right with God by the way that we live or behave or act.
We’ll just jump back in as he’s talking about our sin nature.
This is what he says. Chapter three verses 10 through 12.
He says, “There is no one righteous, not even one. There is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. All have turned away;
all alike have become worthless. There is no one who does what is good, not even one.”
Paul explains our sin nature. Why we would even need grace and from there,
he jumps off and how that nature manifests itself in our behavior. In the way that we talk. This is what he says,
“Their throat is an open grave; they deceive with their tongues. Vipers’ venom is under their lips. Their mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.”
Sounds a little bit like our time if you pay attention to glowing screens right now or just the social discourse right now.
It kind of reminds me of, just fear and loathing. That’s how you describe our time.
Now this is troubling for a number of reasons but especially for the Christian.
If you go back in the very beginning of the bible, you see that human beings are created in the image of God.
This means that you and I, we will reflect God’s.
Image every single person to a man to a woman, we all bare God’s image.
And so to curse someone, is in a way to spit on the image of God.
Now think about this, we’re moral beings, we’re created beings and we’re communicative beings because of whose image we’re made in.
God communicates. It’s at His Word that the universe comes to be.
It’s at His Word that people are saved.
It’s by the rejection of His Word and that it’s His Word that will sentence people
as they stand before Him.
So speech matters greatly.
Now if you were to go all the way back in the old testament, and you were a wandering Hebrew slave,
getting the revelation of God from Moses, you would learn that you’re not just a slave.
That you actually represent God. That God’s image is on you.
This would be profound, there’s not another worldview that dignifies human beings like this.
This would have been so striking back in the day for them because ancient near eastern kings,
they would put up statues or they would put up images in the territory so no matter where you went,
you could look at the statue, you could look at the image and you could see who is ruling and reigning.
Now, if I were to walk up as an ancient person and go spit on a statue of Nebakanezer,
I would be in trouble because I would be disrespecting his image.
Well, same goes for us.
Even though our world has fallen, this is our Father’s world yet.
And so, if we curse, we’re spitting on His image in the territory that He rules and He rightful reign.
Listen to what James says about our tongues.
He says, “We all stumble in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in what he says,
he is mature. Able to control his whole body,” He goes on,
“The tongue is a fire. A world of unrighteousness. Placed among our members and it can stain the whole body.
Setting the course of the life on fire and is itself set on fire by Hell”.
Do we take our words that seriously? God does.
Then he goes on, “With the tongue we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse
people who are made in God’s likeness.” Made in God’s image.
“Blessing and cursing come out of the same mouth. My brothers and sisters, these things should not be this way.” So,
as you hear that, I’m sure this will call you out on some level as it does me and then the question is, “How do we respond to this?’
Do we deny this? Do we dress ourselves up and say, “Well I’m not as bad as so and so at least I didn’t tweet that right?”
And no we don’t do that. We also don’t jump to despair and vilify the point where there is no hope.
What we do is we look to Jesus.
Jesus doesn’t bless- or doesn't do anything but want to bless us.
He didn’t curse His enemies rather He prayed for them.
And so, what we want to do is take our faults to Jesus and we want to be thankful for the grace that is there that we want to
take our faith and put it in not how we can perform but how He did.
So be encouraged by that.
Repent where you need to. Be grateful and celebrate the grace that we have in Jesus.
And be good to one another. I love you guys, have a good one.