Psalm 36:1-4 (NLT)
Sin whispers to the wicked, deep within their
hearts. They have no fear of God at
all. In their blind conceit, they cannot
see how wicked they really are. Everything they say is crooked and deceitful. They refuse to act wisely or do good. They lie awake at night, hatching sinful
plots. Their actions are never good. They make no attempt to turn from evil.
Have you ever heard or seen the
term “Christian Atheist”? Sounds like an
oxymoron, doesn’t it? The Christian
Atheist is a person who says he/she believes in God, but has no fear of
Him. Note the second sentence of the
above verses. The Christian Atheist says
that he/she believes in Christ, but lives his/her life as if He doesn’t
exist. II Timothy 3:5 says that in the
last days of life on earth as we know it, people will have a form of godliness
but deny its power. Far too many
Christian people are the same kind of hypocrites as the Pharisees were in
Jesus’ day. People profess belief in God
through Christ, but don’t act like the Bible teaches they should. Such people will freely pray for God to help
them with this or that, but when God says something that they should do through
His written (Bible) and spoken (sermons, lessons) Word, they conveniently
ignore such commands. Christian Atheists
deceive themselves, thinking that they are godly and holy and committed to
Christ when in actuality they are far from it.
The words of Christ in Matthew 7:21-23 come to mind loud and clear
here----you think that you served Him and lived your life as He wanted you to,
but in final judgment He will say to you, “I never knew you, depart from Me,
you who practice lawlessness”.
We pray for God to answer our
prayers, but in His Word when He says that I am to share my faith with others
as a Christian witness, I know that I do not do enough of that. I don’t think that many Christians witness nearly
enough, we are afraid of the negative reactions we will receive, yet does that
excuse me from doing what I know God wants me to do as he commands all
Christian people to do? If I feel that I
do not have to witness to others and not do other acts of service and ministry
that God’s Word teaches that I should do, then I have no fear of Him at
all. Well, I do have fear
(reverence/awe) of Him and I know that I need to change my ways. I hope that you reading this will feel
convicted too if need be, either about the need to witness more or to do
something you know that God is calling you to do.
Psalm 36:1 says that “sin whispers
to the wicked, deep within their hearts”.
The word “whispers” is an interesting translation of the original Hebrew
word that simply means “declares” or “utters”.
How does sin whisper to people, even Christian people, deep within their
hearts? Here are some examples of the
power of deception that sin produces in our hearts that falsely enables us to
justify our sins:
· “It’s OK to sin because God will forgive afterwards
anyway”.
· “Look at all the good things you do, so it’s OK to do
this one little sinful thing”.
· “I see others do this, so it must be OK for me to do it
too”.
· “God made me this way so I cannot help it”.
· “I feel justified in doing what I’m doing because I’ve
been hurt by (someone else)”.
· “Hey, I’m not perfect, even the Bible says so……”.
These kinds of excuses---and many
others---indicate how blindly conceited we can become. Of course, some people, because of the faith
they have, can limit how much sin they do, but others, especially the Christian
Atheist, will proceed exactly as these verses say---saying things that are
crooked and deceitful, refusing to change and act wisely, being dominated by
sin and making no effort to turn away from evil. Examine yourself, your thoughts, your
attitudes, your ways, your actions, your words, everything----do these verses
describe you? Might you be a Christian
Atheist? Can you face up to this
reality or will you continue to live your life in self-deceit and continue to
allow sin to whisper to you, deep within your heart? You will be able to deceive others and you
can deceive yourself, but you cannot deceive the Lord and someday you will pay
the awful price (“depart from Me, I never knew you”) if you don’t change right
now.
May these words of God sink deeply
within your heart, like a sword piercing the division of soul and spirit
(Hebrews 4:12), and cause you to change, to overcome the sin and its deceit
that’s dwelling deep in your heart and replacing it a renewed rededication of a
life filled with the Holy Spirit.
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