new garments

Matthew 9:14-17

Then the disciples of John came to Him, saying, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but Your disciples do not fast?”

And Jesus said to them, “Can the friends of the bridegroom mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.

No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; for the patch pulls away from the garment, and the tear is made worse.

Nor do they put new wine into old wineskins, or else the wineskins break, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But they put new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.”


Our righteousness is as filthy rags, and just trying to patch it will not work.

Isaiah 64:6
But we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; We all fade as a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, Have taken us away.


If we attempt to enter into God's kingdom "wearing" the filthy rags of our own righteousness, then we will be cast out...

Matthew 22:11-14
“But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who did not have on a wedding garment. So he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ “For many are called, but few are chosen.”


Like the woman with the issue of blood, we need to touch the hem of His garment and be made whole...


Matthew 9:20-22
And suddenly, a woman who had a flow of blood for twelve years came from behind and touched the hem of His garment. For she said to herself, “If only I may touch His garment, I shall be made well.” But Jesus turned around, and when He saw her He said, “Be of good cheer, daughter; your faith has made you well.” And the woman was made well from that hour.


Matthew 14:36
and begged Him that they might only touch the hem of His garment. And as many as touched it were made perfectly well.


We are to put on the new garment of Jesus' righteousness.


Isaiah 61:10
I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, My soul shall be joyful in my God; For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness

condemed already

John 3:18

Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.


John 3:36

He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.


Preachers of the Gospel get accused all the time of "judging" people. However, the fact of the matter is, folks are "condemed already". It is not my judgement they are judged by. They don't need me to judge them, they are already judged according to God's judgement. We are all measured against God's standard, and found wanting.

Imagine a fellow who is very generous, kind, and well thought of. He does all sorts of really great things for people and is an all around great guy. For whatever reason, one day he commits murder. When he is arrested and goes before the court for judgement, it won't be for the good things he has done, it will be for the crime he has committed.

The same is for us. We will not stand before God on Judgement day for all the good things we have done.

We will stand before God because we have broken His commandments.

We have lied, and so we will be judged as liars. We have stolen, so we will be judged as thieves. We have coveted, we have blasphemed, we are adulterers and murderers at heart.

There is no way we can save ourselves or ever be "good enough" to make up for our sins. We are utterly guilty and condemed.

However, there is GOOD NEWS. Our debt has been paid! Jesus took our place and died for our sins. He paid the fine for us. Because of who He is and as perfect, sinless sacrifice, He is the only one who ever could. He then rose again in victory over sin and death.

See, I'm not out saying I'm better than anyone else. No, I'm not in a place to judge. I'm just telling folks about God's standard and the fact is, I'm in the same boat and in need of the Savior as much as they are. I'm just telling folks about the truth I've found.

All I know is, I was blind, and now I can see.

cursed

Numbers 21:9

And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.

I've wondered "why a snake"? Then I remembered it was the serpent that was cursed "above all cattle".


Genesis 3:14

And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:

And "Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree"


Deuteronomy 21:23

His body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but thou shalt in any wise bury him that day; (for he that is hanged is accursed of God;) that thy land be not defiled, which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance.



Galatians 3:13

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree."


John 3:14-15

And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

Purity

I'm more in the category of one who loves much because he has been forgiven much.

My first kiss, my first experiences were not saved for marriage. In youth, ignorance, and foolishness, I wasted purity in an occassion for the flesh and was used as an instrument to ruin it for someone else.

Because of the work of Jesus on my heart, and through the conviction of the Holy Spirit, I have repented, sought forgivness, and been forgiven.

Like the harlot who was brought before Jesus to be stoned to death, she was forgiven but commanded, "Go and sin no more."

I now am committed to purity in my life.

What I am left with is not so much as guilt as it is a mourning for loss. I mourn the loss of purity in my life as I would mourn the loss of a friend or loved one.

When I am in a position to encourage someone else to live a life of purity, I can speak from experience that it would be better to wait. When accused of "well, you didn't wait", I can reply "true, but had I had understood and counted the cost, I would have done different"

Understanding the fear of the LORD

Proverbs 2:1-5

My son, if you

1. receive my words,
2. treasure my commands within you,
3. incline your ear to wisdom,
4. apply your heart to understanding;
5. cry out for discernment,
6. lift up your voice for understanding,
7. seek her as silver and search for her as for hidden treasures;

Then you will understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God.

It's what sells...

It's a matter of what sells and what can be produced cheeply to get the biggest bang for the buck.

It is very costly to hire really good and talented writers for shows.

Whereas, it is does not take any talent or thought to appeal to the viewer's fleshly appetites. The more base, racy, and "edgy" a program, the more attention a program will get.

In a very competitive marketplace, programmers know that they have to keep pushing the envelope further and further to cut through the noise and get people's attention.

Additionally, people tend to gravitate toward entertainment that requires the least amount of mental involvement

This sets up a self-perpetuating spiral where the media pushes the "edge" (translated: lowers the values), viewers are "hardened" and their values lowered, then the media has to go down to the next level, and so on...

The majority of viewers just want to sit, turn off their mind, and absorb whatever garbage happens to be spewing out of the TV at the time.

It is our job as Christians to be salt and light and do everything we can to break this sprial.

First and foremost by not participating in this spiral in the first place.

Next, by shining the light of truth and calling people's attention to the fact that what is wrong and immoral is, well, wrong and immoral.

What we can also do is vote with our dollars and support family-friendly programming anywhere we can find it.