Do Not Refuse God
In Hebrews 12:25, we read: "See to it that you do not refuse Him who is
speaking. For if those did not escape when they refused him who warned them
on earth, much less shall we escape who turn away from Him who warns from heaven".
The prophets constantly warned the Israelites about turning away from God and
implored them to return to God and worship Him as He had directed them to do.
Now that we have the Bible, we have God warning us from the heavenly (spiritual)
realm. God speaks to us through His word, and it is our duty and responsibility
to hear, understand, and obey.
So how do we refuse God? By failing to worship Him properly in spirit and truth.
We refuse God when we do not follow what God told us to do, but exchange His
word with what we want to do. We refuse God when we flat out break His commandments.
We refuse God as we fail to keep the commandments given to us. We refuse God
when we do not do those things that are good. We refuse God when we mistreat
our brethren. We refuse God when we mistreat anyone. We refuse God when we abuse
and misuse the scriptures to get an understanding that we want. We refuse God
whenever we put something as more important in our life other than God. We refuse
God when we are greedy, selfish, and full of pride.
Hopefully we get the point. The Hebrew writer later wrote in 12:28-29 "Therefore,
since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by
which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe; for
our God is a consuming fire". We refuse God when we do not show gratitude
for what He has done for us. We refuse God when we do not provide an acceptable
service to Him. What does that mean? It means doing everything for God just
as He commands us in the scripture. Not only in our worship service that we
participate in a few times a week, but in our daily lives. Remember Romans 12:1?
"I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your
bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual
service of worship". This means our entire life is supposed to be dedicated
to God.
Remember also that our service and daily living is to be done in reverence before
God. As we recognize God as creator and LORD, we behave ourselves in our everyday
actions, conduct, and speech. God's name is Reverend (Psalm 111:9), and we should
reverence His name and everything that name stands for.
We are also supposed to be in awe in our service. Awe is a word that means inspirational.
We express awe and wonder at a beautiful sight or event. Our emotions get the
better of us and we gush forth in happiness and joyful tears. Perhaps we even
get goose bumps, but we are more than impressed by what we experience. We also
express awe as we contemplate the vastness of this universe, or the greatness
of God. More than that, when we consider that our God made provision for us
to bring us into a clean relationship with Him, through Jesus Christ. Man was
lost, but by believing in the Son and doing what is commanded of us, we can
be in a spiritual relationship. Our obedience to the gospel teaching is necessary
for salvation. God's grace may be great, but it will not do more than it is
supposed to do. So do your part, and do not refuse God.
By Carey Scott
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