"G"oing

"WHO—US?"

Most people cannot bring themselves to believe that they have: 1) done anything exceedingly bad; or 2) done anything worthy of eternal punishment. The tendency to justify ourselves is nearly universal—even when we are guilty of real, objective, moral wrong. Consider, for example, Jeremiah 16:10:

"And it shall be, when you show this people all these words, and they say to you, 'Why has the Lord pronounced all this great disaster against us? Or what is our iniquity? Or what is our sin that we have committed against the Lord our God?'"

We will look at God's answer momentarily. Suffice it to say at this point that they do have guilt—yet they cannot imagine what it might be. God is angry with us? Why? What have we done? We surely do not deserve punishment (which is tantamount to calling God unjust). In one sense, it does not matter what they are guilty of—the point is they do not believe they have done anything to merit punishment.

Is it any different today? How many people do not think they have so sinned as to deserve eternal death? The answer is few—because we refuse to think ill of ourselves. Do those who drink alcoholic beverages think they are sinning? What about those who wear next to nothing on a public beach? How about those who take things home from the workplace without permission or paying for them? Do those who buy, read, or view pornographic materials think they have offended God? What about those who tell lies habitually (even if what they say does not do any damage)? How about those who divorce for just any reason and marry again? What about members of the church who fail to object to the use of instruments in worship or to respect male spiritual leadership in the church and in the home? What about those who refuse to teach that fornication and homosexuality are wrong?

The point is that, no matter what kind of bad behavior people are engaged in, they still don't see it as a problem. That view does not match God's perspective. God is going to tell His people what is wrong, but first He provides just a little bit of history in Jeremiah 16:11:

"Then you shall say to them, 'Because your fathers have forsaken Me,' says the Lord; 'they have walked after other gods and have served them and worshiped them, and have forsaken Me and have not kept My law.'"

Now if we just stopped here, we might think that God is punishing them because of the actions of their fathers, but He is not. He is forming the foundation for what He is next going to say to them, but while we look at this verse, consider the important point that it makes, which is relevant to what follows.

First, their fathers had forsaken God. To whom does this statement refer? Jeremiah preached prior to the captivity, as well as during it (586 B.C.). He began in the reign of a righteous king, Josiah. The people obeyed Josiah, but their hearts were not with his purity and devotion to God, as evidenced by their immediate falling away after his death. Although he repented at the end of his life, Manasseh was the most wicked king Judah ever had (for more than half a century). In fact, it was for his sins that the nation was taken captive (2 Kings 24:3). These were not the only years that Israel had forsaken God; they did so in the wilderness, during the period of the judges, and under several of the kings. Most recently, however, they forsook God in the reign of Manasseh.

How had they forsaken Jehovah? By walking after other gods—something explicitly forbidden in the very first commandment God gave to His people at Mount Sinai. A valuable point here concerns authority. Many attempt to justify instrumental music today by saying, "The Bible doesn't say NOT to use instruments." Of course, that is not the proper way to look at it. "Where does the Bible authorize their use?" is the right question (Col. 3:17). But with respect to other gods and the idols that represent them, nobody can make the argument, "God didn't specifically forbid them—because He did (Ex. 20:3-4)! The issue, then, is not whether or not God said, "Don't do it." The issue is that, if man wants to sin, he will do so—and justify himself with respect to practicing it regardless—whether He refused to authorize it or He clearly condemned it.

While they were worshipping and serving other gods, they also failed to keep God's laws. It's hard to obey two masters (Matt. 6:24).

The Fact of the Matter

Having explained about the sad history of their ancestors, God now returns to the current generation. Have they learned from the mistakes of their progenitors? Have they learned anything at all from history—particularly the northern kingdom having been taken captive? Jeremiah 16:12 reports:

"And you have done worse than your fathers, for behold, each one follows the dictates of his own evil heart, so that no one listens to Me."

It must have been a shock to hear that they were doing worse than their fathers—especially since they held themselves in such high esteem. They would never have described themselves this way. How is it possible that two such radically different points of view could exist at the same time? Both of them cannot be right. Since God dwells in truth, who was wrong?

If they were worse than their fathers, we already have a hint of some of their problems. They were walking after, worshipping, and serving other gods. They were not keeping God's laws. They had forsaken Him. One wonders how they could be worse. The answer lies in their attitude. They held the dictates of their own hearts above what God had actually taught.

Who's the Authority?

Is it an exaggeration to think that today people likewise exalt themselves above God? How many times has someone said something like, "I don't care what the Bible says; I feel I'm saved"? Or, "I don't care how many verses mention baptism; "I don't think a person must be baptized in order to be saved"? How many people have said, "I don't care what the Bible says about marriage and divorce; I know that God wants me to be happy"? Or, "It doesn't matter what the Bible says about homosexuality; people can't help it if they are born that way"?

Do we not realize that people are putting their own thoughts and opinions above God, which is precisely what they were doing during Jeremiah's day? When people follow the dictates of their own hearts, they are, first of all, likely to lean in the direction of evil. Second, when they follow their own inclinations, they do not listen to God. They may claim that they honor God and His Word, but such is a lie, or they would subscribe to the authority of His Word. However, they place their own judgment above God's wisdom. They exalt their own rationale about God's truth.

On a Stephen Colbert late-night show, the host was trying to get Oprah to run for president. These efforts included "God" holding up a sign that said, "Oprah, 2020." She refused to consider it, but the fascinating part of the story is the reason why. She said: "I am very much in touch with my inner GPS." She added, "I'm in touch with God, the voice of God." Really? She knows that for a fact? Colbert read a quote of hers from People Magazine:

"God, if you think I'm supposed to run, you got to tell me, and it has to be so clear that not even I can miss it."

Some are sad she is not planning to run, but others are happy that "God" did not tell her to do so. What would be interesting would be if "God" told her to run, and then she lost the election. How would anyone, including her, explain that?

Questions worth entertaining are: "How many people are like Oprah, thinking they are in touch with God?" "How many believe they hear the voice of God?" "Does that voice say that committing fornication is all right?" "Does it say that cheating is an acceptable way of getting ahead?" "Does it say that the Bible is out of date and that we need a more modern revelation to speak to us today?" "Does it say that all religions are of approximately equal value?"

More importantly, is it like the voice that the people of Jeremiah's day were listening to? Why is it so hard for people to understand that, when we put the dictates of our own hearts ahead of God's actual commandments, that we are not listening to Him? We are no longer keeping His holy and Divine law; we have forsaken Him.

"Oh," someone protests, "wait a minute! We still keep a lot of God's laws; we may have replaced some that seem out of date, but we still observe some of them very religiously." To reject some is to reject God, period. It involves a lack of trust to ignore even one commandment—let alone half a dozen. Can we find proof for such a claim? Yes. James wrote: "For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all" (2:10).

James goes on to say that all laws come from God and that the same God Who gave the commandments a person obeys also gave the one that is being disobeyed. If you agree with six laws, how can you repudiate the seventh? Did Deity know what He was doing on the first six—but then went haywire on the next one? Did His infinite wisdom suddenly become a bit quirky? How can we explain such a lapse in God's judgment? We cannot. It is not God's integrity at stake; it is mankind's.

Likewise, people told Jesus that they knew Him and were wonderful workers of His. They had cast out demons in His name, prophesied in His name, and done many wonders in His name (Matt. 7:22). He could have said, "Yes, but you were deficient in a few areas." Instead He told them, "I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness" (v. 23). Partial obedience is no obedience at all because when push comes to shove, many place the dictates of their own hearts above the will of God.

The Outcome

How did the situation end for God's people in the days of Jeroboam? The answer is found in Jeremiah 16:13:

"'Therefore I will cast you out of this land into a land that you do not know, neither you nor your fathers; and there you shall serve other gods day and night, where I will show you no favor.'"

They wanted other gods; God gave them what they wanted. They would be taken to another land (as captives) in order to get what they wanted. Those who do not follow all that God has written will likewise receive what they want—a place that does not submit to God. In the infernal kingdom, no one will be required to worship the true and living God. All will, however, first confess Jesus to be Christ the Lord, to the glory of the Father (Phil. 2:11). A place of torment is reserved for all who followed the evil dictates of their own hearts. No one will at that point think that being their own god was worth it. A huge difference between those who rebel today and those of Jeremiah's day is that, then, some returned from captivity; none today will return from hell.

Furthermore, if God were conversing with them, shouldn't they record the wisdom they are receiving for all the rest of us who are not having these conversations? Actually, they ought to publish them in a book so that the church all over the world will have access to the wisdom that West End possesses. Or maybe they should just repent of their fanciful speculations and return to the Scriptures, which really do come from God.