by Walt Henrichsen | Oct 22, 2018 | Articles, Mentors Corner
Balaam’s Sin “…which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness.” 2Peter 2:15 When Christ addresses the church at Pergamos, He charges them with the sin of Balaam: “But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication.”1 Numbers 22-24 records the incident where Balak, the king of Moab, requested God’s prophet Balaam to curse Israel on the Exodus. God refused to allow Balaam to curse His people, and so Balaam counseled Balak to engage in sexual promiscuity with Israel, thereby ensuring God’s curse. Jude and Peter tell us Balaam did this because he lusted after the wealth promised by Moab. Lust and covetousness are essentially the same; when you lust you covet, and vice versa. The object of your coveting determines what you call it. For the football player it may be being inducted into the pro hall of fame; for another it may be becoming the richest man in the world; for those in academia it may be becoming president of an Ivy League school; and so forth. Although it may be difficult on occasion to distinguish between a legitimate desire and coveting, whenever you break the commandment of God to attain your goal, you know you have committed the sin of Balaam. Balaam was endowed with a marvelous gift; God made him His prophet, which meant that he could...
by Micah Olson | Oct 2, 2018 | Articles, Mentors Corner
Forgiveness and Consequences “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.” 2 Corinthians 5:10 The bible makes it abundantly clear that our actions in this life have eternal consequences. We do nothing to earn our way into heaven, because salvation is by grace and grace alone. But although salvation is in no way based on our works or our merit, it is equally true that the quality of our eternity is based on our works. How we invest our life on earth will determine how we live out eternity in heaven (see, e.g., Matthew 6:19-21, 1 Corinthians 3:11-15, and Revelation 22:12). Many modern Christians are uneasy with the teaching of eternal accountability, instead preferring to believe that God’s forgiveness wipes out all consequences of temporal (i.e. earthly) sin. However, the idea that forgiveness eliminates consequences is not biblical. As an example, consider the story of Israel’s rebellion at Kadesh Barnea, found in Numbers 13-14. God commands Moses to send spies into the Promised Land in order to see what the land is like (Numbers 13:1). Twelve spies, one from each tribe, go out on the mission. Two spies, Caleb and Joshua, give a good report of the land. They argue that Israel should go up and take possession of it, in obedience to God. But the other 10 spies argue that the people in the land are too strong for Israel. Sadly, the Israelites go against Caleb and Joshua’s counsel, and instead they...
Recent Comments