A plumb line is a tool used in Guatemala by many block
layers. They hang it over the edge of
the block when building a wall to ensure that the wall is straight and
vertical. It is an easy tool to use but
it must be used frequently to make sure the wall stays straight. I worked with a team one time and they were
not very careful when checking to see if the blocks were straight and vertical
and the result was a bowed wall. The
owner of the home was not very thrilled with the look of the wall and it could
have been prevented had more care been taken.
When Adam and Eve
rebelled against God, committing high treason or betrayal against him, the
consequence of the fall have had devastating effects. If we use the symbol of the cross we can
depict what has happened.
The vertical beam of the cross represents our relationship
with God. This once intimate
relationship has been replaced with alienation from God. Mankind seeks to hide from God, deny his
existence and live in defiance of his rule.
The horizontal beam represents the relationship between
human beings. The peaceful unity between
Adam and Eve was damaged. Blame,
accusations and lack of acceptance of personal responsibility were some of the
immediate results. A short time later
murder entered the human race and mankind continued on a downhill slide.
The fall also effected creation. Work would become more laborious, the animals
attacked each other, and eventually after the flood the weather patterns
changed.
In the center of the cross is a ring that represents each
individual. The fall of man has effected
each of us in our identity, our purpose in living, our moral standards we
choose to live by and our eternal destiny.
The prophet Amos
used a plumb line as a visual demonstration of how the nation of Israel was not
in alignment with God’s ways. They were
like a wall that was warped because of their rebellion against God.
Amo 7:7-9 This is
what he showed me: behold, the Lord was standing beside a wall built with a
plumb line, with a plumb line in his hand. And the LORD said to me, "Amos,
what do you see?" And I said, "A plumb line." Then the Lord
said, "Behold, I am setting a plumb line in the midst of my people Israel;
I will never again pass by them; the high places of Isaac shall be made
desolate, and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste, and I will rise
against the house of Jeroboam with the sword."
Like the nation of Israel we are prone to wander away from
God’s pathway of holiness. We must
constantly make adjustments to keep us going the right direction toward the
destination God has for us. The pathway
of the plumb line I will call the highway of holiness. It is the way of righteousness and truth that
God wants us to follow. God is holy and
he has made it clear that without holiness no one will see him (Heb 12.14) But
we find ourselves at times wandering off the pathway which is represented by
the two lines veering off to each side.
On one side we
have the force of the world that wants to draw us away.
1Jn 2:15-16 Do not
love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love
of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the
flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but
is from the world.
The goal of the world is conformity to standards that are
not of God.
The goal of the desires of flesh is
depravity.
Gal 5:19-21 Now the works of the flesh are evident:
sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife,
jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness,
orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those
who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
The world is driven by fleshly desires that push man further
and further into a depraved state of mind.
Depravity is moral corruption, perversion and evil. It is a progressive downward spiral that
seems to have no end. A depraved mind
seeks for new and more evil experiences to satisfy their lust. Before the flood man reached this depraved
state of mind in which every thought and intent of the heart was evil.
The goal of the desires of the eyes is
covetousness, jealousy and envy.
Gen 3:1 Now the
serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had
made. He said to the woman, "Did God actually say, 'You shall not eat of
any tree in the garden'?"
Gen 3:2-6 And the
woman said to the serpent, "We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the
garden, but God said, 'You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in
the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.'" But
the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die. For God knows that
when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing
good and evil." So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and
that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make
one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband
who was with her, and he ate.
Adam and Even coveted what God had. They wanted to be wise like God and were
deceived into thinking that by eating a forbidden fruit it would happen. How could a fruit have that much power? When covet, become envious and jealous of
what others have it begins to consume our thoughts and we strategize how we can
have what they have or we develop a hatred for the person who has it. It breeds an unthankful heart and lack of
recognition of what one has been given.
The goal of the pride of life is superiority.
King Nebuchadnezzar is a primary example of a king whom God
used to bring his people into captivity and become exceedingly proud of his
prosperity. He demanded that people bow
down to worship him and when Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego refused, he threw
them into a superhot furnace. When they
came out alive, he realized that there was a power greater than he. Yet in a matter of a few years his pride once
again took control and God humbled him by turning him into an animal.
Dan 4:29-33 At the
end of twelve months he was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon,
and the king answered and said, "Is not this great Babylon, which I have
built by my mighty power as a royal residence and for the glory of my
majesty?" While the words were still in the king's mouth, there fell a
voice from heaven, "O King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken: The
kingdom has departed from you, and you shall be driven from among men, and your
dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. And you shall be made to eat
grass like an ox, and seven periods of time shall pass over you, until you know
that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will."
Immediately the word was fulfilled against Nebuchadnezzar. He was driven from
among men and ate grass like an ox, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven
till his hair grew as long as eagles' feathers, and his nails were like birds'
claws.
Pride is
manifested in our lives by our pursuit of positions of power so we can rule
over people and get our way. Pride
drives people to focus their energies and resources to gain wealth to enable
them to do what they want to do and have control over people who work for them
or depend upon them. Pursuit of wealth
and the possessions one can buy with it can also be a way of demonstrating
superiority over others.
All of the things
of the world are the work of the devil.
His goal is domination of mankind.
He wants to be in control through oppression or possession. He is actively at work through his legion of
demons influencing, oppressing and possessing people who have invited him into
their lives through these desires or lusts.
These forces are at work to pull us away from God’s divine
plumb line and we must constantly be aware of their influence or attempts to
keep us from God’s best for us. We also
deal with attitudes and beliefs that keep us from following God’s pathway.
One area that
believers have to guard against is legalism.
This is another tool of the enemy to keep us from enjoying a
relationship with God that is based on grace.
Legalism confines our thinking to a system that often is devised by
someone else with the intention of keeping the rules while at the same time
depriving us of a real relationship with God.
This was the problem of the Pharisees whose legalism led people away
from knowing God as he wanted to be known and kept them from showing mercy,
grace and compassion toward others. Following the rules and making up new rules
to make sure they were following the main rules became their life. One
can follow a system of rules without having any true interaction with the one
who made the rules. Josh McDowell made an observation about rules that I think
warrants repeating: “Rules without a relationship leads to rebellion.” Rebellion is the result of questioning why
these rules exist without getting any understanding of the heart of the person
who made them or is required to enforce them. When following the rules are the
main objective and focus and are not based on our relationship with God and our
fellow man disaster will happen and we will stray from the true pathway God has
for us.
Another force
that pulls us away is unbelief. When we find ourselves doubting the character
of God and the truthfulness of the Word of God and deny it as the source of
truth we fall into relativism and no longer have a firm foundation to rely upon
in making decisions. We also lose the
ability to make judgments as to what is morally right or wrong for our
culture. Our beliefs are viewed as no
more important than anyone else’s and to demand compliance is viewed as a
threat to personal freedom. Unbelief in the faithfulness of God to fulfill his
promises drives us away from him because we lose our trust in him. All relationships are built upon trust and
unbelief destroys one of the key ingredients in a relationship. Ahithophel was
one of David’s trusted counselors. When Absalom temporarily overthrew his
father’s rule, Ahithophel remained in his office as counselor.
2Sa 16:23 Now in
those days the counsel that Ahithophel gave was as if one consulted the word of
God; so was all the counsel of Ahithophel esteemed, both by David and by
Absalom.
When his counsel was rejected his trust of Absalom as well
as Absalom’s trust of him ended. Ahithophel returned to his home and hung
himself.
Another area that
we are challenged in as believers is presumption. To presume is to make a decision based on
what you think is true yet is not proven.
This is a problem because it leads us to make decisions that are not
based on facts or truth. King Saul
presumed that he could keep the best of the animals as spoil and offer them as
sacrifices to God. He presumed God would
be pleased but he was wrong.
1Sa 15:23 For
rebellion is as the sin of divination, and presumption is as iniquity and
idolatry.
Presumption can lead us to make a decision before we have
all the information and often it leads to failure. When this failure happens we can blame God
because we thought we had him figured out and he let us down. Presumption damages our relationship with God
as well as with other believers.
God has given us
three things that will help us keep in alignment with his ways. We all know what they are yet it bears
repeating so they can be reinforced in our lives and become integrated into our
lives. The first thing we have is the
Word of God. This amazing book was
written by the inspiration of God and is the source of truth for mankind. Ignorance of the Word has caused great
problems in the world because standards God has established for the wellbeing
of mankind are not followed and chaos results.
The Word of God when understood correctly and applied brings
transformation to people and nations.
Spurgeon who experienced the power of God's Word, went on to
become one of the greatest preachers of God's Word. The following Spurgeon
anecdote beautifully illustrates the supernatural power of God's Word...
The renowned preacher C H Spurgeon once tested an auditorium
in which he was to speak that evening. Stepping into the pulpit, he loudly
proclaimed,
Behold the lamb of God ,Who takes away the sin of the world.
(Jn 1:29)
Satisfied with the acoustics, he
left and went his way. Unknown to him, there were two men working in the
rafters of that large auditorium, neither one a Christian. One of the men was
pricked in his conscience by the verse Spurgeon quoted and became a believer
later that day! Such is the penetrating power of God's eternal word! (http://preceptaustin.org/the_power_of_god's_word.htm)
We as believers have to know the
Word, live the Word and teach the Word.
Ezr_7:10
For Ezra had set his heart to study the Law of the LORD, and to do it
and to teach his statutes and rules in Israel.
God’s Word keep us in alignment with his truth. Truth is reality as defined by God and not by
man.
The second thing we have as
believers is the Holy Spirit. Jesus told
his disciples that it was imperative for him to leave so that the Holy Spirit could
be poured out on them.
Joh 16:13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide
you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but
whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are
to come.
The Holy Spirit is our
teacher. He reveals the truth of God’s
Word to us. He knows the mind of God and
is able to communicate it to us.
1Co 2:10-13
these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit
searches everything, even the depths of God. For who knows a person's thoughts
except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends
the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the
spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand
the things freely given us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by
human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those
who are spiritual.
He is the gift God has given to us to be able
to know the truth. We desperately need
the Holy Spirit to be our teacher and guide to keep us on the pathway of
holiness. He reveals truth as well as
error. He brings conviction to our
hearts when we wander off the pathway.
The final thing God has given us to keep us
on the pathway is the Body of Christ. As a body of believers we can keep each other
from straying from the truth and rescue those who are heading in the wrong
direction. We have to be willing to
confront one another when truth is being compromised. We have to be willing to speak the truth in
love with a spirit of humility. We are
not called to a ministry of condemnation but of restoration.
Gal 6:1 Brothers, if anyone is caught in any
transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of
gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.
In order to speak into another person’s life
we have to have a relationship that is strong enough to bear the weight of
truth that will be presented. If we have
not taken the time to build a strong relationship with someone, it will be more
difficult for them to accept anything you may say to them even if it is the
truth.
We have to be willing to receive
from other people who are confronting us with things they see as errors. We can
easily write people off through our prejudices against them. “Who are they to tell me what I should or
should not do?” Is often the attitude
that is demonstrated when we are approached by someone who is seeking to help
us and correct us. Pride will keep us
from admitting we are wrong, it will keep us from apologizing to someone we
have offended and will drive a wedge between us.
As believers we are called to judge those
within the body of Christ. We are not to
judge the world but we are to judge each other by the standard of God’s
Word. Paul gave the church at Corinth
permission and the obligation of judging matters within the church in the
situation of immorality.
1Co 5:9-12 I wrote to you in my letter not to associate
with sexually immoral people—not at all meaning the sexually immoral of this
world, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters, since then you would need to
go out of the world. But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone
who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or
is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler—not even to eat with such a one.
For what have I to do with judging
outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge?
Paul had to make many
judgments during his ministry to keep the church following the right
pathway. He even had to confront Peter
and Barnabas for false beliefs that he had against Gentiles.
Gal 2:11-14 But when Cephas
came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. For
before certain men came from James, he was eating with the Gentiles; but when
they came he drew back and separated himself, fearing the circumcision party.
And the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with him, so that even
Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy. But when I saw that their conduct
was not in step with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas before them all,
"If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you
force the Gentiles to live like Jews?"
Peter and Barnabas were strong men of faith yet they strayed from the
truth and needed to be corrected. We
have to be open to correction as well as willing to confront to keep each other
walking in the truth.
God’s plumb line does not
waver, it always is based on truth. We
have to keep ourselves in alignment with his truth, follow his highway of
holiness and be aware of the forces that are at work to pull us away from him.
The forces of the world: lust of the eyes that produces covetousness, envy
and jealousy, lust of the flesh that produces depravity and the pride of life
that leads to superiority.
The spiritual forces of darkness that seek to oppress and possess to
dominate our lives.
Our own issues of legalism, unbelief and presumption that separate us
from God and from each other.
Finally we must use the
resources God has given to us to keep us in alignment with him. The Word of God that is the Truth of God, The
Holy Spirit who teaches and leads us into all truth and the Body of Christ that
keeps us walking in the truth.
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