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Posted by Pastor Randy Burbank for “Kingdom Pastor” @ https://kingdompastor.wordpress.com
Original post @ https://kingdompastor.wordpress.com/2023/06/15/terms-and-conditions/
TERMS AND CONDITIONS!
Posted on June 15, 2023 by Pastor Randy
Create in me a clean heart, O God.
Renew a loyal spirit within me.
Psalm 51, verse 10; from the New Living Translation (NLT)
Terms And Conditions were once known as the fine print. It’s what makes an agreement an agreement. If those Terms And Conditions are not met, then the agreement is null and void. It’s no good. It’s a wooden nickel or a 3 dollar bill. You are excluded from whatever is on the table. Now, be honest with yourself–how often do you read (word-for-word) the Terms And Conditions? It comes along with your internet provider, your phone service, and when you sign up to win some Wacky World Wide prize or service. But did you know?
God has Terms And Conditions also. Now, before you call me a legalistic Pharisee, wild-eyed Calvinist, or fundamentalist wacko, hear me out. When it comes to God’s love, there are NO Terms And Conditions. He loves everyone equally. And we don’t have to check the box saying I Agree. And you can even check the box that says I Disagree–yet God still loves you. And when it comes to this Grace-Filled Life, still there are NO Terms And Conditions. His Grace is equally offered to every—-and I mean EVERY—-person. If we choose to reject His Grace, He still offers it to us.
So, where do the Terms And Conditions come into play? Are they the Fine Print that we need a microscope to read? Where are they found? Well, I will gladly tell you where they are found. They are found in the Bible—-carefully placed throughout the Bible—-at just the right places. Unless you have a fine-print Bible, they are easily recognized. Though the Terms And Conditions do not apply to His Love and Grace, there is a situation where they do exist.
It’s in The Relationship with God! Those within the Pro-Aggressive Theological Camp (excuse me, I should have said Progressive) want people to believe that there are absolutely NO Terms And Conditions when it comes to being a Disciple and Follower of Jesus. Don’t believe something in the Bible? No problem with God. So, you want to identity your gender by how you feel? No problem! Want to have sex with whomever you please? No problem! All you have to do is Love God and Love others! Then you can have a relationship with God.
Today I pulled out just one example of those Terms And Conditions. David has just screwed-up—-literally and figuratively. He had an affair with another man’s wife ( a good friend of David’s) and to cover up one sin, he committed another sin—-murder. David just broke the Terms And Conditions. Don’t forget that God had called David a man after his own heart. This means he loved God. And he loved others–especially Bathsheba–but not so much Uriah. But hey, that’s a .500 batting average. That’s called All-Star status.
But then there are those vexing and nettlesome Terms And Conditions: Don’t you dare commit adultery. Don’t you dare kill someone! Don’t worship anyone or anything but ME! That’s just part of the Terms And Conditions. But remember–to violate just one makes the entire agreement null and void. And God knew it. So what does God do? He extends Grace to David by confronting David through Nathan. When Scripture confronts our sin of choice–that is an act of Grace from God, Himself. The Confrontations from Scripture gives us a choice: Embrace that Confrontation (A.K.A. SIN) and seek to restore the relationship–or–live within The Confrontation without seeking restoration. In other words–just live within that sin.
Now, David has a choice. We know which choice David made. And true to David’s heart, he wrote a song about it. Who says that Country & Western music is the only genre that writes about raw emotions? Look carefully at the steps David took in order to live within those Terms And Conditions:
- He sought God’s Mercy. Not just ordinary Mercy, but great (or tender) mercy.
- Then, he asked for Blot out the stain of my sin! David knew what his sin of choice was doing to him. So he asked that God blot out that stain. If you get a stain on your favorite outfit, what do you do? You try to get it out, right? And the stain doesn’t come out? Well, it’s ruined. The Hebrew word used by David means to remove from God’s memory. He didn’t ask God to change the Terms And Conditions so that his sin would be OK.
- He admits he was wrong! What a novel concept! He doesn’t blame Bathsheba for taking a bath where he could see her. He doesn’t say, Well, that’s just the way I was born! He accepts responsibility that he, and he alone, violated those Terms And Conditions.
- Then he asks God to take away that sin. Not just the memory of it–but the desire for that sin and to remove the power that sin is holding over him. At the root of that word purge or purity in Hebrew is to miss the mark! The same word is used in Greek to describe sin!
- Now he’s ready for the next step: Create in me a clean heart. In Hebrew, it means that David wants God to literally cut into his heart–to take away that desire that led him away from God’s Terms And Conditions. It means God does the changing inside the heart–aligning that heart back to the heart that HE created. It’s always God’s activity, never ours! He doesn’t want the heart that HE has–he wants The Heart that God has for him. You know, the one described in the Terms And Conditions.
- And he asks God to renew in him a clean (KJV)or loyal (NLT) heart. In the Hebrew, it means to be steadfast. He doesn’t want to go back to his old ways. His desire is to be firmly fixed within those Terms And Conditions!
I’ll close out today’s musings by addressing other issues not found within The Progressive Fallacies. If you are a racist, a misogynist, arrogant, mistreat people, love money more than God, seek after political solutions for spiritual problems, or you are just a downright unpleasant person, then know that you, too, have violated God’s Terms And Conditions. Whatever our sin of choice might be–we are living in violation of God’s Terms And Conditions. And like David, we need to do something about it. Not change the Terms And Conditions–but we need a transformation of our heart. And until God changes our hearts–we will continue to Disagree with His Terms And Conditions.
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P.S. (from bruce) When there is no other place to turn…turn to God !! If you’re not a “born again” Christian, is the Holy Spirit urging you to open this link ?? Here is the truth about how God’s grace is received to become a Christian in God’s eyes; through understanding and obeying the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ… https://godsmanforever.com
To my brothers and sisters in Christ, please feel free to share this message of the cross with those in need…
You say you are a “born again” believer… BUT is your soul “ON FIRE” for the Lord ?? If not, open this link – https://godsmanforever.com/2020/08/01/are-you-a-christian-in-gods-eyes-and-on-fire-for-the-lord-or-not/
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