Both Sides of the Coin

     Once upon a time, I used to think that baby Christians grew up and became Mature Christians. The older I get the more I realize that the vast majority of Christians remain babies most if not all of their Christian Lives. Yes, they have been redeemed by the Blood, but their vision of being a Christian remains sitting on their favorite pew on Sunday, singing "Oh how I Love Jesus," and going out to eat fried chicken. Even those that come back on Sunday night, and come to Pray on Wednesday, pretty much limit their Spiritual Growth to singing in the Choir or helping reheat the chicken in the Fellowship Hall.
     Babies in Christ have a hard time understanding Doctrinal issues, especially Doctrinal Precepts. When I repented and came back to Church, my local Church was soon seeking a new Pastor. I listened intently to the new Preachers being presented. One stood out to me (Brother Rudy) when he said, "The average Southern Baptist has no idea what he or she truly believes, and/or why, and not a clue where that concept is found in Scripture." I prayed that very minute, "Lord don't let me remain that kind of Christian." I started that very night making a concerted effort to read the entire Bible every year. I couldn't put my Bible down, it was cool water to my soul, and meat I wanted to chew on daily. Sure I had some serious issues with my favorite sins, but I had prayed for Spiritual Wisdom as a teen, and verses I had studied came back, magnified and highlighted in my mind. I loved Isaiah and the Old Testament, and I loved finding Jesus everywhere I went in the Old Testament, especially when I found Him in Deuteronomy and Leviticus where I had not really expected Him to be so prominent.
     But to the Baby Christian Jesus is always Love and Grace. "God is Good, all the Time, all the time, God is good". So true but at the same time so misleading. There is another side to the coin. God is also a God of Wrath. We don't like to talk about that side of God's Personality. It isn't so politically correct in Sunday circles.
     A Gideon Friend of mine, Mark Tipton, who was often my partner in Jail Ministry, would always pull a coin out of his pocket to explain the two sides of God. One side is that unlimited, Perfect Love we all value; the other side is Perfect Justice we all deserve, but fear, and fear talking about. God's Wrath is as sure as His Love. Just the other side of the coin. God gets very angry with us, He absolutely Hates sin; yes I said Hates. God talks a lot about Hate in His Holy Word.
Was not Esau Jacob's brother? saith the Lord: yet I loved Jacob, 3 And I hated Esau, and laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness.
Mal 1:2-3
These six things doth the Lord hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: 17 A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood(abortion), 18 An heart that devises wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, 19 A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.
Prov 6:16-19 (KJV)
And let none of you imagine evil in your hearts against his neighbor; and love no false oath: for all these are things that I hate, saith the Lord.
Zech 8:17 (KJV)
     Hate is just as absolute a truth as is Love. God hated sin so badly that when His Own Son, actually His Own Body, Jesus was hanging on the Cross in Shame with our sins nailed to the Cross, God the Father was unable to even look upon those sins represented there. Even though Jesus was part of the Godhead and the focus of the Plan of Salvation, God the Father can't stomach or even look upon sin. The only way God the Father can look at us as Children of Adoption is because we are literally covered in the Blood of Christ. Jesus' Blood makes us white with Righteousness.
     The reliability of the coin is represented on its face. That is the Love side. God's Love is so great we can rely completely on every Promise He gave us in the Bible. The Love is the Testament of unquestioned value. But the other side denotes the denomination. The other side calls out for our obedience to God's Commandments. Remember Jesus said, "If you Love me, keep My Commandments." Obedience is God's test of our Love, the more we Obey the more His Coin is worth in our pocket. If you want an old worn out dime, go to Church on Sunday and sit on your favorite pew. If you want a brand new shining silver Dollar, get there early, open the door for the elderly, and usher a stranger into your favorite seat; spread the Gospel, be instant in season, pray, worship, praise, meditate, and study to show yourself approved.
     That coin often gets scratched up and worn as we travel our rocky paths to Sanctification; if we climb that pathway at all. I once owned a 1860-O Seated Dime. The O stands for New Orleans Mint. When the Confederacy took over the Mint in 1860 the retooled the U.S. dies and started minting Confederate dimes. Less than 900 1860-O dimes survived and I got to own one for a short time. It was unevenly worn especially on one side, and I often have imagined who's pocket or hand it traveled it. Did Jefferson Davis, or General Lee, or maybe even Abraham Lincoln spend it for a cigar, if it made it up north?
     I also own a copper Roman coin minted in Alexandria, Egypt during the time of Emperor Hadrian. What famous person from my History Book might have owned it before I? What cities in Egypt did it see before it made it to my house in the USA? Did it buy slaves, or camels, or maybe some special cargo from the Orient? Our Spiritual coin takes on some scratching and wear as we fidget in our pew and rub it through our trousers to see how serious we are about Jesus.
     Get deadly serious. Seek to do exceedingly and abundantly above all you think God would have you to do. Find out what Spiritual Gifts The Holy Spirit has endowed you with, and use them. Use them often, use them wisely and mightily. Make even your little dime shine. But if Possible, pull out a big shiny Silver Dollar and let it spin for everyone to see. Not in a bragging way, but in a conquering way.
     God Hates sin and we have to expose it in a way that will magnify His Love and Grace to overcome it. We have to do that two way. In our own lives daily, and in an unashamed Voice when we rebuke sin in our midst. Tolerance IS NOT a word found in the Bible. We can NEVER tolerate sin, especially in our Churches. God certainly Hates that. We cannot check a box in a voting booth that might support murder of an unborn baby, or "medical marijuana", or the perversion of Homosexuality. God sees you vote. Don't flip a coin to vote, vote the Bible and you'll always do the right thing. God has ordained a candidate for every situation, and He will show you who that Candidate is, if you ask. It is called prayer for those of you who have gotten rusty in what to do.
God always answers sincere and fervent prayer.