I have little doubt that in this regard you have been like I have been from time-to-time:
When we do not do what we were supposed to or we did something that we should not have done, and in either case we are legitimately confronted about it—we often are quick to make excuses.
In some cases, we might be forgiven (although warned) but in other cases of our wrong-doing there will be consequences, ranging from unpleasant to seriously negative and in some way maybe painful—perhaps even long-lasting.
Do you know what I mean from personal experience? The Holy Spirit put that one word on my heart: Excuses!
Excuse: To make apology for, to try to remove [or shift] the blame from. A defense of some offensive behavior or some failure to keep a promise. Synonyms: Self-justification, alibi, reasons, pretext
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We have several examples in the Bible where men and women have made excuses with God or where God was otherwise offended and angry—stories that you are well-familiar with! There was Eve saying, “The serpent beguiled me and I did eat.” When Adam was confronted about his disobedience, he said, “The woman whom Thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.”
God approached Cain about his missing brother and Cain said, “Am I my brother’s keeper?”
Skip ahead to King Saul who was commanded by God to totally eradicate the Amalekites race, including all their livestock. Yet he brought back their king and a spoil from the livestock, and when confronted by Samuel, Saul said, “The people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen to sacrifice unto the Lord thy God. . .” to which Samuel replied, “Obedience is better than sacrifice. . .”
Then there was Moses at the burning bush making excuses about why he shouldn’t and couldn’t go to Egypt and face Pharaoh. Months later when answering Moses’ questions about the golden calf, his brother Aaron said, “The people said make us gods. . .so I cast in their gold to the fire and out came this calf!”
We would go on detailing the excuses by Abraham about Sarah, 10 of the 12 spies, Obadiah before Elijah, Elijah running from Jezebel, Jonah running from the Lord, doubting Thomas, and Peter’s denials the night of the Lord’s betrayal. We may get away with making excuses with others—but never with God!
With God there are no excuses—in the minutest details He knows and has a record of the truth of the matter regarding all things about each man and woman that has ever lived. He has all the details of our lives, including our thoughts and plans (wishes for evil), imaginations and fantasies, words and actions, and the uses of our time (productive and wasted) by which each individual will be judged for how they lived his or her life. These things are all inscribed in heavenly books.
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Referenced: Psalm 139:1-4, Exodus 32:32-33, Psalm 56:8, Matthew 12:36-37, Revelation 20:12]
On this issue, and it is one that is black and white where God is involved; there are generally only two groups of men and women since Jesus died and was resurrected: There are those that have been open to the Holy Spirit, sought God, believed the Gospel of Jesus Christ and been born again—and those that have not been open and died in their sins having not accepted God’s Savior.
For the one that has been born again there will be the Judgment Seat of Christ, and for all others there will be the Revelation 20 Great White Throne Judgment, however at neither place will there be heard any excuses.
As to those that have ignored the work of God in their lives, work He has done by His Holy Spirit in order to get their attention and draw them to Himself that He might redeem them, we read this:
[Romans 1:18-23, 1 Peter 4:4-5, Mark 8:36-37, Daniel 7:9-10, Revelation 20:11-15]
You see, except for those that have exhausted God’s mercy and grace to reach them in order to save them from an eternity in the Lake of Fire God, which He warns of this by using the word reprobate in the Bible, [except for the reprobates] God is busy every day in every life working to bring the lost face-to-face with the knowledge of His existence in order to save them from everlasting fires, or in the case of ones that have been born again, He is daily working to sanctify and prepare them (us) to enter His eternal kingdom.
And no matter which judgment hall a soul eventually is brought to to stand before God at—He has a record of all that He has tried to do to accomplish His will in that life—much of which has been shunned by the man or woman—yes, even many Christians!
To those that are born again and to those that somehow might hear this message today that are not, I say, there is very little time left to totally submit your lives to God beginning with repentance, be forgiven for having your back toward Jesus Christ, others for disobedience, ignorance of His written Word, and a great many claiming to be “followers” of Jesus who—but instead—sit relaxed at some shady spot on the side of their road to redemption while the Lord walks on without them actually following Him, which is an inexcusable laziness toward God.
[Luke 14:15-19, 2 Corinthians 5:9-11, 1 Corinthians 3:13-15]
As to our serving the Lord once we are born again, as to being faithful to the needed and daily spiritual disciplines to prepare us for His kingdom, as to taking action to vanquish personal sin in our lives—most professing Christians have only foolish and flimsy excuses as to why they fail at these things.
Over the years I have said myself and heard others say things such as these:
“I just don’t have the time to read my Bible or talk to God… I’ve tried to stop my sinning but just can’t help myself… Well, God understands how I am… God doesn’t need my money… Oh, God will (just have to) forgive me… I know that I should do more because I’m a Christian—I guess I’ll just have to learn to be content to live on the poor side of town in Heaven when I get there.”
(And trust me, there will be a poor side of town in Heaven where multitudes will live that were saved by the proverbial “skin of their teeth”; a place not to be confused with the Lake of fire but one in God’s realm where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth for having such attitudes as these on the earth—a place where their earthly excuses will be deeply regretted!)
You have heard me say many times that looming before each of us at the Judgment Seat of Christ is this overriding question by Jesus: “What did you do with the life that I gave you?” Let’s take a look.
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For Many He will Ask
• Why didn’t you read my Word?
• Why didn’t you talk to others about Me when the opportunity came up?
• Why didn’t you pray more and pray for your unsaved loved ones?
• You were given spiritual gifts to serve the church ...
• Why didn’t you allow Me to use them through you?
• Why didn’t you spend more of your free time in fellowship with Me?
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Unless you have been in prison, separated from others, and had no access to a Holy Bible—if you were brazen enough to reply to such divine questions, you could only offer—excuses!
We need to carefully look at our lives and identify the areas that we have such attitudes about, repent of our disobedience (for not doing what we know we should or what the Lord has asked us to do), change our time-spending and money-wasting habits (by serving Him better and supporting the honorable Christian works of others), and with the Holy Spirit’s help, strive to get victory over our habitual sinning. . . In other words, let us adjust our lives from today onward in order that we will have the assurance of God’s Spirit (day-by-day!) that we are fully surrendered to Him and will not ever need to make excuses.
[Luke 16:1-2 & 10-13, Romans 14:10-12, Job 31:14, 1 Corinthians 3:13-15, Matthew 25:30]
Today’s challenge is to look at your spiritual life and compare it to what the Bible reveals is required of those that have been truly born again from above.
There is so little time left now to set things in proper order in your life, establish or strengthen needed spiritual disciplines and good practices, and be a good steward of all that God has given you.
I hope through prayer that when you face the Lord you stand there having no need to try to excuse yourself from what you could’a, would’a, and should’a done on the earth.
~Brother Scott ... With ... The Right Word© ... For Today~
