Sometimes in our church - usually on a Friday night - we’ll have Movie Night
People - families get together & watch a movie - here at church
-& of course, there’s a lot of popcorn & treats
There is a woman in our church who is great at putting things like this on
It was over a year ago, I think it was one of the first Friday movie nights
-I was there & there were some wonderful chocolate covered caramels
-hmmm, they were so good! It was something worth getting fat over!
-so, I enjoyed a number of those candies
The night was over, and this dear woman had the idea,
“Let’s just save these extra treats & use them on Sunday”
-there was something going on Sunday after church
-but I can’t remember what
-so, all the good snacks & candies got put away until Sunday
-well, Sunday came around, & I was eagerly anticipating & looking forward
-to finding & having more of those chocolate covered caramels
-but when the time finally came - I was terribly disappointed
-as I put one in my mouth
-those wonderful chocolate covered caramels now tasted of mint!
-they were all put in one big bowl with mint flavored candy
-& these previously wonderful chocolate covered caramels
-were polluted by the mint flavored candy!
(Some times a guy has it hard in life!)
-when I talk about liking chocolate (I don’t think I bring it up that often)
-I’m talking about chocolate
-not mint flavored chocolate
Now, this is a horrible thing that happens
-you take perfectly fine tasting chocolate candy
-mix that with some mint flavored candy
-& you’ll taste the mint in the previously good candy
-the mint, somehow rubs off on the good candy
(These opinions expressed, don’t necessarily reflect the opinions
of the whole church, by the way)
All this foolishness about mints & chocolates
-is an introduction for our message today
-from Ezra 9
Earlier in our series, when we studied Haggai
-Haggai was a prophet during the time of this Book of Ezra
-& we came across this principle
Haggai 2:10-14
On the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to the prophet Haggai: 11 "This is what the Lord Almighty says: 'Ask the priests what the law says: 12 If a person carries consecrated meat in the fold of his garment, and that fold touches some bread or stew, some wine, oil or other food, does it become consecrated?'"
The priests answered, "No."
13 Then Haggai said, "If a person defiled by contact with a dead body touches one of these things, does it become defiled?"
"Yes," the priests replied, "it becomes defiled."
14 Then Haggai said, " So it is with this people and this nation in my sight," declares the Lord. "Whatever they do and whatever they offer there is defiled."
Think of holiness & unholiness - or godliness & ungodliness
-what happens in real life - holiness & godliness can become polluted
-by unholiness & ungodliness
1Corinthians 15:33
Do not be misled: "Bad company corrupts good character."
James 1:27
Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
We come to an example of this in our last chapters of Ezra
This study in Ezra has had us think about building
-the people were rebuilding the temple of God
-for us, today - we are the temple of God - God lives & dwells in His people
-so, we’ve been thinking about how we want to be building our lives
-& building the church of God - the people of God
-we’ve been thinking about how we want to build our lives to be like Christ
-Jesus is our blueprint for building our lives
There’s a wonderful & perfect balance that Jesus kept while a man here
-a balance between keeping separate from sin & sinners
-so as not to be contaminated by sin
-yet, close enough to sinners - to influence them with the ways of God
-that’s a balance we need to strive for ourselves
-today, in our study through Ezra - we’re challenged with the importance
-of keeping separate from sinners
-so that we, the people of God stay pure, holy & godly
-in order to be able to impact & even change the world for God
-otherwise, when we get too close & too associated with the un-godly
-sin has a tendency to rub off on us & it can spoil us
-like that mint chocolate rubbing off it’s mint flavor
-on the caramel chocolate
Let’s look at what happened
Ezra, had just come to Jerusalem with a large group of Israelites to populate
-the holy city - to re-establish the nation of God - the people of God
-come to find out there were some major problems
-with the people who had already been there
-they hadn’t kept themselves separate from the non-believers
-of the surrounding country
Ezra 9:1-2
After these things had been done, the leaders came to me and said, "The people of Israel, including the priests and the Levites, have not kept themselves separate from the neighboring peoples with their detestable practices, like those of the Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Jebusites, Ammonites, Moabites, Egyptians and Amorites. 2 They have taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and their sons, and have mingled the holy race with the peoples around them. And the leaders and officials have led the way in this unfaithfulness."
There was a very clear - straightforward command & warning from God
-not to marry the people of the non-believing nations in the land
Deuteronomy 7:1-6
When the Lord your God brings you into the land you are entering to possess and drives out before you many nations — the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites, seven nations larger and stronger than you — 2 and when the Lord your God has delivered them over to you and you have defeated them, then you must destroy them totally. Make no treaty with them, and show them no mercy. 3 Do not intermarry with them. Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons, 4 for they will turn your sons away from following me to serve other gods, and the Lord's anger will burn against you and will quickly destroy you. 5 This is what you are to do to them: Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones, cut down their Asherah poles and burn their idols in the fire. 6 For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession.
Exodus 34:15-16
"Be careful not to make a treaty with those who live in the land; for when they prostitute themselves to their gods and sacrifice to them, they will invite you and you will eat their sacrifices. 16 And when you choose some of their daughters as wives for your sons and those daughters prostitute themselves to their gods, they will lead your sons to do the same.
In a general sense, the people of God were to be careful
-not to associate too closely with the non-believers
-& a very definite example was in marriage
-in fact, when the nation of God was inhabiting the Promised Land
-it’s a bit hard for us to understand this today
-but God had them militarily defeat these people
-& in war, they were to kill them all
-they were to eliminate them so they wouldn’t be a negative influence
-that’s hard for us to understand
-& we need to just realize we won’t understand the mind of God
-& accept that fact that He knows best
-& it probably has something to do with His knowledge
-of who will believe & what’s best for the whole world & eternity
-& the importance of God having a people in this world
-who closely follow Him
Now, in NT times, it’s much different
-it’s not about a nation of God anymore
-but nonetheless the principles still hold
-we’re to be very careful not to get too close in our ties to non-believers
2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1
Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? 15 What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? 16 What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: "I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people."
17 "Therefore come out from them and be separate, says the Lord.
Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you."
18 "I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters,
says the Lord Almighty."
7:1 Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.
What does it mean “yoked?”
-envision two oxen used to pull a wagon or plow
-it’s like the collar that puts them together
-we’re to be yoked with Christ - not unbelievers
-but what constitutes being yoked?
What kind of association is too close & strong with non-believers?
-here’s where discernment & personal conviction come to play
You might remember we’ve referred to:
1. Biblical Absolutes - the Bible spells it out for us
-God has declared something in particular as right or wrong
2. Personal Convictions - we need to use discernment
-from wisdom, experience, biblical principles & examples,
-prompting by the Holy Spirit, counsel from our fellowship
-to choose what is right & wrong
-& we will have some differences within the church
3. Personal Preferences - just have to do with likes & dislikes
-things that aren’t necessarily right or wrong
& should be made out to be right or wrong
Let’s think of an example, in the realm of being associated with non-believers
-there’s the choice to send your kids to a public or private Christian school,
-or to home school them, for example
-there are no biblical absolutes that tell you what to do
-you need to combine, some of your convictions, & preferences
-to discern what would be best for your family
-in the public school,
-there will be some joining of your children with non-believers
-this is where you’ll need to discern if this is too much or not
-for a business - what would constitute an unholy union or “yoking”
-with a business partner?
-there are some good biblical principles
-& you’ll have to form your convictions on this
-but probably no real biblical absolutes that tell you what to do
-what constitutes an unholy “yoking” with non-believers
-is mostly left to your convictions
-but there is one definite biblical absolute - marriage
-of all the relationships we can have - marriage is a definite “yoking”
-it’s forbidden of believers - followers of God to get married
-to non-believers
-this was strongly articulated in the OT - but also clearly true in NT times
1 Corinthians 7:39
A woman is bound to her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she is free to marry anyone she wishes, but he must belong to the Lord.
When we associate ourselves too closely with those not following the Lord
-it has a real tendency to corrupt our morals
-ungodliness has a real tendency of rubbing off on us
2 Corinthians.7:1 Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.
We need to take this very seriously
-if we’re going to live for God & glorify Him
-which should be our desire & goal in life
-we need to take this very serious
-& respond to this in our own lives
-& to the extent that we can - in the lives of our brothers & sisters in Christ
Ezra 9:3-4
When I heard this, I tore my tunic and cloak, pulled hair from my head and beard and sat down appalled. 4 Then everyone who trembled at the words of the God of Israel gathered around me because of this unfaithfulness of the exiles. And I sat there appalled until the evening sacrifice.
It would be good if we were more bothered by sin
-we should be bothered by sin
-sin should makes us angry & sad & heart-broke
What made matters worse here - is that the leaders - even the spiritual leaders
-were involved in this sin of marrying non-believers
-of all people, leaders in the church for us, need to be showing good examples
-even holding a higher standard of separation
-& you get the clear impression, that the sinful practices of these people
-had rubbed off on the people of God!
So, Ezra - now a new leader of the people
-shows a significant godly reaction to this sin
-when we are contaminated with sin
-even when our brothers & sisters are contaminated with sin
-we need to appreciate our guilt
-we need to confess our sin
-we need to seek to repent - turning from it
-& we’ll look more at what happens next time
For today, recognize the horrors of sin
-how it causes us to fall away from God
-sin is like corruption - poison mixing in with what would be good
-it destroys our relationship with God & with those we’re meant to relate to
To be sure, we’re to mix with the non-believers of the world around us
-but we’re to be an influence on them - to bring them to God
-we can’t allow them to influence us to fall away from God
Don’t let the mints spoil the good chocolate
Well, okay, that’s not a biblical absolute
-it’s really only a personal preference
-as I know some of you like mints
Let’s seek to stay pure
-but when the sinful practices of the world overtake us
-let’s humbly confess our sin & let God purify & cleanse us!
1 John 1:8-2:2
If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.
2:1 My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense — Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. 2 He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.
We’ll consider more on this next time
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