Musick-al Note # 273
Does God’s goodness cause you to sin? A strange question, yet one which the Apostle Paul alluded to in Romans 2:4 and concluded that God’s goodness should lead to repentance. Let us examine ourselves in the light of this question and not relegate it into some far-off, distant land.
Take, for instance, God’s goodness to us in this land of freedom, in which we are not forbidden to meet and worship the true and living God. Does this freedom of choice cause many to seek the Lord? Does it cause Christians to spend much time in worship? On the contrary, man seeks his own way and many Christians must be begged, pleaded with, cajoled and constantly visited before they make much effort to worship God, and then they attend only hen nothing else comes up. Does god’s goodness cause them to sin? By no means, it should cause them to be able to worship and have more fellowship with the brethren. The choice is still theirs and they do as they please in this matter.
Another area of God’s goodness is this era of prosperity and plenty with money easy to come by for those who will apply themselves. Does this prosperity cause men to give much to the cause of the Lord, to the preaching of the Gospel, to help the poor and needy, to be ready to every good work? Not necessarily (although most undoubtedly do) but many Christians are selfish, greedy, stingy, hardened to the needs of the less fortunate and are unconcerned for the lost souls around them. Does the goodness of God cause them to sin? It should have caused them to be able to do more in the kingdom. The choice is with man, to do or fail to do as he decides for himself.
Again, does God’s goodness, shown in the love and charity of the brethren cause Christians to prefer one another and treat one another fairly? Then why do we find Christians taking advantage of other Christians? Why do some take advantage of the church when there is opportunity to do so? Perhaps there is a bit of Judas in each of us – to obtain something for ourselves at the expense of the brethren when the occasion is right. Judas probably reasoned that his taking from the treasury was just – that he deserved it. Perhaps much was to provide for the whole group and he only got a little extra for himself. However Judas excused himself, John reveals that he was a thief from the beginning. Because an opportunity arises doesn’t mean that we ought to serve ourselves. Does God’s goodness cause us to sin? God forbid! It should cause us to prove our faithfulness, our love and lead us to do better things in the future.
Gordon Musick
Musick-al Notes 