Serious.

The word itself means something that is not light; it is grave, with a sense of solemnity. It is not a light word, and
using it is intended to describe situations that are somber or require thought. It gives cause for apprehension, and is
of a critical nature.

But sadly, the last thing many out there seem to be doing is taking God seriously. I have heard so many say in the
past few years: “Oh, well God is love", or "God understands", as if understanding and condoning sin were one in
the same. Somehow, they seemed to confuse love  with permission, and it's a fool's game. “Playing Christian”
seemed to be all the rage until things got tough; at that point, many out there decided it wasn’t so much “fun”
anymore, especially when they actually had to LIVE it.

That is a tragic mistake.

While God is love (as Scripture tells us in 1 John chapter 4), that doesn’t mean that God tolerates us doing whatever
we please. "God is love" means God is the epitome, the definition of love. It does not mean that is ALL He is;  His
love does NOT cancel out his righteousness or His hatred of sin. And as a point of fact, God is utterly serious on his
hatred of sin; we see this in the way He treated Israel and Judah when they continually fell away from him and
turned to idols:

“As the thief is shamed when he is discovered, So the house of Israel is shamed; They, their kings, their princes
And their priests and their prophets, Who say to a tree, ‘You are my father,’ And to a stone, ‘You gave me birth.’
For they have turned their back to Me, and not their face; But in the time of their trouble they will say, ‘Arise and
save us.’ “But where are your gods which you made for yourself?  Let them arise, if they can save you in the
time of your trouble; For according to the number of your cities Are your gods, O Judah. Why do you contend
with Me? You have all transgressed against Me,” declares the LORD.” (Jeremiah 2:26-29, NASB, emphasis
mine)

By the time Jeremiah stepped onto the scene, no one in Judah was taking God seriously anymore. Gone were the
days of Hezekiah, who had lead one of the greatest revivals of worship in the land of Judah. And Israel, the
northern kingdom, had already been annihilated by the Assyrians in a stroke of judgment by the Lord. All that was
left was tiny Judah, and she was no better than her northern sister:

"And I saw that for all the adulteries of faithless Israel, I had sent her away and given her a writ of divorce, yet
her treacherous sister Judah did not fear; but she went and was a harlot also.”(Jeremiah 3:8, NASB, emphasis
mine)

The people of the two nations forgot that God is not just a God of love, but of JUSTICE and RIGHTEOUSNESS.
That he knows the condition of the human heart, and that in it is all sorts of vileness and wickedness:

"The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; Who can understand it?" (Jeremiah 17:9, NASB)

Yet, in spite of knowing that, they continued in their sin. They thought that God's forbearance was essentially a
permission slip to sin as much as they wanted, provided that they made the "appropriate sacrifices".

They were WRONG.

God ended up destroying both wayward nations, sending Israel into oblivion and Judah into exile for a generation
to Babylon, where they had more than their fill of idols, pagan rituals, and ungodly things.

That brings us to today’s age: the veneer of civilization may have advanced, but the heart of man is still wicked.
Nothing has changed. People still hunt after idols that can give them their base desires; they don't seek a God who
can feed them spiritually but seek a "god" who can “let them have it all NOW”. 

But the Lord is not fooled, nor is He lax about it:

“The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to
perish but for all to come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9, NASB)

And this extends to the Church as well.

In 1 Peter 4:, the Lord is telling us EXACTLY what He is doing: He is NOT simply allowing us to do whatever we
please, but He is giving us a chance to return to him from our sins and come back to Him:

“For it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the
outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? AND IF IT IS WITH DIFFICULTY THAT THE
RIGHTEOUS IS SAVED, WHAT WILL BECOME OF THE GODLESS MAN AND THE SINNER.” (1
Peter 4:17-18 NASB)

Let’s put it this way: for our very Creator to perish in our place on a rough-hewn wooden cross, how serious do we
take that to be?

Scripture tells us:

“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23,
NASB, emphasis mine)

I'd say that's pretty grave.

In these closing hours, far too many have fallen away from the pure words of the Lord. They do not take the Bible
seriously, they do not take salvation seriously, and they do not take the Lord seriously. They think it is some kind of
game to be played, and that they may dabble in whatever they like, so long as they plaster a cross on it and package
it as "Christian”, only to be dropped as soon as it is inconvenient or no longer to our “advantage”.

Believers need to put ibelief into action in order for it to be faith;  otherwise it is no better than mental assent. If we
tell others that committing adultery is wrong, then our walk with the Lord needs to eflect the stance that lusting
after someone (which Scripture says is the same thing is just as wrong). If we truly care about others, then we are
NOT to hold them at arm's length, but we are to care for them and show them we truly love them!! And if we say
that we are God's children, then His word needs to matter to us FIRST and FOREMOST.

GOD DOESN'T PLAY GAMES, CHURCH. Legalism is when we try to "live by the rules "well enough" to
deserve Salvation; holiness is when we allow the Holy Spirit to transform us so the Old Man isn't calling the shots
in our lives. There's a difference, and it matters.

I bid you all peace.

-Sojo414