What should we learn from the life of Jeremiah?

Question: "What should we learn from the life of Jeremiah?"

Answer: Jeremiah the prophet lived in the final days of the crumbling nation of Israel. He was, appropriately, the last prophet that God sent to preach to Southern kingdom, which comprised the tribes of Judah and Benjamin. God had repeatedly warned Israel to stop their idolatrous behavior, but they would not listen, so He tore the 12 tribes asunder, sending the 10 Northern tribes into captivity at the hands of the Assyrians. Then God sent Jeremiah to give Judah the last warning before He cast them out of the land, decimating the nation and sending them into captivity in the pagan kingdom of Babylon. Jeremiah, a faithful, God-fearing man, was called to tell Israel that because of their unrepentant sin, their God had turned against them and was now prepared to remove them from the land, at the hands of a pagan king whom He called, “My servant” (Jeremiah 26:7).

No doubt Jeremiah, who was only about 17 when God called him, had great inner turmoil over the fate of his people, and he begged them to listen. He is known as “the weeping prophet,” because he cried tears of sadness, not only because he knew what was about to happen, but because no matter how hard he tried, the people would not listen. Furthermore, he found no human comfort. God had forbidden him to marry or have children (Jeremiah 16:2), and his friends had turned their backs on him. So along with the burden of the knowledge of impending judgment, he also must have felt alone and lonely. God knew that this was the best course for Jeremiah, because He went on to tell him how horrible conditions would be in a short time, with babies, children, and adults dying “grievous” deaths, their bodies unable to even be buried, and their flesh devoured by the birds (Jeremiah 16:3-4).

Obviously, the people of Israel had become so hardened by the numbing effects of sin that they no longer believed God, nor did they fear Him. Jeremiah preached for 40 years, and not once did he see any real success in changing or softening the hearts and minds of his stubborn, idolatrous people. The other prophets of Israel had witnessed some successes, at least for a little while, but not Jeremiah. He was speaking to a brick wall; however, his words were not wasted. They were pearls being cast before swine in a sense, and they were convicting every person who heard them and refused to heed the warning.

Jeremiah tried to make the people understand their problem was a lack of belief, trust, and faith in God, along with an absence of fear which caused them to take Him for granted. It is very easy to be lulled into a false sense of security, especially when the focus is not on God. The nation of Israel, just like many nations today, had stopped putting God first, and had replaced Him with false gods, those that would not make them feel guilty or convict them of sin. God had delivered His people from bondage in Egypt, had performed miracles before them, and had even parted the waters of the sea for them. In spite of all these displays of God’s power, they returned to the false practices they had learned in Egypt, even making vows to the false ‘queen of heaven,’ along with the other rites and rituals that were part of the Egyptian culture and religion. God finally turned them over to their idolatry, saying “Go ahead then, do what you promised! Keep your vows!” (Jeremiah 44:25).

Jeremiah’s constant depression, plus his loneliness and isolation, finally got the best of him and he became discouraged. He sunk into the quagmire where many believers seem to get stuck when they think their efforts are not making a difference and time is ticking away. Jeremiah, just like every other human being, was emotionally spent, even to the point of doubting God (Jeremiah 15:18), but God was not done with him. Jeremiah 15:19 records a lesson for each believer to remember in those times when they feel alone, useless, and discouraged and their faith is wavering: “Therefore this is what the LORD says: ‘If you repent, I will restore you that you may serve me; if you utter worthy, not worthless, words, you will be my spokesman. Let this people turn to you, but you must not turn to them.’” God was saying to Jeremiah, come back to Me, and I will restore to you the joy of your salvation. These are similar to the words penned by David when he repented of his sin with Bathsheba (Psalm 51:12).

What we learn from the life of Jeremiah is the comfort of knowing that, just like every believer, even great prophets of God can experience rejection, depression, and discouragement in their walk with the Lord. This is a normal part of growing spiritually, because our sinful nature fights against our new nature, that which is born of the Spirit of God, according to Galatians 5:17: “For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want.” But just as Jeremiah found, we can know that the faithfulness of our God is infinite; even when we are unfaithful to Him, He remains steadfast (2 Timothy 2:13).

Jeremiah was given the task of delivering an unpopular, convicting message to Israel, one that caused him great mental anguish, as well as making him despised in the eyes of his people. God says that His truth sounds like “foolishness” to those who are lost, but to believers they are the very words of life (1 Corinthians 1:18). He also says that the time will come when people will not tolerate the truth (2 Timothy 4:3-4). Those in Israel in Jeremiah’s day did not want to hear what he had to say, and his constant warning of judgment annoyed them. This is true of the world today, as believers who are following God’s instructions are warning the lost and dying world of impending judgment (Revelation 3:10). Even though most are not listening, we must persevere in proclaiming truth in order to rescue some from the terrible judgment that will inevitably come.

Recommended Resource: The Great Lives from God's Word Series by Chuck Swindoll.

http://www.gotquestions.org/life-Jeremiah.html

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Is it wrong for me to point out my friend's sin?

Ask Dr. Stanley. What do you when someone you care about is hurting themselves? And is there a point when it becomes healthy to back away from a friend who is living in sin? In Touch Ministries, 2011. http://intouch.org/

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Thanks to CallOutToJesus on YouTube for uploading the video.

Sin - What is sin? What are the different kinds of sin? Is there hope?

What is sin? According to Got Questions, "sin is described in the Bible as transgression of the law of God (1 John 3:4) and rebellion against God (Deuteronomy 9:7; Joshua 1:18)." In other words, sin is when we do something wrong, which is against God. All human beings are born with a sinful nature, ever since the first human beings Adam and Eve who sinned, so it is natural for us to sin. According to the Jack Van Impe Prophecy Bible, "Sin separates us from God (Isaiah 59:2). All sin results in judgment - the pay off is death and eventually, the Great White Throne Judgment (Romans 1:24-32; 6:23; 1 Corinthians 6:9,10; Galatians 5:19-21). Revelations 21:8 and 22:15 provide a comprehensive picture of those who are damned for all eternity. They are:

the fearful - those who do not accept Christ to escape being ridiculed (Matthew 10:32).
unbelievers - those who do not believe in and receive the Lord Jesus Christ (John 8:24)
the abominable - those who engage in wicked practices (Titus 1:16)
murderers - those who kill others or hate (1 John 3:15)
whoremongers - those who engage in fornication or consort with prostitues (Ephesians 5:5-8)
sorcerers - those who practice witchcraft, demonism, and follow after the occult. sorcery comes from the Greek word pharmakeia, meaning "enchantment with drugs." thus, drug users and even pushers are included in the guilty verdict for judgment.
idolaters - those who worship or reverance anyone or anything other than the living and true God.
liars - (John 8:44)
dogs - false professors (2 Peter 2:21,22)
homosexuals - (Romans 1:18-32)
the unrighteous - those who trust in self, works, a false religious system, or mere "religion" for salvation (Titus 3:5)
fornicators - those who engage in premarital and extramarital sex (1 Corinthians 6:9, 14-18)
the wicked - those who disregard all morality and moral standards
the covetous - those who desire all things for themselves, especially that which belongs to others (Ephesians 5:5-8)
the malicious - those who willfully seek to destroy the person and property of others (James 1:26)
the envious - those resentful of others
debaters - those who would rather argue with God than accept His truth
deceivers - those who purposely mislead or betray others (2 Timothy 3:13)
maligners - those who speak evil of, defame, or slander others (James 3:2-3).
whisperers - those who gossip
backbiters - those who constantly find fault with others and speak maliciously about them
haters of God.
despisers - those filled with contempt toward God and man
the proud - those possessing an excessively high opinion of themselves
boasters - those who exalt self
inventors of evil things
the disobedient to parents
those without understanding (resulting from unconcern or rejection of the truth)
covenant breakers - those who do not keep their word
those whose affections are contrary to the laws of God and nature
the implacable - those exhibiting extreme stubbornness to the point of refusing to yield to the convicting power of the Holy Spirit (Proverbs 1:24-28; Acts 7:51,52)
the unmerciful - those who lack compassion (Ephesians 4:32)
adulterers - those who practice extramarital sex (1 Corinthians 6:9,10)
the effeminate - generally younger persons in the process of becoming homosexuals or sodomites
abusers of themselves with mankind - hardened homosexuals (Genesis 19:5)
thieves - (1 Corinthians 6:10)
drunkards - those given to and overcome by alcohol (Proverbs 20:1, 23:20,21; Luke 21:34, Romans 13:13, 1 Corinthians 6:10; Galatians 5:19-21; Ephesians 5:18)
revilers - those who use abusive or contemptuous language
extortioners - those who exact money from or take advantage of others through violence, threats or misuse of authority.

Persons who have practiced these sins, then, and who are still contaminated by the guilt of them, because they have not come to Christ, will be the ones judged before the Great White Throne.

Is there hope? And such were some of you....but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God (1 Corinthians 6:11; 1 John 1:7; John 3:17).

There is not a sin that can keep a true believer out of heaven. God's Word clearly states that some Christians will be saved 'so as by fire.' They lose everything except their salvation. Because of it, they will be "ashamed" in Christ's presence (1 John 2:28). If believers were left behind at the Rapture because of some sin in their lives, who would the "ashamed" be at that investigative session? Rewards are lost because of disobedience and disobedience is sin (Romans 5:19; James 4:17)."

So, for those who are saved because they hold faith in Jesus then they are forgiven of their sins past, present and future. Although the believer may lose out on some heavenly rewards, they will still be saved and be safe with God for all eternity. For those who are not saved because they do not believe in Jesus for their salvation then they will, very tragically, be judged for all of their sins and receive no forgiveness for they had never believed on Jesus for their salvation when they had the opportunity to do so. It will not matter what good they had done in life (Isaiah 64:6; Ephesians 2:8-9) if they had never received forgiveness of their sins. Repent and believe today. Faith is a free gift of God because He loves you and He made it possible. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son (Jesus) so that whoever believes in Him should not perish (go to hell) but have everlasting life (John 3:16).

Footnotes
Impe, Dr. Jack Van. "Your Future - An A-Z Index to Prophecy." Jack Van Impe Prophecy Bible: King James Version : Red Letter Edition. Windsor, Canada: Jack Van Impe Ministries International, 1999. 97-99. Print.
"What Is the Definition of Sin?" Bible Questions Answered. Got Questions Ministries. Web. 14 July 2011. http://www.gotquestions.org/definition-sin.html>.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ

The Gospel of Jesus Christ from Way of Life on Vimeo.

The Gospel explained in a simple way. Sin, death, hell, forgiveness, salvation, heaven. What is it all about? What does the Bible conclude about all of this?