Sunday, November 25, 2012

ACCOUNTABILITY


                                  ACCOUNTABILITY

    Some time ago I wrote a message on the subject of accountability, and this
message is a follow up to that one with added scripture. There are all types
of accountability, but we are dealing with accountability to God in these two
messages. The previous message was based on Israeli procedure, which
established the age when a boy or girl was considered mature enough to be
accountable to God. Since this was in the period of time before the advent of
Christ, there was no clear plan of salvation as we now have. Accountability
was thus based on age. This age for boys and girls was usually 13, but over
the years has been changed to as old as 15 or 16, depending on the 
particular Jewish congregation.

    Our nation has established ages for accountability in consumption of alcohol
and many other things. This method is far from perfect, but seems to work out
fairly well. With the coming of Christ, age was replaced with maturity and
understanding of the plan of salvation. We should not be confused to think
that Israel in pre-Christ time did not know of salvation. They were aware of an
after life. There are several examples in scripture that prove this, but you have
to have a sharp eye and wit to discover them. Like so many truths in the bible,
these gems are usually overshadowed by other truths which grab our initial
attention.

    The first clue I give you is found in 2 Samuel 12:22,23. "And he said, 'While
the child was alive, I fasted and wept; for I said, "Who can tell whether the Lord
will be gracious to me, that the child may live? But now he is dead; why should
I fast? Can I bring him back again? I SHALL GO TO HIM, BUT HE SHALL NOT
RETURN TO ME.'" David knew about eternal life and the future "home" for the
child not committed through the sinner's prayer or by the age of accountability.

    The second clue is from, of all places, the Book of Job. This is a small book,
but it has so many sermon topics, it requires several in depth studies. We shall
examine some verses of Chapter 3 that tell us Job knew about eternal life. See
verses 1-19 (and more verses if you like), because this explains Job's knowledge
of eternal life. "May the day perish on  which I was born, And the night in which
it was said , A male child is conceived. May that day be darkness; May God above
not seek it, Nor the light shine upon it. May darkness and the shadow of death
claim it; May a cloud settle on it; May the blackness of the day terrify it. As for
that night, may darkness seize it; May it not rejoice among the days of the year;
May it not come into the number of the months. Oh, may that night be barren!
May no joyful shout come into it! May they curse it who curse the day, Those
who are ready to arouse Leviathan. May the stars of its morning be dark; May
it look for light, but have none, And not see the dawning of the day. Because it
did not shut up the doors of my mother's womb, Nor hide sorrow from my eyes.

    Why did I not die at birth? Why did I not perish when I came from the womb?
Why did the knees receive me? Or why the breasts, that I should nurse? For
now I would have lain still and been quiet, I would have been asleep; Then I
would have been at rest With kings and counselors of the earth, Who built ruins
for themselves, Or with princes who had gold, Or filled their houses with silver;
OR WHY WAS I NOT HIDDEN LIKE A STILLBORN CHILD, LIKE INFANTS WHO
NEVER SAW LIGHT? There the wicked cease from troubling, And there the 
weary are at rest. There the prisoners rest together; They do not hear the voice
of the oppressor. The small and great are there, And the servant is free from his
master." Job knew the future whereabouts of the unborn.

    By now you may have surmised I'm writing about abortion, which I do not favor
except for special conditions. I've heard so many loudmouth conservative men say
there should be no abortions because it is murder of an innocent baby or fetus.
However, if the mother dies, it is apparently okay. First of all, there is no such
thing as an innocent baby or fetus. Upon conception, the fetus receives the seed
of sin from human parents. See Romans 5:12, "Therefore, just as through one man
sin entered the world,, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men,
because all sinned--" The term innocent sounds good, but does not apply to
mankind, at any age.

    Let's move on to murder--the term anti-abortionists define according to their
personal agendas. Some believe it's Godly to kill an abortion doctor or any
assistants. That's premeditated murder. Christ did not teach that and it is against
God's commandments. Now to the conservative church people who CONDONE
MURDER by refusing to permit an abortion to save a woman's life: We have a
perfect example in November 2012 in Ireland. It made the newspapers and the 
full media in Europe and Asia, but was pretty well smothered in America.

    The woman was 31 years old, a native of India, married, well educated and a
dentist. Her husband is an engineer. She was in her 17th week of pregnancy, and
the fetus was contributing to blood poisoning. An abortion could save her life. The
fetus would die with or without the abortion. The woman suffered great pain until
she died. Ireland is Catholic. The country's constitution forbids abortion for any
reason. The decision by the Catholic church and medical people was to let the 
woman die even though the fetus would never have life. As she said, she was not
Irish nor was she Catholic. So...the bishops and doctors were responsible for two
deaths. At least one was murder. Her husband lost his wife, and they never had
any possibility of having children.

    Fortunately there were no anti-abortion American Catholics or conservatives
involved in this horrendous sin. I might add that many liberals oppose abortion
unless there are extenuating circumstances. You see, a fetus or baby that dies
before the age of accountability or before accepting Christ as Savior, goes
directly to be with Christ. David knew it. Job knew it. I recall the early stages of
the anti-abortion movement when activists used the pain a fetus felt through an
abortion. It was quite an emotional tactic. No mention was made of the woman's
pain and suffering, nor the tragic loss of a wife or mother. 

    Neither David nor Job was a priest. Both, by the very Word of God, were men
God described as Godly men. How do you suppose they knew about the after life
and eternity? There was no radio or television. There were priests who really were
the bearers of God's Word, not man's agenda. The priests didn't take polls to see
what the people preferred. They didn't set up programs to entertain the public. The
priests taught truth just as God directed.

    There was an eagerness by the people to learn and understand the Word of God.
When Israel passed through a time of "falling away", the Word of God wasn't taught,
and the book of the Law was packed away to gather dust. The people forgot about
their need to follow God's teaching. After most of the Jewish people were carried away
to Babylon, those left behind were without any Godly influence until Nehemiah was
permitted by the Persian king to return to his people in Jerusalem to rebuild the temple.

    When the Book of the Law was found, the people were eager to find out what it
contained. Nehemiah, Ezra and the Levites (priests) gathered the people together
(we're talking about thousands and thousands), and the entire book was read and
explained to them. They were so eager for the truth of God, they STOOD and
LISTENED for the fourth part of an day--SIX HOURS! Nehemiah 9:3, "And they stood
up in their place and read from the Book of the Law of the Lord, their God, for one
fourth of the day; and for ANOTHER fourth they confessed and worshipped the Lord
their God."

    Friends, these people were the real thing. They spent half a day, most of it standing
up, to understand the Word of God. I wonder how much time these wannabe leaders in
politics or the church spend studying scripture. Not much, I'd say, considering they don't
know about the future for stillborn or aborted babies. Or for much of anything else Godly,
since they spout single verses of scripture to support their agenda. Conservatives and
church people need to question and research the claims and teaching of these speakers
so the fiction and fact can be separated. The church influence is failing, and it's because
people are using reason to determine truth.

    The current problem is the claim non believers, Muslims, liberals and Satan are
responsible for the re-election of our president. They are saying GOD IS NOT IN
CONTROL! He only created everything and selects kings, dictators, presidents,
and those who fit His purpose; permits wars, natural disasters, performs miracles,
and virtually everything else. BUT, He couldn't prevent Obama from winning the
election? Even the non-believers can't accept this explanation. 

    Job said it all in 42:2, "I know that You can do everything, And that no purpose
of Yours can be withheld from You." If you really are a Christian, don't you think you
should spend some "stand up" time to really learn what the Holy Book says? The future
of America hinges on the revival of Christians and understanding of His Word.

Rev. Walbear

No comments:

Post a Comment