A Fearful Thing

Posted on by Dr. Linda Agnes Knowles

“It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”

Hebrews 10:31 KJV

If any verse in the Scriptures makes me shudder, it’s this verse, “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” Some translations say, “dreadful thing,” “terrible thing,” “terrifying thing,” and then one translation says, “fearful and terrifying thing.” God is the Almighty, the Omnipotent One (Revelation 1:8, 15:3, 19:6). God does NOT play games (Leviticus 10:2, 1 Chronicles 13:10, Psalm 50:3).

What is so terrifying about falling into the hands of the Living God? Because this verse is speaking of judgment. God is awesome, and He is holy. His righteousness is pure. The Lord warns us of sin and the consequences (Romans 6:23). He warns us what happens when we do not turn from our evil and wicked ways (Luke 13:3, Romans 2:5). By warning us, God is granting us mercy. By giving us a chance to repent, He is demonstrating His longsuffering and patience towards us; the Lord does not want anyone to perish (2 Peter 3:9). Through the Scriptures, we can see He is calling people to repentance (Matthew 4:17, Acts 3:19). When someone sneers arrogantly at the Holy Spirit, when someone mocks or reviles the Holy Spirit and shows complete and utter contempt for the Holy Spirit, they are severing themselves from the Holy Spirit. In other words, they have broken themselves off from the Holy Spirit and they are unable to know the prompting of the Holy Spirit and His leading. It’s the point of no return (Deuteronomy 28:15, Isaiah 63:10). When someone falls into the hand of the Living God, at this point, is where they discover how wrong they are, but it’s too late. Judas is a great example of this. Judas betrayed Christ, and by the time, he realized how wrong he was, it was too late for him (John 13:21-30). Falling into the hands of the Living God will be frightening for the one who has rejected and scorned the Holy Spirit and committed the outright rejection of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 12:22-32, Hebrews 10:28-29). The true children of the Living God do not need to worry about facing God in judgment. Those who are not living lives that practice sin will be able to stand before God.

“Dear children, don’t let anyone deceive you about this: When people do what is right, it shows that they are righteous, even as Christ is righteous. But when people keep on sinning, it shows that they belong to the devil, who has been sinning since the beginning. But the Son of God came to destroy the works of the devil. Those who have been born into God’s family do not make a practice of sinning, because God’s life is in them. So they can’t keep on sinning, because they are children of God. So now we can tell who are children of God and who are children of the devil. Anyone who does not live righteously and does not love other believers does not belong to God,” (1 John 3:7-10 NLT).

“In this way, love has been perfected among us, so that we may have confidence on the day of judgment; for in this world we are just like him. There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear because fear involves punishment. The one who fears has not been perfected in love. We love because He first loved us,” (1 John 4:17-19 BSB).

Linda A. Knowles

Living Sacrifice Before The LORD

Posted on by Dr. Linda Agnes Knowles
1 John 1vs9

“Do not present an animal with defects because the LORD will not accept it on your behalf.” -Leviticus 22:20(NLT)

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The Levitical Laws, more specifically in this case the ceremonial laws, were a foreshadow of what was acceptable worship and what was unacceptable worship.  In order for an animal sacrifice to be made, the animal had to have NO blemishes, NO defects, NO sickness.  The animal had to be perfect.  If there was the slightest flaw or imperfection in the animal being presented, the animal sacrifice would be rejected by God as shown in this verse, “…the LORD will not accept it on your behalf.”

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As I found myself reflecting on this passage of Scripture this morning, I was reminded of another passage in Romans 12:1(NLT), which states, “And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice–the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.”
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We’re told in the Word of God to be perfect as He is perfect, to be holy as He is holy.  When we keep that in mind, we will be careful how we live our lives because ALL that we do is worship to God.  Our sacrifices must flow out of hearts consecrated, wholly devoted to God.
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REFLECTION:  The LORD will not accept less than the best. We cannot present the sacrifices of our talent, time, praise, effort and the like to the LORD if we are living lives defiled by pretense and hypocrisy. We cannot present ourselves in worship to the LORD if we are half-hearted in our obedience to Him. When our sacrifice to the LORD is blemished and defective, like the animal sacrifice spoken of in Leviticus 22:20, then we will be the kind of sacrifice He rejects.

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Our LORD is the King of kings. For all of Who God is and for all that He has done, how can we present ourselves to Him as living sacrifices if we are defiled with sin? Sin cuts us off from God, and therefore, when we recognize our sin, we must come before God with humility to repent and turn from our wicked ways, aligning our thoughts with His, so that we will be the kind of living and holy sacrifice He will find acceptable.
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Our God will forgive us and restore us when we come before Him with the spirit of humility, bowing before Him.  His Word tells us in 1 John 1:9(KJV), “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
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PRAYER:  Heavenly Father, You are the King of kings and the Lord of lords.  You are worthy of my very best, and I’m sorry for giving you leftovers rather than giving You my very best.  I humbly ask for You to forgive me, and remind me always that I am to be holy as You are holy.  Father, before You, I have no excuses, and I am asking that You cast me not away from Your Presence but renew a right spirit within me.  I give myself into Your hands, committing myself to You and to Your ways.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Linda A. Knowles

“No, O people,

the LORD has told you
what is good,
and this is what he requires of you:
to do what is right,
to love mercy,
and to walk humbly
with your God.”
Micah 6:8(NLT)