How Do You Measure Up?

Introduction

It’s a pleasure to see everyone out with us this morning. For those of you who are visiting, you are in fact our honored guest, and we pray that your time spent with us will be edifying and worthy of our God, whom we praise. I hope you’re open with your Bibles with me this morning to 2 Corinthians chapter 13. In 2 Corinthians chapter 13, beginning in verse 5.

Paul says there, examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you, unless indeed you fail to meet the test. I hope you will find out that we have not failed the test. But we pray to God that you may not do wrong, not that we may appear to have met the test, but that you may do what is right, that we may seem to have failed. For we cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth. For we are glad when we are weak and you are strong, your restoration is what we pray for. Brothers and sisters, we must test ourselves. We must examine ourselves against what?

Against verse 8? The truth. We cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth. We must examine ourselves daily. Or what? What is the big deal about testing ourselves? Why in this congregation do you continually hear in Bible study and in sermons and even in talks commemorating, excuse me, the death of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Because if we fail to do what he says, if we fail to read his word, study what he has asked us to do, we will slowly drift away. Oftentimes people say that that’s just a Christian argument. That’s just something that Christians put up against atheists. They say, after all, if you don’t believe in God, how will you have any ethics? How will you choose to draw the line?

And many educated men, like Richard Dawkins, perhaps the foremost atheist of our time, has combated that argument, continually saying, Well, we understand that things are bad and these things are wrong, and if this harms someone else, we must examine ourselves to test whether or not we are in the faith. We must test ourselves. We must realize that Jesus Christ is in us because otherwise we will drift away. And I have some terrifyingly awful news to share with you this morning. Several weeks ago, I was reading in the news. Richard Dawkins had something horrifying to say. You see, of all these arguments he’s made the whole time about how you don’t drift away, how men can come together, we can figure out a more or less version of what is right and wrong.

This educated man said, mild pedophilia is not that bad. He mentioned how him and some of his classmates had been subject to that when they were in school. And he said, after all, it’s not that big of a deal. It doesn’t impact me. In fact, he went even further to attack the church and he spun it. And he said, It’s not nearly as impactful as if you were to tell someone that they’re going to hell. Now he says, that is eternally damaging to them. You see, Professor Dawkins has run out of real estate. Because he has no way to combat that choice. He has no way to combat that clearly evil and vile sin. Because he has no moral, abstract, right or wrong. And if we don’t test ourselves daily, we too will drift.

It is not a mistake. It is not Christian propaganda to say that if you remove the anchor of God from your lives, that you too will drift away. Because this man is smart. This man was forced into saying the one thing that all Americans come together and say is wrong, which is something that is damaging to children, is wrong. If there’s anything we stand up for in this country, it’s do not mess with children. But he simply ran out of room. So we must examine ourselves by the truth. By the words of the living God. I’d ask that you turn in your old testament with me to Amos chapter 7. And if you have a marker, I’d like you to leave it there in Amos chapter 7.

1. God Has a Plumb Line

We’re going to see several visions that Amos had, warning visions from the Lord God. And we’ll focus on verses 7, 8, and 9, but we’ll be begin with the beginning of this chapter. In Amos chapter 7, this is what the Lord God showed me. Behold, he was forming locusts when the latter growth was just beginning to sprout. And behold, it was the latter growth after the king’s mowings. When they had finished eating the grass of the land, I said, Oh Lord, please forgive. How can Jacob stand? He is so small. The Lord relented concerning this. It shall not be, said the Lord. This is what the Lord God showed me. Behold, the Lord God was calling for a judgment by fire, and it devoured the great deep and was eating up the land.

Then I said, Oh, Lord God, please cease. How can Jacob stand? He is so small. The Lord relented concerning this. This also shall not be, said the Lord God. This is what he showed me. Behold, the Lord was standing beside a wall built with a plumb line, with a plumb line in his hand. And the Lord said to me, Amos, what do you see? And I said, A plumb line. Then the Lord said, Behold, I am setting a plumb line in the midst of my people Israel. I will never again pass them by. The high places of Isaac shall be made desolate, and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste, and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword. The key is found in verse 7 and 8.

God has a plumb line. For those of you who don’t know, you are like me before studying this chapter. So I have to be careful when I talk about measurements and handiwork things, because that is certainly not something that I am all too familiar with. But research shows that a plumb line is a weight, usually with a pointed tip at the bottom, and its purpose, suspended by a string, is to determine how vertically straight something is. So when it’s put up against a wall, you can tell, is this wall straight or is it crooked? That is what God is doing to his people Israel. So certainly the application of that is clear. God was going to judge the people by how closely they abhe uh excuse me, how closely they stayed to the Word of God.

How closely did they follow the law of Moses? Or perhaps to go closer to our introduction example, how far had they drifted? How far had the people who had perhaps the most specific law man has ever had, how far had they drifted from the commands that God had given them? Because after all, the Israelites were going to be measured by the law of Moses. Look with me in Joshua chapter 24. They knew the law, and they agreed to abide by it. Look at me in Joshua chapter 24. Beginning in verse 14. Now therefore, fear the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your father served beyond the river and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your father served in the region beyond the river or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell.

But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. Then the people answered, Far be it from us that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods, for it is the Lord our God who brought us and our fathers up from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, and who did those great signs in our sight and preserved us in all the way that we went, and among all the peoples through whom we passed. And the Lord drove us out before us all the peoples, the Amorites who lived in the land, therefore we also will serve the Lord, for he is our God. But notice what Joshua says in verse 20 If you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, then he will turn and do you harm and consume you after having done you good.

And the people said to Joshua, No, but we will serve the Lord. And Joshua said to the people, You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen the Lord to serve him. And they said, We are witnesses. These people knew they chose to serve God. Joshua would continue on to exhort them, get rid of the gods. Stop your vile practices. Obey Him. Do the law. It’s that easy. There was a law. They were to keep it. If they did not, they were not pleasing. And in fact, they bound themselves in the covenant that God offered to them. They recognize that this is the God who led us out of Egypt. This is the God who performed many signs in our midst. We want to obey Him.

2. They Fell Away, but the Law Did Not Change

We want to follow Him. And Joshua says, okay. But no. You are putting yourselves in the service of the Lord. You are bound by what you promise this day. This is the same people. The same region of people that Amos is talking to at this time. So what happened? What happened from these people who were all fired up to obey God? To the people that Amos is having visions of in Amos chapter 7 that God is going to destroy, that God is going to judge. What happened in that time period? Well, they fell away. Did the law change in that period of time? Did the law that the Israelites were to keep, did it alter? Did it change slightly? Were there little soft gray areas that they were able to exploit?

No. Ask Uzzah. He was struck down for trying to touch the ark, trying to do something relatively good. There were expectations of what they were to do and what they were not to do. There were no loopholes or actions. There was nothing that was considered not that big of a deal. In fact, in Deuteronomy chapter 21, you read that rebellious, insolent children were to be stoned. This law was serious. This law had serious consequences, whether good or bad, according to whether or not they obeyed or transgressed that law. And so I ask you this morning, who do we follow? Are we under the law of Moses? Certainly not. Colossians teaches us that Jesus nailed it to the cross. We follow the words of Christ, do we not?

3. The Word of Christ Is Our Standard

Look at me in John chapter 12, at the scripture that was read at the beginning of service this morning. In John chapter 12. In verse 47, Jesus says, If anyone hears my words and does not keep them, I do not judge him, for I do not come to judge the world, but to save the world. The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge. The word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day. Brothers and sisters, we have our standard today. It’s our Bible. It’s the words of Christ. The example of the apostles who lived with him, who witnessed his death, burial, and resurrection. But I ask you, on your way to services this morning, how many churches did you pass?

How many different types of denominations? How many types of community churches, of buildings, how many different structures were there that are meeting even this very day to worship God? And I ask you, if there is one Bible, how can there be hundreds of churches? If there is one law, if there is one God, if there is one set of commandments, how can there be any division? Jesus Himself prayed for unity. He prayed that his people would not be divided. Because the best show of his word, the best example of him, are those who seek to follow him. Seeing Christ in our life. Remembering what Paul tells the Corinthians in 2 Corinthians chapter 13, that Jesus Christ is in you when you obey truth is God’s best evangelistic tool.

4. How Do I Test Myself?

And I ask you this morning, when we discuss the plumb line, what are we measured by? Realize. If you take nothing else from any service that you’ve ever attended, we will be judged, whether straight or crooked, by the word of God. That is what will decide our fate. And perhaps you’re wondering this morning, how do I test myself? How do I determine whether or not I measure up to this standard? Well, the easy answer is to use it as the mirror. Test yourself. Decide, is this how I act? Do I act like Jesus did? Do I act as Jesus commanded me to? But beyond that, even, there is the application of even in diets. Again, this is something I am completely unfamiliar with. If you’ve ever seen me eat anything, it is high in calories, carbs, whatever else that you’re not supposed to eat.

So I’ve got to be careful here again. But they say that when you go on a diet, if you take sugar out of your diet, if you stop drinking, for example, Coca-Cola for at least a month, the next time that you drink it, it’s gonna taste disgusting. Your body can’t take it because it has been purified from the sugar. It is revolting at that point in time. So if you want to know how to test yourself, how to decide how accurately are you holding the word of God? Be pure. Take time away from your television sets for two weeks. Don’t watch anything. Don’t surf the web for a week. Eliminate any type of temptation or anything that could possibly be wrong, and then watch it again and see.

Is there junk in here? Or is there pureness? Is there something that is holy? Is it something that is of good report? You see, because the Bible teaches us good things, but if we’re constantly taking in bad, if we’re not meditating on those things which are good, then those things which are bad will creep in and distort our understanding of truth. And that’s what happened to the Israelites. They very slowly changed God’s commandments. No, God’s commandments did not change, but the Israelites changed them themselves. And slowly over time it ate away to the point that God had to give these warning signs to the prophets and eventually even cast the Israelites into bondage of the Assyrian people. It’s purify our bodies, recognizing that God is going to set the plumb line into us.

5. Who Is the One Measuring Us?

How straight or how crooked will you measure up? But then another facet to look at is who is the one measuring us? I’d encourage you to look at Psalm chapter 9. We understand very simply that God is our judge. God is the holder of the plumb line, even as he was for the people of Israel. In Psalm chapter 9, we understand some basic things about God. In Psalm 9, David says, I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart. I will recount all of your wonderful deeds. I will be glad and exult in you. I will sing praise to your name, O Most High. When my enemies turn back, they stumble and perish before your presence, for you have maintained my just cause. You have sat on the throne, giving the righteous judgment.

God is powerful. But look at verse 7. But the Lord sits enthroned forever. He has established his throne for justice. And he judges the world with righteousness. He judges the peoples with uprightness. You notice how together the scriptures are on this? God is not only all powerful, God is not only our judge, but God is the most just. God judges the peoples with uprightness. Look at verses 9 and 10. The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you. God will save. Verse 11 Sing praises to the Lord who sits enthroned in Zion. Tell among the peoples his deeds, for he who avenges blood is mindful of them.

He does not forget the cry of the afflicted. Be gracious to me, O Lord, see my affliction from those who hate me. O you who lift me up from the gates of death, that I may recount all your praises, that in the gates of the daughter of Zion, I may rejoice in your salvation. The nations have sunk in the pit that they made, in the net that they hid, their own foot has been caught. The Lord has made himself known. He has executed judgment. The wicked are snared in the work of their own hands. God is powerful, yes. God is loving. Yes. God is just. And God will save. But God will punish. The wicked are snared in the work of their own hands. The Lord has made himself known.

He has executed judgment. It’s interesting that many people who study the scriptures say that there’s a different God in the Old Testament. In fact, I read one opinion this very morning that said, God is callous and uncaring in the Old Testament. And I ask you, if that’s the God that you read about in the Old Testament, if that’s the God that you know is holding the plumb line, the God that will judge us, why would you not do exactly what he says? Yes, God sent Christ to come and die for us. Yes, God loved us enough to send his only son. Yes, he made way of provision for us to have our sins taken away. And he wants us to live with him eternally. But it is the same God in the Old and the New Testament.

6. Two Choices: Choose Life

Because God is just. God expects his will to be obeyed. And that is the end of the matter. If you believe that God is callous and that God upheld his law in the Old Testament, why would he be any different in the New Testament? He is not. God is eternal. God was, is, and will always be God. Fortunately for us, though, he is God the Father. And he has given us not only a way to be saved, but he’s given us the pathway to choose. He’s given us two choices, the same two choices the people of Israel had. Look with me at one final scripture this morning in Deuteronomy chapter 30. In Deuteronomy chapter 30, this was the people of Israel’s choice. In Deuteronomy chapter 30.

Beginning in verse 15. See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil. If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I command you today, by the loving the Lord your God, by walking in his ways, and by keeping his commandments and his statutes and his rules, then you shall live and multiply. And the Lord your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to take possession of it. But if your heart turns away, and you will not hear, but are drawn away to worship other gods and serve them. I declare to you today that you shall surely perish. You shall not live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to enter and possess.

I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore, choose life, that you and your offspring may live, loving the Lord your God, obeying his voice, and holding fast to him, for he is your life and length of days. You may dwell in the land that the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob to give them. The plumb line was set in the midst of Israel. In Amos chapter 7 in the first two visions, Amos pleaded with God to withhold judgment. In fact, he asked for forgiveness, but God withheld judgment with the locust. God then said that the fiery judgment would cease. But this time in Amos chapter 7 and verse 8, God takes control of the questions.

Conclusion

And he said, Amos, what do you see? And Amos saw a plumb line that God was setting. God said, He will pass through Israel no more. And brothers and sisters, God will pass over us no more at the day of judgment. We will answer for our straightness. We will answer by one thing and one thing alone. Our adherence to the Word of God. There are many churches. There is one Bible. There are many paths to take, but there is one narrow way. There are many who claim to have faith. But there will be few who enter into the kingdom of heaven. How straight are you this morning? If the plumb line was set up against you, would you be found straight? Would you be found pleasing to God, taking the Word of God, dealing with it justly, rightly dividing God’s truth.

If you haven’t found yourself straight, realize that of all God’s blessings, he has blessed us with time. You can make it right. You can make yourself straight. Read the commandments, test yourself. Test yourself against truth, and live the truth that you test. If you wish to make things right in any way, come forward right now as we stand and sing. We have just found it all.