04/22/08: Psalm 53
"They are corrupt, and their ways are vile; there is no one who does good. God looks down from heaven on the sons of men to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God. Everyone has turned away, they have together become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one" (Psalm 53:1-3). This is a further verification of Psalm 51:5, indicating that people are basically bad, not basically good.
Even children contain the rebellious, unruly, defiant sin nature. It reminds me of a two-year-old who is told to sit down in a chair by his mother--which, according to the commandment, "Honor your father and your mother" (Exodus 20:12), is something that he should do. The kid throws a tantrum, screaming, "No! No! No!" and refuses to sit in the chair. The mom walks over, grabs him by the arm, and makes him sit down in the chair. He stays there, but he says, "My body is sitting down, but my mind is standing up!" So even though he is "going through the motions" of obedience, his heart is rebelling against his mother, just as our hearts rebel against God.
All of humanity has turned away from God. It is in our "genes" to do so. All of us are born with a sin nature. We may seek God at times, and we very well may be sincere when we do so. But then that nasty sin nature creeps back in, and we eventually will turn away. It is unavoidable.
The thing is that God demands perfection. In His Kingdom to come, He will expect His will to be done (Matthew 6:10), all of the time, without dispute. None of us, however, is perfect; we are incapable, in our present forms, to obey God all of the time. Thus, God had to come down, in the perfect form of Jesus, to show us that it is possible to conform to God's will fully and 100% of the time. He is our example, and all that the Father expects of believers, knowing that we are imperfect, is that we want to be like Jesus, doing everything that the Father asks without the slightest resistance or opposition. Our "blessed hope" is that, one day, we will be like Him (1 John 3:2), and never again will there be discord between God and us.
Messianic Prophecy: "Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion! When God restores the fortunes of his people, let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad!" (Psalm 53:6).
Fulfillment: Jesus came out of Israel, and He alone will bring salvation to the future remnant of Israel. When He returns to earth again, God will restore the fortunes of Israel promised millennia ago to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Israel).
"Zion" usually refers to the Land of Israel. It also can be a reference to the Promised Land to come, when the Messiah also comes. "Zionism" is an ideology that looks forward to a homeland for the Jewish people in the Land of Israel, where God will dwell among His chosen people forever.
Even children contain the rebellious, unruly, defiant sin nature. It reminds me of a two-year-old who is told to sit down in a chair by his mother--which, according to the commandment, "Honor your father and your mother" (Exodus 20:12), is something that he should do. The kid throws a tantrum, screaming, "No! No! No!" and refuses to sit in the chair. The mom walks over, grabs him by the arm, and makes him sit down in the chair. He stays there, but he says, "My body is sitting down, but my mind is standing up!" So even though he is "going through the motions" of obedience, his heart is rebelling against his mother, just as our hearts rebel against God.
All of humanity has turned away from God. It is in our "genes" to do so. All of us are born with a sin nature. We may seek God at times, and we very well may be sincere when we do so. But then that nasty sin nature creeps back in, and we eventually will turn away. It is unavoidable.
The thing is that God demands perfection. In His Kingdom to come, He will expect His will to be done (Matthew 6:10), all of the time, without dispute. None of us, however, is perfect; we are incapable, in our present forms, to obey God all of the time. Thus, God had to come down, in the perfect form of Jesus, to show us that it is possible to conform to God's will fully and 100% of the time. He is our example, and all that the Father expects of believers, knowing that we are imperfect, is that we want to be like Jesus, doing everything that the Father asks without the slightest resistance or opposition. Our "blessed hope" is that, one day, we will be like Him (1 John 3:2), and never again will there be discord between God and us.
Messianic Prophecy: "Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion! When God restores the fortunes of his people, let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad!" (Psalm 53:6).
Fulfillment: Jesus came out of Israel, and He alone will bring salvation to the future remnant of Israel. When He returns to earth again, God will restore the fortunes of Israel promised millennia ago to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Israel).
"Zion" usually refers to the Land of Israel. It also can be a reference to the Promised Land to come, when the Messiah also comes. "Zionism" is an ideology that looks forward to a homeland for the Jewish people in the Land of Israel, where God will dwell among His chosen people forever.
