It Is Better

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Introduction

Greetings…
Priorities are important for a successful life.
Discerning what is good and evil is important.
Being able to distinguish between the two is more important.
Hebrews 5:14 ESV
14 But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.
I thought today, we would look at a few things that are “better” than their alternatives according to the scriptures.
In 1 Samuel 15:22 we find it is…

Better To Obey

Than To Sacrifice

When king Saul came back from defeating the Amalekites, Saul’s army brought back the best of the Amalekites sheep and oxen to sacrifice to the LORD and the Amalekite king Agag.
Now mind you Saul was commanded by God to devote everything of the Amalekites to destruction, and when God sent Samuel to challenge Saul about this he responded by saying…
1 Samuel 15:20–21 ESV
20 And Saul said to Samuel, “I have obeyed the voice of the Lord. I have gone on the mission on which the Lord sent me. I have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and I have devoted the Amalekites to destruction. 21 But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the best of the things devoted to destruction, to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal.”
We then read that which we have all heard before from Samuel in 1 Samuel 15:22.
1 Samuel 15:22 ESV
22 And Samuel said, “Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams.

Summary

The point God is making is that we cannot atone for disobedience through doing good works.
One could spend every Sunday feeding the poor, visiting the widows and orphans, reading their bible, and the like but it they ignore the meeting of the saints they have sinned.
In other words, it is better to obey God than to replace obedience with good works.
We also find in Psalm 37:16 that it is…

Better To Have Righteousness

Than To Have Riches

The Psalmist puts it this way…
Psalm 37:16 ESV
16 Better is the little that the righteous has than the abundance of many wicked.
Jesus was clear when he pointed out that “one’s eternal life isn’t based on his earthly possessions.”
Luke 12:15 ESV
15 And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”
The account of the Rich Man and Lazarus demonstrates as well (Luke 16:19-31).
Our eternal life is based on our righteousness not our riches.
Psalm 119:14 ESV
14 In the way of your testimonies I delight as much as in all riches.
Hebrews 11:26 ESV
26 He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward.

Summary

Many strive through this life for the abundance of wealth not knowing that having simply a little in wealth but a lot in righteousness is far more valuable.
It is far better to have righteousness in this life for the next than to have all the wealth in the world and spend and eternity away from God.
Lastly we find Matthew 18:6 that it is…

Better To Drown In The Sea

Than To Cause One To Sin

If there was ever a passage wherein God demonstrates his disdain for sin it is found in Matthew 18:6, but let’s back up one verse and begin there.
Matthew 18:5–6 ESV
5 Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, 6 but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.
Not causing others to “stumble before God” must be a priority for us.
1 Corinthians 8:9 ESV
9 But take care that this right of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak.

Summary

If we engage in activities that would take our fellow man away from God rather than drawing them closer to God it would be better if we were drown in the sea than to allow ourselves to do such.
Brethren let that sink in for a moment!!!

Conclusion

Certainly there are other passages wherein we find such language such as 2 Peter 2.21, but this is sufficient for today.
Let each of us not seek good works over obedience.
Let each of us seek righteousness over wealth.
Let each of us do absolutely everything in our power to never put a stumbling block in front of God’s children.
Invitation
Isaiah 59:1–2 ESV
1 Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear dull, that it cannot hear; 2 but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.
Philippians 2:6–7 ESV
6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.
Romans 10:17 ESV
17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.
Hebrews 11:6 ESV
6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
Acts 17:30 ESV
30 The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent
Luke 14:33 ESV
33 So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.
Matthew 10:32–33 NKJV
32 Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. 33 But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.
2 Thessalonians 1:8 ESV
8 in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.
1 Corinthians 15:1–4 ESV
1 Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures
Romans 6:3–5 ESV
3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.
1 John 1:7 ESV
7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.
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