Grace & Consequence

Faith of our Founding Fathers

We are the best nation in the history of the world. We are not perfect. We are better than any that has come before us.

We have been a world power, and the world power longer than any that has existed.

Longer, stronger than the Babylonians, Persians, Greeks, Romans, Soviets, Chinese, maybe w/ 1 exception; Israel.

They’ve had their moments in the sun and moments in the dumpster.

There are many reasons that contribute to why we have remained in this position in the world for so long. Too many to address here.

But, one thing we know, ultimately the only reason we sit in this position is because God has allowed us to. Whatever else we do, win wars, elect presidents, enact laws, and appoint justices; the only reason we can give that we have been on top for so long is b/c God has blessed us.

We are not God’s chosen people or country. That’s still Israel. And, how we treat Israel has something to do w/ God’s blessing us.

When God made his promise to Abraham that he would have descendants and land, He included this:

“Whoever blesses you, I will bless. And, whoever curses you, I will curse.”

This is still in effect today.

God has not called us t/b a Christian nation. He has called us t/b a nation of Christians who individually live our lives for Christ every day.

And it was our founding fathers who put us on this path 250 years ago.

The battle fierce to stay on this path.

This will give you an idea of the importance our these men placed on a life of faithful obedience and their knowledge of God’s word.

The Christian life is based on principles of grace and consequence.

When we behave badly we should expect consequences. But if we believe, then we should appreciate the grace and mercy with which God delivers the consequences.

The principles of our governing system are based on these principles, as well.

When we think of the OT, typically, we think of rules and laws. When we think of the NT, typically, we think of grace.

Grace and consequence existed much earlier than when Moses received the law from God and Jesus showing up on the scene to administer grace.

God introduced Noah and his family to these governing principles when they came out of the Ark to re-establish their lives on dry land.

The Value of Human Life

Genesis 9:1–6 NIV

Then God blessed Noah and his sons, saying to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth. The fear and dread of you will fall on all the beasts of the earth, and on all the birds in the sky, on every creature that moves along the ground, and on all the fish in the sea; they are given into your hands. Everything that lives and moves about will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything. “But you must not eat meat that has its lifeblood still in it. And for your lifeblood I will surely demand an accounting. I will demand an accounting from every animal. And from each human being, too, I will demand an accounting for the life of another human being. “Whoever sheds human blood, by humans shall their blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made mankind.

Notice right away, their diet changed. And, the diet of the animals.

Prior to the flood, every human and every animal was vegetarian.

One of the ways they could survive on the Ark. The lions didn’t eat the zebras.

The only buffet on the Ark was a salad bar.

From then on, steaks and pork chops. Not until the law were there restrictions on animals the ppl could not eat. At this point, every animal was fair game.

The ppl were given dominion over the animals, just like Adam was in the Garden, only this time in included the fear of man in the animals.

The lone restriction, guideline, on eating meat was no blood. Don’t drink the blood. Don’t eat the meat until the blood is drained out of the animal.

That is b/c blood is life. And, life belongs to God. It is t/b treated w/ respect and sanctity.

Later, when the law is given, the blood of the sacrificial animals is sprinkled on the altar.

This represents the blood of Jesus that will atone for our sins.

During conception, the egg has no blood. The male contribution includes introducing blood to the embryo.

When Jesus was conceived, His bio father was God. God’s blood was pure, not effected by sin and the fall.

Only his sinless blood could pay the price for our sinful blood. Only His life could pay for ours.

This restriction is reiterated in the NT, in Acts, when the church leadership has to address the issue of laws and rules. They include this one b/c Pagan worship included the drinking of blood.

So, yes, don’t eat raw meat. But this was don’t participate in Pagan worship services. They don’t value human life as God does. They don’t see all life as God’s possession and responsibility.

Here, for the first time, God institutes capital punishment.

We tend to think of this as a OT law. But, cap punishment pre-dates the law.

God may have needed to establish the value of life after he just wiped out all life but these 8.

Someone might get the idea that God does not value life, therefore, we don’t have to either.

The flood does not speak to the value of human life. It speaks to the value of sin, what sin costs. The consequence of disbelief and a wicked lifestyle is death.

God now speaks to the value of human life.

What is anything worth? What someone else pays for it.

What is your house worth? On paper, one thing. But its worth is determined by what sells for.

I may think my house is worth $1 million. But, if I put it on the market, and the offer I accept is $100,000, then that’s what it’s worth.

What is a human life worth? Freedom? Life in prison? God says a human life is worth a human life.

v.5 says God will demand an accounting. A judicial term. A requirement.

This is the beginning of the foundation for civil government. A major role for gov’t officials is law and order. Rules and consequence for breaking these rules.

We see it today. The evidence seems clear. Where there is no consequence for breaking the law, chaos reigns.

God brought order to the chaos. God brings order the chaos that is our lives and our society. When we get away from God, and His principles for society, chaos reigns.

If an animal kills a person, the animal is to be killed. If a person kills a person, then the perpetrator must pay w/ his life.

Part of the law later will be cap punishment is only on the table if there are 2 or 3 witnesses to the death. No witnesses, then the death penalty should be off the table. They had t/b sure, based on the evidence, that the person on trial was truly guilty.

We are not part of the animal kingdom. Our lives are more valuable to God, and should be to us. We did not evolve from apes.

We are pro-life. Only God has the right to give life and take life. Only God can legally choose to end a life in the womb or after.

If a person makes that choice and commits the act that ends a life, then we support that person paying w/ their life b/c the life they took is that valuable.

But, we must be absolutely sure, beyond any doubt.

What about war? God has given us the right to defend ourselves when attacked. That includes, when our friends are attacked, or we are aware that they are about to be attacked.

In Nehemiah, when they were rebuilding the wall and they were aware that their neighbors were threatening to attack, God instructed them to build w/ one had and hold their weapon in the other and be prepared to use it to defend their property and their freedom.

Whatever you think of guns, this principle is the basis for the 2nd amendment. From our founding fathers, we have the God-given right to defend ourselves against any and all aggressors.

There are consequences for bad behavior. There must be to create and maintain order.

There is also a place for grace.

When God threatened to hold the Ninevites accountable for their unbelief and bad behavior He sent Jonah to confront them.

After a bit of a hiccup in Jonah, he went, they repented. Believed and changed their behavior for a time.

God relented. They deserved to die for their bad actions. But, in His grace, he forgave them and let them live.

David and Bathsheba as well. They repented. They lived and were married. The baby they conceived in sin was taken by God as a consequence for their behavior.

In His grace, God allowed Bathsheba to conceive another son who became the successor to David and the wealthiest and wisest man in history, Solomon.

Consequence for bad behavior. Grace for repentance and belief. It’s clear here, long before Moses ever got the law.

Grace; Never Again

Genesis 9:8 NIV

Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him:

Genesis 9:12–13 NIV

And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth.

This is the first time the word ‘covenant’ is used in the bible. It’s a promise, a contract.

This promise is one of the one-sided promises in the bible. It’s a promise God made that has no conditions attached to it.

We can be as wicked, decadent, deceitful, disbelieving as ever. And God will not destroy the population w/ a flood ever again.

Pre-flood, it had never rained. Water never fell from the sky. The conditions were never in place for a rainbow to appear.

We all know, from our middle school elementary science classes that a rainbow appears when light shines thru a prism. And water, clouds, humidity after a rainstorm performs like the prism.

Symbolically, what God is saying, the storm is over, the threat is done, no more anxiety that God would ever do this again.

You know the thought crossed Noah’s mind. He did it once, He could do it again.

The bow, the arc in the sky, is indicative that the bow and arrows have been put away. It’s time for peace.

The rainbow is a symbol of peace and grace.

The end of ch.8, when Noah worshiped God. God said even though every inclination of the human heart is evil from childhood, He would never destroy all living creatures like this.

Grace. We deserve it. A majority of ppl on earth don’t believe and behave poorly. Even some of us who do believe behave poorly.

But, by God’s grace, he relents and gives more ppl the opportunity to believe and be saved.

Technicality. He’s going to destroy the population of the earth at some point in the future, but He’ll do it w/ fire, not water.

Consequences for not believing and behaving badly will rain down in the form of fire next time.

Anyway, next time you see a rainbow arced across the Munds Park sky, take a minute and thank God for his peace and grace.

As good as we think we are, we don’t deserve what God has done for us here.

Then, there are Noah’s sons; Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

Shem’s descendants became Abraham, Sarah, and Israel.

Japheth’s descendants became the Greeks and Romans.

Ham’s descendants became the Canaanites.

We know a lot more about Israel, Greece, and Rome; than we do Canaan. Why is that?

Consequences.

Consequence

Genesis 9:18–27 NIV

The sons of Noah who came out of the ark were Shem, Ham and Japheth. (Ham was the father of Canaan.) These were the three sons of Noah, and from them came the people who were scattered over the whole earth. Noah, a man of the soil, proceeded to plant a vineyard. When he drank some of its wine, he became drunk and lay uncovered inside his tent. Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father naked and told his two brothers outside. But Shem and Japheth took a garment and laid it across their shoulders; then they walked in backward and covered their father’s naked body. Their faces were turned the other way so that they would not see their father naked. When Noah awoke from his wine and found out what his youngest son had done to him, he said, “Cursed be Canaan! The lowest of slaves will he be to his brothers.” He also said, “Praise be to the Lord, the God of Shem! May Canaan be the slave of Shem. May God extend Japheth’s territory; may Japheth live in the tents of Shem, and may Canaan be the slave of Japheth.”

Noah was righteous, just not perfect.

Righteous means he had a right relationship w/ God.

Only b/c God is gracious, we are righteous.

Noah got drunk, took his clothes off, passed out in his tent.

Ham, for whatever reason, came into Noah’s tent and saw him.

We see things occasionally we shouldn’t see. Something catches our attention and we accidentally notice.

In cases like the this, the first look is innocent. No harm, no foul. Move on. Don’t think about it.

It’s the second look that gets you in trouble. That was planned. Intentional. Thought about. Fantasized about.

Ham could have turned around, walked out, forgot about it, no mention of it, no harm no foul.

But, he didn’t do that. The language here indicates he went out and mocked his dad. Spoke disrespectfully about him to his brothers.

It wasn’t just his words and behavior. Ham had a heart problem, just like Cain.

One son of Adam was cursed and faced severe consequences for his disbelief. One son of Noah faced the same.

Seeing their father naked like this was a breech of family ethic. The sanctity of their family was damaged. Noah messed up. He would need to deal w/ that. But, Ham messed up worse.

Shem and Japheth’s behavior indicate an entirely different approach to their father, respectful and believing God’s intent for the sanctity of the family.

We’re not talking about a care-giver situation, either.

You see another of the commandments given to Moses here that is established much earlier.

Ham dishonored his father in his behavior.

When, Noah cursed Ham, or Canaan his son, it was a prediction, not cause.

But Ham’s disregard for the family, shallow view of nakedness and the human body, and his irresponsibility toward wine; affected his son, Canaan, and the behaviors were passed down thru the generations and became the identifying characteristic of the nation.

They became a nation of drunken debauchery.

The Canaanites settled in the land that God eventually gave the descendants of Shem when they came out of Egypt.

The PL of Israel was the land occupied by the Canaanites. So, God instructing Israel to wipe out the Canaanites may seem extreme and cruel. But, it is a consequence of the disbelief and bad behavior that they carried on from their ancestor, Ham.

A consequence of the belief of our national ancestors, our founding fathers, set us on the course of belief in God and behavior that is mostly pleasing to Him.

There is no question the evidence proves this nation was founded on godly and biblical principles.

The farther we stray away, the more chaotic our society and lives will be.

By God’s grace, we are where we are.

Grace and consequence are truths and principles we live by b/c God established them in the bible and the men and women who started this nation on its course believed them b/c they believed in Him.

Applications

Vote

Nobody is perfect. No candidate is the perfect person. But some are righteous b/c they have faith in Jesus to save them.

There are believers on both sides of the aisle.

Vote. And vote for the candidates that best represent the godly and biblical principles that this nation was founded on.

Keep studying your bible so you can better recognize who these candidates are. Not based on their TV ads, but your recognition of their belief-system

Rainbow

Every time you see a rainbow, stop and thank God for the undeserved peace and blessings you enjoy.

Not the least of which is the opportunity to live in a place like this.

Or, visit. A weekend, the summer, or year-round.

Consequence

If you mess up, expect to pay a price. But, if you have faith in Jesus to save you, expect that price to be far less than what it should be.

Mercy. Not getting punished to the degree you deserve.

Don’t be sorry you got caught. Be sorry you behaved badly. And be thankful you already believe and experience God’s grace and mercy.

By God’s grace, we are where we are.

Grace and consequence are truths and principles we live by b/c God established them in the bible and the men and women who started this nation on its course believed them b/c they believed in Him.

Our Christian lives are based on these same principles of grace and consequence.

When we behave badly we should expect consequences. But if we believe, then we should appreciate the grace and mercy with which God delivers the consequences.

Live our lives as best we can, by faith and according to truths laid out in God’s word and enjoy the order brought by our gracious and merciful God.

Communion