How God Deals with Defiance
Pastor Chuck Swindoll opens the Scriptures and follows Solomon’s tragic personal downfall in 1 Kings 11. Follow the evidence to find compromise, extravagance, idolatry, and a lack of accountability.
Sin isn’t a popular word. Most people think of sin as doing something really bad, like murder, assault, or robbery. But the word “sin” has the idea of missing the mark, not hitting the target.
The idea is that God has set a glorious standard and when we fail to live by it, we sin. We say, do, and think things that are contrary to God's standard, and the problem is that no matter how much we try and achieve change by ourselves, we just can't succeed.
The Bible teaches that our nature is imprisoned to sin. We miss the mark because we choose creation over the Creator. We look to succeed by our own strength, yet we never shake our own selfish sin. No matter what our education, religious heritage, ethnicity, or financial status, we cannot overcome the power of sin by ourselves. This is a problem.
Pastor Chuck Swindoll opens the Scriptures and follows Solomon’s tragic personal downfall in 1 Kings 11. Follow the evidence to find compromise, extravagance, idolatry, and a lack of accountability.
John 8 tells the story of a woman caught in adultery. The Pharisees brought her to Jesus in order to trap Him. If Jesus said, “punish her” then His compassion for people would be questioned. If He said, “release her” then He’d be accused of not supporting the Law of Moses. How did He respond?
Despite having fortune, fame, power, and pleasure in abundance, King Solomon’s life took a damaging turn. From 1 Kings 11:1–9, Pastor Chuck Swindoll examines how the ruler’s heart was drawn away from the goodness of God.
Studying the life of King Solomon, Pastor Chuck reflects on the strengths and vast accomplishments of this renowned leader. Uncover what led Solomon away from a place of security into a place of vulnerability and weakness as his focus shifted from God.
As long as the church of Jesus Christ is present on this earth, lawlessness remains under great restraint. Second Thessalonians 2:7 puts it well, “For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way.”
If you want to be a person of integrity, think about the consequences of sin rather than its pleasures and focus on Christ each and every day.
Certain anchors are dropped during childhood and if they’re not dealt with, they remain dropped, clinging to the bottom. And as the boat goes on in life, and as we get older, the anchor is dragging all along in whatever area is dropped and not dealt with.
Sometimes we see justice here on earth, but many times we don’t. However, God always acts justly. He will not and cannot ignore sin.
Anger is a God-given emotion and it’s not necessarily sinful. The Bible acknowledges that anger needs safeguards and teaches us how to control it.
Like erosion temptation is quiet and subtle. This is why we need to stay on guard. If we don’t fight temptation daily we’ll eventually compromise.