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Lou Coleman
By Lou Coleman
“Be not deceived; God is not mocked: Whatever you sow, you will also reap. If you sow to the flesh, you will of the flesh reap corruption. If you sow to the Spirit, you will reap everlasting life. Don’t be misled—you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant [Galatians 6:7-8]. [Proverbs 4:14-19] says… “Do not enter the path of the wicked, and do not walk in the way of evil. Avoid it, do not travel on it; Turn away from it and pass on…
The Apostle Paul places this warning in strong language, designed to make sure the point gets across without mistake. It would be the height of foolishness to think that you are a match for the wits of God. You cannot trifle with God. There is a caveat to the decisions of life and the choices you make. Every choice has a consequence and every consequence is preceded by a choice. It comes down to this, you can choose your choice, but you cannot choose your consequences.
The apostle Paul got down to specifics with respect to the pattern we should imitate, and the path we should avoid. He wrote; therefore be imitators of God as dear children and walk in love as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma. But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints; neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. For this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not be partakers with them (Ephesians 5:1-7).
I tell you, there is great value—and even the prospect of eternal reward—in taking the time to stop and ask yourself, “Am I walking on the right path? Am I headed toward a good end? Don’t be another Jehoram, [2 Chronicles 21] who knew the path to take but chose not to walk in the godly pathway that his father took. After all that he saw, he knowingly chose to follow the ungodly path of the wicked kings of the northern kingdom of Israel. And as a consequence of his choice, his end was the most pathetic and dishonorable of any of the other kings of Judah. His life story—and the end of it—is a great reminder to us that we must choose wisely the path we’ll walk before God; because—as invariably as night follows day—there are consequences to our choice.
I want you to know that in verse [12 of 2 Chronicles 12], it seems that the time finally came when God had enough of Jehoram’s unfaithful walk; “And a letter came to him from Elijah the prophet . . .” (v. 12a). It was a letter that had all the authority of a word directly from God Himself; and here’s what it said: Thus says the LORD God of your father David: Because you have not walked in the ways of Jehoshaphat your father, or in the ways of Asa king of Judah, but have walked in the way of the kings of Israel, and have made Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to play the harlot like the harlotry of the house of Ahab, and also have killed your brothers, those of your father’s household, who were better than yourself, behold, the LORD will strike your people with a serious affliction—your children, your wives, and all your possessions; and you will become very sick with a disease of your intestines, until your intestines come out by reason of the sickness, day by day (vv. 12-15). I tell you warning comes before destruction!
May God help us learn the hard lesson from the life of Jehoram; and choose to walk—all the way to the end—the path that leads to life!
