ARE YOU LIVING UNDER A CURSE?
To be under a curse is a fearful thing. To be under a curse from God is a thousand-fold more so. The word "curse" means "to be under God's disfavor; to devote to destruction; to be damned." Surely all rational people would take all necessary precautions to avoid the curses of God.
The following nine points are areas wherein we can incur the curse of God. Let each of us examine his heart to see how we stand relative to them.
I. Do you truly love God? Paul says, "If a man loveth not the Lord, Let him be anathema."(I Cor. 16:22). To be anathema is to be cursed. This love must be of the superlative degree: all of our heart, soul, mind and strength (Mark 12:30). It is not enough just to proclaim our love, we must prove the sincerity of it (II Cor. 8:8). The true test of anyone's love for God is his faithful obedience to the commands of God (John 14:15). Remember, the man who loveth not the Lord is cursed.
II. Do you seek to obey God in all things? Moses challenged the children of Israel with these thoughts. "Behold I set before you this day a blessing and a curse: the blessing if ye hearken unto the commandment...and the curse if ye shall not hearken unto the commandments of Jehovah..."(Deut. 11:26).We are not privileged to select our choice of commands to obey. Even the smallest and seemingly insignificant ones are to be honored (Matt. 5:19). That this directly affects our salvation is seen in John 3:36. There, Jesus said, "He that obeyeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him." The Christian seeks to obey God in all things because he loves his Lord, but also to avoid falling under a curse.
III. Are you trying to live under the law of Moses? Galatians 3:10 warns, "For as many as are under the works of the law are under a curse." Again he says, "Ye are severed from Christ, ye who would be justified by the law, ye are fallen away from grace" (Gal. 5:4). It is tragic to see so many people in the Seventh Day Adventist and other denominations subjecting themselves to a curse, by seeking to live by the old law in part or in whole. Let us be happy to live by the new covenant of Jesus which offers grace and pardon. While we honor and revere the old covenant as God's revelation, we do not look to it for salvation, worship or a guide for life.
IV. Do you put your trust and confidence in men and their words, rather than God? It is amazing how many folks will reject some plain statement of gospel truth from the Bible because it does not agree with the teachings of their pastor or holy father or even their parents. Jeremiah warned, "Cursed is the man that trusteth in men, whose heart departeth from Jehovah." Never trust the salvation of your soul to the hands of religious teachers. It is God's heaven and He alone can save. To enter in we must please Him. Be like the noble people of Berea, who received Paul's preaching with all readiness of mind, but then searched the scriptures to see if his words were so (Acts 17:11). Do not place unwarranted trust in even the good teacher with which God has blessed you. Never believe a thing because a man said it, but because you can read it in your own Bible.
V. Are you failing to give God your best gifts and to put Him first in your life? Multitudes are willing to be Christians if it can be on their terms. They are more than willing to give God the second choice, if they can have the first and best for themselves. Malachi dealt with the same attitude in his day, "Will a man rob God? Yet ye rob me. But ye say, wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye rob me, even this whole nation" (Mal. 3:8-9). Remember that one can bring a curse upon himself if he does not give back unto God according as He has instructed.
VI. Do you give God the honor and glory for all that you are and all that you have? Again Malachi wrote, "If ye will not hear, and if ye will not give glory to my name saith Jehovah of hosts, then will I send the curse upon you. And I will curse your blessings; yea I have cursed them already, because you do not lay it to heart" (Mal. 2:2). The age old sin of pride prompts men to claim the honor and glory of their success for themselves. On the contrary, Paul and Barnabas rehearsed all things God had done with them (Acts 14:27). We plant and water, but God gives the increase (I Cor. 3:6). Even at our best we are unprofitable servants (Luke 17:10). The church today is not free from this problem. Many problem in congregations, schools, papers and other good works stem from the unholy desire for honor and glory. Little do these aspiring brethren realize that they are subjecting themselves to a curse.
VII. Do you teach any other doctrine than that the apostle taught? This solemn warning comes from the inspired pen of Paul, "But though we, or an angel from heaven, should preach unto you any gospel other than that which we preach unto you, let him be anathema" (Gal. 1:8). So serious was this practice that he again repeats the warning in the next verse. In a world of 300 denominations, with as many different doctrines that often vary from the scriptures, surely a great part of the world of Christendom stands accursed. No wonder James said, "Be not many of you teachers, my brethren, knowing that we shall receive heavier judgement" (3:11). John says that the teacher who abides not in the teaching of Christ, hath not God (II John 9-11).
VIII. Are you negligent in doing God's work? Jeremiah said, "Cursed be he that doeth the work of Jehovah negligently." Every saint should ask himself, how am I doing my Lord's work? Teachers: How careful and thorough are you in your work? Elders: How diligently are you in leading the church of the Savior? Deacons: Are you serving the Master with zeal and loyalty? Dare we do God's work in anything less than the best possible way?
IX. Are you helpful to your fellow-man? In the twenty-fifth chapter of Matthew we are given a vivid scene of Judgement Day. For those whose hearts were hard and untouched at the plight of suffering humanity, Jesus will say, "Depart from me, ye cursed, into the eternal fire which is prepared for the devil and his angels, for I was hungry, and ye did not give me to eat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink; I was a stranger, and ye took me not in; naked, and ye clothed me not; sick and in prison, and ye visited me not" (Matt. 25:41-43). In our busy world, we often seem to have no time for such small matters as helping the kind of people Jesus describes. Often, we in the middle and upper stratus are so insulated from the suffering of the masses that we feel no need to seek them out to minister to their needs. But in failing to care for those who desperately need our help we bring God's curse upon us.
We close this doleful lesson of dire warnings with a cheerful note. For the saved who are faithful unto death, we are told that in heaven, "there shall be no curse any more" (Rev. 22:3). May we so live and die that we may enjoy that blessed peace throughout eternity.