In my vision, the man brought me through the entrance beside the gateway and led me to the sacred rooms assigned to the priests, which faced toward the north. He showed me a place at the extreme west end of these rooms. He explained, “This is where the priests will cook the meat from the guilt offerings and sin offerings and bake the flour from the grain offerings into bread. They will do it here to avoid carrying the sacrifices through the outer courtyard and endangering the people by transmitting holiness to them.” [Ezekiel 46.19-20]
God's holiness is dangerous to anyone not purified by the proper sacrifices and rituals.
If we remain mindful that God is unchanging as seen in Malachi below, we would do well to take heed to Ezekiel's words above.
“I am the LORD, and I do not change. That is why you descendants of Jacob are not already destroyed. [Malachi 3.6]
So, how does this apply to modern believers? The same way it applied to ancient believers! If a person is not forgiven - purified by the proper sacrifice, they are endangered - they are judged - they are cursed. Herein lies the depth of Jesus' Advent:
“There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son. [John 3.18]
How is a person judged who does not believe? What does that mean? It means they are subject to every curse assigned to everyone found in disobedience. This goes all the way back to the eternal effect of sin found in Genesis 2 and is later defined in its temporal earthly detail in Deuteronomy 28:
The LORD God placed the man in the Garden of Eden to tend and watch over it. But the LORD God warned him, “You may freely eat the fruit of every tree in the garden— except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat its fruit, you are sure to die.” [Genesis 2.15-17]
See Deuteronomy 28.15-68.
These curses - they are many and diverse - are all the effect of God's holiness upon sin. Because God does not change, these curses do not change. Curses have always been, and always will be, the result of sin as God's holiness encounters it. Only a person highly knowledgeable in the conventional wisdom and understanding of man and the world in which he lives would deny that curses are directly attached to sin. But a person who genuinely believes God and His Word understands that curses are (as they have always been) the direct result of God's holiness as it encounters disobedience.
If we can see it, the upside of curses then is that God is still reaching out to encounter man! However, few will recognize this gesture of redemption because modern man (far too many "Christians" included) have, in practice, effectively disassociated curses with sin. Instead of treating curses with repentance, they rely largely, if not entirely, upon debt, insurance, medicine and technology to remediate the curses of poverty, tragedy, sickness and disease, and hardship.
But God's Word is clear: curses do not lie any more than God's holiness (that causes them) can lie! In the Godly wisdom of the Proverbs we find confirmation of this:
Like a fluttering sparrow or a darting swallow, an undeserved curse will not land on its intended victim. [Proverbs 26.2]
It is eternally and infinitely impossible that God's holiness would bypass the blood of Jesus to endanger a true believer in Him with curses. Although the answer is contained in the previous sentence, most people still sadly and ignorantly question, "Why?" when curses come. It is no different than being presented with an umbrella, going out in the rain without it, then asking, "Why?" when we get wet.
What is said here begs us to rethink what we call "faith." If, "in Christ" we are indeed not judged (as Jesus Himself declared in John 3.18), then, if we still experience curses, and whether we acknowledge it or not, we are simply NOT in Christ because there is no judgment in Him! So, it comes down to this question: Is this a "faith" problem or a "repentance" problem? As much teaching and focus as Christianity has placed on faith, why has the exercise of faith not at least improved to some discernable degree? Could it be that the God-pleasing exercise of faith has been void of the absolutely necessary faith-catalyst of repentance?
In all the things Christianity has "tried," is it not worth defeating our pride by repenting in the onset of curses even if we don't think we have sinned? It was no mistake that is was recorded that Jesus began His earthly ministry like this:
From then on Jesus began to preach, “Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.” [Matthew 4.17]
Repentance is the only foundation upon which faith can stand. Otherwise, faith stands in pride. How important is it then to get this right if faith is the only thing that pleases God and pride is the number one thing God hates? We cannot risk having proud faith!
How do we know then when we have genuine repentant faith? We know when we experience genuine miracles as Jesus prescribed (His "same works and even greater works").
Yes, this seriously implicates the Church as we know it today. But will we deny what the Bible teaches as we encounter curses just to proudly support our flimsy doctrines, or, will we repent in complete humility in honor of God's Word?
Thank God His holiness continues to prove even through curses that He still wants us! Repentance and faith followed by miracles proves we have properly responded and are indeed IN CHRIST!
Father, may those who would truly be Yours not deny Your holiness and its effect. May we be found repentant so that our faith might be effective - so that we might please You in humble trust. Reveal Your truth to us and give us eyes to see and ears to hear that truth! Thank You for Jesus Who, in exchange for our humble faith, redeemed us from every curse!
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