“However, the prayer of the publican, the tax collector, was the model for us in approaching God in gratitude for the gift of life in total recognition of our unworthiness to even hold our heads up in our Lord’s presence. This is the offering of authorized incense before the Lord.” Mike Ratliff
Luke 18:13 And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.
There seems much that has been lost in the time since the early years after the Reformation.
Mike Ratliff has an interesting article that speaks to aspects of our loss.
There was a whole conference a few years back on Strange Fire.🔥 .
Aspects that come to mind is the propensity to not preach about sin, to worship God in any way we want, and to ignore the full teachings of the Bible.
The Westminster Standards contain two. Directory for the Public Worship of God and Larger Catechism .
The Catechism has an amazingly detailed discussion of our duties and sins prohibited in the Ten Commandments.
I’m reading a small book by Spencer Smith on the historical change of modern church music.
I find that most of todays church worship focus on music derived from the worldly culture, and sermons that focus on providing at best comfort for our worldly problems and trials, at worst our ability to actually be like God, or prosperous or having a better life now. Very little is said about the multitude of sins we have and our need to repent. We often cry for Justice, but never mention God’s Judgment.
I observed that in the Old KJV the words judge or judgment and their variations are used in 669 verses.
In the ESV, one of the better modern Bibles, there appear only 285 times.
Similarly the word justice is used 138 times in the ESV, but only 28 times in the KJV.
I do think 🤔 this reflect the post-modern culture, and today’s relativism. People demand Justice but few if any speak of Biblical Judgment, and virtually no one of God’s Wrath.
But if you read Mike’s article, you will see a few clear examples of that in the Bible.
Rainbow Trout 