Third Week in Advent: Saturday

Old Testament Lesson

Zechariah 8: 9-17

God tells the remnant that he will not punish them like He did their ancestors. All He demands of them is that they live a holy life. He does not just demand that they believe correct doctrine, but that they live a holy life as well. As important as out correct doctrine is, we must live holy lives or we invalidate everything that we say we believe. Wesley believed that doctrine’s most important duty was that of spiritual formation. If our doctrine does not lead our lives closer to Christ, then is it correct, and if so, then do we really believe it and live it? God demands that remnant live holy lives and live in peace and love with their neighbor.

New Testament Lesson

Revelation 6: 1-17

This is the four horsemen. Not the ones with Ric Flair, but death and those guys. They come and bring their death and destruction, and the nations mourn their sins. But, if you were to continue reading Revelation, you would see that they did not really repent of their sins, for they still stood in opposition to God. True repentance is a turning from; it is not merely guilt over sins committed. Repentance is a leaving behind of sin and a following of Jesus. That is what our God demands of us in our lives, searching for sin, leaving it and clinging to Jesus.

Gospel Lesson

Matthew 25: 31-46

This is the most haunting passage of scripture to me in all of scripture. If we believe it, then how we treat the poor will impact our eternity. Our salvation is not just in accepting Jesus into our hearts, but in living out that promise. If we believe this, then we must serve the least, the last, and the lost. We are not just called to correct belief, but correct life. One of my professors in seminary talked about “orthodox devils.” These were folks that believed correct doctrine, but had no evidence of love in their lives. We are to believe correct doctrine, it is very important. But, that doctrine should be a foundation for a holy life.