What am I trusting in? - Jeremiah 7:4

 Jeremiah 7:4

"Do not trust in deceptive words and say "The Temple of the Lord, The Temple of the Lord, the Temple of the Lord!"

I guess this verse share won’t get many ‘likes’. It wouldn’t in Jeremiah’s day either. But it’s message rings out still.

The people of Judah, and Jerusalem in particular, had got to think that they could act as they pleased, do what they liked, because God was with them. They relied on the promises of God, which was a good thing, but they simultaneously ignored the warnings of God, which was deadly. And so they let sin dwell in their lives, expecting God’s grace and love to let them off.

But God saw their hypocrisy and pointed to their ‘dishonest scales’, their gathering of goods, their ignoring of His day of worship, the idols in their life. He saw their trust in others rather than in Him. He knew they were saying, even in His Temple while worshipping, “ ‘We are safe’ – safe to do all these detestable things”. He knew the reality of their hearts underneath their outward temple worship. And He was calling to them - He longed for their purity of heart and worship, He longed for all His best for them.

It is a huge warning. We, even more so, can rest in the grace of God towards us in Jesus. We can quote Matthew 28 that He ‘will never leave you nor forsake you’ or Rom 8:1 that there is ‘no condemnation in Christ’ and yet use that as an excuse for hidden sin. We fail to remember that we quench His Spirit and turn from Him in our hearts. We too can allow sin to reign where righteousness ought to live.

There is, indeed, full acceptance, no condemnation, eternal love in Jesus. We have total assurance in Him. But the work of His Spirit is to transform us (Rom 12.2), His laws written on our hearts (Heb 8 ). We are to live in that reality, standing firm against temptation and sin, by His strength. We must not excuse or bypass failure to deal with temper, gossip, greed, selfishness, lust and so many other sins which we can so readily ignore and hide in our hearts. We are to to be ‘wholehearted’, not abusing His grace.

Warnings are always there to be heeded with humble hearts. It’s as important today to be hearers of His word, these words in Jeremiah, and to respond in humility to them. This verse may not be popular, but it’s a call of deep love to all who love Jesus.