No fear? Is that the problem?

Ecclesiastes 8:9-13 NLT
I have thought deeply about all that goes on here under the sun, where people have the power to hurt each other. I have seen wicked people buried with honor. Yet they were the very ones who frequented the Temple and are now praised in the same city where they committed their crimes! This, too, is meaningless. When a crime is not punished quickly, people feel it is safe to do wrong. But even though a person sins a hundred times and still lives a long time, I know that those who fear God will be better off. The wicked will not prosper, for they do not fear God. Their days will never grow long like the evening shadows.

If we are not convicted of our own sins – if we say,  that XYZ is not a sin when the Word of God says that it is – how can we say that we are a humble servant of the Lord? The wicked argue over what is sin and what is not sin,  blinded by the curse of the law,  looking for a way to escape the conviction by saying,  “No, that isn’t sin. The law is of no use.”

But the righteous understand their sin. They understand their daily shortcomings, they acknowledge the truth about what is good and what is evil. And they are grateful for the gift of salvation that they cling to in the midst of their storms. Not claiming to live a sinless life,  but acknowledging sin,  being humbled by it. But the wicked are proud, they claim God to be a liar by saying good is evil and evil is good,  they lust after their own desires – not the will of God.

Do you hear me arguing against the truth of this scripture:

Mark 10:11-12 NLT
He told them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries someone else commits adultery against her.  And if a woman divorces her husband and marries someone else, she commits adultery.”

Or do you not understand that it continues to humble me before the Lord?

Ecclesiastes 8:2-4 NLT
Obey the king since you vowed to God that you would. Don’t try to avoid doing your duty, and don’t stand with those who plot evil, for the king can do whatever he wants. His command is backed by great power. No one can resist or question it.

You see, we live in a wicked and rebellious generation, where many will try to twist the truth to excuse their life choices instead of accepting that they sin.

2 Timothy 4:3-5 NLT
For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear. They will reject the truth and chase after myths. But you should keep a clear mind in every situation. Don’t be afraid of suffering for the Lord. Work at telling others the Good News, and fully carry out the ministry God has given you.

You see, I break the law in the flesh, but I do not want to in the Spirit. This doesn’t mean that I call the law false and that I say that it is not sin. No, it means that I acknowledge the sin, I acknowledge that it is sin that separates us from God’s perfect will – and I am convicted to resist sin.

I walk in the Spirit, declared righteous by my faith,  not by my actions,  because it is my heart that the Lord weighs,  not my sin.

This is why we cannot harden our hearts to call evil good and good evil,  because that does not produce conviction and a humble change in heart, it results in pride and entitlement – bringing glory to self instead of to God.

Galatians 5:16-26 NLT
So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses.
When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.
But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!
Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives. Let us not become conceited, or provoke one another, or be jealous of one another.

Is there no one who fears the Lord?
Lead us Holy Spirit.
Convict us.
Change us.