“Partial Reform Isn’t Enough!” – FBC Morning Light (6/20/2024)

Well, good Thursday morning to you. I hope you're having a good week thus far, and Lord is blessing your efforts, your labors for him. Today we're reading in 2 Kings chapters 1 to 3. I just want to look at a couple of verses in chapter 3 at this King Jehoram, who was the son of Ahab.

It says that he became the king over Israel at Samaria in the 18th year of Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, and he reigned for a dozen years, he reigned 12 years. Then it says, and he did evil in the sight of the Lord.

Now that's not surprising because there is no record of a truly righteous king over the northern tribes, the 10 tribes of Israel. Remember the nation of Israel split between Rehoboam and Jeroboam, Rehoboam the son of Solomon, and so they got this divided monarchy, the northern tribes led by Jeroboam.

What Jeroboam did so that the people in the northern tribes wouldn't go and align themselves with Judah, the people of Judah, the tribe of Judah, and the son of Solomon, Rehoboam as the king, the Davidic king.

So what Jeroboam did was he set up a couple of calves, altars, idols, if you will, and he said, these are the gods that brought you out of Egypt, and he set up this whole system of worship, a false system of worship, to rival the true system of worship that God had established to take place at the temple in Jerusalem.

So Jeroboam did that, and consequently every king after Jeroboam is noted for being a bad guy, a wicked king. So when we read in verse two that Jehoram, the son of Ahab, he did evil in the sight of the Lord, we say, well okay, so what else is new with these kings of Israel?

But then it's interesting because the verse goes on to say, but not like his father and mother. Okay, so he was evil, but he wasn't as evil as his father and mother. His father Ahab and Jezebel, you remember they're pretty notorious in their wickedness.

How was he not as evil as his father and his mother, as Ahab and Jezebel? Because, it says at the end of verse two, he put away the sacred pillar of Baal that his father had made. So, okay, Jeroboam's false system of worship was horrible, I mean it was idolatry, and it was defiling of God's people.

But Ahab took that wickedness a step further, and he erected altars to Baal, a completely false god. Now what Jeroboam did at least was, he tried to convince the people of Israel that the altars and the idols that he set up were representatives of Yahweh, the God of Israel.

He said, this is the God that brought you out of Egypt. It was all false worship. But Jeroboam at least did not set up altars to Baal, a completely pagan false god. Ahab did. So, what we read here, that Jehoram did evil in the sight of the Lord, but not like his father and mother.

The thing that was different about Jehoram that didn't make him as evil as his parents, was that he tore down the altars to Baal that his father had made. Well that doesn't mean he's altogether a virtuous guy, because verse 3 goes on to tell us, nevertheless he persisted in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who had made Israel to sin, he did not depart from them.

In other words, here's the bottom line, here's the point. Partial reform is not enough. Partial reform is not enough. I say that because in the 40 years of ministry, I've seen a lot of people make some reforms in their lives, and they get rid of some things.

They know that they're evil. I've known people who were alcoholic, and they turned over a new leaf, and got rid of their alcohol, and never touched another drop. And you would think, well that was wonderful.

Well it is wonderful, but it's kind of like, in some cases that I've seen, it's kind of like Jehoram, who you know, he did not, he tore down the altars of Baal, but he persisted in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat.

So for example, using that illustration of the man who is an alcoholic, he gets rid of his alcohol, so that he's no longer drunken, and no longer profligate, and wasteful with his money, and causing problems with his family.

And he makes that reform, and things improve in that regard, but he still does not worship God as God prescribes. He comes to church maybe once a month, maybe twice a month. Sometimes his family comes without him, sometimes he comes with them.

He's not really worshiping God as God prescribes. And there are other ways we could illustrate that same principle. So here's the point. We can become very convinced of things where we need to make changes in our lives, things we know are a problem, things we know are not pleasing to God.

And we can say, okay I know that's not pleasing to God, and I'm going to get rid of that, and I get rid of that. But here's the question, here's the question. Do I persist in some other area of life that is evil, that maybe hasn't caused me any problems yet, and something that I like?

Now, partial reform is not enough. Let's not be Jehoram's, where we tear down the altars of Baal, but we persist in the sins of Jeroboam. Our Father and our God, I pray that we would be convicted thoroughly of our waywardness, and repent of it, and turn from all of it, and not not coddle sin, and not pretend like partial reform in some area is therefore making us all that we ought to be for the people, as the people of God.

And we pray this in Jesus' name and for his sake. Amen. All right, well listen, have a good rest of your Thursday, and the Lord bless you in it. Have a good day.