The Plumbline
- Jul 1
- 3 min read
In Zechariah Chapter 4, God mentions that He is pleased with the rebuilding of Jerusalem. He rejoices to see the work started, and the plumbline in the hand of leadership. The plumbline is the image of righteousness … a priority in whatever is being built in His name is built by the plumbline of His Word. God is pleased because the leadership maintains a plumbline that does not compromise the values of God. A pastor friend whose ministry is preparing couples to get married, sees couples who attend Church regularly, yet they are living together. Today, that is the norm for couples preparing for marriage … they will live together. We are told that 76% live together before saying their vows in marriage. Certainly, the plumbline of God’s standard for marriage is not being used as a standard for pre-marital couples. ~Larry Kutzler, Facebook Post
The Plumbline of the Past
The plumbline messages of God’s standards feel old fashioned and out of touch with the reality of where people are today in modern life. Yet, nothing can change the truth that God puts forth in His Word. Sex without a commitment to each other in marriage, is asking God to bend the rules … and He won’t.
Recently, I read a piece about the evangelist-prophet Leonard Ravenhill, who said that he was so busy in his younger years preaching at Churches and at conventions, but as time went on, the invitations stop coming. Pastors told him that their congregations wanted to hear uplifting messages … not messages of conviction. Isn’t that interesting? Yet, the ministry of the Holy Spirit is one of conviction of sin, righteousness, and judgement according to how Jesus described His ministry in the church. (John 16:8)
We have seen a shift in how we approach sin today. We have few pastors who will address it directly, calling out idols, false teaching, and compromised values. Once I addressed a topic in a sermon where I was showing how God detests the perversion of sexual relationships, I was told by the elders of the Church that messages like that drive people from the Church and do not draw outsiders. We want to be winsome, I was told, a mild version of story time themes and God is loving themes. My concern is getting the Church to think differently about holiness, and how holiness attracts the ministry of the Holy Spirit.
I wasn’t concerned about changing the Bible’s conviction on sin to satisfy someone’s idea of how to advertise for new parishioners. Today, we have softened the messages … they are more inclusive, more thought provoking, more encouraging, than we have been in the past. However, God’s plumbline has not changed, He hasn’t changed His mind from when the Prophet Hosea said, “My people are being destroyed because they don’t know me.” The Prophet is clear … by not knowing God, the result is no faithfulness, no kindness, and no knowledge of God in the land. That meant with no God, they become their own God in place of Him. Those same conditions that prevailed in the days when the Prophet Hosea prophesied are mirrored today.
The Last Plumbline Thought
God sets the standards (the plumbline) for those who believe in Him. We learn those standards by reading the Bible, His Word, specifically learning the message of Jesus. Jesus didn’t change anything in the Bible when He came … He clarified it. Learning what Jesus taught outlines His plumbline for following Him.
Challenging the Culture with Truth … Larry Kutzler