THE RIGHT MEASUREMENT
Zechariah 2:1-2, "I lifted up mine eyes again, and looked, and behold a man with a measuring line in his hand. Then said I, Whither goest thou? And he said unto me, To measure Jerusalem, to see what is the breadth thereof, and what is the length thereof."
Aren’t you glad for standards? Some things in life are made simpler by the institution of standards.
Take for instance the following examples:
What would it be like if you went into the grocery store everyday to buy food and there were no standards for the handling of those foods or standards for the measuring of its size and weight? You never know how the produce is handled, or the chemicals that are used to make it appear big and healthy. How old are the steaks and pork chops and were the herds from whence they came carefully chosen or did only the sick and infirmed animals qualify for the slaughterhouse? How much does this roast weight, 5 pounds or 50 pounds? What’s a pound anyway?
Right now is much concern over the price of oil and gasoline around the world. Right here in our own area the price for gasoline seems to change every time an Arab sneezes in the Middle East. Now the price of this important commodity is a very real concern, but what if every time you pulled up to the pump you didn’t know whether what you were putting into the tank was what it was supposed to be or if it was going to destroy your car? And what if the pump measured your “gallons” as “quarts” instead and you didn’t know it? How many quarts would fill you tank, and what is a quart anyway?
The fact is that everything is measured by some sort of standard. The money that we use to purchase the necessities of life is measured according to a standard. What if a quarter would only be worth a nickel some of the time, or a dollar was worth a penny, or a penny worth a hundred dollars and you never knew whether you would have the right amount of money, and every merchant could establish his own value on any coin or bill that you lay down? Wouldn’t it be fun to try figure out just where to shop in the mall?
What about if you were to try to bake a cake or follow some recipe but a cup was not really a cup, but a teaspoon or a pinch wasn’t a pinch at all but a cup of any ingredient? I’m no cook but I do know that I wouldn’t want to follow someone’s recipe if their measurements were not the same as mine, and every measurement meant something different to them as it does to me.
I can remember following a very simple recipe once to bake a cornbread. It was beautiful to behold and quite tasty. But there was one problem. I had failed to follow the standards set down in the recipe by changing only one ingredient. I put in baking soda instead of baking powder. Believe me, it didn’t take long to see that the standard had been violated!
In Zechariah’s vision he saw a man with a measuring line in his hand and that measuring line was the standard by which Jerusalem would be measured. It was to be used as the standard to see the exact size of the city on all sides. But I don’t want to talk about the measuring of the city in particular. I want us to take note that there is a standard by which all things are measured and that there is only one keeper of that standard.
The problem that so many have in life is that they forget that God has established standards and laws that govern every facet of life. Whether we serve the Lord or not, those standards are the same for us all. Whether we obey or try to circumvent God’s laws and standards, or not, the standards and laws do not change.
The Law of Gravity can be ignored, but it won’t change. Try to fly without wings and you will soon discover its immutable truth.
The Law of Sowing and Reaping can be ignored, but we will still reap what we sow because the law does not change.
The Laws of Physics can be ignored but, as many have discovered too late, those laws will not fail. One of those laws says that two objects of matter cannot occupy the same space at the same time. If you bump into the corner of the bench with your knee, or if you try to put two cars into the same space on the highway you will quickly discover that ignoring those laws don’t negate their truth.
The truth is that there are standards by which all things are measured and God alone establishes those standards. He is an unchanging God and his standards are unchanging as well.
Through the years I have seen many changes in the church. When I was young I attended a church where there were many more standards of dress, entertainment, behavior and appearance than what we see in churches of today.
The question is, since the standards have seemingly changed, then how could they have been standards in the first place? Standards should be unchangeable. They should remain constant for all ages and all churches. By virtue of the fact that many of those “standards” have changed, I must conclude that they were not standards at all. They were merely matters of personal convictions and established codes of behavior conceived in the mind and heart of men and imposed upon the congregation by well-meaning ministers who each had their own idea of what holiness or sanctification meant.
Can you see why there has been so much confusion that has entered the church because of such actions on the part of ministers? It is akin to the examples of money with no standards, gasoline with no standard pricing or measurement of volume. If we base our salvation, and our “standards” of holiness upon the convictions of anyone other than the Word of God, we place ourselves in a very precarious position where we are bound to get into confusion. We are destined to fail because convictions are an individual thing and not a standard throughout the human race. What God convicts me of, he may never deal with you about because we all have different strengths and weaknesses and God’s convictions upon our hearts are often based upon those strengths and weaknesses.
We must never forget that it is God who holds the measuring line and not man. Aren’t you glad that men don’t have to do the measuring? I’m glad that there is a perfect Lord, ruler over all things, all-powerful and unchangeable who is in charge of establishing his Laws. I’m glad that he has given us the Word of God, written in the Bible, as his standard by which all things are compared. I’m glad that he has the line and not a man who would measure everyone by different standards. God is no respecter of persons and therefore his measurement for every man is the same and not based upon biased opinions of race, creed or nationality.
It is God who has established the measurement for obtaining salvation. That requirement has been set and is unchangeable, and it doesn’t matter how much men attempt to change it, the way has been set.
Jesus said, in John 14:6, "… I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."
Men can argue that fact; deny the existence of Christ as the Son of God; deny his death, burial and resurrection; proclaim God to be dead; or do anything they want, but the fact remains that there is still only “ONE WAY” to get to Heaven, and that way is through Jesus only.
All the religions in the world attempt to go the wrong way down that one way street, or to go in through another door, but they will meet Jesus head-on if they continue traveling that way because He will also be the Judge who condemns them for their rebellion against his established law. All other paths, and all other doors lead only to destruction.
Someone just a few days ago was telling me of a dream that they had experienced where it seemed that they were in dark tunnel. It was very narrow and confining. At the other end was a light. Then the Lord spoke this truth to their heart to let them know that this really wasn’t a tunnel at all. It was the straight and narrow way that leads to life and that’s why only a few will find it.
A strait gate is very small and narrow; not allowing room for any excessive baggage or extra weight to pass through. It is easy to miss and is almost unnoticeable and that’s the comparison that Jesus gives to the entrance to the road; the one way to Heaven.
Most men pass right by and don’t see the gate at all, or they neglect it, thinking that it is not worth trying to go through.
The path beyond that gate seems to be a hard way from the outside, and sometimes it really is hard. There is not much of the pleasure of the world to be enjoyed in the same way that there is on the broad way that they already know.
The narrow gate has no beauty on its outward appearance and it is a sight that many will quickly turn away from.
Isaiah 53:2-3, "For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not."
There are very few traveling companions on this narrow way compared to the broad way. Friends, if you want to call them that, are plentiful on the broad way, but there will be precious few that you can really call friends on the narrow way.
The narrow way does not allow the desires of the flesh for much company. The pleasures of sin, unbridled lusts, and uncontrolled living cannot be brought into that narrow way because there is no room and no time for them anymore. The focus must always be to walk straight lest we wander off into sin and lay down every weight in order to pass through the narrow gate.
It is God who has established the means by which we are made righteous. We can attempt to establish all of the rules and regulations we want to, and we can try to pay any price we can conceive to obtain right standing with God but there is still only God’s way that counts.
Romans 5:19, "For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous."
2 Corinthians 5:21, "For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him."
Our righteousness only comes through the blood of Jesus Christ and not by any form of works.
It is God’s measuring line that has established who will be part of the Bride of Christ and not any man. There are a lot of people who believe that they are going to be caught away in the rapture to meet the Lord in the air who won’t be there. It is not I, not you, nor anyone else who sets that standard; it is God Almighty, Holy, True and All Knowing, who sets that standard for entry into the gates of Heaven.
Ephesians 5:25-27, "Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish."
If a young lady is getting ready to be married, she wants her dress, her makeup, her hair, and everything about her to be as perfect as possible. She plans, she works, she dreams, she waits with great anticipation, and is a constant state of preparation until that day arrives and the union is completed. That time of preparation may last for days, weeks, months and sometimes for years, but she never stops because she wants this day to be perfect.
How many people are waiting for the coming of the Lord with that kind of care and excitement? So many aren’t even thinking about his coming anymore. So many are just doing their own thing as though he weren’t coming at all. So many are trying to reinvent his laws, change his requirements for salvation, adjust his standards of righteousness to match their own desires. How many of these do you really think will be a part of the Bride of Christ? We are like the disciples, Peter, James and John, who went with Jesus but couldn’t even wait one hour with him in the Garden on the night Jesus was arrested, we lose our zeal so quickly, then we get lethargic and fall asleep on our watch.
The problem is that we don’t measure ourselves according to measurement of God’s standards. We measure our righteousness by our own beliefs and convictions. We measure our faithfulness by the faithfulness of others. We measure our commitment by the commitment of other people. We measure our holiness and purity by others as well. We measure our obedience by what the preacher says, without ever looking into the real standard for ourselves in the Word of God.
2 Corinthians 10:12, "For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise."
Righteousness is not gained by comparing our self-righteousness with the self-righteousness, or lack thereof, of other people. Compare yourself to God’s standard and obtain righteousness his way.
Salvation is not gained by measuring ourselves against the worst of sinners, or even the best of saints. It is gained only by accepting Jesus as Lord.
Holiness is not gained by obedience to a bunch of man-made rules and laws. It is only gained through the Blood of Christ.
Eternal life is not gained by “being good” or just wishing for it. Eternal life only comes one way – through acceptance of the sacrifice of Jesus upon the Cross and surrendering our life to him.
How do we measure up? Are we measuring up according to God’s standards or are we relying upon the changing standards of man?
Use the Word of God as your measurement. Use Jesus as your standard. That’s the only way that you will really measure up to what God wants you to be.
