Without Excuse- John 15

Excuses are an incredible thing. They are the greatest exercise of self-preservation that anyone can participate in. Their only purpose is to save me from consequences that I deserve! I wouldn't need an excuse unless I had done something incorrectly, so that means I deserve whatever is coming my way. But not if I can make a good enough excuse!
I love being a dad. And, of course, one of my dadly duties is to discipline my kids. Every time one of my sons is confronted with something he has done wrong, he says, "But Dad..." and then rattles off some excuse for what he has done. I keep telling him that my name is not Butt Dad!!! Excuses are just part of what we do as people.
In verse 22 of John 15, Jesus says something incredible about excuses. He says that our knowledge of Him and what He has done, leaves us without any excuses to not follow and obey Him. Really, it is your knowledge of Him that makes you accountable.
In the world we live in today, we know so much about Jesus. We know where and how He lived. We know the words of His teachings. We know the lives of some of His followers. We even know what kinds of foods they ate in the days He was here. We know a lot. But we obey very little.
If I started a new job and didn't know very much about how things are supposed to run, it would be easily forgivable if I messed something up. But when I have the knowledge of how it is supposed to be done, then I am accountable for that knowledge. I need to follow the procedure.
Are there areas of your life that you have God's knowledge of how you are supposed to be living, but you are not obeying that knowledge? Are you making excuses? Are you trying to find ways to justify your actions or lack of action?
Unfortunately, you are without excuse....

PS- For more on this subject, check out the message I preached on 4/11/10 on our church's website: mcfwc.org. If it is no longer listed there, use the contact info from the site to request the audio. If God has spoken to you through what is written here, He will speak through hearing this message.