Is God Dropping a Plumb Line for the Church - How Should You Respond
- Feb 13
- 6 min read
God is always calling us. He asks that we listen for His voice. Today, if we listen and do not harden our hearts as our parents and ancestors have done, we may encounter God’s glory revival. But we must be ready to have such an encounter. If our hearts are more aligned with the world than the word, we are not ready for God’s glory to pour out on us.
What Is a Plumb Line?
The phrase "plumb line" is often used to describe a time when God draws a line between something. A plumb line is a measuring line, something that determines where a thing begins and ends. A line was used to measure boundaries or borders and set them in place.
"You shall not remove your neighbor's landmark…" — Deu 19:14 and "Do not remove the ancient landmark Which your fathers have set." — Pro 22:28 NKJV
We are not to move or remove God’s righteous standards for His people. The Old Covenant crashes into the New Covenant and validates God’s character of which we were made in His image.
An important question to ask ourselves is, Is the Church truly reflecting the image of God? Or do we look more like the world?
God’s Plumb Line in Amos
When God had to draw a line in the sand, so to speak, with Israel and their sin, He said the time is now for judgment.
“Behold, I am setting a plumb line in the midst of My people Israel…” — Amos 7:7–9
The plumb line is connected to God’s justice. He has drawn lines between darkness and light, wrong and right, evil and good. Judgement begins with us, the house of God.
“For it is time for judgment to begin with God's household…” — 1 Pet 4:17
The House of Eli: A Warning
God dealt with the house of Eli and his sons because they were corrupt. Eli and his sons were priests, but they were not pure.
Eli's sons did outward righteous acts but were wicked on the inside, and he allowed it. Jesus encountered this kind of religious man in the Pharisees and Scribes.
23 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier [matters] of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone. — Mat 23:23
But through a young boy dedicated to God — Samuel — God raised a different standard. Samuel became a Seer, raised up prophets, dealt with Saul, and opened the way for David, the line of Judah from which Jesus Christ came.
God requires His people to “To do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God?” — Mic 6:8 NKJV
God must deal with the priesthood. Eli’s sons were committing adultery and idolatry in the temple, and he allowed it. We are the temple of God and the royal priesthood. Sin must be dealt with in ourselves and in the family.
Although Samuel was brought into the midst of sin, he was not touched by it. We live in a contaminated environment, but we are not to be touched by it. We live in the world but are not of the world.
Setting a Plumb Line for Our Lives
One of the definitions of the word justly is 'to measure'. The people of God are to set a plumb line for their lives and the nation they live in, whereby they can judge right from wrong. If they do not, they are set up to fail and commit sin.
The Bible gives us direction for right living, but if we do not read it and were not raised with it, we may not fully understand what God defines as right and wrong. Sadly, even those raised in the church fall far from God’s righteous design. They sin and do not know how to repent. They sin and excuse it with the grace of God instead of allowing the grace to keep them from sinning.
Pastors who have allowed their children and the people they oversee to sin without confronting it, nor do they teach truth from the pulpit, will be dealt with in a greater measure than the people in the pew.
Pure Religion and an Unspotted Life
26 If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one's religion [is] useless. 27 Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, [and] to keep oneself unspotted from the world. - Jas 1:26-27
Unspotted means to be free of physical or moral blemishes. All of us have defiled our bodies in some way. Everyone has fallen short — we all need Jesus to be made clean and robe us in righteousness. But what happens when we continue to defile the robe of righteousness?
A true convert learns how to live according to the commandments of Jesus.
'And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.' This [is] the first commandment. — Mar 12:30
Love will cause us to keep God's righteous commands. Whoever is born of God does not sin but keeps himself from defilement (1Jo 5:18). If we are living right, the wicked one does not touch us.
Not Religion — Lordship
I am not talking about living a life according to the spirit of religion, but rather a life sold out for Jesus, whereby you have made Him Lord over all.
I have heard believers excuse sin in their loved ones — calling them “good people,” saying “they deserve to be loved too,” or aligning with the laws of the land that contradict the laws of God. These things may be legal, but they lead to death.
Too many believers are selling their birthright for a small amount of pleasure now.
“Let no one deceive you with empty words…” — Eph 5:3–7
Who Are You Walking With?
Are you hanging out with sinners who call themselves Christians? You need to repent and run far from those who are disgracing the name of Jesus, unless you are willing to call them out on their sin.
We are not to be yoked with an unbeliever, nor partake in the company of those who call themselves Christian and live like heathens.
Do You Want to See God’s Glory?
Do you desire miracles, healings, and good triumphing over evil? Then do not stretch the boundary line of sin. A little leaven spreads through the whole batch. A little sin will overtake your entire being. Stop now and seek the Lord while He may be found!
When God called Moses to the mountain, He warned the people not to cross the boundary, or they would die. They could not encounter God’s glory because their hearts were corrupt.
Religion and acts of goodwill do not bring the glory of God. A heart bent toward His will and dead to self is the one who sees His glory.
A Wake-Up Call to the Church
The demonic realm has touched the earth recently in ways we cannot fathom, and Jezebel and her cohorts are overtaking our children. Justice has been perverted, and we are the only thing that stands between Heaven and earth for the lost.
The Spirit of God in us desires to use us to change the atmosphere, not blend in with it.
20 "Nevertheless I have a few things against you, because you allow that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, to teach and seduce My servants to commit sexual immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols. 21 "And I gave her time to repent of her sexual immorality, and she did not repent. — Rev 2:20-21
No other burden is put on us except to do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with God.
God Sees Everything
“O LORD, You have searched me and known me…” — Psa 139:1–8 NKJV
We cannot hide from God. It will do us no good to gain the world but lose our souls. Pastors who walk in glory and gifts but refuse to address sin will have their reward here on earth — but on judgment day, they will hear, “Away from Me for I never knew you.”
Let us not be so lukewarm that we are spit out of the mouth of God as a bitter taste to Him. Let us be a sweet-smelling aroma for His delight and pleasure!
Let's pray,
Heavenly Father, I repent on behalf of my life, my family, and my nation for the sins we have committed against You and one another. The list is long, the offenses are many. While we do not deserve forgiveness, You offer it as while we were still sinners, Jesus died for us. Help me not to take that salvation miracle for granted. I choose holiness in Jesus name. Amen
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