Sin Is A Living Force

“Cursed is the one who does not confirm all the words of this law by observing them. And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’” Deuteronomy 27:26 In this modern age, the subject of sin is not often preached on anymore. It’s such an old-fashioned topic, so distasteful, and that kind of preaching won’t fill the pews. But the Word of God has much to say about it. Though society changes, the Word of God abides forever. It does not change with the times. “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will by no means pass away.” Matthew 24:35 Some might argue that we are not under the law, and surely we aren’t, that is the truth. But though we’re not under the law carved on stones, yet we are under the law carved on our hearts. Others will argue that the Blood of Jesus has made atonement for us concerning our sins, and surely it has. We have been forgiven and our eternal salvation has been guaranteed by our faith in the atonement Jesus Christ provided for us. But that doesn’t mean that sin is no longer an issue. Its aim is to destroy you. “If we say that we have no SIN, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” 1st John 1:8 This was written in the NEW Testament, long after Jesus finished the atonement and returned to the Father. John is making sure we understand that the atonement does not change the truth that we are still sinners. But why preach on it if in fact it’s already been atoned for? Because sin is a LIVING and powerful thing, something that operates in the spiritual world that we do not see, but which has very real consequences. We are forgiven our sins, but the EFFECTS of them remain. If a woman commits adultery and becomes pregnant, she may be forgiven her sin, but the child doesn’t go away with the forgiveness. If one lies about his neighbor, he may be forgiven but what he said about his neighbor can change the course of his neighbor’s life. If a man commits murder, he may be forgiven, but that won’t bring the victim back nor will it heal the damage done to the victim’s loved ones. SIN IS AN ACTIVE AND LIVING FORCE that brings all kinds of damage to the life of the sinner and to those he sins against, even while he is forgiven. Sin never operates in a person without causing damage, or without bringing a curse upon his life. Sin is a poison that always does damage. We can drink poison even when forgiven. If only we understood the spiritual world, we would flee from sin in fright as from a deadly venom. How does a person avoid sin, therefore? By daily communion with the Lord. Your prayer time is the most important thing you will do in life. God’s Word is powerful, and it also has an effect in the spiritual world which we do not see, because the Word of God is a LIVING force able to nourish and mature the believer IF he takes it in daily. “For the word of God is LIVING and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword…” Hebrews 4:12 When a person is born again, he is born as a babe. He will try to walk, and he’ll fall many times before he is able, but he will remain healthy as long as he receives the proper nourishment. What mother would refuse to nourish her child? In the Christian walk, the Bible is the nourishment God has provided us. As we abide in it, reading daily, feeding daily, we are being transformed and matured gradually, “from glory to glory.” If this is neglected, we simply won’t grow. We’ve all seen believers whose lives never change, they remain the same because they lack the nourishment needed to grow. “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, ARE BEING TRANSFORMED into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.” 2nd Corinthians 3:18 Brothers and sisters, flee from sin. Even though we do not see into the spiritual realm, sin remains a powerful force able to change a person, and it never fails to leave damage. Some people aren’t able to connect the dots, but the connection between sin and damage is very real. Ask the Lord to reveal to you what damage has been done by sin in your life. Pray for healing, pray for deliverance, pray for grace to stay clean before him. Maturity doesn’t happen automatically and depends on what kind of nourishment one takes in. ASK the Lord to reveal truth to you on the subject of sin, that it might motivate you to stay away from it with a healthy fear. Then feed daily on the Word of God which is a LIVING force growing you up and nourishing you in all the counsel of God, which he has provided for your health and growth. God has not brought us into the world and then left us to figure it out by ourselves. He has given us a book, the Bible, which reveals all he wants us to know. Read it.

Your Fallen Nature Can't Be Trained - It Must Be Crucified

"...the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a mercy seat by his blood, through faith..." Romans 3:22-25 vs 27 "Where is boasting then? It is excluded." It's hard for a person who grew up under the law to understand that we are NOT justified by the law, that in fact, the law works against us because we live in a fallen human nature. It's a whole different mindset and hard to understand if we've been trained to seek our goodness and salvation by the exercise of our own determination. Most people who just don't understand will try and try and try to be "good." Then any good they seem to achieve causes them to pat themselves on the back and consider themselves a good person. But we are not, none of us. We are fallen. Sin is the natural force within us - because all descendants of Adam are born in a fallen state. Put two very young children together in a room with colorful toys, and inevitably one will try to take the other's toy. This is evidence of a fallen nature. To covet is what comes naturally to us. We gossip about people because it reinforces the conclusion we're trying so hard to believe about ourselves, that we are better than they. If someone sins in a particular way that we are not weak in, we just love telling about it because in comparison it makes us feel good about ourselves. But it's all a lie. We are NOT good, we are fallen, every one of us. The hardest thing for us to do is to finally admit that about ourselves, and to stop lying to ourselves about ourselves. We are NOT saved by being "good." Religions teach that we are saved by the preponderance of good works, and that is the very opposite of what Jesus Christ has taught us. We are saved when we recognize that we live in a fallen human nature which cannot be "trained." The harder we try, the more we become distraught - because it simply doesn't work, it CANNOT work. You can't train yourself out of your particular brand of sin. If you should seem to succeed, sin will just manifest itself in a different way. Overcome one thing, another will pop up. And that's across the board - the case with every human being. No, Jesus said we must be BORN AGAIN and that is the ONLY solution. A person who becomes born again receives a new life, and then he is transformed - slowly - into a whole new mindset - and that, not of one's own doing but by the life-changing power of the Holy Spirit within. Many times a newly born-again person will find changes in areas that he didn't even KNOW were sin. When you've lived with a weakness all your life, sometimes you aren't even aware that it's sin because you're so used to it. When the Spirit of God begins his work in you, you'll be met with many surprises. The flesh, the old nature, cannot be trained, it must be crucified. We MUST ...be born again. Jesus said: "Do not marvel that I said to you, you MUST be born again." John 3:7 If you have not been born again, ASK the Lord to bring you to that life-changing transformation. It is necessary for salvation. Take it very seriously. "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new." 2nd Corinthians 5:17 MORE: "Born Again" - What Does That Mean?

Are You Under The Judgment Of 'Delusion'?

"Just as they have chosen their own ways, and their soul delights in their abominations, SO WILL I CHOOSE THEIR DELUSIONS, and bring their fears on them; because, when I called, no one answered, when I spoke they did not hear; but they did evil before my eyes, and chose that in which I do not delight." Isaiah 66:3-4 If you turn from God, HE will choose your delusions... Freedom of choice is one of the greatest, but most dangerous of gifts given to mankind. When a person chooses his own way rather than the Lord's, the Lord will allow him his choice. And that can be very scary. One of the scariest passages in the Bible is the story of the rich young ruler who came to Jesus asking what he should do. When Jesus said he should give up his riches and come follow him, the young man turned around and left because he was too attached to his riches and just couldn't bring himself to do what Jesus told him to do. The scary part is this: Jesus let him go. If I had been there, I would have run after that young man to try to reason with him, to try to convince him that whatever you "lose" in following Jesus, you gain back a hundredfold (Mark 10:29-30). But Jesus ...let him go. Without argument, he just let him make the choice, and let him go. What a sobering picture. But that's not all. When someone chooses against the Lord, then the Lord chooses his/her delusions. Think on that a moment. One who makes the choice not to surrender to Christ, will come into delusion. A delusion is deception. The person will become deceived. He won't realize he's deceived, the very nature of deception is that the one deceived thinks he's right. But he's wrong. Because it is the Lord himself who has consigned such a one to deception. Looking at the world today, we see this in play right before our eyes. Two lesbians became pastors of a denominational church in America - and they think that's ok. And those who will go to that church think it's ok. This is delusion. Is there any way on God's green earth that such a thing is ok with God? God forbid! But because they have chosen their way rather than surrender to the Lord and his clear teachings on the subject, they have come under the delusion that homosexuality is ok, and that homosexual women no less, can be pastors of a church. The Word of God is clear even on this: women are NOT to have authority over men. So what these women are doing shows their utter disdain for the Word of God and the delusion he has consigned them to. If only they knew, if only they realized the fate of those who despise the Word of God. What a shock it will be when they stand before him and give an account for their choices. Friends, God gave us his Word for a reason. The Word of God, the Bible, tells us all we need to know about life. He explains who he is, who we are, why we are in the predicament we're in as fallen human beings, he tells us how to be saved, and what our salvation cost HIM. The Word of God is the most precious gift God has given to mankind. It's no wonder that Satan has made such elaborate efforts to bring it into disrepute before the people in this world. The attacks of Satan on the Word of God are not just random happenings that so often make up our news, no, they are the most heinous actions Satan can take to destroy a man, a woman, a child, a country, a world. As the days of the Judeo-Christian ethic which ruled our nation for so long wane, and as we near the end of the age, Satan will become more and more obvious through all that he does, in all that he perpetrates against God, against his people, and against his Word. But only those surrendered to Christ will be able to perceive it. Those who can't, can't - because they live under a delusion. Do not believe the lies the world promulgates against the Bible. In other words do not make yourself vulnerable to be brought into delusion. Examine your heart now: if you have disdain for the Word of God, consider that someone here is telling you, is bringing to your attention, that YOU have come under delusion, and it is my prayer for you that the Spirit of God will give you a chance, will prick your conscience one last time, and will help you to come to repentance. Hear him, lest your "conscience be seared with a hot iron..." ...and you be lost. (1st Timothy 4:2)