Sin

Think About It…

In the Gospel accounts (Matthew 20:29-34; Mark 10:46-52; Luke 18:35-43), we read about Jesus who is on His way to Jerusalem and He’s passing through Jericho. Jesus has a multitude of people travelling with Him. As they pass through, there are two blind beggars that hear this commotion of the multitude and they inquire of it. They are told that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by, so they begin to cry out “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on us!!”. Of course, they are beggars, the most lowly of citizens, so they are warned to keep quiet. They refuse and continue to keep shouting all the more, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on us!!” Jesus hears their cries and stands still. He asks them, “What do you want Me to do for you?” They request that their eye sight be granted them. Jesus gives them their sight telling them that their faith has made them well. They then joined the multitude in following Jesus.

How does this apply to us today? We all have something that is plaguing us: SIN (Romans 3:23). Jesus has the power to remove that sin from us (Mark 16:16). What is it that’s keeping us from Jesus and what are we doing about it? For the two beggars it was the multitude of people that were between them and Jesus. What is it for us? It could be one thing, it could be a number of things. We need to identify whatever it is and we need to decide what we will do about it. The beggars shouted all the more! What will we do to overcome and access Jesus Christ? Think about it…

Is Your Heart Hardened?

In the book of Exodus we have the account of Moses and Aaron and their attempts to plead with Pharaoh to let the people of Israel go out of their bondage in Egypt. The bible records that Pharaoh’s heart was hardened and he would not let the people go. In other words, he did not believe in the God of the Israelites and thus saw no reason to obey His commands.

As a result of his hardened heart, God brought plagues upon Pharaoh and the Egyptians, proving Himself to be the God that He declared Himself to be. You can read of these plagues beginning in Exodus 7:14 and following.

Have you ever heard people say, “If God would show me a miracle or a wonder, then I would definitely believe in Him.”? Have you ever said that? Have you considered the number of times in scripture that God indeed showed miraculous wonders to people, and yet they still would not believe in and obey God? They, like Pharaoh, had a hardened heart.

If you are a non-believer and you are reading this, what is making your heart hardened against God? Certainly, He has granted mankind the free will to believe or not to believe. It is His desire that all would come to repentance and turn from their wicked ways (2 Peter 3:9). God has proven Himself to be a just and loving God. He sent His Son to die a most painful and agonizing death on the cross to pay for your sins. Will you crucify him over and over again by remaining in your sins?

Jesus is the cure to a hardened heart. Only the message of the Gospel can prick one’s heart to recognize that they are in servitude to sin and in need of the grace of God to forgive them.

Diagnosis: Hardened Heart

Prescription: Hear the Gospel (Romans 10:17), Believe the Gospel (Hebrews 11:6) , Repent of your sins (Acts 2:38), Confess Christ as the Son of God (Acts 8:37), Be immersed in the waters of baptism (Mark 16:16), Arise and walk in newness of life (Romans 6:4).

It isn’t too late, but remember we are not promised tomorrow. Today is the day of salvation.

Do Not Love The World

In 1 John chapter 2 verses 15 through 17, God’s word reveals the following message:

1 John 2:15-17 NKJV
Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. [16] For all that is in the world-the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life-is not of the Father but is of the world. [17] And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.

To gain a fuller understanding, we can correlate Galatians 5:19-21:

Galatians 5:19-21 NKJV
Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, [20] idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, [21] envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

What is it that we are not to love? That which is of the world, namely the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life. The lust of the flesh would certainly encompass all the works of the flesh that are condemned in the passage cited in Paul’s letter to the Galatians, which I would point out is not an all inclusive list of sins that will keep us out of heaven.

Simply put, if we live our lives solely focusing on what our flesh desires, we will keep ourselves from the blessings of God and ultimately inherit eternal punishment once our earthly life is finished.

Sin takes many forms and we need to be able to recognize it in order to abstain from it. The Bible says:

Romans 12:21 NKJV
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

The works of the flesh should give way to the fruits of the Spirit.

Galatians 5:22-23 NKJV
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, [23] gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.

This world that we live in is evil. But if we abide in the doctrine of Christ, we can overcome and conquer death just as He has.

John 8:51 NKJV
Most assuredly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word he shall never see death.”

Do not love the world. Love the WORD!