Pssst, want to know a secret?

Do you ever wonder how Satan might convince someone to not be a member of a faithful church? Consider these arguments:

1. You do not have to answer to anyone. Well, Satan is partly right on this one. In reality, everyone answers to the Lord (II John 9). Still, when a person is not part of a faithful church, he/she does not have elders looking out for their spiritual wellbeing (I Pet. 5:1-3). They will not have members calling and checking in to see if they are okay (Gal. 6:2). Satan is right – if you are not part of the Lord’s church family, nobody will be following up with you.

2. You do not have to worship God all the time. Christians are commanded to come together as a church (I Cor. 11:17-18; Heb. 10:25). If one does not belong to a faithful congregation, he/she gets to go whenever they decide. They will also have extra cash in their pocket because they will not be financially giving as a member of the church (II Cor. 16:1-2).

3. You do not have to pray for other members or visit them when they are sick or have lost a loved one. If you do not belong to the family of God, you can be selfish and not care about the needs of those around you. Members of the church, on the other hand, care for one another (I Cor. 12:12-25; Rom. 12:15). Remember, Satan wants to convince you that your troubles are so great you cannot help others with their burdens.

4. You do not have to worry about church discipline. Here again, Satan is partly right. If a member of a faithful church wants to listen to Satan on the first three points, a local church is required to purge out the leaven (I Cor. 5:1-7). This is done to help bring the fallen back. A person who does not repent and rejoin the church logically cannot be withdrawn from again. Satan knows this and wants the fallen to find comfort in avoiding earthly discipline. Like children running away to avoid punishment, some will even avoid becoming a member of a local church just to prevent that from ever happening.

5. You do not have to feel guilty about sin. The devil knows that there is less and less guilt as one’s conscience becomes seared (I Tim. 4:2). A person who avoids a faithful church will become more and more comfortable with sin – just as Satan wants.

6. You do not have to evangelize. If someone does not attend a faithful church, than the effectiveness of their evangelism is greatly diminished. Perhaps even more important to Satan, they likely will not bother with evangelism anymore. On the other hand, the faithful Christian is always thinking of ways to encourage people to become part of Christ’s church (Matt. 16:18; Col. 1:18; Mark 16:15-16).

7. You do not have to pledge your allegiance to Satan or the Lord. Anyone who does not confess Christ will be denied (Matt. 10:32-33). However, Satan’s followers do not have to say that they follow him. Satan’s follows are being loyal to him by just by not following the Lord! As Satan knows, we can belong to him whether we intentionally follow him or not!

We all need to make sure we are not following the god of this world (II Cor. 4:4). Do you really want to be influenced by the one who has a lake of fire awaiting him (Rev. 20:10). “Pssst, hey, do not listen to Satan!”

                                                                                               Chuck

How can we handle torment?

How many of us can identify with what Lot went through? Peter tells us that he was oppressed with the filthy conduct of the world (II Pet. 2:7).  The apostle went on to say that by living among worldly people, Lot “tormented his righteous soul from day to day by seeing and hearing their lawless deeds” (verse 8). We can imagine how bad Lot felt seeing the corruption around him daily.

The interesting thing about what this godly man faced is what it reveals about the Lord. Peter’s thought concludes that “the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment,” (verse 9). This lesson poses a challenge for us. Do we handle the wickedness around us as our Lord wants? Here are some thoughts to consider about living in a world of darkness.

Never get comfortable with sin

Let’s be honest – the day we begin to feel nothing concerning the sin all around us is the day we start to engage in it. Does this really happen? Can someone become numb to sin and then eventually start participating too? Certainly! What if a person becomes numb to sin but does not join in? This is also wrong! The Roman brethren were given a long list of sins to avoid. Then, they were told that any who “[know] the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.” (Rom. 1:32). Essentially, we approve sin if we know better and yet do not challenge it. 

Do not invite it into your home

If a person does not approve of foul language, sexual immorality or drunkenness, would you be wise to invite these things into your home and enjoy them? This happens all the time when families gather around the TV and watches a movie that is full of sin. John warned of this: “If anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him into your house nor greet him; for he who greets him shares in his evil deeds,” (II John 10). There is no doubt that if a guest in their home started to cuss or tell dirty jokes, Christian parents would ask the person to stop. Yet this happens in most TV sitcoms today!

Keep the disgust alive

Christ Jesus never felt comfortable with sin. This did not stop Him from being around sinners – He even ate with them (Mark 2:16). Even so, the Lord’s disgust for transgression remained strong. Recall how He overturned the tables of the money changers and drove them out of the temple (Matt. 21:12-13). There is nothing wrong with disliking the ungodly behavior around us. Truthfully, when was the last time you were not exposed to any sin? I am not suggesting that our daily lives are as bad as what Lot faced. We do not have people coming to our home and demanding that our guests commit evil acts with them. Still, this does not make the sin we encounter daily any less evil.

Seek God’s deliverance

Just as He showed with Lot, God knows how to deliver the godly out of temptation (I Cor. 10:13). If we do not abide by the first three points of this article though, then we are “not so godly” and thus should not expect to be delivered. A classic line applies here– God helps those who help themselves. When the Lord’s ways are on our minds, we can make a conscious effort to seek Him. We can have victory if we come out from the world and live differently (II Cor. 6:17-18). Lot lived in Sodom, yet he did not live like those around him – what about us?

                                                               Chuck

It is not a sin!

In a letter to the Corinthians, the apostle Paul asked “Did I commit sin in abasing myself that you might be exalted, because I preached the gospel of God to you free of charge?” (II Cor. 11:7).  It was absurd to think that Paul sinned by showing his humility and preaching to the brethren for free. But obviously someone twisted things and made it seem like the apostle was in the wrong.

This is nothing new. Even today, people claim it is sinful to do certain things that are simply not wrong. Here is a short list of several things that it is not sinful to do:

1. Eat pork. Certain meats were deemed unclean under the Old Law. But now, under the gospel of Jesus Christ, nothing is to be considered unclean (Acts 10:10-15).

2. Get married. Many religious groups teach that it is wrong for religious leaders to marry (I Tim. 4:3). However, anyone can get married as long as it is lawful (Matt. 19:9).

3. Never get married. It is true that woman was created as a companion for man (Gen. 2:20-25), but some people take this too far and say that everyone must marry. Recall that Paul encouraged people not to marry if they could bear it (I Cor. 7:7-8).

4. Say someone is wrong. So often you hear that if you point the finger, you are judging!  However, how can you help the sinner without pointing out the sin (James 5:19-20)? It does seem odd that anyone would think it is sinful to point out sin (Gal. 2:11).

5. Question religious leaders. If teachers are not to be questioned, what do you do if they teach error? Students must be able to question teachers. Allowing error to go unchecked is wrong (Acts 18:24-26).

                                                                                                                           Chuck                                                                                     

The penalty is not a sin

      I recall in times past that a person taking our Bible course sent in a question. She was concerned over people who murdered and are now on death row. She wanted to know that since murder is a sin, why would anyone be in favor of the death penalty, since that is murder too?

What she needed to understand, as we all need to, is that there is a big difference in the eyes of God between murdering someone and justice being carried out. In Genesis 20:13, God said, “Thou shalt not murder.” In the next chapter God said, “He who strikes a man so that he dies shall surely be put to death” (21;12).

One might conclude that in both cases two people die and there is no difference. There is a difference. One is murder, the other is the penalty for murder. The latter is not sin because sin is transgression of law, and to administer the penalty for sin is not transgression, it’s obedience (I Jn. 3:4).

The question is, has this fact changed now that we are under the gospel and the old laws have been done away with (Col. 2:14)? Man is still told not to murder (Rom. 1:29). If someone does murder, are we allowed to kill them? The scriptures do not authorize someone to take the law into their own hands. The laws of the land are for us (Rom. 13:3-4), and we must be subject to them (vr. 5).

What should our disposition be if there was a death penalty? Would such be against God? The apostle Paul didn’t think so. He stated that if he did anything worthy of death he would not refuse it (Acts 25:11). If Paul wouldn’t object if he was the one facing the sentence, it is right to think he would object if it was anyone else? Of course not.

May we see the difference between murdering someone and one facing the penalty for murder. What our God wants from man is obedience. The penalty for a crime is not a crime!

                                                                                                                                                                                               Chuck

No one preaches on it!

      Over the years I have heard people make general statements about what preachers don’t preach. I love it when they say it to me and I turn around and say, “I preach on that!” Only to hear, “Well, you are rare.” I do not believe that statement either. After all, how does one know what is preached in all the pulpits across the land? Anyway, one such general statement was made recently that no one preaches on the sin of gluttony. Well, I have spoken on this from time to time, as others have, and I shall do so with this article.

Is there such thing as the sin of gluttony? Even though it is not specifically mentioned, it is mentioned. Just as smoking and doing drugs is not mentioned specifically, they, too, are mentioned. In Galatians 5:19-21, Paul lists a number of transgression, that those who practice such will not inherit the kingdom of God. In verse 21, the apostle said, “and the such like…” This would include all other sins that relate to the works of the flesh.

When you read the list of wicked acts people are guilty of committing, you will notice that many of them have to do with uncontrolled desires. This is the reason that the text followed up the fruit of the Spirit that should exist in God’s children, and one of which was self-control (vr. 23). 

Some might think that a person who is addicted to heroin doesn’t need it to live, so how can one, who needs food to live, ever be considered addicted to food? The answer has to do with self-control. There are times people eat because they are depressed, feel lonely, or reasons other than they are hungry. Christians, must be able to walk away and be able to resist. Those who can’t are transgressing (I Cor. 9:27).

I have asked myself on many occasions,: Am I eating because I have not eaten in a while and I need my strength, or have I just eaten and can’t resist the temptation to keep eating, losing my self-control? Remember, even the crack addict eventually stops for a brief time, until the desire comes again. Let us beware of the danger.

                                                                                                                                                                                                         Chuck