We seem to think that God will accept us if we just sin a little. We are basically ignoring His Word and His way for us. His Word says:
Leviticus 20:26 KJV
26 And ye shall be holy unto me: for I the Lord am holy, and have severed you from other people, that ye should be mine.
Here God is talking to His chosen people the Israelites and telling them to be as He is
.
2 Corinthians 6:16-18
King James Version (KJV)
16 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.
18 And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.
17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.
18 And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.
And here God is talking to His chosen people the Christians in the New Testament.
We have not come out from among them. We have tried to be as they are and to incorporate their world into ours. We have compromised our beliefs and our values and in doing so we have compromised our integrity. By compromising our integrity we have made ourselves ineffective in the conveyance of the Message of Christ as we can not sell the purity of the Gospel while we are indulging ourselves in our "gray" areas. Our witness is tainted as is the example we are to show.
The only way to get out of this "rut" we are in is to show the world the TRUE Christ. Our loving savior who died for us, who sacrificed for us. We here in the states have forgotten sacrifice. We think that an hour a week is sacrifice. It Is not. True sacrifice comes in the form of self-denial. Quit being as the world and start being as God. We are not God but we are His representatives here.
Personal growth shall never be achieved as long as we are ok with the sin around us and in us. We must put aside the world and her ways. We must get into the Word of God to know Him to see Him and to Be as He would have us to be. How can we know Him if we do not know His words? His thoughts? His intentions? His plan?
Daily dying to self as the apostle Paul says is mandatory.
Ephesians 4:21-23
King James Version (KJV)
21 If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus:
22 That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;
23 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;
I think we have confused the need to be a light unto the world with being in the world. We should stand in the midst of them a beacon, an example. We should be what they aspire to not a mirror of them. We have tried to make it guilt free for the world, we have excused and condoned the sin. What we need to do is to call Sin what it is, and love the sinner. This does not mean being as they, but showing them love by Telling them of the Savior who wants to lead them out of the wilderness of sin and into the light of His presence.
Remember the old fashioned preachers who called sin out? Who railed against the iniquities of the world? Who unabashedly stood and said what is right and what is wrong by the Word of God? Instead we have given ourselves over to smooth talking, easy, "feel good", prosperity theology and faith healing sensationalism. Our people are being told it's ok to be in sin and still have God's blessing. That is false preaching and teaching, we need to get back to the Word.
We can never experience true growth until we realize that we must cleanse the temple, get rid of the money changers. Take a stand and take back our church. Be the Bastion of Righteousness and the fortress of Right yet again. Once we start standing for and with God, then we can start growing again.
Stop worrying about offending, and start worrying about converting. Political correctness has no place in the Word of God. Right and wrong do.
Remember Christ is the way to Heaven and Him alone. All the rest is a red herring and false.
Stop being compromisers and start being Examples.
We need to get our hearts turned back to purity and righteousness. No other way is acceptable before God. And that is the true measure of what we are trying to attain.
We need to start worrying about grieving the Holy Spirit. We need to start worrying about losing God's favor and quit thinking of winning man's favor.
Stand up and denounce sin. Stand up for Christ and the true values of the christian life. Stop being an accessory to the perversion of the Word and the watering down of the message. Repent should be our battle cry. Turn to God should be the banner.
Then and only then when we see God as the Pure and Righteous God He is and we aspire to be as He would have us to be shall we be able to start achieving growth. Then and only then shall we have the right heart. Then we can start growing daily in the truth and the knowledge of His Word - The Lord Jesus Christ.
22 That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;
23 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;
I think we have confused the need to be a light unto the world with being in the world. We should stand in the midst of them a beacon, an example. We should be what they aspire to not a mirror of them. We have tried to make it guilt free for the world, we have excused and condoned the sin. What we need to do is to call Sin what it is, and love the sinner. This does not mean being as they, but showing them love by Telling them of the Savior who wants to lead them out of the wilderness of sin and into the light of His presence.
Remember the old fashioned preachers who called sin out? Who railed against the iniquities of the world? Who unabashedly stood and said what is right and what is wrong by the Word of God? Instead we have given ourselves over to smooth talking, easy, "feel good", prosperity theology and faith healing sensationalism. Our people are being told it's ok to be in sin and still have God's blessing. That is false preaching and teaching, we need to get back to the Word.
We can never experience true growth until we realize that we must cleanse the temple, get rid of the money changers. Take a stand and take back our church. Be the Bastion of Righteousness and the fortress of Right yet again. Once we start standing for and with God, then we can start growing again.
Stop worrying about offending, and start worrying about converting. Political correctness has no place in the Word of God. Right and wrong do.
Remember Christ is the way to Heaven and Him alone. All the rest is a red herring and false.
Stop being compromisers and start being Examples.
We need to get our hearts turned back to purity and righteousness. No other way is acceptable before God. And that is the true measure of what we are trying to attain.
We need to start worrying about grieving the Holy Spirit. We need to start worrying about losing God's favor and quit thinking of winning man's favor.
Stand up and denounce sin. Stand up for Christ and the true values of the christian life. Stop being an accessory to the perversion of the Word and the watering down of the message. Repent should be our battle cry. Turn to God should be the banner.
Then and only then when we see God as the Pure and Righteous God He is and we aspire to be as He would have us to be shall we be able to start achieving growth. Then and only then shall we have the right heart. Then we can start growing daily in the truth and the knowledge of His Word - The Lord Jesus Christ.
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