We have been given...
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Object:
We have been given free will to choose wickedness or God. Adam and Eve were given that freedom but chose evil even though they had known God even more intimately than anyone ever. But why would anyone choose wickedness? There are at least two reasons: 1) We have not developed a close personal relationship with our maker so that we love him above all else. 2) The other is more complicated. There are so many exciting opportunities in life that are obviously bad like adultery, murder, and robbery. But there are others like lusting after another, hating someone enough to kill but stopping short of murder, desiring another people's wealth or anything else they may have, wanting to hit someone but afraid of being arrested. There are others like dishonesty that might accomplish a worthy goal like stealing to feed a hungry family, killing someone to protect your belongings or even your family.
To disobey shows a lack of faith that God will provide. You don't have to steal or cheat to survive. To turn yourself over to God can be dangerous and has cost some their people their lives. If we saw a cross ahead of us, would we hesitate like Peter did and deny our faith? During WWII Japanese threatened death if a Christian did not walk over a cross with a carving of Jesus on it. After the war, they found that cross was warn flat by the feet of those who denied their faith and walked on it. What would we have done if we faced that kind of option?
Look at the price you could pay if you fall under the spell of wickedness. It is choosing "death" instead of life. Since we have all fallen for some of those temptations, what is the answer? Are we lost forever? After his death, they discovered that my sainted grandpa had a mistress on the side. Is he lost forever? He did a lot of good in his life and helped many people. Aside from that he was a faithful Christian. Would that swing the balance in his favor?
Fortunately we are under grace, not under law. So if we turn ourselves over to God -- even at the last minute, like that thief on the cross, there is still hope.
We can become last-minute slaves, but how much better if we avoid the risk and offer ourselves as slaves to God now, when we can still have opportunities to serve him. If we have served our selfish interest instead of God's interest, we may find that we pay a price in a guilty feeling. In the end the payment is too horrible to imagine. So gather together with your fellow slaves in this church and help each other to avoid sin and instead serve our holy Master now. We still have temptations and God has still given us freedom, but use that freedom to serve him and him alone -- with his help!
To disobey shows a lack of faith that God will provide. You don't have to steal or cheat to survive. To turn yourself over to God can be dangerous and has cost some their people their lives. If we saw a cross ahead of us, would we hesitate like Peter did and deny our faith? During WWII Japanese threatened death if a Christian did not walk over a cross with a carving of Jesus on it. After the war, they found that cross was warn flat by the feet of those who denied their faith and walked on it. What would we have done if we faced that kind of option?
Look at the price you could pay if you fall under the spell of wickedness. It is choosing "death" instead of life. Since we have all fallen for some of those temptations, what is the answer? Are we lost forever? After his death, they discovered that my sainted grandpa had a mistress on the side. Is he lost forever? He did a lot of good in his life and helped many people. Aside from that he was a faithful Christian. Would that swing the balance in his favor?
Fortunately we are under grace, not under law. So if we turn ourselves over to God -- even at the last minute, like that thief on the cross, there is still hope.
We can become last-minute slaves, but how much better if we avoid the risk and offer ourselves as slaves to God now, when we can still have opportunities to serve him. If we have served our selfish interest instead of God's interest, we may find that we pay a price in a guilty feeling. In the end the payment is too horrible to imagine. So gather together with your fellow slaves in this church and help each other to avoid sin and instead serve our holy Master now. We still have temptations and God has still given us freedom, but use that freedom to serve him and him alone -- with his help!
