Tag sin

Outsmarting God, so we can continue to sin

The Preacher Leave a comment

W.C. Fields once told someone who caught him reading a Bible that he was “looking for loopholes”

This seems to be the approach to Bible study among denominations, and I fear among some Christians. Sin has crept into the religious world disguised as “enlightenment” or “modernism”. Folks are tearing down the Bible by calling it “out dated” or “mythical”, AND THIS IS AMONG THOSE PROFESSING TO BE CHRISTIANS!!

I recall a friend that was invited to speak at a denomination about Noah’s ark and the flood. Moments before giving his presentation, the pastor of that denomination pulled him aside and said, “Just so you know, we don’t believe those events to be literal, nor the first 11 chapters of Genesis.”

Is it any wonder that many of the major denominations no longer teach the commands of our Lord, allowing all sorts of sinful behaviors to be allowed to exist inside their churches?

It should also be no surprise that they’ve changed the commands of God and are now teaching for doctrine the commands of men by allowing women preachers, organizations that deprecate the work of the church and many other innovations. Calling these changes “fitting in to the times” or “expedients” to reach out to the world.
But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. [Mt 15:9]

We all know, and are on the watch, for those outside of the body to attack the validity of the Bible, but we need to be on watch for those who are INSIDE the body doing the same. Paul warned us that wolves would enter the church…..
For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. [Ac 20:29]

Where did Paul come up with this? From Jesus the Christ our Lord Himself. He warned us, even before the church began, that there would be those among us that would attempt to destroy us.
Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. [Mt 7:15]

Jude had the very same warning;
For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ. [Jude 1:4]

Please brethren, understand that I am not pointing my finger at any of you in particular. Nor am I suggesting that this is going on here. I simply write this as a warning for us as I witness what is happening among the denominations. It’s for this reason that we are involved in a study on “How to determine Scriptural Authority”.

An Answer to the Problem

And that is the answer to this problem. We must study our Bible.
Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. [2Ti 2:15]

A diligent study of our Bibles is essential for us get to heaven. Let us read the next few verses….
16 But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness. 17 And their word will eat as doth a canker: of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus; 18 Who concerning the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection is past already; and overthrow the faith of some.

Did you see it? Without study we are susceptible to error, which increases ungodliness and potentially overthrows our faith. Losing your faith, your salvation, can occur by letting someone lead you away from the truth. If anyone tells you that you can never lose your salvation, that person is one of those wolves.
How shall we escape, if we neglect so great a salvation; [Heb 2:3]

Let us shun (take no part) in profane (wrong) and vain (foolish) babblings (fruitless discussions). We must be diligent to present ourselves approved to God. I didn’t bring this up, He did.

He is the one that commands us to rightly divide the word. [2Tim 2:15]

He is the one that commands us to observe all things that the Lord has commanded. [Mat 28:20]

He is the one that said add to your faith virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness and Love. [2Pet 1:4-11]

And He is the one that said…
And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him; [Heb 5:9]

 

spencer is the evangelist for the Franklin St. church of Christ in Borger Texas

Whatever happened to sin?

The Preacher Leave a comment

“Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!“ [Isaiah 5:20] 

For the past few years it seems that our culture has been calling sin good by renaming it. What do I mean? Here are just a few ways that today’s society and mainstream media are elevating evil….

Abortion is called “the right to choose”. It’s legal, free and promoted through oxymoronically named organizations like Planned Parenthood. [95% of the women served by Planned Parenthood have an abortion]
*The source of this statistic is Planned Parenthood’s own annual report. If you take the number of services listed in the report, excluding the ones that don’t apply to women who aren’t pregnant.

Drunkenness and getting high has now become medicinal. Often the news cites studies extoling the virtue of drinking, while hiding the fact that

“At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder” [Proverbs 23:32]

We must now accept the alternate lifestyle which has been normalized by TV and many music artists. The popular phrase after the Supreme Court decision on same sex marriage was “Love Wins”.

Profanity has been called “freedom of speech.” Stealing has become “situation ethics” and lying is “your perception of the truth.”

The scariest of them all; Preaching is currently being redefined as “hate speech.”

There are other sinister ways that the culture normalizes sin. I believe that Satan is behind them all.

“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:” [1Peter 5:8]

They Popularize Sin. The old phrase, “Everybody’s doing it”. That didn’t work when I was a kid and it won’t work with God. What becomes popular soon becomes normal.

“Wherein they think it strange that ye run not with them to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you:” [1Peter 4:4]

They Legalize Sin. They say that drug use is too difficult to stop so they must legalize it. “At least we’ll be able to tax it.” Then, if you oppose sin, if you speak out against the legalization of it, you are called a bigot, a racist and all kinds of names. It’s ironic that a culture that is on a campaign to eliminate bullying in our schools, uses the very same bullying tactics in our culture to silence the voice of opposition and reason.

And it’s working. Christians are afraid to speak out about sin. Our jobs are jeopardized. We’re afraid our cars will be vandalized for displaying an “abortion stops a beating heart” bumper sticker, because it will be. And lastly, I fear, we shall be jailed for speaking the truth.

But we still have hope. Our Lord and Savior warned us about these things.

“If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.”[John 15:18] 

            Take comfort, brothers and sisters, knowing that we’re in good company and that company is the greatest of all and the only opinion that matters.

“No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.”  [John 15:15]

“Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.” [Revelation 2:10]

By Spencer Blackwelder

5 ways to overcoming Sin

The Preacher Leave a comment

Throughout the Bible, we’re warned about the effects of sin. The problem is less about the knowledge of sin, rather on how to overcome it in our lives. Paul wrestled with this himself saying, “O wretched man that I am!” [Romans 7:24]

How do we overcome sin?
  1. Sin is overcome by Faith – Joh 8:24 except ye believe;
    1. 1Jo 5:4-5 For whatsoever is begotten of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that hath overcome the world, even our faith.
  2. Sin is overcome by obedience – Heb 5:9 and having been made perfect, he became unto all them that obey him the author of eternal salvation;
    1. Conduct worthy of the Gospel – Phil 1:27; Rom 12:17-21; Eph 5:22-6:4
  3. Sin is overcome by faithfulness to Christ – 2Ti 4:6-8 [7] I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith:
    1. Re 2:10 Fear not …. Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee the crown of life.
  4. Self-control – Prov 16:32 ruleth his spirit; 2Pet 1:5-6 add to faith; James 1:19 swift to hear; 3:2-10 bridled tongue
  5. Fruit of the Spirit – Gal 5:22, 23

There’s a very good reason we need to remove sin from our lives……

To obtain an incorruptible crown – And every man that striveth in the games exerciseth self-control in all things. Now they do it to receive a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. [1Corinthians 9:25]

 

we need to talk

The Preacher Leave a comment

You’ve heard it before, some one needs to “talk about stuff”. Have you ever noticed that when people want to talk about something good, they seldom tell you “we need to talk”?

Certainly, if we’ve done something wrong, we do need a good talking too. For the salvation of our souls, if we’re in sin. (Mat 18:15) But, often folks want to talk and it has nothing to do with sin, rather PREFERENCES.

How are we to handle it?

We need to recognize that we are all bound to the commands of God, for He has all authority, (Mat 28:18), and we’re to observe all things that Jesus has commanded, (Mat 28:20).

However, we are not God. We have no authority to…….

  • write laws for God (Mat 28:20)
  • bind laws that He has never bound (Mt 16:19)
  • enforce commands He has never given (Mt 15:9)

People mistake preferences for commands. We’re all different. We have different backgrounds, parenting styles, haircuts, clothing etc.. Because of that mistake, “we need to talk” comes around.

There’s another problem that occurs even before the talk, Gossip. Even before researching whether a matter is sin or not, we talk to others about it. Stirring up strife, fanning the flames. (1Ti 5:13) If a person has committed sin, the last thing you need to do is tell everyone else. You also want to keep it private for another very important reason, YOU MAY BE WRONG!

Before we have a talk with anyone, let’s ask 3 questions.
  1. Is it Sin? (James 1:15)
  2. Will I be allowed time to study the issue?(2Ti 2:15)
  3. Will I be allowed time for prayer and repentance? (Ac 8:24)

If you can answer yes (especially the first one) then a talk is likely a good idea. If you are unable to answer “yes”, definitively, then you may want to leave it alone altogether.

Is it sin?

If you believe there to be some sin, make sure. Bring the passage of scripture. Study it yourselves to make sure you understand the passage. Then approach the person in love and humility. Follow the process our Lord prescribed in (Mat 18:15-17)

Then, give them time for study and repentance. The person may be learning these principles for the first time. They may not know what you know about the meaning of these passages. Give them time. Time to study and time to repent.

Do it with love. “Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted.” (Ga 6:1) (1Co 10:12; 2Ti 2:25)

What should you do if you’re approached?

If you’re approached, you can nicely ask these questions…

  1. Is this regarding a sin in my life? Jas. 1:15
  2. Will you be discussing the doctrine of Christ (scripture) in this conversation? 2Jno.9
  3. Will you produce a passage(s) of scripture to indict me of sin? 1Jno. 3:4
  4. Will I need to repent, or be marked (withdrawn from) as one that walks disorderly? Rom 16:17

If no to any 1 of these say, “I would rather not discuss the issue.” This will help by preventing unwarranted conversations, or hurt feelings over matters of style.