We must not accept sin as the new normal!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector.
(Matthew 18:15-17 (NIV))

Sadly, just by choosing this verse, too many people will get offended. Society currently believes that if you love someone, then you accept them as they are. Society claims that people are made that way and as a result, there is nothing wrong with them. This has become rampant even in the church. Let’s play fill in the blank to see how that actually sounds.

I was born a(n) __________________, therefore, you have to accept me the way that I am.

Pick any of the following words and see how that sounds.

Arsonist
Murderer
Pedophile
Alcoholic
Thief
Sex Addict

Perhaps you have a few more that you can think of, but the concept is clear, sin is sin! Why do we, as the Body of Christ, not follow what we have been told? How can we be the light of the world if we allow the darkness to influence us? How can we share the truth of the Gospel if we can’t follow it ourselves? The last time I read anything about the Lord, He does not lead us into sin! In fact, He leads us away from sin. Jesus, when addressing the woman caught in adultery, was clear. We are to go and sin no more! We are to leave our life of sin. We are not to embrace the sin simply because our fallen nature made us this way! We are to become a new creation. We are to repent. We are to take up our cross and follow Him daily.

Sadly, we are seeing too many people profess that what has been called good is now evil and what was once called evil is now good. Society may claim this as the new normal, but the Body of Christ must stand firm.

We must not accept sin as the new normal!

Copyright 1998 – 2020 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
Subscribe to daily email delivery
Visit us on facebook

Choose your ways with Godly wisdom!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.
(Proverbs 16:25 (NIV))

“I did it my way” carries with it the idea of a self-made person who has achieved whatever they wanted in this life. What they achieved usually was done with great sacrifice and usually with some deeds that even humanity would consider wrong. The sacrifice is often applauded while the bad deeds are ignored. The end justifies the means.

Look at it from God’s perspective. Does the end justify the means? Does God applaud the sacrifices and ignore the sins?

The sacrifices that people make are all self-centered sacrifices and benefit only themselves. God desires for us to be sacrificing of ourselves for others, not for personal gain.

Sin cannot be overlooked! God cannot associate with sin. He desires for us to be righteous, yet, our own ways always lead us into sin. Remember that the wages of sin is death. In other words, all sin leads to death, or eternal separation from God. There is nothing that we, as humanity, can do in our own capacity that will lead us away from sin.

God knew this from the beginning.

God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to die for us as an atoning sacrifice for our sins!

Think about this.

Human reasoning tells us that this sounds funny and is too simple of a solution. With that in mind, many of us find a way that seems right to us as a way to reach salvation. Again, humanity follows what they think is right, only to find that they are on the road to sin and death.

If you were on an Interstate and saw a sign that warned of traffic problems ahead, and you saw a sign showing an alternate route around the problems, most of us would take the alternate route. Why is it that spiritual matters do not follow the same “logic?” We would rather drive along heading straight into death instead of accepting the grace, mercy and love of God through Jesus Christ.

Copyright 1998 – 2013 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
Subscribe to daily email delivery