When you have run with footmen, and they tire you, how shall you compete with horses? - book of Jeremiah.
Today’s Christianity has very little in common with the believers of the first century in all respects. What passes for faith today has been repackaged from past authors, founders of new branches, self-proclaimed prophets and prophetesses, revised scriptures, and whoa! New revelations! Not a sure foundation upon which to build one’s house, but then again, man has never been short of stature when it comes to inflationary ideals, and new roads are always tempting to travel despite the not too certain condition of the road ahead.
So, what happens to those who leave the good path to take new roads to “deepen” their understanding? The wilderness closes them in and they become confused, uncertain, fearful, unbelieving, doubtful, hesitant, and and as such begin to sow those same seeds to others as well until most become infected, and the people perish for a lack of vision despite having tasted the fruits of a future victory.
And they went and came to Moses, and to Aaron, and to all the congregation of the children of Israel, unto the wilderness of Paran, to Kadesh; and brought back word unto them, and to all the congregation, and showd them the fruit of the land. - book of Numbers.
And despite all that the Lord had done for them, the people rebelled and refused to go up and take possesssion of the land, choosing instead to lean upon their own understanding and fears and the words of those who encouraged them to do so. And the Lord refused to let that generation into the land., and they had to wait forty years until they had perished and their children took their place.
And then as they went to take the city of Ai under the leadership of Joshua, they suffered their first defeat at the hands of a much smaller foe, and the people became distraught and fearful, once again doubting the Lord.
And the Lord said unto Joshua, Get thee up; wherefore liest thou thus upon thy face? Israel hath sinned…- book of Joshua.
Joshua knew that the Lord had blessed him to lead Israel into the land, and they had just destroyed the mighty city of Jericho, but yet this small city withstood them and caused the warriors to flee with some being slain by the enemy. Therefore the Lord told him to get up and find the man who had caused Israel to stumble. One man brought an entire army to bay because of sin. Think about that for a long minute if you will. Now apply that to the secret sin(s) that you covertly harbor within, and we all have done that and many still do which results in a continuing string of defeats for the frustrated believer. And like Joshua, we are being told to get up off of our faces, and stop the whining cries of defeatism, and expose that sin to the light and destroy it once and for all! And many will not do it because they will not come to the light lest their sins be exposed! And then we have the audacious hypocrisy to ask ourselves as to why are we so pathetically weak in the faith? Well, now you know why. So, what do you intend to do about it, remain as you are with your weak lines of self-incrimination and attitudes of defeat combined with a love for the sins that keep you from victories that you know could be yours? It doesn’t have to be that way.
This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ, his Son cleanseth us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. - First Epistle of John.
Many believers have been and are being taught that once saved, always saved, and that they can’t sin. But the reality slaps them aside the head everyday as to that fallicious doctrine. You need to trust the Word of God, not the words of men because in Christ is life, but to trust a man whose words are faithless brings only death. You need to base your faith on Jesus, not me, not another, certainly not creeds or dogmas, but above all, never on your personal opinions! God did not ask you for your opinions but expects you to obey His Son in the truth, and to repent and to forsake your sins or lawless ways.
Yet already the ax is lying at the root of the trees. Every tree, then, which is not producing ideal fruit is hewn down and cast into the fire. - book of Matthew.
The fruits of sin is exactly what it is meant. The sins that you, as a believer continually practice will be the very ones that will prevent you from receiving eternal life. And when you choose to not believe what the Word teaches then you will certainly not believe my words which are of far lesser value, but you will believe the ones who will lie to you in full measure and drink from their cup of iniquity. Sin weakens you mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually, and it will consume you to ashes, literally as your body decays in the grave awaiting the judgment. And the teachers who taught you lies will also suffer the same fate. Metal not hardened in the forge will not hold its edge in the day of battle, and when you falter as a foot-soldier, you will not remain in the saddle. In your vain imaginations, you make the boastful claim of being able to do all things in Christ, sure, everything but to obey his commands and forsake your sins.
I am a sinner saved by grace, and called to good works in Christ. Now, if I am saved, but do not obey, am I still saved from the wrath of God? Or would I find myself rejected as a faithless servant? For many are called but few are chosen, which strongly implies that many will be rejected among those who thought they were doing well. Or that many who obeyed the master’s will be at the feast and those who called upon the name of Jesus but practiced lawlessness will be rejected. It focuses on one obvious point, obedience. Did you do as you were told or not? The Lord will divide the nations as a shepherd divides the sheep and the goats, again implying people, and they will be judged according to what they did and did not do.
Do not be foolish as the ten virgins who all had a portion of faith given to them. Five of them wasted their faith whereas five of them cultivated theirs, just as the men who were given talents and told to invest them. Two did and reaped a harvest, one didn’t and was stripped of his. Don’t you see how sins can lead you into complete blindness to your acts of disobedience? When you believe that you are walking in the truth but in fact are following the lies! And the deception becomes stronger the longer you cling to those lies. You need to pray to have the scales fall away just as they did when Ananias placed his hands on Saul and he could see, or when Jesus healed the blind beggars and they followed him. You need to choose the truth or remain in the lie, or sin will keep you captive until death comes and takes you away in your sins. And then it is over for you, end game. You have gone over the falls unto the rocks below. And it doesn’t need to end this way. You can be freed from the light that has darkened your path. Sin’s light is hypocrisy, self-righteousness, remaining in your sins, repenting without meaning, clouds without water, a soil barren of nutrients, a rusty scapel in a shaky hand, and its desire is to keep you captive until death comes, and it is coming.
We have been avoiding death from the day of birth until now, and because we have lived life, we believe that it is our right to live, but that is not true. Life is a very thin line that keeps death away until the appointed time, and then it crosses that line and there is nothing you can do to stop it from taking you away. And that is why death is all powerful and terrifying, but not to those who walk with Jesus Christ in love and obedience. Jesus broke the power of death when he rose from the grave victorious and so will we who remain faithful in the faith and teachings of our Lord. death, where is your sting? The grave will not hold the believer in Christ, but it will keep the practicer of lawlessness until that terrible day of the Lord when all men shall be judged who died in their sins.
So, now is the time to take the sword that hangs so limply in the hand to the master forger and let him temper the blade to a deadly sharpness and teach you how to use it to defeat the foes of Christ. Take up the armor of Christ in deed and not in mouth, practice what you preach and do as you teach others instead of being a secretive sinner. Put aside the hypocrisy and double-tongue, and work out your faith in good works and obedience to his commands. It comes down to making the right choice in your life. Do you want to cling to the sins that keep you off balance, and continue the game of repeitive repentance or do you want to live the life Christ calls you to live by being obedient to his words and teachings?
At the river’s edge you stand as in your life, and you see the broad flow of water, but the water can very quickly become a flood and sweep you into perdition when least expected. Don’t play with sin. It looks peaceful and inviting, but beneath its surface, the depths will drown you without mercy.
I remain a brother to the faithful in Christ Jesus.
Edward L Ordway
