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Faith without works is dead!
Faith without works is dead!
The Holy Scripture has said.
Help the poor and the needy,
Let not your faith be weedy.
Faith without works is dead!
The Holy Scripture has said.
Yes by yourself you cannot simply atone,
But you’re justified by works and not by faith alone.
Faith without works is dead!
The Holy Scripture has said.
There’s no faith apart from your works,
So show you your faith by your works.
Condoning the sinners action is not the same as loving them
All praise to the Lord God who created the heavens and the earth and all that is within it. All praise to Jesus Christ the Son of God who came to save sinners from sin, death and hell. And thanks to the Holy Spirit for leading us in all truth!
Some contemporary Christians are generally nowadays placing a lot of importance on love. There is so much emphasis on loving a person that such people who claim to love Christ end up doing the very things that Jesus Christ won’t call holy. Furthermore, such people even believe that the command of Jesus Christ to love one’s neighbour gives them all the permission they want to condone and promote sinners to sin but also justify their sin as a valid lifestyle choice. And by doing this such people are neither loving God nor loving their neighbour!
Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:37:40)
If you read the above verses, you will notice how quick people are to remember that parts about loving God and neighbour but how slow they are to remember the context which clearly says “All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments”.
Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. (Romans 13:8-10)
Even back during his earthly ministry, Jesus Christ made it abundantly clear that loving God and loving your neighbour was all about fulfilling the law of God. If you love God you won’t worship false gods nor take the name of God in vain. If you love your neighbour you won’t steal your neighbours goods nor dishonour your parents nor bear false witness against your neighbour. Hope you now understand the context.
Imagine if you will if someone is wandering from the truth (for instance being a robber or a drug addict) but you instead tell that person that the way they sin is just diversity and not perversity and you love them. Then how will you say that you truly love that person, because you have borne false witness to that person in deceiving yourself and that person all is fine with that one, even if that person sins. I say you’d be deceiving yourself because it’s a very big presumption that you’re doing all this because you love the Lord God. I solemnly say to you that this is neither love of God nor love of neighbour.
Instead, the Bible greatly exhorts us to get people back to the truth if people wander into sin. It never tells that we do this by condoning their sin as an alternative lifestyle choice.
My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins. (James 5:19-20)
Therefore, don’t bear witness against the Word of God about what it says is sin. Don’t presume that God is so loving that he will somehow allow sinners to sin and remain unrepentant just because he loves them.
You might also want to consider in Mattew 18:6, what Jesus Christ the ever loving Savior of the World had to say about those who lead others into sinning. He didn’t say it for the sake of it but had solemly warned people who take part in the deeds of causing others to sin and Jesus means every word of it, because sin is rebellion against God.
“but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened round his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.” (Matthew 18:6)
So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin. (James 4:17)
O believers in Jesus Christ hold on the true faith and don’t hold on to any mindset that condones sinners to continue in their various sins against their own bodies and against God. Be faithful to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and do not get corrupted by any falsehood which claims that loving anything for the sake of anything some how is more important that the truth of the Word of God.
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)
Rebuke the sinner in gentleness and when that person acknowledges and follows the Gospel of Jesus Christ, give glory to God. But yes, be on your guard lest you get tempted in anyway. And remember if the Bible calls it a sin then it remains a sin no matter what opinion that any man, woman or child has on the contrary.
Christ be with you!
Verses for reflection:
Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. (Galatians 6:1)
As for those who persist in sin, rebuke them in the presence of all, so that the rest may stand in fear. (1 Timothy 5:20)
Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. (1 Corinthians 6:9-10)
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and wickedness of men who by their wickedness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. Ever since the creation of the world his invisible nature, namely, his eternal power and deity, has been clearly perceived in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse; for although they knew God they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking and their senseless minds were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man or birds or animals or reptiles. Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed for ever! Amen. For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. Their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural, and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in their own persons the due penalty for their error. (Romans 1:18-27)
Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. (Galatians 5:19-21)
Will you question the slander against God’s people especially on greed?
Very often when Satan wants to slander God’s people, he will simply tie what they are doing to money, in order to make it appear that greed is the only motivation.
Time and again, I have observed some people being self deceived while some others are deceived by the Evil One. These do not do their due diligence but start spreading hurtful rumours against the people of God. These are very lazy when it comes to investigating any allegations against the preachers of the Word of God and also claims against the labourers of God vineyard. These are the very one who will blindly pass on slander against God’s people especially about money. They will accuse the friends and servants of God of misusing the church funds or making profits for themselves. And then you have the gullible bunch of people both in the church and in the world who take such malicious claims at face value and immediately jump to vain conclusions and join in the lynch mob against the Lord and his anointed!
To such people I say; consider the world at large. If you make a false allegation of corruption against a celebrity in public, don’t be surprised if you will be dragged to court with a defamation lawsuit by that celebrity’s lawyers. And then don’t be surprised if you have to pay a huge amount of money to settle things out and/or even spend some time in jail. If people make unsubstantiated claims against a government agency, don’t be surprised that the agency will go all out to put a gag order and punish such people in the court of law.
Or again, if someone is repeatedly making false claims against a married couple’s commitment to each out, don’t be surprised if such a couple show up wherever that person works to get that person to either cease and desist from defaming them or just sue them in court. Then how come the people of the world, are so reckless against their undiscerned allegations? This is because not just because the world hates those in Christ but also because many Christians just keep quiet forever instead of checking the validity of such claims.
Therefore, we as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ must not be tossed around by every wind but must stay rooted in our faith in the Lord Jesus. First of all, always check if any claim against a brother or sister in Christ especially those who serve in the Lord’s vineyard, is done either due to ignorance or due to malice. Second never jump to conclusions but make sure that we understand that repercussions of our actions. Thirdly, don’t lose faith in Jesus Christ even if the claims are true but instead don’t hinder the course of justice in such situations.
Preachers, do you preach the truth or vain comfort?
Church sermons that (indirectly) bring comfort to people who chose to remain in their sin, do them great damage.
It’s like telling an abusive drunkard that God loves him and nothing will separate him from the Lord, while never admonishing him to turn away from abusing his family nor telling him to give up on alcoholism. It’s like a parent telling their children that they love them no matter what and then not correcting those children when they start taking all sort of drugs.
Some preachers do not really serve the Lord God but instead serve themselves. I say this because for them collecting money from the people is more important than preaching about the salvation which comes from Jesus Christ. So, they will totally ignore the way people dress up for church even if the clothing is immoral or the t-shirt has some vile words printed, just because such people won’t give a donation if you denounce their evil ways during the sermon. Some preachers are totally silent when it comes to praying for the peace of Jerusalem because they are timid due to their political leanings being more important to them than God’s love for Jerusalem.
If you don’t preach against murder, you are indirectly giving the message that school shootings, college shootings are all fine. If you don’t preach against adultery, you are indirectly contributing to the divorces in your church. If you don’t preach against idolatry, then you are promoting rebellion against God.
If all you do preach is that God bless this and God bless that but avoid telling people that they cannot worship false gods and still call themselves Christians then you are a bigger threat to that church than you can imagine. If you as a preacher kow tow to only telling people to be rich and love only the rich people in your church and neglect to tell people to avoid any riches which come by dishonest means then you are preaching a different Gospel than that of Jesus Christ.
Verse for reflection:
- Let the prophet who has a dream tell the dream, but let him who has my word speak my word faithfully. What has straw in common with wheat? declares the Lord. (Jeremiah 23:28)
- 6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— 7 not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. 9 As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed. (Galatians 1:6-9)
- 17 I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. 18 For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive. 19 For your obedience is known to all, so that I rejoice over you, but I want you to be wise as to what is good and innocent as to what is evil. (Romans 16:17-19)
About Self Deception
Some people blame the devil. Some people blame their family. Some people blame their friends. Some people blame their leaders. But at the end of the rope each person has a choice to either accept the deception into sin or reject it. While people love to put the blame about the way, they live their lives all wrong but nothing keeps them more far from living the right way than self deception.
For a while I’d like to turn your attention to the Dictionary definition of Self Deception from Merriam-Webster.com
Self-deception : the act or an instance of deceiving oneself or the state of being deceived by oneself especially concerning one’s true nature, feelings, etc.
There are those who believe so much in themselves that they even defy the truth of the Gospel and become a law unto themselves. They may hear preaching or even read the Bible for themselves but they have willfully kept themselves in deception about their sinful acts or habits because they continue to avoid confessing their sins to the Lord Jesus Christ.
This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light and in him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not live according to the truth; 7 but if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. (1 John 1:5-10)
Do not deceive yourself by any means. Do not think that you will be right in saying in your heart that you can live in sin but still claim to walk with the Lord God. Jesus Christ by his grace has not given anyone the permission to sin.
Do not add sin to sin, presuming that God is going to be merciful for ever. For as great is his mercy, so as great is God’s power to judge. Don’t presume by sending Jesus Christ on earth that God has somehow decided to never judge the people who insult him. Do not mock the Holy Name of God in your thoughts and actions, lest your behavior grieve the Holy Spirit and then the Lord God speaks against you in judgement both in this life and the afterlife.
Do not presume Jesus Christ is your advocate so that you continue to live in ways that are rebellious to the Lord God and expect to be saved at the end. Take away all such false beliefs and presumptions that lead to damnation. Crucify your flesh and get rid of all self deception, so that your life is holy and pleasing to the Lord God!
Verses for reflection:
Many a man proclaims his own loyalty, but a faithful man who can find? Even a child makes himself known by his acts,
whether what he does is pure and right. (Proverbs 20:6,11)
Also on your skirts is found the lifeblood of guiltless poor; you did not find them breaking in. Yet in spite of all these things you say, ‘I am innocent; surely his anger has turned from me.’ Behold, I will bring you to judgment for saying, ‘I have not sinned.’ (Jeremiah 2:34-35)
The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings. (Jeremiah 17:9-10)
Therefore bear fruit in keeping with repentance; and do not suppose that you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father’; for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham. (Matthew 3:8-9)
Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is folly with God. For it is written, “He catches the wise in their craftiness,” and again, “The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile.” (1 Corinthians 3:18-20)
Make the most of your time because the days are evil
O fellow believers in Jesus take heed; Make the most of your time because the days are evil.
Now before you think this is about earthly and worldly progress, try to understand the context of this Bible verse. Let’s go ahead:
- This verse obviously doesn’t speak about how much money you make but yes it doesn’t tell you to be careless.
- This verse is not about how much productive you can be but yes it doesn’t tell you to be lazy.
- This verse is not about how much friends you make but yes it doesn’t tell you to make enemies of those who are good.
What this verse really means should be take context of the Gospel. A few key points:
Avoiding sin is still a major command of the Gospel. Those who think otherwise will totally miss out on being imitators of Christ and lose their inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.
Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. 2 And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. 3 But fornication and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is fitting among saints. 4 Let there be no filthiness, nor silly talk, nor levity, which are not fitting; but instead let there be thanksgiving. 5 Be sure of this, that no fornicator or impure man, or one who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. (Ephesians 5:1-5)
Don’t be deceived by those who claim that once you have accepted the Gospel, you can turn your back on it without the consequences that follow.
6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for it is because of these things that the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. (Ephesians 5:6)
Don’t walk in fellowship with those who disobey the Living God, because now that you are of the light in the Lord and must learn to do what is pleasing to God.
7 Therefore do not associate with them, 8 for once you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of light 9 (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), 10 and try to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. (Ephesians 5:6)
Expose the works of darkness but don’t take part in yourself, because these works are vile and wicked. And do remember that the light of God will expose these things
11 Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. 12 For it is a shame even to speak of the things that they do in secret; 13 but when anything is exposed by the light it becomes visible, for anything that becomes visible is light. 14 Therefore it is said,
“Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead,
and Christ shall give you light.” (Ephesians 5:11-14)
Make the most of your time because the days are evil. You know the world around you is living in sin and getting more evil. Therefore, do no be drunk nor foolish. But instead understand God’s will and be filled the Holy Spirit. Do not be ashamed of voicing your faith in front of fellow believers, and most importantly praise Jesus Christ and the Lord our God with all your heart.
15 Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, 16 making the most of the time, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. 18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery; but be filled with the Spirit, 19 addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with all your heart, 20 always and for everything giving thanks in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God the Father. (Ephesians 5:15-20)
Christ be with you as you make the most of your time because the days are evil!
Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness
Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. (Ephesians 5:11)
O people who desire to follow the Lord God, take not part in the unfruitful works of darkness. Witchcraft, idolatory, sexual immorality, murder, lies, stealing and robbing are sins whether done in private or public. You who profess your faith in Jesus Christ must not just refrain from all dark deeds but also expose them what sinister things that such sins are!
My son, if sinners entice you, do not yield to them. (Proverbs 1:10)
Those who forsake the law praise the wicked, but those who keep the law resist them.(Proverbs 28:4)
Everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come into the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.(John 3:20)
to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those sanctified by faith in Me.’ (Acts 26:18)
The night is nearly over; the day has drawn near. So let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. (Romans 13:1)
I wrote you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people.(1 Corinthians 5:9)
Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership can righteousness have with wickedness? Or what fellowship does light have with darkness?(2 Corinthians 6:14)
Do not pray vainly nor with many words
O believer in Jesus Christ give heed to what the Lord spoke about praying in the following Scripture verses:
“And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.” (Matthew 6:7-8)
In certain translations the word for heaping up empty phrases is babbling. Now what does babble mean?
Babble : to talk or say something in a quick, confused, excited, or silly way (as per dictionary.cambridge.org )
God our Father who is the Father of the Lord Jesus cannot be tricked or manipulated into hearing prayers because of any deception or foolish practices. And one such practice is babbling.
Avoid vain words because the Lord God is wise and He knows what is a pretense of praying and what is actually praying by the heart and mind. So keep away from such shenanigans unlike those of the world who use such weird tricks.
The Living God who is out Father is all knowing, so he knows what you need before you ask him. So in full respect pray to get your petitions heard and ask with good intentions only so that it goes well with you.
You desire and do not have; so you kill. And you covet and cannot obtain; so you fight and wage war. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. (James 4:2-3)
Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord
O children of the Living God pay heed to the following Word of God about peace and holiness :
Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled (Hebrews 12:14-15)
Striving for peace with everyone does not mean that you allow anyone to walk all over you. Nor does it mean you allow yourself to be manipulated just to keep some semblance of peace. Now, what is means is that you don’t act evil so as to cause the lack of peace by bad deeds nor slanderous language. It also means that you do and think only what is holy and wise when striving for peace. Never compromise on your holiness for the sake of peace, because that peace wouldn’t be in the will of God for you.
You need to be holy as the Lord your God is holy, because without holiness no one will see the Lord. Do not miss out on the Living God!
Always seek to obtain the grace of God by your faith in Christ Jesus, because its your faith that will please the Lord and not your riches nor beauty. God sees the heart and judges by the heart instead of external appearances.
Examine yourself and get rid of any “root of bitterness” for this makes those who nurture it to cause trouble to themselves and to others and thus defile themselves. Therefore crucify your flesh and get rid of all roots of bitterness.
Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. (Galatians 5:24)
Christ be with you as you walk in peace and holiness!
Disciples of hope 