Romans 2:24 (What Influence are We Having?) As it is written: “God’s name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.”- Romans 2:24 June 4, 2013 Floyd Ray Gage Paul quotes two Old Testament verses to prove his point. He quotes Isaiah 52:5 and Ezekiel 36:22. Both Old Testament passages tell of the Gentile nations who have taken Israel captive are blaspheming God because the children of Israel are blaspheming God among them. In both instances, the children of Israel are punished for their sin and because of their sinfulness, the Gentile nations are also participating in their sin of blasphemy. The is the true problem with God’s people sinning against Him and not repenting. This is what happens when hypocrisy runs its full course. Not only are the Christians hurt by it but those that are around them are hurt by it as well. They start to go to deeper levels of sin by blaspheming the One they see the believers not paying heed to nor obeying. The truth of the matter is that none of us can sin in a vacuum. Our sins will affect others. They will affect many others in some instances and they can take someone who is close to making a decision for Christ and turn them from that decision at least for a time. This should be the greatest of concerns for believers after dishonoring God. Leading someone else astray by our sin should be something that makes us turn away in shame. We should want to do all we can to keep from turning others away from God. Some will argue that others can make their own decisions and that we are not responsible for what they do. The truth of the matter is that we are responsible, because if we were presenting a witness of obedience and faithfulness they might be convinced for their need for the Lord. God has created us so that we are interconnected. We cannot think that our life doesn’t touch others in some way. Our lives touch those that are not kind to us as well as those who love us and that we love. The children of Israel by their unfaithfulness and disobedience opened themselves to the influence of sin. This allowed for Gentile nations to come in and take them over, because God removed His protective hand from them due to their sin. The Gentiles that came in saw the sin and corruption of the Israelites and this led them to think less of the God of the Israelites. When we sin as believers and are unrepentant, we also open ourselves up to the removal of God’s protection from our lives. When this happens, others may come in to take advantage of this, even though they may not realize the cause, they see the weakness. When they do this, they will see us at our worst. Though they know we call ourselves a Christian, they will see us acting just like them. They will not connect that our acting like them is what has made us vulnerable. They will only see that someone who claims Christ is not living like they do. This will lead them to hold us and our Lord in contempt. Some might say that God can take care of himself, so why should I be concerned. You are right that God can take care of Himself, but the nonbeliever cannot. The ungodly influence of an unrepentant believer can harden the heart of an unbeliever to the point that they may not hear the call of the Spirit on their lives. We have great influence on the lives of others. We should want to use that influence to bring others close to Christ, not to drive a wedge in between them and Christ. Let us never hear our Lord say that others blasphemed His name because of us. I can think of little else that would shame me more and break my heart to a greater degree than this. Lord, help us to always bring others closer to You by the life we live!
Posted on: Tue, 02 Jul 2013 14:40:09 +0000
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