TODAY’S TRUTH November 1, 2013 Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. Hebrews 3:12–13 Evil is not something that we should flirt with. As a matter of fact, as believers we are commanded to exhort one another to flee from evil so that we do not become hardened by sin. When it comes to evil, there are only two responses from people…those who flee from it and those who pursue it. The wise fear the Lord and flee from evil whereas the fool pursues lawlessness. Since there is great danger in pursuing evil, Solomon warned, “The prudent sees danger and hides himself, but the simple go on and suffer for it” (Prov. 22:3). The Bible is crystal clear that those who live recklessly and carelessly will suffer the wrath of God. Sadly, even within the church there are those who are living recklessly and carelessly. They assume that they can do whatever they want because God’s grace will cover them. They have entirely missed the grace the God: “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age” (Tit. 2:11–12). The Bible warns that God will render to each person according to their works and “for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury” (Rom. 2:6, 8). At the close of Jesus’ longest recorded teaching in the Bible, he concludes the Sermon on the Mount with a warning about a wise man and a foolish man. Both men heard the words of Christ. The illustration centers on the fact that one man was a doer of Christ’s words and the other was just a hearer. The doer was able to persevere through difficulty as an overcomer. The hearer, on the other hand, suffered ultimate destruction (Matt. 7:24-27). In order to prevent the wrath of God that is being stored up for the sons of disobedience (Eph. 5:6), one must repent from their sins. Since sin hardens the heart, it is often necessary for fellow believers to lovingly point out the sin in one who has become hardened. Commonly, the one who is lovingly rebuked responds with an attempt to justify their sins. In response to this, he needs to be gently reminded that “the way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advice” (Prov. 12:15). Perhaps you are the one who needs to listen to advice and flee from evil. Playing church will do nothing for you but deceive you further. Repent from your sins and walk wisely so that you do not fall back into any evil. Perhaps the Spirit has placed someone on your heart that is living recklessly and carelessly. In a spirit of love and gentleness you need to address them about their sin. Before confronting them, you need to examine yourself and repent from any sin in your life (Matt. 7:1-5). When you meet with them, be sure to only present Scripture about their sin and not your opinion. Remind them of the wise man and the foolish man and encourage them to walk wisely by repenting from their sins. Beloved, as believers we all need to fear the Lord and turn away from evil (Prov. 3:7). Walk wisely saint so that the deceitfulness of sin doesn’t sneak in and harden your heart!!!
Posted on: Fri, 01 Nov 2013 07:25:00 +0000
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