Many of today’s Christians have a very worldly point of view regarding certain kinds of sin. It’s a view that is deceiving thousands of people every day because the truth is, it doesn’t matter what we think or what we deem should be acceptable in the eyes of the Lord; it’s about what God has said and what He will not accept. Learn the truth and don’t be deceived!

 ^“Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate [homosexuals], nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.” … 1 Corinthians 6:9-10

Most of us will acknowledge that many of these acts are sin and we don’t even look in that direction. We are aware that to have a sexual affair outside of our marriage is adultery or that to go to a bar and drool over some seductive person could lead us into fornication, and so we don’t even consider it. However, there are sins on this list that we let slither in and they can be just as damning if we don’t take control over them.

None of us would deliberately steal anything because we know it’s wrong, and yet some of the things we do just might convict us as a thief. Some of us enjoy a social life at work and love to chat with co-workers about personal issues, or spend excessive time on the phone or in sending e-mails or texts to our friends. Are we not “stealing” time and money? [Romans 2:21]

We’re being paid to work, but because we’re not falling behind in our work responsibilities and because what we’re doing isn’t bothering anyone we feel that it’s acceptable. Everyone does it and so we just follow the crowd. But the truth is that we’re guilty of both stealing and lying when we do these things at the time when we should be working. And if we don’t take this serious now, what could this careless attitude lead to as time goes on?

Idolatry is a word that most Christians hate because we all believe that God should be the only one we worship, and yet He has a lot of competition even among His own children. Many of us don’t even realize that we have a love for money or things that is equal to or greater than our love for God. We work hard to earn the money to buy our possessions and we cherish them more than we cherish our relationship with God. “God understands” is a frequent expression, but it’s not His understanding of our incompetence that’s in question. It’s our love for Him, our devotion to Him and our commitment to Him above our possessions and status in society that is being challenged. If God supplies all of our needs as He says He does in Philippians 4:19, then let’s not make the gift greater than the giver.

Paul said in 1 Timothy 5:23 that a little wine for a sick stomach or for an ill person is good because it numbs the body, but many of us have abused that suggestion and alcohol has become a grocery staple in our home. We depend on it to get us through the challenges of life rather than depending on God. But more than that, some of us like to indulge in it so that we can enjoy the total freedom of thought that it gives. Yet, God has told us in Ephesians 5:18 not to drink to excess and not to get drunk.

The advertising world has made it almost impossible not to covet material possessions. The commercials on TV and in magazines make things look so desirable that we just have to have them, and so we become unappreciative of what we have and we want more – bigger, better, fancier and more technical – even though what we already have works perfectly. [Matthew 6:19-20] This “greed” attitude is what has almost bankrupted our country. Few of us can keep up with the cost and so we use “charge cards” and run up debts that we can’t repay. We work longer hours to meet our financial responsibilities and then we become stressed and live on medications – and all because we covet something instead of waiting on God to see if this is what HE wants for us.

We have it in us to be peacemakers [Matthew 5:9], but the tension of this world and the pressures and challenges that beset us each day can slowly break down our peacemaking defences if we’re not careful. And there are times when we lose it and speak unkind words in very loud disagreements. (We all know about road rage!) We feel justified because we know our political and social rights and so we have no regrets for taking a stand. But the stand we take should be for Christ and not one to make us successful in a world that is drifting from God.

Most of these sins can be corrected easily especially when we seek God and are willing to follow Him, but there are some that have crept into society and have been deemed acceptable by the government and even by many churches – but God has never changed His view on them. Homosexuality is one of those sins and it’s an abomination to God. He has made it clear that it is not acceptable. In Genesis 1:27 we learn that “He made them male and female” – clearly only two genders.

In Leviticus 18 God was instructing the people through Moses in the things that they should and should not do. He begins His instruction in verse 5 where He says, “Ye shall therefore keep my statutes, and my judgments:”, and then in verse 22 He says, “Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination.”

The governments of this world are electing to recognize that the act of homosexuality is an acceptable lifestyle and is no longer considered a sin. But this world is run by the devil whose destination is hell, and sadly, he will take as many people with him as he can.

We must always keep our eyes on God and in the scriptures so that we can know what is good and acceptable to Him [2 Timothy 2:15]. Judgment is coming to the people of earth and we will all face eternity whether we want to believe it now or not. What we think doesn’t matter; it’s what God has said that will come to pass.

Heaven is the eternal home for those people who love God and who have accepted that Jesus Christ is the Son of God who came from Heaven so He could be nailed to the cross with OUR sins. [John 3:16] He took the punishment of hell for those sins so that we could be free, forgiven and filled with His Spirit. And those who accept this and believe it will belong to Him forever.

Hell, on the other hand, is for those people who don’t care about God, who would rather enjoy the things – aka sins – of this world and who prefer to stay ignorant of the things of God. [Psalm 9:17] But when they face God on Judgment Day they won’t have an excuse and they’ll feel the remorse as they stand ashamed, filled with sin and wishing they had the Spirit of Christ in them. They will be sentenced to hell where they will have to pay the price of their sin throughout eternity.

Don’t be deceived! People who deliberately indulge in sin will never inherit God’s kingdom. The devil controls this world and he doesn’t want any of us to know God or to know that God loves us, so he’ll use every trick and persuasive tactic to keep us away from Him. He tries to deceive us into thinking that this world is all there is, that a little sin is okay and we shouldn’t judge others who indulge in sin. But if the love of God is in us then will do our best to show others the truth so they will break away from their sin.

There is nothing on this earth that can compare to the love of God or to the home in Heaven that He’s prepared for those who love Him and obey His commandments. Don’t be deceived!

“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” … Matthew 6:33

Have you made a heartfelt decision to accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior, to take away your sins? It’s very easy to do. Just get in a quiet place and ask the Lord to take away your sins, and tell Him that you want Jesus to come and live in your heart so you can belong to Him. And then read the Bible so you know His love – and begin with the New Testament that’s about Jesus.

 

 “Welcome!”

 

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