I’ve notice of late that if I fall
asleep on my back with my arms up in the air when I wake up the second conscious
thought is that something is amiss. I then realise that my hands have pins
and needles because of the lack of blood flow; I instinctively shake them
vigorously to get life back into my fingertips. They were never dead but dull
to the touch and if left long enough without any action taken, in extreme cases,
if and when neglected they would suffer damage. We’ve all seen movies of
mountaineers somewhere along lives journey and how when left to the elements
for long enough, particularly seen in Everest, climbers losing fingers and the
like; frostbite has taken its toll.
Christianity
and our call to holiness is a call from God, it is a requirement needed to
enter His presence; “For
God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. Therefore whoever
disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit
to you.” (1Thessalonians 4:7-8) And “Strive
for peace with everyone, and
for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.” (Hebrews 12:14) – So again I stress the point we
cannot nor should we make allowances for blatant sin to rule our lives; What is
recognizable sin, some sins are obvious, whilst others not so apparent. But I
like the way the Holy Spirit through the Apostle James instructs us on the subject
of the regions of our lives that are so easily given a pass; “So whoever knows the right thing to do
and fails to do it, for him it is sin.” (James 4:17)
With that in mind lets
us move on to the instruction to the churches as we examine ourselves in light
of our Masters voice and if the shoe fits lets us be moved by the good graces
of our God and Father to seek out His repentance before it is to late and His
wrath arrives, for it is coming.
“"And to the angel of the church in
Pergamum write: 'The words of him who has the sharp two-edged sword. "'I
know where you dwell, where Satan's throne is. Yet you hold fast my name, and
you did not deny my faith even in the days of Antipas my faithful witness, who
was killed among you, where Satan dwells. But I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold the
teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons
of Israel, so that they might eat food sacrificed to idols and practice sexual
immorality. So also you have some who hold the teaching of the
Nicolaitans. Therefore
repent. If not, I will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of
my mouth. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the
churches. To the one who
conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a
white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the
one who receives it.'” (Revelations 2:12-17)
“There
were some who taught that it was lawful to eat things sacrificed to idols, and that simple fornication was
no sin; they, by an impure worship, drew men into impure practices,
as Balaam did the Israelites. Observe, (1.) The filthiness of the spirit and
the filthiness of the flesh often go together. Corrupt doctrines and a corrupt
worship often lead to a corrupt conversation. (2.) It is very lawful to fix the
name of the leaders of any heresy upon those who follow them. It is the
shortest way of telling whom we mean. (3.) To continue in communion with
persons of corrupt principles and practices is displeasing to God, draws a
guilt and blemish upon the whole society: they become partakers of other
men's sins. Though the church, as such, has no power to punish the persons
of men, either for heresy or immorality, with corporal penalties, yet it has
power to exclude them from its communion; and, if it do not so, Christ, the
head and lawgiver of the church, will be displeased with it.” (Matthew Henry)
The
Word of God exposes error in our lives; it brings us to a place of decision
with the instruction of repentance as our answer, but if we ignore it, a
warning follows; when we are actioned into service according to the instruction
of God’s holiness we are promise a reward, praise God. This is the true test of
faith! We cannot merely claim Christianity and ignore our Fathers instruction
and expect a rosy future and if we hold to that sort of theology it is obvious
we are either living in rebellion or we have been deceived.
However
the beauty of God’s good graces is filled with second chances, mistake will be
made but they cannot be ignored.
Signing
off
Tyrone
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