“Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your
bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual
service of worship.” Romans 12:1, NASB
We’ve been studying the book The Harbinger by Jonathan Cahn in our Sunday school class, which warns that judgment may be coming to our country if we don’t turn back to God. (We highly recommend this amazing book!) When I first started reading, I was thinking of all the sinful, disgusting impurities our culture now accepts and how God must be mourning America’s departure from its Christian heritage. There is no longer a sense of “common decency” shared by the majority. The church is the only godly influence our world has, which is why we have been called to shine His light to this dark world (Matt. 5:13‐16, Philippians 2:14‐16).
Sadly the church is failing in this task. Divorce is as common for Believers as non‐Believers. By and large, Christians are not shining examples in their speech, modesty, integrity, childraising, financial priorities, or in their charitable service to others. When Christ commands us not to give way to unrighteousness, it seems the church is not taking Him seriously. This is a serious issue! Unsaved people around us see no reason to get saved when our lives look the same as theirs, with disfunction and sin galore. This must change and it starts with me and you. How can I expect my country to turn from its evil ways if I haven’t shown it what it means to live a life of purity?
Our Response
“…instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live
sensibly, righteously, and godly in the present age…” Titus 2:12, NASB
Have you ever kept a bad habit hidden in order to appear more spiritual? Maybe you watch TV shows you know you shouldn’t be watching, so you make sure to never mention them with people at church. Hidden sin is perhaps the most destructive. When the sin is revealed it can ruin a person’s testimony, but even if it isn’t revealed it will numb our conscience. Jesus rebuked some Pharisees in Matthew 23:25‐28 on this very topic. Read these words and prayerfully evaluate the condition of your own private life.
“‘Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self‐indulgence. You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. So you, too, outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.’” Matthew 23:25‐28, NASB
We Christians cannot win our country back to the ways of God if our lives contain hypocrisy, lawlessness, or self‐indulgence. When Christians “talk the talk” but don’t “walk the walk” it even sabotages our testimony within our own homes. Statistics show that an overwhelming majority of teenagers from Christian homes leave the church when they become adults. You may think you can hide sin from your church friends, but your kids are watching too, and you can’t fool them. If Christian families will step up and fully embrace the spiritual life they claim, we will see spiritual growth in our families, churches, and nation. Again, it starts with me and you!
There is a song by Casting Crowns called “Slow Fade” with these lyrics:
“It’s a slow fade when you give yourself away, it’s a slow fade when black and white have turned to gray,
Thoughts invade, choices are made, a price will be paid, when you give yourself away,
People never crumble in a day, it’s a slow fade, it’s a slow fade.”
This is dangerously true. When we get lax, the enemy moves in. Give an inch and he will eventually take a mile, but it may happen so slowly that you don’t notice. How are you doing at keeping “garbage” out, staying vigilant for “little” sinful habits, and living in the Spirit daily? When we take in pure things, it produces a holy life.
Let’s look up some verses that emphasize this truth: 2 Timothy 2:21‐26, Philippians 4:8, 1:27a, and 2:14‐16. As Paul says, let’s all hold fast to the Word and prove ourselves “to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation” so we can “appear as lights in the world” (Phil. 2:15).
Digging Deeper
“The center of our being, the heart must be so aligned with Jesus
so that the impurity encircling us does not lodge in us.”
~Ezekiel Oluolajo
Take some time today to look up the following verses. Resolve to hold fast to purity and deal with any sins that have a foothold in your life. You might also consider meeting with an accountability partner to work on any areas where God shows you need improvement.
Christ came to give us freedom from sin, so don’t live another day in captivity. The flesh doesn’t have to win. Let’s make it our goal to live as lights to this lost and dying world, realizing they are watching “our talk” and “our walk” with more interest and expectation than we can imagine.
- 1 Timothy 1:5
- 1 Peter 3:15‐17
- 1 Peter 2:11‐12
- Romans 13:12‐14
- 1 Corinthians 6:9‐12
- Galatians 5:19‐25
- Ephesians 5:1‐16
After you’ve looked up the above verses, you might also read our Bible study on holiness. It goes into more detail about how the Holy Spirit changes our hearts in order to change our habits. God bless you on your journey!
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