…by whom the world has been
crucified to me, and I to the world. —Galatians 6:14
“Our Lord was not a recluse
nor a fanatical holy man practicing self-denial. He did not physically cut
Himself off from society, but He was inwardly disconnected all the time. He was
not aloof, but He lived in another world. In fact, He was so much in the common
everyday world that the religious people of His day accused Him of being a glutton
and a drunkard. Yet our Lord never allowed anything to interfere with His
consecration of spiritual power.[…] The Spirit of God has set a great many
people free from their sin, yet they are experiencing no fullness in their
lives— no true sense of freedom. The kind of religious life we see around the
world today is entirely different from the vigorous holiness of the life of
Jesus Christ. “I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that
You should keep them from the evil one” (John 17:15). We are to be in the world
but not of it— to be separated internally, not externally (see John 17:16). We
must never allow anything to interfere with the consecration of our spiritual
power. Consecration (being dedicated to God’s service) is our part;
sanctification (being set apart from sin and being made holy) is God’s part.” CHAMBERS
Jesus did not separate
Himself from sinners, but ministered to those that would receive the
Truth. The Pharisees and other religious
leaders who criticized Jesus were sinners as well, but they would not receive
the Truth. So fast forward to
today. Can you walk through a mud puddle
and not get muddy? Can you live amongst
non-Christians and not get drawn back to the world you were saved from? The answer is, it depends. It depends upon the strength of your faith ..
the strength of your relationship with God.
Many Christians are convinced that they will be the ones who will sway
the lives of their unsaved friends, when, in my experience, it is the Christian
who is swayed. Why? Because the Christian is more committed to
their friends than to the Lord. (1 Corinthians 15:33) “Do not be misled:
“Bad company corrupts good character.”” I
have known a number of Christian women who convinced themselves that they could
influence the unsaved man they wanted to marry.
I cannot think of one success story.
When Jesus said that we must
pick up our cross and follow Him. When
Paul wrote that we must offer ourselves to God as living sacrifices. When Jesus said you must love God more than
anything or anyone else … this is what they were talking about. If you hear the truth of God and feel
resentful or resistant toward it .. like you know better … be alert! That is your flesh .. your old nature .. not
the Spirit in you. The Spirit is always in
agreement with the Truth. You are in the
world .. not so you can be a friend of the world … but so you can be a beacon
of light to point people to Jesus.
Should you love your unsaved friends? Absolutely. Should you spend time with your friends? Yes. Should you participate in their sin to gain
their approval? What do you think? ELGIN
Bondye Beni Ou (God Bless You)
Charley Elgin
No comments:
Post a Comment