Jesus was criticized for meeting and eating with people that the Pharisees considered unclean. Yet, Jesus was not influenced by their sin. Come to think of it, He was not influenced by the sins of the Pharisees either. In the same way that it is possible to for a fish to live its life in salt water and yet not be salty, it is possible for a Christian to live in a sinful world around sinful people – unsaved people – and not reflect their way of living. I am not speaking about what they wear – where they live – or what they eat – but their attitude toward God and the condition of their hearts. To continue the fish analogy a bit further, as a child, we would fish in the river. Some of the fish that were caught had what was called a “mud vein” that had to be cut out because, unlike their salt water cousins, they absorbed the mud into their flesh. If you did not remove that vein from the fish before you cooked it, the entire fish was spoiled.
We are supposed to be salt and light to a world that has nothing to do with Jesus or God. We are supposed to be ambassadors for Christ, to lift Jesus up. What we are not supposed to do is to participate in their sin. To embrace their lifestyle, which is absent from the influence of the Spirit of God, and to absorb the very thing that we were saved from. The lie that many believe is that it will not happen to them. I have watched it happen so many times. People desperate for relationship and willing to put their faith at risk to have it.
“Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?” – 2 Corinthians 6:14
Listen, the world is not going to encourage you to draw closer to God. The world is going to encourage you to embrace the world. We don’t have to live in a cave like hermits, but be careful that you become indistinguishable from your lost neighbor or friend. Be like Jesus when it comes to your associations with other people. His relationship with His Father was always primary. He never tucked His faith in this pocket or left it in the car when He went to be with those who needed a Physician. We are sealed with the Holy Spirit. You can’t leave that behind in the car – but you can quench the Spirit in an effort to accommodate your sin – to do what the Spirit would tell you, you should not.
The reason the Bible speaks to this issue is because God knows our very fiber. The Word of God is our guidebook for living our new life and the Spirit is our teacher. But be on your guard, because the world drum beat is constant and the lost who will encourage you to dance to the beat of that drum. Christian - be on your guard.
“These people are springs without water and mists driven by a storm. Blackest darkness is reserved for them. For they mouth empty, boastful words and, by appealing to the lustful desires of the flesh, they entice people who are just escaping from those who live in error. They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity—for people are slaves to whatever has mastered them.” – 2 Peter 2:17-19
God Bless You My Friend
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