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(SIN, IS NOT SIN)
SCRIPTURE Isa 29:13 [NIV]
DECEMBER, 2020
The Lord says: These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is based on merely human rules they have been taught.
SUBJECT SIN, IS NOT SIN!! !
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The message for this month, has to do with a common misconception, that is carried by not only the world, but many Christians as well.
This misconception, which is at the heart of most of our problems in this nation, centers on the mistaken idea that in the eyes of God, all sins, are going to lead the offenders in to hell. This means then, that if you, say for instance, steal something, and another person murders someone, both of you have sinned, and will suffer the same eternal punishment, hell.
This part of the story is true!!
The Bible makes it clear in many scriptures that sin, no matter how great or how small, is something that will put you on the wrong side of God's Grace and Mercy. And when the time comes, if you have not repented, you are bound for hell!!
Now, at this point, you might be saying, 'Preacher, if that is the case, then, why did you entitle this message the way that you did?? Was it a misprint??
The answer is, no!!
You see, in the overall scheme of things, we have 2 different areas that need to be considered.
The first, quite naturally is the eternal. It is the area in which you will find God saying that
'Whosoever is guilty of one sin, is guilty of all.[James 2:10]
We also have scriptures like
[Rev. 21:8], which basically outlines every type of sin there is, being the reason that those guilty of them, will be cast in to the lake of fire and brimstone, which is the Second Death!!
There is no getting around it!! If you leave this life, and you are not saved, it does not matter how good of a person you are, or were, you will end up in the same place, as the worst of the worst that the Devil has to offer.
But, the area where there is a BIG MISCONCEPTION, is the area of this physical realm. It is in this area that God wants us to take a look at. The reason being, that if you don't have a good understanding of this area, then chances are, you are going to stay on a path that will put you at odds with God, and that means your eternal destination will be in jeopardy.
Over the past several months, I have been inundated by people, mostly Christian brothers and sisters[mostly sisters], when I give reasons why in this and past elections, I support the Republican candidate over the Democratic candidate for president, they tell me, that both are equally evil, or sin, is sin, and so they choose to support the one that they feel the most comfortable with.
Here is where the problem lies with that train of thought.
To them, it is about personality. How well one person is liked, over another. It is about the promises that one candidate makes, versus the other.
As long as the person says the right things, they will tend to support them.
It doesn't matter if, after they get elected, they get a case of amnesia, and don't follow through on those promises because no one is perfect. 'So they lied, big deal!!! The other candidate is just as guilty of something. Sin is sin!!' they say!!
What we have here, is a situation that overlooks a key part of God's view of sin as it pertains to this physical life!! And that is where we are walking on dangerous ground.
You see, even though sin is sin, in this life, there is the fact that God reacts differently to
it, based on the seriousness of it!!
If you go in to the Bible, to the books of the law, you will find how that God set up different degrees of punishment, based on the gravity of the offense.
There are certain sins that God says the person that is guilty of, should be separated from the camp for a few days. There are others that He says warrants they be beaten with lashes, while others are to be imprisoned. Then, we have the more serious ones where the person is to be put to death.
This is all part of His design for how we are to conduct ourselves in this life.\
We can look at the modern day justice system in this nation. It is modeled after those same guidelines.
If you have a person that steals a loaf of bread, because they are hungry, they have committed the crime/sin of stealing. If you have another person that murders someone, they have committed the crime/sin of murder.
Now if, as a lot of these people believe, sin is sin, then both of them deserve the same punishment. That means the one that stole the bread should be put to death. Or the one that murdered someone, should get the same punishment as the one that stole the bread.
Do you see how ludicrous that sounds??
Well, that is exactly what those that talk about 'sin is sin' are saying.
As a result, it doesn't matter what a candidate says or does. As long as they like the person based on what he/she says they will do, that is all that matters.
Oh Really!!! What about what God says about what they are guilty of??? Are you just going to ignore Him??
If you take that position on sins being the same, then that is exactly what you are doing.
And guess what?? By your ignoring what He has to say about it, you yourself have just sinned by placing your viewpoint above what He says!!!
And that, my friends is idolatry!!
Anytime you place what anyone says ahead of what God says, this is what you are guilty of.
If you look at the subject verse, taken from the NIV bible, it gives a clearer interpretation of what the KJV version says.
In this verse, the Lord is saying that many of His people are going around talking about how much they love the Lord, and how He is able to do anything but fail, and all of the other things that give the impression that they are truly faithful to God. But, strip away that facade, and look at their heart, and you will see that there is a gross lack of depth and understanding of Him, that will lead them to disaster.
And how did they get like this??? By listening to people, usually preachers, who either don't know Him, or did at one time, but have left Him in pursuit of fame and fortune,
If a person is not being led by God, then they are usually left to their own way of thinking, which is known as carnal mindedness/common sense.
So what God is saying is, they are really worshiping Him based on the standards that man has set. This translates to the idea that they are making Him, to be like man.
And we all know how man is, don't we???
He will say one thing, one minute, and the next, say or do the opposite. He changes like the weather, and the seasons. Can't be trusted for anything.
And, here you are, putting God in that same boat!!
The Bible even tells us, Rom 1:21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
Rom 1:22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
Rom 1:23 And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, .....
And, we can see this being manifested every time you look around, and hear people choosing to support a political party whose foundation is based on open warfare with God, versus a political party whose only sin/crime is making a lot of people angry because they won't go along with what the people believe.
When I look at the likes of president Trump, it is true, he is divisive. And to a lot of people, including a lot of black Christians, he is no better than the Democrat running against him.
This is where the 'sin is sin' crowd, thinks they have a good point.
However, if you look at just what Trump is doing, and why, versus what the Democrats are doing, then you have the scenario of the stolen bread, and the murderer.
In what the Holy Spirit has shown me, the path that the Democrats, and their supporters are on, will lead this nation to destruction. President Trump is doing all that he can to prevent that from happening. And what is the result?? They call him divisive!!
I tell a lot of people that if anything, president Trump, the GOP, and their supporters are, guilty of misdemeanors, while the Democrats are guilty of felonies!!
And, which is the most serious?? Felonies are of course.
When you have a party that openly advertises its position on abortion/human life, the gay lifestyle, affirmative action, and keeping any influence of God, out of the running of this government, that is open warfare on God/Christ. And as if that isn't bad enough, we have most black Christians, that buy into this foolishness.
I call them 'TRAITORS' to Christ!!! And, what usually happens to traitors??? They are usually put to death, or at least, imprisoned.
Now, as I have mentioned, in most instances, these Democrats, and their supporters, are under the mistaken belief that they aren't doing anything any worse than what the other side is doing. After all, sin is sin!!
Now the only reason they think like this is because some preachers, mostly black, have allowed them to come in to their churches, and ask their congregation to vote for them.
In their eyes [the politician's], what they stand for is acceptable to God. The same goes for their congregation!!
So, with that being the case, if this president, the GOP, and their supporters, oppose them, then that means they are opposing God!!
If the preacher doesn't sound the alarm, then, the politician, his party, and the preacher's congregation, will go out and wage war on all those that oppose them, because they think God is on their side, when He is really against them!
If anyone remembers the life of Saul, who later became the Apostle Paul, you will remember how he, through ignorance, was out persecuting Christians, because he thought they were a cult!!
He was highly educated, and a worshiper of God, but he was going according to the Law, of the old testament!!! And here comes this new group of people essentially re-writing the rules that he had lived, and been educated by, and he wanted to destroy them.
But then he met Jesus, and, the experience changed him totally, where he became the primary vessel, used by God, to preach to the Gentiles.
Well, just like Paul, many of our preachers in the black community today, are out doing the same things as he did when it comes to what they think versus what Christ says.
They get out here and start persecuting those of us that know what is right and wrong in the eyes of God.
The result is, the division you see playing out in this nation. One side claiming they are doing what they feel God approves of, and the other side, knowing what God says, resisting them.
As God says in the subject scripture, the people's heart, is far from Him!!!
As the Bible makes clear, God looks at the actions of an individual, when it comes to judging that person's love for Him.
People may get angry and spout off something that they don't really mean. However, when people begin to put actions behind their declarations, then, that is coming from their heart!!
Which side are you on?? What do you believe and why???
Are you on the side of those that claim to be worshipers of God, but whose actions prove anything but?? Or are you on the side of those who, no matter what public opinion might be, choose to stand up for Righteousness.
We know what the end result will be, and are willing to die for it if necessary. That is the depth of our love and worship of Jesus Christ!!
AMEN!!
Here's hoping you and yours have a very merry and Blessed Christmas, and a prosperous New Year!!!
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