Today's Verse

Lessons Learned

Please Don't Muddy The Waters

Jude 1:4 (New International Version)
4For certain men whose condemnation was written about[a] long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are godless men, who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord.

Do you know the fatal flaw of Adam and Eve?

They didn't believe God meant what He said. I can't help but observe that we do the exact same thing when we sin. We who claim to be Christians need to fix our eyes on what God teaches us and live in the light of God's truth. I'm sick of the way Christians rationalize sin. We listen to what is popular and pump ourselves up with the lies of a dying world and neglect obeying the living Lord. I can hear it now. "God won't care if I shack up outside of marriage or have sex outside of marriage. After all, everyone else is doing it." "It's okay to look at someone outside of my spouse as long as I don't touch." "Looking at pornography is my private business." Or how about the ever popular, "God doesn't want me to judge so I won't call homosexual behavior or abortion sin." Another one which readily comes to mind, "It isn't sin if I don't get caught." "If I tell a little white lie, that's okay. Just not a big one." And again, "If I get a divorce, I am automagically eligible to get married again." There are even folks who claim to be Christians who will say that Jesus is only one of many ways to go to Heaven.

The common thread in all of these is that despite what God says in His Word, these people are going to do what they want to anyway. You have to watch out for these empty philosophies and the people who promote them by their words and actions. It isn't only ignorant Christians saying these things. There are plenty of smart Christians who do these things because they are full of evil and deceit. It's easy to understand that the world does evil things. People without Christ will be foolish and perverse without batting an eye. When Christians do these same things, it is even worse because we claim to know better. The Bible says that when we live for God, we are like light to those who are in darkness. When the world sees that our words and our lives match, they are more likely to understand that Christ is alive because Christians are living a sold out life for Christ. When we don't live for God, we give people a distorted image of Him. The world loves to find Christians being caught lying or stealing or involved in sexual immorality. That's when the world calls us hypocrites and tries to justify their sins by our disobedience. God loves us so much that He wants to see us changed and committed to Him. Jesus died so that we could have eternal life. To live like the world once you are saved is, according to Hebrews 6, the same as crucifying Jesus all over again. If you are claiming to be a Christian and you have never trusted in Christ, then please stop calling yourself a Christian. Just deny it. It's better by far that you know where you stand. There's no halfway house at being a Christian. You either are a Christian or you are not. Being raised in a Christian home, going to church or a Christian college doesn't make you a Christian. The only way to be a Christian is to put your faith in Christ. Click here for more information.

If you have put your faith in Christ as Savior and claim that Jesus Christ is the Lord of your life, then examine your heart as a believer. Who are you really living for? What do you believe and why?

We know according to the Bible that it is crucial to turn away from sin and avoid it even if the people around you are doing it. The world doesn't have your back in these matters. Jesus does. All Christians struggle with sin of one kind or another but one very important difference is that we are struggling not to repeat it and are quick to call it sin. A person who sins and does not try to stop isn't really struggling at all. Jesus will help you learn how to live a life that counts for eternity in the time you spend with Him. Every day, read your Bible, pray and be plugged into your local church. Never neglect the opportunity to learn from other believers in your church. As you begin to grow spiritually, you will see life very differently than you ever did before. The world may like rolling around in the mud but as a believer, God calls us to be pure and holy before Him. Live in such a way to make Christ more clear and don't muddy the waters for others to come to Christ.