WHO’S SEDUCING YOU?
In this world we are surrounded by a lot of corruption and every imaginable sin surrounds us daily. If we are not careful as Christians/believers we can be enticed by the world and let it ruined our walk with the Savior. When we gave our lives to Christ, (At that very moment) we surrendered ourselves completely to Jesus. Paul said it in this way, “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? YOU ARE NOT YOUR OWN; YOU were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20) This blog deals with the question to all believers… Are you living by the TRUTH of “The Word of GOD” or are you living by the world and the worldly standards (views)?
In the book of 1 Corinthians Paul confronts the “Corinthian” church for conforming to their surroundings and letting those sins creep into the church and into their lives! Paul then brings their attention to their sins (Quarrels and jealousy between believers, lawsuits, sexual immorality, marriage, etc.) And their need to take corrective actions and revitalize their commitment to Jesus Christ. This is Paul’s Christianity 101 course for the Corinthian church and for all the followers of Christ.
Paul reminds the Corinthian Church of the life God saved them from and as “New Creations” in Christ Jesus… That past life has NO place in a Christian life any longer! Let’s see how Paul explains this to them….
“Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. (Watch This… Don’t miss it!) And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” (1 Corinthians 6:9-11) We already read that once you become a Christian your body/life is not your own… We live our lives for the Lord! As it is written, “You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)
The Bible Says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! (2 Corinthians 5:17) We are a “New Creation” in Christ! We must bury that old life once and for all and let the new you shine... So that everyone can see the living Christ in you!
Note: This verse helped me a lot when I first got saved 13 years ago… I can reassure you that the change didn’t happen right away (it is a process) but I definitely wanted to change and live for Jesus! I was in so much condemnation from my past life! There was so much about that life that I did not know was wrong. Reading the word of God was like looking through a reflecting mirror… A mirror looking right into my soul! This verse in 2 Corinthians 5:17 reassured me that “the old me” was gone and that in Christ “All” my sins were forgiven! Never to be brought against me again, ever! (Isaiah 1:18, 44:22, Jeremiah 31:34, Hebrews 8:12, 10:17) I had no clue that the life I was living would lead me straight to hell… I didn’t want to go there!
This is the reason why I write these blogs. I want to let others know, that might be where I was years ago, that living an immoral life is like having a “VIP ticket” straight to hell! You can never get into Heaven living like that! Some people really want to change and they don’t know how to go about it or where to start. The first step of anyone who wants to be saved and is looking for a true change in their life is to step towards Jesus Christ! Jesus is the only way to Heaven and in Him ALL our sins forgiven! Only in Jesus are we made into a new creation/person! AMEN!!! (Matthew 1:20, John 1:29, John 3:16-17, Acts 4:12, Romans 10:9-13, Psalm 103:12, Isaiah 1:18, Acts 16:30-31, 2 Corinthians 5:17)
Back to the Corinthian church…This is another sin Paul had to address to the Corinthian Church. Paul says:
“It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that does not occur even among pagans: A man has his father's wife. And you are proud! Shouldn't you rather have been filled with grief and have put out of your fellowship the man who did this?” (1 Corinthians 5:1-2) And then he tells them this also… “I have written you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people-- not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world. (Watch This… Don’t miss it!) “But now I am writing you that you must not associate with anyone who calls himself a brother but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a slanderer, a drunkard or a swindler. With such a man do not even eat. (Watch This… Don’t miss it!) What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? God will judge those outside. "Expel the wicked man from among you." (1 Corinthians 5:9-13)
Note: How many churches have we attended/been to and we have witnessed the same kind of sins Paul rebuked the Corinthians church for! Now a day we see these things happening right in front of our faces and we turn a blind eye to it… We stick our head in the sand and pretend it’s not happening! Some may say, “That’s not my problem… Is not my business! That’s between them in God.” That’s true to some extent… God will judge the sinner for their sins but if you know that they are sinning against God and you say nothing… You’re also part to blame and God will hold you responsible also! Paul already said in not so many words, that the church and the person, who claims to be a Christian, are his business and his responsibility…What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? God will judge those outside. "Expel the wicked man from among you." (1 Corinthians 5:12-13)
Let me show what GOD tells the Prophet Ezekiel:
"Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me. When I say to a wicked man, 'You will surely die,' and you do not warn him or speak out to dissuade him from his evil ways in order to save his life, that wicked man will die for his sin, and I will hold you accountable for his blood.” (Ezekiel 3:16-17)
Note: You don’t have to make it into an argument or get mad just to tell someone, that you see, is clearly sinning against God… That what they are doing is wrong! All it takes according to the “Holy Scriptures” is giving them a warning from God and if that person persists in their sin then… That person is truly in God’s hand and in big trouble with GOD! And we would have saved ourselves because we did what God asked us to do… “But if you do warn the wicked man and he does not turn from his wickedness or from his evil ways, he will die for his sin; but you will have saved yourself.” (Ezekiel 3:19)
Paul also teaches the Corinthian Church on marriage...
“To the married I give this command (not I, but the Lord): A wife must not separate from her husband. But if she does, she must remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband. And a husband must not divorce his wife.” (Watch this… Don’t miss it!) “A woman is bound to her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she is free to marry anyone she wishes, but he must belong to the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 7:10-11,39)
Note: This sin is very common in today’s churches also… Many of you may not like what the word of God says about this but I come in the “Truth Of The Word GOD” How can you argue with God? It’s in the book… And I’m just the messenger… “Come back to your senses as you ought, and “STOP SINNING”; for there are some who are ignorant of GOD--I say this to your shame.” (1 Corinthians 15:34)
What do we see people doing instead of obeying the Holy Spirit? They go and divorce their spouses and then they marry someone new… Instead of reconciling with their spouse like the Bible tells us to do! The only time we can remarry, is if our spouse dies! That’s the only time we have permission from God to marry someone new! And If the marriage was a bad one (There was cheating or abuse) let’s say! According to the word of God you can separate from that person but you still have to remain single. God says, “A wife must not separate from her husband. But if she does, she must remain unmarried…” (1 Corinthians 7:10-11) You’re supposed to stay single according to GOD. Paul said that this rule of marriage does not come from him (It does NOT come from me either!) but from THE LORD…. “To the married I give this command (not I, but the Lord) (1 Corinthians 7:10)! This is the part of the marriage rule that No One likes to hear but it’s in the Holy Scriptures. And we all know, “All Scripture is God-breathed…” (2 Timothy 3:16)
Paul is just teaching the Corinthian church and to all of us, what Jesus taught all His disciples to teach on. Let’s see what Jesus says on marriage…
“Some Pharisees came to him to test him. They asked, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?" "Haven't you read," he (Jesus) replied, "that at the beginning the Creator 'made them male and female,' and said, 'For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh'? So they are no longer two, but one. (Watch this… Don’t miss it!) “Therefore What GOD Has Joined Together, Let Man NOT Separate.’ "Why then," they asked, "did Moses command that a man give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away?" Jesus replied, "Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning. I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, and marries another woman commits adultery." (Matthew 19:3-9)
In the book of Mark Jesus said it again…
“When they were in the house again, the disciples asked Jesus about this. He answered, "Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her. And if she divorces her husband and marries another man, she commits adultery." (Mark 10:10-12) Paul warns us that “the adulterer” WILL NOT inherit the kingdom of GOD…. “Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.” (1 Corinthians 6:9-10)
Note: The marriage rule comes from the Creator and the Creator ALONE… Jesus says, NO to divorce and NO to marrying a divorced person. This was our Lord’s reply to the Pharisees on the marriage question. Friends, Jesus is either Lord of our lives or He’s not Lord at ALL! When a believer fails to recognize Jesus as Lord in their life and they live their life how they want and not according to the Word of God… It sets us up for failures and lots of disappointments. There are no rewards from the Lord for the disobedient..."But only a FEARFUL expectation of judgment and of RAGING FIRE that will consume the enemies of God." (Hebrews 10:26-27)
The Bible is our blueprint; it shows us how to live a godly and holy life in this world! That’s why we need to stay in the Word of GOD daily. This is what the Bible says about people who don’t listen to God and let Jesus teachings go in one ear and out the other… Without putting them into practice/actions, “But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash." (Matthew 7:26-27) Not listening to the Lord and not applying His teachings to our lives will only cause us to fall with a great crash in life! So the question is: Are you being seduce by the Savior and living your life committed/devoted to Him? Or Is the world seducing you? Are you’re living your life for the world and the world’s views? Who's seducing YOU? Friends, we must obey the Lord in all things… If we truly love HIM! (John 14:15)
Remember what the Lord said in the book of Matthew:
“NOT EVERYONE who says to me, 'LORD, LORD,' WILL ENTER THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN, (Watch this… Don’t miss it!) BUT ONLY HE WHO DOES THE WILL OF MY FATHER WHO IS IN HEAVEN. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!' (Matthew 7:21-23)
What does the Father say about what Jesus is teaching us? This is what HE says… “While he was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. LISTEN TO HIM!" (Matthew 17:5, Mark 9:7, Luke 9:35)
Note: If we fail to obey the Lord’s teachings … And NOT follow/apply the moral guide lines Jesus gave us to live by on “the sermon on the mount”, Then Jesus will also tells us… 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!' (Matthew 7:23) Study “The Beatitudes” in Matthew chapters 5-7. Spend time with GOD daily and He will change all those things in you that are NOT of HIM. GOD does this for me daily and HE will do the same for you… If you do your part and surrender yourself completely to HIM!
“We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God.” (2 Corinthians 5:20)
GOD BLESS YOU NOW & ALWAYS
YOUR FRIEND,
VICKY RIVERA
