Man never sins without willingly doing so. Unfortunately, man’s vocabulary infers that sin is simply an uncontrollable accident or unfortunate mistake. Yet, in reality, we choose to sin. This is extremely obvious when one considers that the Lord promises “a way to escape” during every temptation. It is not that the Lord offers a way to avoid temptation altogether, but He offers help that man “may be able to bear it [the temptation].” Man can never point his finger toward God in an attempt to assign some level of guilt for man’s sins. God always makes a way for man to righteously endure and conquer every type of temptation known to man. The failure to escape from any temptation is not for lack of opportunity to do so.
Stewardship requires one predominant trait, that being faithfulness. People are gifted with many assorted skill sets requiring varying degrees of expertise. Yet, stewardship demands only a single element—faithfulness. The master of the house can teach his steward how to think ahead or how to deal with problems and even problem people, but the master cannot teach faithfulness. A wise master knows that his greatest need in a steward is faithfulness (Luke 12:42). In like manner, believers, as stewards of God, may be inadequately qualified for every needed task, but the importance of faithfulness must never be underestimated. No man can be a good steward if he lacks faithfulness.
Man is not saved by works; however, through the new birth, he is “created in Christ Jesus unto” (Ephesians 2:10) and should be “zealous of” (Titus 2:14) good works. The Lord could easily save a man and immediately take him to heaven, but He chooses to leave man here on this earth to do a work for Him. Though the Lord’s work on this earth is made up of many details, it always includes “the ministry of reconciliation” (2 Corinthians 5:18). Similar to the responsibility to tell others about a known cure for a dreaded disease, every Christian has the responsibility to express to others their knowledge of the cure for the coming judgment of God and how to be reconciled to God.
Men not only develop reputations among other men, but they also develop a reputation with the Lord. A wise individual seeks “favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man.” Fortunately, the path to favour in the sight of God follows the same course as that of finding favour in the sight of the right kind of men. According to Proverbs 3:1-3, these elements include remembrance of God’s law, keeping the commandments, and forsaking not mercy and truth. Before dismissing the importance of this dual favour amongst both God and man, consider that the scriptures inform us that the Lord Jesus increased in wisdom leading to an increase in “favour with God and man.”
Scripture plainly reveals that God repeatedly calls for His people to separate from the world. This separation extends to every aspect of life, especially including the marriage bond. Why? Because God knows the very real danger that unbelievers pose to believers by drawing them away from Him (Deuteronomy 7:3-4; Judges 3:6-7; 1 Kings 11:2). This is why God specifically instructed His people in both the Old and New Testament to marry among themselves (Jew with Jew and Christian with Christian). The nation of Israel was forbidden to yoke up with the surrounding nations because Israel would adopt heathen practices and the worship of false gods (Exodus 34:15-16). Though God’s commands for the New Testament believer are often different from His plan for the Jew, in this aspect they remain constant and unchangeable.
Modern society is increasingly mocking purity, yet God is pleased with those who endeavour to keep themselves pure before marriage. Increasing temptations combined with the declining standards concerning courting have made purity a rarity rather than the norm. Regardless of this trend, young people with a deep and abiding love for the Lord will continually strive to overcome these obstacles and remain pure. Those who have failed in the past will renew their commitment to the Lord seeking to prevent further regrets. This must be accomplished with a firm resolve. A young person must determine that he or she is going to respect the commandments of God and the other individual with whom he or she is courting. Beyond this, each young person must determine to build fences of protection to keep from entering into tempting situations. The Devil does not need much room to rob a youth of his or her purity (Ephesians 4:27).
God offered man the greatest statement of loyalty when Christ promised never to leave the believer. The Lord did not promise some type of reciprocating loyalty conditioned upon man’s loyalty toward Him. Rather, the Lord promised He will “never leave . . . nor forsake.” Man’s frailty offers God numerous reasons and opportunities to justify leaving and forsaking, but God’s character overrides man’s frailty. If the Lord promises loyalty, He fulfils that promise without requiring reciprocity. According to 2 Peter 3:9, “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise.” Once a man is born again, he becomes a child of God and immediately becomes the beneficiary of promised loyalty given to him by the Son of God.
It is always a painful experience to see those who once walked with the Lord now walking contrary to Him. Families and friends are hurt because of those now living contrary to God’s dictates. Paul warned Timothy that this departure from the faith would take place in the last days. A firm and consistent stand for the faith would give way to an increase in the influence of seducing spirits and doctrines of devils. No doubt, this has occurred since the inception of the New Testament church, but Paul warned that it would increase to its apex in the latter times. In response to the coming danger, Paul admonished the young preacher to be “nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine” (1 Timothy 4:6). This shows that the best defense against departing from the truth is a consistent feasting upon the truth.
Charity is the peak of Christianity (2 Peter 1:5-7). The Bible says that after salvation, charity is to be desired above all other things (1 Peter 4:8) and is the bond of perfectness (Colossians 3:14). Yet far too many people, Christians included, know so little about charity. God has not left man without answers, both simple and profound. First Corinthians chapter 13 offers the most vivid description of charity: charity suffereth long and is kind (1 Corinthians 13:4). It rejoiceth not in iniquity but in the truth (1 Corinthians 13:6). It beareth, believeth, hopeth, and endureth all things (1 Corinthians 13:7). Out of all the wonderful things associated to charity, the Bible makes it clear that charity will have no part with envy.
The Bible plainly points out that God is not the author (or originator) of the confusion in the life of any believer. In fact, God desires for every individual to have clarity of mind when it comes to the truths found in His word. He wants man to know for a certainty concerning his eternal destination, whether heaven or hell. God furthermore wants man to have perfect clarity in distinguishing sin from righteousness. Simply put, God has no desire for believers to live in a confused state of mind. Had sin never entered into the world, there would be no conflicting feelings or voices introducing the confusion so prevalent today. Yet, God’s truth becomes even more essential in order to clear up the confusion caused by sin and Satan.
