"And He said, "What comes out of a person is what defiles him. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person."
Mark 7:20-23, ESV
How many of us, upon finding out that we had a serious disease that did have a possibility of being cured, would not let the rest of 'life' go on hold, to use all our finances, exhaust all our options, and see all the doctors we possibly could to grasp at the chance for recovery and health? Serious illness mobilizes most people to fight for life like few other things do.
Sin kills. It can be compared to a terminal disease. I sometimes worry that many Christians take sin too lightly. Grace has been used as a cover-up for sinful desires and for meddling with the world. Often we don't press into God as we should to learn to walk in the Spirit and put to death the deeds of the flesh, as Scripture commands. Yet those very things which Jesus described in Mark 7 (quoted above) are repeated in Scripture matter-of-factly as things which will prevent a person from inheriting eternal life. This is more critical than any terminal illness that could afflict the body of man. Take a look at just a few of these passages and read the highlighted parts very carefully:
Colossians 3:5-9
Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming. In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices.
1 Corinthians 6:9-10
Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.
Ephesians 5:3-6
But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous ( that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.
Galatians 5:19-21
Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Revelation 21:8
But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.
These Scriptures make me downright afraid. They remind me how holy God is and why Christ's death and the atonement of His blood which the Father provided was no dramatic plan merely for theatrical effect. He had to give that much, because sin costs that much. The wages of sin are death.
Sin is not to be meddled with if you have been saved by grace through faith in Christ Jesus. Believers have power in Christ to overcome temptation, they have been made free from the dominion of sin. There is no excuse. We must work out our salvation (not work 'for') with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12)...And it is precisely because of these terrifying realities of the end of sin that the apostle Paul used the phrase "with fear and trembling." We dare not drift along with only good intentions about holiness. We must be desperate for true holiness and willing to pursue it.
I asked a question at the beginning about how much a person would do to grasp at the chance of a cure if they discovered a serious illness in their body. Will you give that much to working out your salvation? If you will, God will help. His grace teaches us to deny ungodliness (Titus 2:11-14). We must obey the things He commands. Avoid sin. Flee temptation. Take no part. Guard our heart. And we must continue in obedience day after day.
It will be worth it, for eternity.
Here are three ways you can make progress starting right now:
Mark 7:20-23, ESV
How many of us, upon finding out that we had a serious disease that did have a possibility of being cured, would not let the rest of 'life' go on hold, to use all our finances, exhaust all our options, and see all the doctors we possibly could to grasp at the chance for recovery and health? Serious illness mobilizes most people to fight for life like few other things do.
Sin kills. It can be compared to a terminal disease. I sometimes worry that many Christians take sin too lightly. Grace has been used as a cover-up for sinful desires and for meddling with the world. Often we don't press into God as we should to learn to walk in the Spirit and put to death the deeds of the flesh, as Scripture commands. Yet those very things which Jesus described in Mark 7 (quoted above) are repeated in Scripture matter-of-factly as things which will prevent a person from inheriting eternal life. This is more critical than any terminal illness that could afflict the body of man. Take a look at just a few of these passages and read the highlighted parts very carefully:
Colossians 3:5-9
Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming. In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices.
1 Corinthians 6:9-10
Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.
Ephesians 5:3-6
But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous ( that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.
Galatians 5:19-21
Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Revelation 21:8
But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.
These Scriptures make me downright afraid. They remind me how holy God is and why Christ's death and the atonement of His blood which the Father provided was no dramatic plan merely for theatrical effect. He had to give that much, because sin costs that much. The wages of sin are death.
Sin is not to be meddled with if you have been saved by grace through faith in Christ Jesus. Believers have power in Christ to overcome temptation, they have been made free from the dominion of sin. There is no excuse. We must work out our salvation (not work 'for') with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12)...And it is precisely because of these terrifying realities of the end of sin that the apostle Paul used the phrase "with fear and trembling." We dare not drift along with only good intentions about holiness. We must be desperate for true holiness and willing to pursue it.
I asked a question at the beginning about how much a person would do to grasp at the chance of a cure if they discovered a serious illness in their body. Will you give that much to working out your salvation? If you will, God will help. His grace teaches us to deny ungodliness (Titus 2:11-14). We must obey the things He commands. Avoid sin. Flee temptation. Take no part. Guard our heart. And we must continue in obedience day after day.
It will be worth it, for eternity.
Here are three ways you can make progress starting right now:
- Ask God for a clean heart (Psalm 51).
- Spend consistent and regular quality time getting to know God - pray purposefully and even with fasting, praise and worship Him continually, read and do His word intentionally
- Guard you heart will all diligence (Proverbs 4:23; Matthew 5:29-30) - be honest, quick to forgive, quick to repent; totally cut off wrong relationships, influences, and activities; let go anything else that may not be wrong in itself, but which increasingly distracts you from pursuing God as you should - at least until you grow in the discipline to handle it wisely.
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