Devotionals
DAY THIRTY-ONE
SIN:The Cause of the Infection
Part one
“But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication. So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans which thing I hate.” (Revelation 2:14, 15)
If we could only understand sin the way that God sees it and love people the way God loves them we would be on our way to a balanced Christian life. From these verses, we realize that God hates the sin that is destroying His people. If He were merely a God of judgment He would not be addressing them like he does, and encouraging them to change. The sin that is destroying them bothers God and he wants us to know that. Let’s look at the sin of Balaam to start. How does that sin rear its head in our modern church? That is what we need to know. It is possible for the church to be very correct outwardly. People in the church can pretend to be Christians by separating themselves from questionable practices condemned by the church. Or the testimony could be one of church attending and good deeds. But the fact is that we all have hearts that are capable of the grossest of sin given the right opportunity. That is where the problem begins, The problem of the church in Pergamos was the problem from within. It has to do with people who are not honest about themselves and are willing to place the cause of their problems on someone else. That is the problem of Balaam in its essence. Perhaps some of the saddest things I have seen in my lifetime is to view churches who are going through a split. It seldom works to any one's advantage. The problem of pride, stubbornness, covetousness and anger prevail in these kinds of churches. That is the doctrine of Balaam. We have two good examples in the Scriptures of what the church was and what the church has become. For instance, in the book of acts we have this wonderful description of the church in its early stages and how God use them to be a blessing to so many, Consider these words in acts chapter 2: 44 -47,’ And all that be believed were together, and had all things common; and sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need. And they continued daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat there may with gladness to singleness of heart, praising God, and having favor with all the people, and the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved’.
Now here is a picture of what God intends for his church to be. They started out well, God bless them, and because of their unselfish living others were attracted to them. Now let’s go to the book of James and see what happened to this great church that started out so well. In James chapter 4:1-6. We find a different situation in the church. ’ From whence come wars and fighting’s among you? Come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members? Ye lust and have not: you kill and desire to have, and cannot obtain: Ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask him to miss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts. Ye adulterers and adulteresses know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. Do you think that the Scripture saith in vain, the spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy? But He giveth more grace. Wherefore He saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.’ This church mentioned in the book of James reveals a church with the problem concerning the heart. They have nothing to offer the world because what they have to offer is what the world already has, except that it is now a controlling element in the church. The problem always begins within the individual and later spreads to others of like mind in the church. Pretty soon this element controls the church and drives those who are concerned with truth away. When the spirit of Balaam prevails in the church divisions occur and God is dishonored. Before the problem can be solved, it must be identified. That means soul-searching is necessary and the word of God must be allowed to penetrate and remove the problem.
v
PLEASE ENCOURAGE AUTHOR BELOW LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE
This article has been read 501 times < Previous | Next >
Free Reprints
Main Site Articles
Most Read Articles
Highly Acclaimed Challenge Articles.
New Release Christian Books for Free for a Simple Review.
NEW - Surprise Me With an Article - Click here for a random URL
God is Not Against You - He Came on an All Out Rescue Mission to Save You
...in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them... 2 Cor 5:19
Therefore, my friends, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. Acts 13:38
LEARN & TRUST JESUS HERE
FaithWriters offers Christian reading material for Christian readers. We offer Christian articles, Christian fiction, Christian non-fiction, Christian Bible studies, Christian poems, Christian articles for sale, free use Christian articles, Christian living articles, New Covenant Christian Bible Studies, Christian magazine articles and new Christian articles. We write for Jesus about God, the Bible, salvation, prayer and the word of God.