Staying Afloat
"Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea." -Mark 9:42
Shortly after I cried out to God to save me from my sins and became a Christian, a former in-law of mine heard of my new faith and she promptly made her thoughts known to me that I was brainwashed and that it was not as real as I perceived it to be. As an infant in Christ, however, my reckless and zealous response was less than gentle by replying, "What!? You don't know me!" Was that response arrogant? Probably, although the sinful tone contained truth, especially since Christ recently made me into a new creation and began to transform my very reason for living.
I've witnessed men who professed faith in Christ get enticed and lured away by attractive and seductive women, causing them to sin and having the joy of salvation sapped right out from them. In my former days as a Christian heavy metal musician, those kinds of temptations were always there begging for my attention. Perhaps what was most sad, however, was that many of these temptations often even came from those who made claims to Christ.
Our Lord makes it clear in Scripture that it is a serious matter to lead a true believer in Christ into sin. The millstone that is mentioned is one that was so heavy that it required a donkey to turn it. According to Jesus, this Gentile form of execution is preferable over leading a Christian into sin. This is only one of many passages where we can learn that our Lord is very serious when it comes to sin. How does this view of sin back in biblical times compare with today's standards? Should the former just be written off as "ancient and irrelevant" in order to embrace the latter?
A religious movement that is on the rise is that of "progressive Christianity." While the beliefs of those who identify with this group often vary, it is generally believed that God only inspired men to write things down and did not necessarily speak to them. Since fallible men wrote the Bible, this very liberal belief system therefore affirms that the Bible is not infallible. As some would put it, just as many levitical laws no longer apply today, there are many other teachings that do not apply today, since they were meant only for their specific circumstances and time period. In order to refute the seriousness of sin and affirm that beliefs about sin are meant to change, progressives will often point to passages in the Old Testament that sound ridiculous to modern ears. What many fail to realize, however, is that large parts of the Old Testament regarding certain sin were specifically meant for Israel at that time, while teachings regarding sin in the New Testament are still relevant for us today. Due to the belief of biblical fallibility, a progressive is left up to his/her own opinion as to what to believe from the Bible and what not to believe; this is very dangerous ground to stand upon. We must make sure that we stand upon a foundation of rock (the Word of God) and not upon sand (liberal views that undermine the Word of God) (Matt. 7:24-27).
For more info on Progressive Christianity, check out http://progressivechristianity.org/the-8-points/ and http://progressivechristianity.org/resources/affirmations-and-confessions-of-a-progressive-christian-layman-the-bible/
Every Christian needs to know that spiritual warfare is very real (2 Cor. 10:4; Eph. 6:12) and that the devil prowls around while using people to inflict harm upon the children of God (cf. 1 Pet. 5:8), rendering them ineffective for Kingdom purposes. Therefore, it is necessary for every Christian to don the whole armor of God (Eph. 6:11) and execute the authority given to us by God over the power of the evil one (Luke 10:19). Moreover, don't be that Christian who leads another brother or sister in Christ into sin. Repent today while it is still called today; one can simply not stay afloat with a millstone around his/her neck.
Shortly after I cried out to God to save me from my sins and became a Christian, a former in-law of mine heard of my new faith and she promptly made her thoughts known to me that I was brainwashed and that it was not as real as I perceived it to be. As an infant in Christ, however, my reckless and zealous response was less than gentle by replying, "What!? You don't know me!" Was that response arrogant? Probably, although the sinful tone contained truth, especially since Christ recently made me into a new creation and began to transform my very reason for living.
I've witnessed men who professed faith in Christ get enticed and lured away by attractive and seductive women, causing them to sin and having the joy of salvation sapped right out from them. In my former days as a Christian heavy metal musician, those kinds of temptations were always there begging for my attention. Perhaps what was most sad, however, was that many of these temptations often even came from those who made claims to Christ.
Our Lord makes it clear in Scripture that it is a serious matter to lead a true believer in Christ into sin. The millstone that is mentioned is one that was so heavy that it required a donkey to turn it. According to Jesus, this Gentile form of execution is preferable over leading a Christian into sin. This is only one of many passages where we can learn that our Lord is very serious when it comes to sin. How does this view of sin back in biblical times compare with today's standards? Should the former just be written off as "ancient and irrelevant" in order to embrace the latter?
A religious movement that is on the rise is that of "progressive Christianity." While the beliefs of those who identify with this group often vary, it is generally believed that God only inspired men to write things down and did not necessarily speak to them. Since fallible men wrote the Bible, this very liberal belief system therefore affirms that the Bible is not infallible. As some would put it, just as many levitical laws no longer apply today, there are many other teachings that do not apply today, since they were meant only for their specific circumstances and time period. In order to refute the seriousness of sin and affirm that beliefs about sin are meant to change, progressives will often point to passages in the Old Testament that sound ridiculous to modern ears. What many fail to realize, however, is that large parts of the Old Testament regarding certain sin were specifically meant for Israel at that time, while teachings regarding sin in the New Testament are still relevant for us today. Due to the belief of biblical fallibility, a progressive is left up to his/her own opinion as to what to believe from the Bible and what not to believe; this is very dangerous ground to stand upon. We must make sure that we stand upon a foundation of rock (the Word of God) and not upon sand (liberal views that undermine the Word of God) (Matt. 7:24-27).
For more info on Progressive Christianity, check out http://progressivechristianity.org/the-8-points/ and http://progressivechristianity.org/resources/affirmations-and-confessions-of-a-progressive-christian-layman-the-bible/
Every Christian needs to know that spiritual warfare is very real (2 Cor. 10:4; Eph. 6:12) and that the devil prowls around while using people to inflict harm upon the children of God (cf. 1 Pet. 5:8), rendering them ineffective for Kingdom purposes. Therefore, it is necessary for every Christian to don the whole armor of God (Eph. 6:11) and execute the authority given to us by God over the power of the evil one (Luke 10:19). Moreover, don't be that Christian who leads another brother or sister in Christ into sin. Repent today while it is still called today; one can simply not stay afloat with a millstone around his/her neck.
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