Day 75: I trust you, Lord. Avoiding the leaven. Romans 3
A few days ago the reading was about sin. To summarize it quickly, we cannot, should not, continue in sin. Doing so will cause a harsher judgment to come on you during judgment. Yes, God forgets about your sin, but everything you do is written in the Book of Life.
And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. Revelations 20:12-15
You may think that you cannot stop sinning because of the cliché’s people like to throw around, but you can! You should! Please make that your top goal, top priority. It is a must. Sinning is a choice. Not sinning is a choice as well. How do you know this? Test it out.
You’re at work and remember you need a roll of toilet paper but don’t feel like stopping by the store to get some on the way home. You look towards the bathroom. With a guilty feeling (Holy Spirit nudging you in the right direction), you look away. But it’s been a long day and you know you won’t feel like stopping. As you pack up to leave, you decide to visit the bathroom with your bag and take a roll. See choice. You decided to take it. You thought about not doing it but talked yourself into doing it anyway. A choice was made - stealing. You are a thief.
Here’s another. You are eating a meal and it is “oh so yummy!” You look down at your plate thinking you should stop eating (Holy Spirit is such a great friend), but the food is just too good to stop now so you continue on. Yes, your belly is full but this was too good to pass on. You made the choice to continue eating – gluttony. You are an overeater.
Look at these. You don’t feel like going to work, so you call in sick – liar. You like sex too much but don’t want to wait until marriage – fornicator. You open your mouth to tarnish someone’s name – murderer. You have extramarital relationships (sex or otherwise acts deemed inappropriate) – adulterer. You sit on the phone all day discussing ungodly matters – gossiper. You continue drinking knowing you can’t hold your liquor – drunkard. Do you need more?
So think about your teachers, preachers, worship leader, and the like. Those who are shepherding you should be free from all of these sins. Sure, people like to use the old cliché that ‘all have sinned’, but what does this really mean.
Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Romans 3:22-23
Now considering Paul was writing about the Jews and Gentiles alike, he was referencing both those who were part of His chosen people by birth (Jews) and those who weren’t (Gentiles). How do we know this is what he was talking about? Well, if you go up some verses, you will see in verse 9 that Paul says
…for we have before proved that both Jew and Gentile, that they are all under sin; As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: Romans 3:9b-10
If you didn’t know before, Paul was in the courts of the Romans making his case. The Romans would be considered Gentiles. In Romans 1:16, Paul told the Romans that God gives salvation to everyone that believes (to the Jew first because Jesus said salvation came from the Jews – John 4:22). EVERYONE! Not just the Jews but the Gentiles as well. The apostles were no longer preaching only to Jews. Salvation was for everyone. He used words like all, everyone, and ‘there is no difference’ to show the Romans that while he was part Jew, it meant non-Jews as well. Perceived classes did not matter.
In his monologue, Paul referred to no one being righteous. He wasn’t saying that no one could be righteous. Instead he was simply saying that the Jews were wrong as well. The Jews were an elite set of people who were not only God’s chosen people from the Old Testament, but also the keeper (ruler and creator in some instances) of the law. He was reminding the audience that the Jews were no more special than the Gentiles. ALL of them were unrighteous. Neither side was good. The Jews were just like the Gentiles (depending on the audience and confidence level, this was deemed a good thing or a very thing to say). When Paul said all have sinned, he meant the Gentiles as well as the Jews. He used words like all, everyone, and ‘there is no difference’ to show the Romans that while he was part Jew, it meant them as well. Notice as well that he said “have sinned” which is past tense and alludes that it doesn’t have to be a part of anyone’s future.
So why do you think people continue to use this cliché thinking it will get them into Heaven? Because they want to continue doing what they want to do which in itself is an act of pride. God hates pride. He despises it. The angels who fell into it were kicked out of Heaven.
To the pastors, teachers, leaders and the like who are continuing in sin and standing before Jesus Christ’s flock, woe unto you. To those who continue to be under them, remember this:
And when the disciples were come to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread. Then Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees. And they reasoned among themselves, saying, Is it because we have taken no bread. Matthew 16:7-8
Jesus replied by reminding them they didn’t need bread as they didn’t need it before to feed people. Then He shared what he meant:
How is it that ye do not understand that I spake not to you concerning bread, that ye should beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees. Matthew 16:11
You can make all the excuses you want to remain in the mud like pigs. These excuses and your acts are being recorded and you will be judged for them. A Bible scripture used out of content will send you straight into the burning lake. If your spiritual leaders are in the mud with you, know they can only pull you down deeper with them. A little sin is no worse than a lot of sin and if you are following someone who is still in even a little sin, know that those evil acts will spread throughout your life like wildfire. Sever that connection and trust Holy Spirit to lead you to someone who knows they can live sin free and be good leaven in your life.
No sin yeast allowed,
Keiyia JOYet George
Trust Walk: Walking in His Steps coming soon!