Hello, my fellow Christians; today, I will discuss Righteous Living: A Call to Action.
Hold on to your seats, ya’ll, because it’s about to get real!
Today, too many Christians are caving to the culture. They are letting their fear of man override their fear (Reverence or Respect) of God, and that’s backward. Too many Christians are afraid of being labeled as judgmental or intolerant if they don’t go along with what the culture says is right. But that’s not how God wants us to be. God desires us to stand up and represent Jesus Christ regardless of what the culture or the world is saying and doing. Today, there are too many Bishops, Pastors, and lay Christians agreeing with and affirming Homosexuality, Abortion, and all kinds of things that God says are clearly wrong in His Word, the Holy Bible. As Christians, we are supposed to uphold the Word of God, which is the truth, regardless of who you think may be offended or that they may feel that you’re judging them or being intolerant of their lifestyle. As Christians, we should be more concerned about what God thinks about us and not what man thinks about us.
God is clear in His Word and His teachings. This world (and sadly, even some Christians) want to hold on to their sinful fleshly ways because it’s pleasurable, amongst other things. They don’t desire to conform to God’s ways. The Bible says as Christians, we are to be transformed by the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:2), and therefore, we should not be seeking to hold on to our old sinful ways of living.
Little by little, day by day, week by week, month by month, and year by year, we should be growing spiritually and in a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ. If we say that we love Jesus, then we should be desiring and seeking a deeper relationship with the Lord and not desiring to please our flesh, indulging in the ways of the world and Satan’s agenda.
As Born Again believers, we should be reading our Bibles for ourselves and not solely depending on the preacher to tell us what the Bible says. That’s one of the reasons why so many Christians today are getting caught up in the wrong teachings permitted in the Church today. Thankfully, there are still some Bishops/Pastors who are correctly teaching the truth of God’s Word today. However, today, there are also those Bishops/Pastors who are bringing in worldly music and dancing and gyrating to it in the Church, partying and socializing with secular celebrities, performing same-sex marriages, affirming Homosexuality and Transgender culture, affirming Abortion, carrying on adulterous Heterosexual and Homosexual affairs, stealing God’s money from Church offerings as they live lavish lifestyles from it, teaching false doctrines and sadly, the list goes on and on. All this and much more is wrong according to the Word of God, The Holy Bible, which is ALL Truth.
So, let’s dig into the scriptures and see what God says about all of this.
The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 NLT, “Don’t you realize that those who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Don’t fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality, or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people—none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God.” So, from this sampling of listed sins, you can see that ALL SIN IS OFFENSIVE TO GOD.
Let’s continue to see what the Word of God says concerning these sins in Romans 1:18-32 NLT,
Romans 1:18 (NLT)
“But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness.”
Romans 1:19 (NLT)
“They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them.”
Romans 1:20 (NLT)
“For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.”
Romans 1:21 (NLT)
“Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused.”
Romans 1:22 (NLT)
“Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools.”
Romans 1:23 (NLT)
“And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people and birds and animals and reptiles.”
Romans 1:24 (NLT)
“So God abandoned them to do whatever shameful things their hearts desired. As a result, they did vile and degrading things with each other’s bodies.”
Romans 1:25 (NLT)
“They traded the truth about God for a lie. So they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator himself, who is worthy of eternal praise! Amen.”
Romans 1:26 (NLT)
“That is why God abandoned them to their shameful desires. Even the women turned against the natural way to have sex and instead indulged in sex with each other.”
Romans 1:27 (NLT)
“And the men, instead of having normal sexual relations with women, burned with lust for each other. Men did shameful things with other men, and as a result of this sin, they suffered within themselves the penalty they deserved.”
Romans 1:28 (NLT)
“Since they thought it foolish to acknowledge God, he abandoned them to their foolish thinking and let them do things that should never be done.”
Romans 1:29 (NLT)
“Their lives became full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, quarreling, deception, malicious behavior, and gossip.”
Romans 1:30 (NLT)
“They are backstabbers, haters of God, insolent, proud, and boastful. They invent new ways of sinning, and they disobey their parents.”
Romans 1:31 (NLT)
“They refuse to understand, break their promises, are heartless, and have no mercy.”
Romans 1:32 (NLT)
“They know God’s justice requires that those who do these things deserve to die, yet they do them anyway. Worse yet, they encourage others to do them, too.”
(https://www.bible.com/search/bible?query=Romans%201%3A18-32)
Now, let me take just two hot topics from today’s culture, Gay Marriage and Abortion, and discuss how a Born-again believer and follower of Jesus Christ should handle these situations from a biblical perspective.
1. Gay Marriage: First, let me state that gay marriage is NOT recognized NOR created by the one who created marriage, and that is God. God created marriage to be between a man and a woman. Genesis 2:18-24 NLT states,
Genesis 2:18 (NLT)
“Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is just right for him.”
Genesis 2:19 (NLT)
“So the Lord God formed from the ground all the wild animals and all the birds of the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would call them, and the man chose a name for each one.”
Genesis 2:20 (NLT)
“He gave names to all the livestock, all the birds of the sky, and all the wild animals. But still there was no helper just right for him.”
Genesis 2:21 (NLT)
“So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep. While the man slept, the Lord God took out one of the man’s ribs and closed up the opening.”
Genesis 2:22 (NLT)
“Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib, and he brought her to the man.”
Genesis 2:23 (NLT)
“At last!” the man exclaimed. “This one is bone from my bone, and flesh from my flesh! She will be called ‘woman,’ because she was taken from ‘man’.”
Genesis 2:24 (NLT)
“This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.”
God clearly states that it’s a man and woman that He designed to become one flesh in marriage. That same united man and woman can procreate, unlike two women or two men.
The question was asked, “As a Born-Again believer/follower of Jesus Christ, do I attend the gay wedding of my child, grandchild, sibling, etc. if invited?” The answer is: No.
Why, you may ask? Like any sin, as Christians, we are to love the sinner but not the sin.
Let’s take God’s example: the Bible says that we all have sinned against God. (Romans 3:23 NLT, “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.”
Holy God cannot tolerate sin. In Psalm 5:4 NLT, God’s disdain for sin is described here when the Bible states, “O God, you take no pleasure in wickedness; you cannot tolerate the sins of the wicked.”
Despite our sins, God chooses to love us. The Bible states in Romans 5:8 NLT, “But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.”
God does not condone, honor, or affirm gay relationships, let alone gay marriage, and neither should we as Born-again believers and followers of Jesus Christ (yes, even when they’re our family).
No matter how a Christian may try to rationalize their attendance at their gay family or friend’s so-called marriage, the fact still remains that gay marriage is still not recognized nor blessed by God.
Our allegiance should ALWAYS be to GOD FIRST; and yes, even before family/others.
The Bible says in Matthew 22:37-39 NLT, “Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment.” “A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.”
As Christians, we can’t TRULY LOVE the Lord our God with all of our heart, soul, and mind, and yet, when it’s convenient for us, willfully disrespect Him, His Holiness, and His Word, the Holy Bible.
If you genuinely LOVE your neighbor (family, friends, others) as yourself, how can you stay silent or support their sin if you participate in it? Instead, you should be lovingly calling them out on their sinful lifestyle and ways that not only separate them from having a right relationship with God but also lead to eternal damnation in Hell, forever separated from God.
The genuinely LOVING thing to do is to inform them about what the Word of God says about their sinful living and to present to them the Salvation Gospel Message of Jesus Christ as you pray for them to see the error of their ways and that they would have a sincerely repentant heart and mind.
Also, that they would ask Jesus for forgiveness and help them turn away from their sinful ways, save them, and allow the Holy Spirit to transform their thinking and life as a new Born-again believer/follower of Jesus Christ.
Is this going to be easy to say to your child/grandchild, sibling, or others? NO.
When we take a stand for Christ against the culture and Satan’s agenda, it most likely will be difficult, but that by NO means should stop us from doing it when, again, our allegiance should Always be to GOD First. As we pray about it, the Holy Spirit will help us in our obedience to Him.
Here is what Jesus said in John 15:18-19 NLT, “If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first. The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you.”
2. Abortion: Yes, it is murder and, therefore, a sin. The Word of God (the Holy Bible), El Shaddai (God Almighty-Genesis 17:1 NLT), the creator of life, informs us in the Bible that life begins at the moment of conception and not just at birth, like today’s culture would like you to believe. The Bible says in Psalm 139:13-17 NLT, “You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered!”
Yes, our creator God is actively involved in forming all human life.
Jeremiah 1:5 NLT states, “I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb. Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my prophet to the nations.” Just like Jeremiah, God knew us even before we were born. When a woman aborts that created life inside of her, she has no idea of what plans God has for that child’s life; that she has now ended.
The Bible also says that we are created in God’s image. Check out Genesis 1:26-27 ESV, “Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” The fact that God created man in His image should show you that God greatly values the life He creates, and if God values life that much, why don’t some people?
The Bible clearly states in Exodus 20:13 NLT, “You must not murder.”
Many pro-abortion advocates say abortion is needed because a woman has the right to choose – “her body,” or when pregnancy results from rape/incest, and so many other reasons. A woman does not own her body, nor do we truly own anything in this life. God, who created and brought us into this world, is the owner, not us. When God brought us into this world, we had nothing, and when God’s ready to take us out of this world, no one can bring anything we collected along this life’s journey with us. The woman didn’t create the life inside her and has no right to take that life.
Can we talk? I told you that it will get “real” up in here. The fact is that some woman have aborted their babies simply because it wasn’t a “convenient” time in their life to raise a child.
Let me also state that too many men have pressured their pregnant partners to have an abortion, which is also wrong. Pregnancy will always be a possibility when a woman and man have intercourse, something that should have been thought out beforehand.
Abortion should never be the convenient or easy way out.
*Rape and incest are HORRIBLE crimes. My heart breaks for all who have been forced to endure such evil crimes, and I PRAY for everyone who has ever experienced this.*
The truth is that conception does not always occur as a result of every act of consensual or non-consensual intercourse. Still, when it does, that child’s life was created intentionally by God and, therefore, should be valued as such. Whether this child is deemed by their parents as an “inconvenience,” or there is a lack of money issue, rape/incest cases, etc., let’s trust that almighty creator, all-powerful, omniscient (all-knowing) God certainly knows more than our finite brains can ever know and that He is certainly more than capable of providing (Jehovah Jireh – The Lord will provide – Genesis 22:14) everything that it would take to raise any child to adulthood. God’s provision can include many things, including but not limited to financial and other resources, family/friend support, and adoption services. In all these cases (and others not mentioned), pray for wisdom, direction, and guidance, seek God’s Word, the Bible, and trust God for your help. Know that God’s answer will never contradict His Word, the Holy Bible.
So, for any non-Christian women who have had an abortion(s) or any other willfully sinful acts that now cause you to be separated from a right relationship with God, my advice to you is to ask Jesus for forgiveness with a sincere heart and mind, repent (turn from your old sinful ways- Jesus can help you), trust Jesus, the only one that can bridge the gap that separates you from having that right relationship with God and give you the free gift of salvation and eternal life in Heaven. Through faith in Jesus, trust Him, ask Him to be your Savior, and allow Him to take complete control of your life from this day forward as your Lord.
Please note that the following statement applies to True Born-again Believers, meaning that they had a genuine conversion. So what about the Born-again believers who have already had an abortion or committed any other acts of willful sin (remember Romans 3:23 – yes, we have all sinned in some way) but have already asked for God’s forgiveness and have repented (turned from those sinful ways), should they feel guilty for the rest of their lives? NO, the Bible says in Romans 8:1 NLT, “So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.” Since your deliverance is through Jesus Christ, there is no condemnation (the expression of very strong disapproval or the action of condemning someone to a punishment (Hell)) for those who belong to Christ Jesus due to their faith and identification with Him. PRAISE THE LORD! OUR GOD IS SO GRACIOUS!
Yes, my fellow Christians, as Born-again believers (assuming that you had a genuine conversion), our loving Jesus paid the penalty for all our sins, past, present, and future. (Please note that that does not give us a “license” or permission to continue willfully sinning). Therefore, we are no longer condemned for our sins in the eyes of Almighty God. Hallelujah!!! Thank you, Jesus!!!
As always, remember to Seek Jesus 4 Life!!!
***Please Note That Righteous Living: A Call To Action Continues With Part 2 – I Invite You To Check it out!***
