Fallen

The Mighty

Idolatry is a wicked sin. It is grotesque in the obvious forms of things such as new age occultism, neopaganism, and Buddhism. We also recognize that idolatry is also prevalent in the elevation of the normal activities, hobbies, and engagements of our lives to places of adoration. But one of the most offensive kinds of idolatry is when we take the things of God and make them into something to be worshiped rather than using them as the means of worship.

Imagine a person who loves music so they join the church to get on the worship team so that they can perform the music they love. In this case, the person is not motivated to sing because they love God, but rather they are motivated to go through the religious necessities so that they can perform. This can also happen with adoration of people.

Over the last few years and months some prominent and even conservative pastors have fallen from their place in ministry because of the discovery of disqualifying sin. In this post I do not want to dwell on those particular cases or on what would be considered disqualifying sin, but I do want to think about how we as Christians can avoid being ensnared and enslaved in sin (Proverbs 5:21-22) (2 Peter 2:17-22).

Humility

The first key to avoiding the trap of sin, especially the kind of seductive sin that has caused the disqualification of so many of these pastors is personal humility. We must recognize that we are in danger of committing these same sins so that we can be vigilant to guard against them. The Apostle Paul tells us that the Old Covenant Israelites’ failure to trust and follow the Lord in the wilderness when they came out of Egypt is an example for us. If those who had experienced the miraculous deliverance of God could then fall because of unbelief, then we also must be on guard against the subtlety of being tempted to attempt to live righteously but not by faith (1 Corinthians 10:1-13). In this same passage, the Lord also promises to always provide a way of escape from the temptation. But that way is always the way of faithfully trusting the Lord.

We also must not be so prideful as to assume that we would not be seduced by these sinful practices given the wrong set of circumstances magnifying our weaknesses. The Bible is full of stories of some of the heroes of the faith still being captivated by sensual sexual temptation.

Gratitude

Another way to guard ourselves from temptation is to cultivate our gratitude for the blessing we have from God. Sin is almost always rooted in our attempt to satisfy some perceived deficiency in our lives. This perception of a deficiency is because we are not thankful for what God has given us but rather we think something more than what God has given us will make us happy.  But the Lord is clear that if we seek as our highest importance His kingdom and His righteousness all the things necessary will also be provided (Matthew 6:25-34). This is the gratitude of faith that finds contentment in knowing that what God has provided is all we need.

Holiness

The purpose of God’s work of saving us as Christian’s is not to make us doctors in Theology or experts in exegesis, but rather holy followers who have been changed by God’s grace. This is why God disciplines us to cause us to live so as to bear the fruit of  holy and righteous lives (Hebrews 12:7-11). This passage goes on to say that without this holiness no one will see the Lord (Hebrews 12:14). The greater desire for the joy of holy living is necessary to protect our hearts from the temptation to be captured by the lesser and fleeting happiness offered by sensual passions and pleasures. 

Brothers and Sisters, let us resolve to seek to live in holiness for both God's pleasure and ours while rejecting the cheap and empty counterfeits found in this world!

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