September 22, 2014

The Root of the Problem (Part 8): Peer Pressure

The Root of the Problem: Why We Sin & How We Can Overcome

Peer pressure can be a very strong influence for sin. School-aged children are taught to overcome peer pressure and to not follow the crowd when their friends are doing things that they should not do. But despite the continual admonitions, many children ignore these warnings and do what is wrong so that they can fit in. The Proverb writer warned against this very thing.

“My son, if sinners entice you, do not consent” (Proverbs 1:10).

While these warnings are good and necessary for our children, we should not limit our instruction about this to that specific age group. All people, regardless of age, can be tempted in this way. Paul warns the brethren in Corinth about this.
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September 15, 2014

The Root of the Problem (Part 7): Arrogance

The Root of the Problem: Why We Sin & How We Can Overcome

The Bible plainly labels arrogance as a sin. James tells us that “God is opposed to the proud” (James 4:6). The Proverb writer lists pride as one of the things which the Lord hates (Proverbs 6:16-17).

Arrogance is often mentioned in lists of sins – the sins of the Gentiles (Romans 1:30), those which Paul feared would be found among the saints in Corinth (2 Corinthians 12:20), and the sins of false teachers (2 Timothy 3:2). The reason it can be found in these lists is because arrogance is usually connected to other sins. We can think of arrogance as a “gateway” sin. It opens the door to many others. Often it is the beginning of our downfall.
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September 8, 2014

The Root of the Problem (Part 6): Rebellion

The Root of the Problem: Why We Sin & How We Can Overcome

A rebel is one who acts against authority. Such action can be good when those who are in authority are corrupt and oppose God (Acts 5:29). But those who refuse to submit to such authorities are not simply being rebellious. They are acting in submission to the higher authority – God. But there are some who simply refuse to submit to anyone in authority – parent, teacher, employer, police officer, government official, even God. They want to be free to do as they please without restrictions placed upon them by others.

Sin occurs when we fail to submit to God. If we want to overcome sin, we must obey God, for sin is a transgression of His law.
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September 4, 2014

Righteous Lot

Flight of Lot

“And if He condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction by reducing them to ashes, having made them an example to those who would live ungodly lives thereafter; and if He rescued righteous Lot, oppressed by the sensual conduct of unprincipled men (for by what he saw and heard that righteous man, while living among them, felt his righteous soul tormented day after day by their lawless deeds), then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from temptation, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment” (2 Peter 2:6-9).

The inspired apostle Peter described Lot as being “righteous.” Yet this righteous man was not without his faults – he pitched his tent toward Sodom (Genesis 13:12), lived in Sodom (Genesis 14:12), and had to be taken by the hand to flee the city before it was destroyed (Genesis 19:16). In Lot we see one who was righteous; yet he too often focused on the wrong thing, tolerated too much, and compromised with the world.

There are some important lessons we can learn from Lot’s example – both good and bad. We will consider these lessons here.

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September 1, 2014

The Root of the Problem (Part 5): Deception

The Root of the Problem: Why We Sin & How We Can Overcome

An effective tactic used by the devil is deception. Jesus calls him the “father of lies” (John 8:44). Satan used deception to first introduce sin in the beginning. This threat continues even today.

“But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ” (2 Corinthians 11:3).

Christians are not immune from the devil’s deceptive tactics. Paul feared the possibility of the brethren in Corinth falling away, being deceived as Eve was. We should not underestimate Satan’s deceit. After all, he is the one who “deceives the whole world” (Revelation 12:9).
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August 25, 2014

The Root of the Problem (Part 4): Ignorance

The Root of the Problem: Why We Sin & How We Can Overcome

Laws are often violated by those who do not know that they are breaking a law. In these cases, a transgression is made, regardless of the offender’s knowledge of the statute. It is not uncommon for one to claim that he was unaware of the law he was breaking. Even if this is true, he still stands to be punished for his violation.

This concept is not hard to understand in our society’s legal system. Yet when it comes to God’s law, people often choose to look at it very differently. As long as they do not know that what they are doing is wrong, they are perfectly content to assume that they are doing right. They refuse to consider the fact that our sins will still condemn us. Ignorance is no more of an excuse to be used before God than it is for human authorities.
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August 21, 2014

How One’s Heart Becomes Hardened

Pharaoh - Plague of Flies

“Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God. But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called ‘Today,’ so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin” (Hebrews 3:12-13).

The Hebrew writer warned about brethren developing an unbelieving heart that had been hardened by sin. This came in the middle of two warnings against following the poor example of the Israelites: “Today if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as when they provoked Me” (Hebrews 3:7-8, 15).

The example of the Israelites hardening their hearts is a warning for us. However, the Israelites also had an example from whom they should have learned – Pharaoh. In this article, we will focus on the example of Pharaoh and how his heart became hardened. In considering this, we will hopefully recognize what we can do to prevent our hearts from hardening as well.
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