Sins

Lasciviousness: what does it mean? Wantonness, unbridle lust, shamelessness, outrageousness.

Paul mentions this in Galatians 5 when talking about the works of the flesh and he adds a whole list of other things also, please read verses 19-21, “Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.”

The worldly live with these principles every day, expressed by their behavior and actions, and we as believers expect that they will.  But what about those in the church that claim to be believers?  Some in the church seem to be very carnal in their thought life and in other areas also.  The divorce rate is higher in the church than in the world, and many are addicted to porn, and how many praise the Lord on Sunday and watch filth on TV or the internet through the week?  How many are gossiping and complaining and how many think they know it all and look down on others, thinking they are better than the others are, and how many are holding on to grudges and un-forgiveness and the list could go on and on.  How many put the Lord first and truly love their neighbors as themselves or how many are holding bitterness or jealousy in their heart?  There was a survey taken that stated there were more church people that went to church conferences ordering X rated movies than with businessmen at their conferences.  What does that say about the church?

We have an enemy that wants to destroy the church and he has used the air waves to promote all kinds of trash in order to help in his diabolical scheme.   We have heard so many watered down sermons that many of us may think that God’s love and grace are something we can take lightly, after all the Bible says that we should forgive at least seventy times seven which comes out to be at least four hundred and ninety times; so no matter what we do, God will forgive us, except for blaspheming the Holy Spirit which the Bible says we cannot be forgiven of.  And I will be the first to say that God does and will forgive if we are repentant in heart.  Remember God does not wink at sin and He hates it.  He knows what it can do in a person’s life, family, church and so on, no matter how small it may seem.  God doesn’t call it anything else but sin, not mistakes or the error of our ways, but He calls it sin period, and  we need to call it sin also and learn to deal with it and not make excuses for it.  

Don’t think that I am condemning anyone, but all of us need to hear the truth and accept it and act on it.  We have heard that the truth hurts, and in many ways it does, but it is only truth that will set any of us free.  But it will only set us free if we apply it to our lives and put it into practice.  It is not enough to just hear it and say we know it; no, we have to get it from the head down into the heart where, with the Lord’s help, it will change our lives!!  I have been on a search to rediscover the Lord for probably over a year now and I have been rediscovering things I already knew and I am learning things I didn’t know.  It hasn’t been an easy road but as more truth is applied to my heart and lived out I am being set freer than I have been in a long time, praise the Lord!!  

I have been guilty of most of these things too and I have needed to be humbled and I accepted that, but not always gracefully.  I know it is the best thing for me; it is called the Lord’s correction and if we never experience it then we are not His because none of us are perfect.  So let the Lord have His way and repent if you need to, and I mean from a humble and contrite heart.  The Bible says godly sorrow brings forth repentance and true sorrow over your sins, it is not just words.  If you say you love the Lord and you can sin without any remorse, then you better examine yourself to see if you are really a true believer.

If you do this it will help you to honor the Lord each day, please read Galatians 5:16-18, “This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.”

I know that some of you are trying very hard to get free of some of these addictions and I encourage you to keep pressing into the Lord for the breakthrough.  Don’t give up doing what you can do to help bring it about, but it seems like there are others that may have been lulled to sleep as it were, and are not doing much on their part to overcome these habits just sort of going with the flow waiting on the Lord to act but not really helping the process much.  To rid yourself, or get set free, of some of these things may take some sacrifice like getting rid of the things that cause you to sin, or rejecting the influence of others who are involved in these sins.  It may take fasting and prayer and spending more time with the Lord, reading the Word and out and out resisting temptation, but in the end it will be worth it all.

If you are not a believer and you want to be set free, ask the Lord to come into your heart and be your Lord and Savior, repent of your sins, which means turning away from the and tell Him you are sorry.  I believe if you are truly sincere it will happen.  The Word says, “When the Son sets you free, you are free indeed.”  I have given you something to think about and I hope it will help.  May the good Lord bless you and yours and may you have a super day!!