Memorise: In all things shewing thyself a pattern of good works: in doctrine shewing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity. Titus 2:7
Read: 2nd Corinthians 2:14-17 Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place. 15 For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish: 16 To the one we are the savour of death unto death; and to the other the savour of life unto life. And who is sufficient for these things? 17 For we are not as many, which corrupt the word of God: but as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God speak we in Christ.
Insincerity is one of the greatest reasons behind
the downfall of many believers today. Some people claim to love God, but the
kind of fruit they manifest makes people question the genuineness of their
salvation. Loving God is not just by words, it must reflect in all that we do
and in our approach to life. The moment we are saved, we should no longer walk
as those who are heading for eternal damnation. The word of God must be obeyed
in its entirety. There are believers today who cherry-pick the aspects of the
Bible they want to obey. This should not be so! After we are saved, it is
expected of us to immediately renounce all the hidden things of dishonesty (2nd
Corinthians 4:2). We cannot afford to be careless in our Christian walk,
because we have an adversary (1st Peter 5:8). To be able to
stand against the wiles of the devil, we must be sincere with ourselves. One of
the things that gave David victory over Goliath was his sincerity. Although
King Saul offered David his armour, David was sincere enough to admit that he
had never tired that approach (1st Samuel 17:38-39). His
sincerity made him stick to his familiar strategy of using smooth stones and a
catapult, rather than wasting his time on an untested line of attack that would
not produce results.
Today, there are many ministers of the gospel who
have abandoned the true gospel for a social message. They believe that people
are not interested in hearing the truth. This is false! Some believe that if
they preach the true gospel to people, they will find it very hard and most
will turn away, hence, they water down their messages. Such ministers need to
learn from Jesus (John 6:60-67). If Samson had been sincere with
himself, he would not have died the kind of death he died (Judges 16:21-30).
The devil had tested Samson several times and had found out that he had no
wisdom. Samson knew he had a weakness for women, but he refused to admit it. He
felt things would always remain as they were (Judges 16:20). If he was
sincere, he would have built a wall of defence between himself and his
weaknesses. He kept a relationship he knew God did not approve of. He kept
visiting places he should not visit, just like some Christians today who visit
bars; even though they know ungodly things happen there. Are you finding it
difficult to stop stealing, yet you still join others in counting offering
money? Are you finding it difficult to keep your eyes off your female
secretary, despite speaking in tongues, and yet you have not eased her out? Are
you competing with the grace of God in other people’s lives, despite the fact
that God has told you your own area of strength? If any of these describes you,
then you are not being sincere with yourself!
Prayer
Point: Father, grant me the grace to sincerely deal with every weakness in my
life.
Bible
in one year: Genesis 24, Isaiah 46
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