I once received an email asking me why I spend so much time on SIN, when I could be encouraging others with something else. The individual continued on to say that SIN was no longer the “REAL” problem with anyone, considering how the government was dealing with us, the needs of other people, the hard times.
So I began to sit and think about everything; people out of work, the older Americans having to go into forced retirement, the illegal immigrants plight, and others — reading the news everyday and truly looking at our current situation in life. The writer of the email is dead WRONG!
The Ten Commandments:
1) You shall have no other gods before me.
Let me see here. The house, the cars, the job, the clothes, the gated community, the bank account, the “relationships” with others─anything other than Jesus Christ!
2) You shall not make for yourself any carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.
Let’s see here again, the Oval Office, Congress, monuments of any kind, Oops…money! Wow, that last one sort of hurt, didn’t it?
3) You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.
Oh…that’s a particularly bad one to have to remember, cause we just aren’t cool, in movies or otherwise if we are not cursing and committing this SIN…right?
4) Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your manservant, nor your maidservant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.
Uh-oh! Wow…this is way too tough! I just have to get that proposal in on time, or I won’t get the bonus! Oh my Lord, that is so important! The grass needs mowing, the cars need to be washed, I need to get the outside walls of the house washed down, I need to edge and fertilize! So much to do and so little time! Lets see, who makes it rain, who created the soil to feed plants, etc.
5) Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you.
Now here’s a toughie! I have to listen to Mom and Dad? They don’t know squat, at least they don’t know what I have to deal with every day, besides that they are like…way old! There is so much I want to do and they are always saying NO! I know what I’m doing! Just leave me alone!
6) You shall not murder.
Most people get this wrong, simply because they will not read the Hebrew version! What it is saying is “Thou shalt NOT commit premeditated murder!” There is a difference here, right? Now, It is also most Important to note…What your heart is telling you? What is the, “intent of your heart?”
7) You shall not commit adultery.
And here is a particularly nasty one! He/she is so hot! And he/she is doing all the chasing here, so…why not? The wife/husband no longer wants me! How can this hurt anyone?
8) You shall not steal.
They have everything anyone could imagine, why don’t people ever share? A million dollar house and fine cars, big bank account, fine clothes, the question ought to be, what don’t they have? [Anyway], it’s just a small thing─a broach or ring, a few pencils from work or school, no one will miss them!
9) You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
Nasty, stinky, _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _! They ought not live here, where decent folk live! They are so trashy and smelly, they’re messing everything up. Why don’t they go back to where they belong? I Know, I’ll sue them! Oh you’re right, I forgot, today is Sunday! Wow…we’ll be late for church!
10) You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.
This one is pretty self-explanatory, but please note the word “COVET.” If it is NOT yours, then leave it or them alone. It’s that simple!
I have heard people state, “I never break the Ten Commandments.” Really? Have you ever had a bad thought about someone? Watched that pretty girl or boy, just a little too long? Watched a pornographic video? Hated someone for hurting you? Backstabbed a person for a promotion? Told a “little white lie?” Had an envious thought of something someone else has and you don’t? Ever wanted to kill someone for hurting or deceiving you? And these are just a few things, because the list could go on and on! Go ahead and put yourself in any of these situations and you will probably find, you have been there before!
So…what do we call these things…SIN!
Each and every one of us has been there, we are all SINNERS and that is exactly the point of the Bible! Gods Holy Word to you and me points out that each and every one of us is guilty of SIN! It is this SIN in our lives, acted on or just thought upon that separates us from the Lord God Almighty! Here’s something that happens all too often: “Well, I wouldn’t think of SINNING like them! Bunch of ingrates!”
And the name of this most insidious SIN is PRIDE! The wrong sort of pride!
No one ever thinks to ask the question, “Is there anyone that is better or worse than me?” The Bible specifically tells us: “God is no respecter of persons” and “God created all men equal in HIS eyes!” Have you ever sat down and thought about that perspective? God Almighty created everything, even all the materials for your house, cars, clothes…even your money!
Therefore, taking this into account…YOU don’t own them to begin with, they belong to God! If that is the case, then you, in all your wealth are no better than the man pushing the broom. The question comes down to this: Are you going to listen to what other men tell you, or are you going to listen to God and HIS Word?
Matthew 10.28: “And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”
I am going to reiterate some things God has said before. “Death” is NOT the end…but it helps a lot, if you belong to Jesus Christ. Reread the verse above. Dying as a human is the point of no return! If you have given your life to Jesus Christ your SIN is covered by HIS blood from the cross — then you are safe! You will be with Jesus Christ at the point of your death or the Rapture!
IF…you have never given your life to Jesus Christ, if you have never asked for your SIN to be forgiven of you and covered with HIS blood from the cross, then you are indeed in more trouble than you would ever be able to conceive in your finite mind!
You, my friend are indeed headed for hell and eventually the lake of fire! Problem is, there will be NO END to it. There is NO HOPE of ever getting out! It is most important for you to realize, YOU make this choice, for yourself!
Matthew 25.41: “Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.”
Revelation 9.2: “And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit.”
In NO way am I saying I am better than you or anyone else! What I am saying is that there is a decision to be made by each and everyone of us! Will you follow Jesus Christ or will you follow Satan and his ilk? That is the question! The first will have you in heaven for eternity and the other will have you in the lake of fire for eternity! Again it is YOUR CHOICE…choose well!