Does Lent Make Us Closer to God? Part 2

Real Repentance Must Be Permanent!

Romans 12:1-2 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. (2) And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

Paul says that we are to present our bodies as a living sacrifice.  I have always seen this statement as a comparison to the sacrifice of Jesus’ death, but I also think it applies to the time frame for which it applies.  As long as we live, we must present our bodies as a sacrifice to God

Revelation 2:10 ...be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life. 

Matthew 24:13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. 

As Paul tells the Christians in Rome, change must first start in the mind or heart.  There MUST be a renewing.  That renewing is a recognition of the danger and outcome of sin.

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

I think that my wife’s view of snakes is the way that God wants us to view sin.  My wife HATES snakes.  There is never an imaginable situation in which my wife would EVER find a snake and then try to get as close as possible without getting bit.  She is not like the Crocodile Hunter, who would pick it up and describe how beautiful it is.  Instead, if she sees it...She RUNS FOR HER LIFE!  Sin should never be tried.  Sin should never be approached.  We should Flee from it!

The “sacrifices” that people make for Lent are ONLY intended to be temporary.  Once that Lent season has ended, they will indulge again in the things that they temporarily gave up.  In fact, a couple of websites that I used to research this topic suggested that the treats given by the Easter Bunny was a result of this practice.  Many taught their children to “give up” candy for Lent and then to celebrate the end, they indulged in Easter candy.  As we saw in yesterday’s RTS, what God expects us to sacrifice for him are the behaviors, lifestyles and thought processes of sin.  But those sacrifices must be real, not symbolic, and they must be permanent.  It is counterintuitive and simply not genuine to plan to return to the life of sin after symbolicly giving it up for a short period of time,

If we truly want to please God, we must make real changes in our lives.  If we genuinely desire go have all of the blessings that God has to offer his servants, we must dedicate our lives to living in the manner in which he desires.

Matthew 7:13-14 Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: (14) Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. 

Reflecting His SON,  

Dennis Hogan

Minister, North Hardin Church of Christ

dennis.hogan@icloud.com

1804 Sam Stewart Dr.

Radcliff, KY  40160

Questions, comments or  further explanation?  Contact me at:  dennis.hogan@icloud.com

If you have friends, family, or acquaintances that you feel could benefit from RTS, please forward 

their e-mail address to me and I will add them to my mail list.

It Only Takes One!

James 2:10-11 For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. (11) For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law. 

Our minds tend to think in compartments.  In doing so, we like to think that one compartment has nothing to do with another.  This way of thinking, unfortunately, allows people to believe that they are faithfully serving God, all the while holding on to a “favorite” sin.  Some of the “hypocrisy” in the church comes from this way of thinking.  I think there are a number of people that truly believe they are faithful, yet living in a lifestyle of one or two sins.  They generally feel that because they are striving to live the Christian life, ‘this one problem in my life won’t be that big of a deal’.

But James tells us this process of thought is IMPOSSIBLE!  One sin is a big deal!  We are told very clearly that if we break one law, we have transgressed the whole law of Christ!  Continuing in any sin, big or small, simply continues us in a lifestyle of sin.

For those that are puffing up thinking that they are in great shape, consider this passage.

James 4:17 Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin. 

Christianity is not just a refusal of sin, it is also a propensity to do good whenever possible.  A failure to proactively do good is a sin, so even if one is dedicated and conscientious about refusing sin, they can fall victim to being guilty of offending the whole law simply for doing nothing.

Let us not hold on to any sin in our lives.  Let us recognize sin for what it is:  A danger to our spiritual lives, and then learn to flee from it...All of it!