Matthew 5:14-16 “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”
Last Sunday, Pastor Herk reminded us that we have been called not to hide our light under a bushel basket. As disciples of Christ, we are to be open in our Christian faith for all to see. We live in a time when almost daily we hear of some group or individual bringing that which has always been known as sin out of the closet and declaring it normalized and good. They were shamefully indecent thoughts and behavior that were morally and socially wrong or evil in the eyes of God and harmful to society and the culture, yet monitored, defended against, held in check, hidden and only done in darkness. We didn’t have to hear about them or see these lewd, crude and rude offenses. 1 Corinthians 6:13 “Now the body is not for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body.”
When it comes to sin in our life, the best thing to do is examine ourselves, shine the light of God in the darkness of our closet, exposing the sin, confess it, repent of it and take them to your merciful and loving God for removal in the open. 1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” You cannot hide your sin from all-knowing God, who looks at your heart. Trying to hid sin in the closet of your heart makes the darkness inside you that much stronger, believing that you are going to get away with it, adjusting to the guilt from that sin which you are carrying. You tell yourself that your sins don’t really mean that much anymore.
Unfortunately, many Christians keep their Christian faith in a closet. If you were on trial for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you? You wouldn’t know that they were biblically sound Christ-followers by watching them because their faith is back at home in the closet or in the four walls of the church in private. They are afraid to admit and live out their faith in public because they are afraid of the criticism from an unbelieving secular society. They a fear of offending the lost and dying world on the highway to Hell by sin, but have no problem offending God in Heaven, who forgave our sin when we repented and accepted Christ, and commands us to boldly be salt and light in the world. People should look at you and see by your actions, speech and love that you are a Christian.
The Lord Jesus commissioned His disciples to go make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you. Yet, many use the maxim of “don’t talk about politics or religion” to keep their mouths shut. It is balderdash that there are two major issues that shape a person’s life and they say that we are not supposed to discuss them.
Let's continue Pastor Herk's message on "closet Christians" in the next post.
In Christ, Brian
No comments:
Post a Comment