Make The Right Choice

Theme: Make the right choice

Text: Gen. 18:1-10; Col. 1:15-28; Lk. 10:38-42

Life is all about making choices and what happens to us depends on the choices we make. The choice of what to eat and drink, the choice to go to school, the choice to take drugs, the choice of who to marry and the choice of what our career should be. There is the story of William who left home at sixteen to seek greener pastures in the city. He came from a poor home and all he knew was how to make soap and candles. When William arrived in New York he made the choice to work for a soap manufacturer even though there were better paid jobs around. In spite of his meager wage he never forgot to pay his tithes. In a short time he became part owner and later owner of the soap company. As he prospered he gave more and more till he was giving almost his entire income to God. This is the story of William Colgate, the soap and toothpaste manufacturer who was the first to put toothpaste in a tube. He made the right choice by going to work in a soap factory and putting God first in everything he did. This is the greatest choice that confronts us in the world. The choice to submit to God or not has a great effect on our lives, not only in this life but also in eternity.

Everyone in the world is confronted with different choices that lead to different outcomes. No one needs to teach a child to make wrong choices as every child is born that way because of a sin nature inherited from Adam. “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned”. (Rom. 5:12). We are not sinners because we sin; we sin because we are sinners. The sin of Adam made us sinners and led us into the prison of sin and no matter the amount of good we do we remain in the prison or place of sin. Sometimes we even believe we are doing the right thing when in fact we are doing the wrong thing. “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death”. (Pro. 14:12, Pro. 16:25) Instead of asking whether what we are doing is good or bad we need to ask ourselves whether what we are doing will result in life or death. The most important choice in the world is the choice to follow Christ. This choice leads to life. Coming to Christ frees us from the prison of sin to a place of righteousness in Christ. Every right choice we make here leads to life because it always agrees with the Word of God.

God made man in His image and likeness and therefore gave him the right to make choices. Adam and Eve had to make a choice to obey or disobey God. They chose to disobey God and lost their place in the presence of a righteous God. They became slaves in the prison of sin. When God chose Abraham he obeyed God to leave his homeland Haran for a new place where he would be able to maintain and develop an intimate relationship. By the oaks of Mamre a relationship was already developing and Abraham knew that the Lord was the source of his blessing and he would receive far more that he could ever give to the Lord. What could be compared to a child in your old age when all your life you have desired to have a child? Worship is only appropriate response in the presence of the Lord. Abraham responded to the Lord’s presence with worship. Giving is an act of worship and the Lord delights in our worship. Let us make the choice to follow Christ and worship Him.

The choice to follow Christ is a decision. It is a decision to accept Christ as Saviour and Lord because of what He did for us. He was crucified and shed His blood to pay the penalty for our sin that we might be saved even though we did not deserve it. There is only one way to be delivered from the prison of sin and that is through Jesus Christ. “For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead”. (1 Cor. 15:21) We cannot choose to follow Christ and continue to live a life that is controlled by a mindset that is contrary to the Word of God. We need to renew our minds and bring it to conform to the Word of God. A mindset that is contrary to the Word of God is a reference to our mindset before coming to Christ. It is a mindset that agrees with the deceptions of the devil. To follow Christ demands living a life in accordance with the Word of God. God is Spirit, the Word of God is spirit and obeying the Word of God is to walk in the spirit. The Law pointed us to sin and to the need for a Saviour. The blood of Christ makes us righteous and empowers us to lead righteous lives”. (Rom. 8:4”