“Sanctified Sins”
March 8, 2015
Philippians 1:27
“Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in the one Spirit, striving together as one for the faith of the gospel”
When I became a Christian it became clear to me that I was not to “smoke, drink or chew or run with women that do!” Right from the get go I knew this was God’s will for me. So I repented of those things. I turned from them. My life immediately changed in those areas. It was a testimony to the power of God to change a life. But I knew I was not perfect by any means. I knew I had a long way to go. I knew God didn’t want me satisfied where I was at.
It seemed to me that growth in the Lord, or walking the Christian way, was an uphill struggle. If I stopped trying –I was swept backwards spiritually. It seemed to me that living for the Lord was kind of like swimming upstream in a river. When you stopped reaching forward – you were swept back; when you neglected the relationship it began to grow dim; when you stopped feeding the fire – you cooled off.
We have to keep feeding the fire – don’t we? This is one of the hardest things we do. It is so easy to give in to our lazy, fallen flesh. We just don’t do anything. And then we excuse ourselves. I call these ‘Sanctified Sins.” We may not live a sinful, depraved life; we may continue to look spiritual – even ACT spiritual, but in our hearts we have lost the fire. Some Christians excuse this weakness. They develop all kinds of doctrines and theology to excuse their lack of passion and Christlikeness. Sinfulness becomes the new norm; weakness becomes the standard; Apathy become the attitude. REALLY? This is your religion?
God knew we have a tendency to do lose our passion. The Bible says,
“Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.”
Romans 12:11
Ever been there? I know I have. This morning I want to begin by telling you to 1) Acquire the Fire. It’s a choice isn’t it? Jesus began His early ministry by telling us this in His very first public message. He said,
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” Matthew 5:6
We need to have a hunger to do the right thing. We need to have an unquenchable thirst see the right thing done. That is what Jesus was saying. I don’t know about you – but I don’t need to choose to be hungry – I just am. I don’t need to think, “I think I will be thirsty now” I just am. It is just part of having physical bodies. God designed us to feel hungry or thirst when our bodies physically need replenishing.
It isn’t quite like that spiritually. We can starve ourselves to death spiritually. So the Bible tells us,
“For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 2 Peter 1:5-8
Do you see that it takes effort on our part to grow? Not only that but these godly graces need to continue to grow. When we stop feeding our hunger physically – we die. When we stop pushing forward we lose our momentum and stop. When we stop exerting effort to grow we begin dying spiritually.
The Bible says,
“ And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” Hebrews 11:6
Do you see that we must choose to believe that he will reward – not half-hearted effort; not complacency; not laziness; not even busyness – but earnest effort? Are you giving real earnest effort in seeking God? We need to. We need to acquire the fire – we need to acquire the passion we once had.
Another sin of the sanctified is quarrelling. We need to 1) Acquire the Fire, but we also need to 2) Quit the Quarrelling. They did it in the early Church. The Corinthian Church was known for being shallow and immature and quarrelsome. Paul wrote,
“You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? 1 Corinthians 3:3
What causes quarreling? Have you ever thought about it? Basically it is because you do not get your way. People don’t live up to your expectations. James asks,
“What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight...” James 4:1-2
Have you ever watched a couple little kids at play? It usually doesn’t take long before one wants what the other has. Then quarrelling breaks out. As we mature we learn to share. We learn to sacrifice what we want for the good on the relationship. Spiritually, as we grow, we learn more and more to be “living sacrifices” (Romans 12:1)
Quarrelling is a pretty good indication of a person’s maturity – or lack thereof. If you are always quarrelling at home or at work or at church – you have a problem. It means you are selfish and unwise. The Bible says,
“Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels. And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth” 2 Timothy 2:23-25
We need to be passionate and zealous – but not quarrelsome. That is pretty hard for us to do. It takes maturity. We aren’t to have anything to do with foolish arguments. We must not be quarrelsome. We need to be kind – to who? EVERYONE! When someone opposes us we are to GENTLY instruct them. No one wants to listen to someone who is harsh and abrasive to them. Dale Carnage’s first chapter says, “Any fool can criticize, complain, and condemn—and most fools do. God’s Word has a lot to say about this subject.
“Fools show their annoyance at once, but the prudent overlook an insult.”
Proverbs 12:16
“A quick-tempered person does foolish things, and the one who devises evil schemes is hated.” Proverbs 14:17
“Anyone who is patient has great understanding. But anyone who gets angry quickly shows how foolish they are.” Proverbs 14:29
“The hearts of those who do right think about how they will answer. But the mouths of those who do wrong pour out evil.” Proverbs 15:28
“It is better to be patient than to fight. It is better to control your temper than to take a city.” Proverbs 16:32
“Avoiding a fight brings honor to a person. But every foolish person is quick to argue.” Proverbs 20:3
“Foolish people let their anger run wild. But wise people keep themselves under control.” Proverbs 29:11
Carnage says, “I have come to the conclusion that there is only one way under high heaven to get the best of an argument— and that is to avoid it. Avoid it as you would avoid rattlesnakes and earthquakes.”
That’s pretty good advice. Whether it is at home; at work; or at church – we need to be mature enough; wise enough; disciplined enough to never argue or quarrel. The Bible says,
“Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky.”
Philippians 2:14-15
Folks, we are to ‘shine like stars’. We sure aren’t shiny when we are grumbling and complaining and arguing. If you see someone doing that, realize they are immature and shallow and needs lots of patient love. You can be sure they are living an unhappy and lonely life as well.
So if you are caught in this trap – how do you get out? 3) Find the formula for spiritual maturity.
First, study your Bible. Find out what God’s will is and what he wants you to do. Don’t just listen to the pastor or read some book – go to the source. You have to discipline yourself to study. You have to choose to set aside time to study God’s Word. I wish I could do a personal Bible study with each one of you – but I can’t. I don’t have the energy or the time. So it is up to you. It is your responsibility to make it happen. The welfare of your soul and your family’s soul is up to you.
Secondly, be in constant prayer. Slip in and out of prayer throughout the day. Have such a close relationship with Jesus that you are always in His presence. Talk to Him about everything. “Pray without ceasing.” (1 Thess 5:17)
Thirdly, eagerly anticipate worship. Don’t neglect it. Don’t make Sunday worship a convenience. Make it a priority. The Bible says,
“And let us not give up meeting together. Some are in the habit of doing this. Instead, let us encourage one another with words of hope. Let us do this even more as you see Christ’s return approaching.” Hebrews 10:25
There is always so much to do. There are so many reasons to skip Church. But it is important to God and it is important to us. Listen to this incident.
“32 The Israelites were in the desert. One Sabbath day, people saw a man gathering wood. 33 They brought him to Moses and Aaron and the whole community. 34 They kept him under guard. It wasn’t clear what should be done to him. 35 Then the LORD said to Moses, “The man must die. The whole community must kill him by throwing stones at him. They must do it outside the camp.” 36 So the people took the man outside the camp. There they killed him by throwing stones at him. They did just as the LORD had commanded Moses.”
Numbers 15:32-36
WOW! This guys was cutting firewood instead of going to worship. The punishment? Death. Now, there are other reasons for this harsh punishment. God had just given them the law and this guy choose to consciously and willfully ignore it. It was not so much the act as the attitude that caused the punishment. Still – Worship is important. We ought not neglect it. It is the expression of our love for God.
1. Acquire the fire, 2) Quit Quarreling 3) Find the Formula
If you do these things I can guarantee you - Life will be so much better. Your relationships will be better; your life will be more joyful and you will have more power than you have ever had before.
