Do not be deceived:
"Evil company
corrupts good habits."
Awake to
righteousness and do not sin;
for some do not have
the knowledge of God.
I speak this to your shame.
1 Corinthians 15: 33
-- 34
Paul
earlier in hisletter wrote: "Your
glorying is not good. Do you not know
that a little leaven leavens the whole lump?... I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep company with sexually
immoral people.... But now I have
written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually
immoral, covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an
extortioner -- not even to eat with such a person.... "Put away from yourselves as evil person" (Deuteronomy
17: 7) (1 Corinthians 15: 6; 9; 11; 13a).
Jesus spoke in regards to people who fit that category that Paul
established so that we who are attempting to keep the congregation clean from
evil practices would know what to do:
"And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church,
let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector" (Matthew 18:17). Paul goes on then to say: "Awake to
righteousness and do not sin." Why? Because they do not have the knowledge of
God! Yes Paul did say that he was
speaking about people within the church and that our keeping apart from wicked
people from the world was not possible and he did say to us: that if we were to
separate from those wicked people outside the church we would have to be
removed from the world. Paul reverts
back to the writings in Deuteronomy were people were saying let us eat and
drink for tomorrow we die (verse 32) so that people were indulging their
appetites, and shrinking back from all hardships, for they only saw that death
at any rate would soon end their pleasures so they inferred a denial of
the resurrection. Unfortunately, as so
often is the case, people are deceived by the pretenses of false
teachers. Even the heathen poets taught
that evil communications, or the familiar converse of those who taught falsely
and pernicious principles would corrupt good manners. Bad company, and I don't mean just being around another person,
for company can also include being involved in situations or events whereby a
person is in company with evil people and we have from the Old Testament in the
book of Proverbs a wise saying: "He
who walks with wise men will be wise, but the companion of fools will be
destroyed" (Proverbs 13: 20).
We examine all things through Scripture, not just prove scriptures but
taking in the whole of Scripture and so we must examine how we are to live
especially when we are told: "Then
Jesus said to His disciples, ‘If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny
himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me" (Matthew 16: 24). Who has priority in your life? You, your way, or following Jesus Christ at
any cost? This is a serious matter? Let us see what Jesus stated: "He who loves father or mother more
than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who
loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and
follow after Me is not worthy of Me" (Matthew 10: 37 -- 38). “Awake
to righteousness and do not sin;”
there it is in a nutshell for we are to no longer continue living in sin for if
we think that we can continue to live in sin with out God condemning us then
we are not reading the scriptures: "For if we sin willfully after we
have received the knowledge of the truth, they're no longer remains a sacrifice
for sins" (Hebrews 10: 26).
The apostle in writing to the Corinthians and the Holy Spirit having inspired
Paul to write what was necessary for the Corinthians also had this written for
us that we are to become righteous persons.
We are to remove ourselves from the state of indifference, and the evil ones,
and false security that are deluding a person.
How often is it that people were so puffed up with their opinions and
their doctrines so that they seem to be superior in knowledge? It is evident in most cases that there is no
humbling, sanctifying, or even saving knowledge of God, and their communications,
their lives are corrupting others. This
should make us feel ashamed that this is ignorance of God, a leading to a
disbelief even on the resurrection and future life. And giving a person a false sense of security that they can
attend anything, every events they wish to go to, and go where ever they wish to go
with out feeling that they are not faithful.
Too often, when you live in a world in which we live here in the United
States we get a false sense of security because we are not exposed to hardships
and sufferings that other people in other parts of the world are undergoing so
we think that God is giving us some sort of special blessing. Maybe He is! But, why would he bless a person who is not denying themselves,
picking up their cross, following after Jesus Christ, are they then if not
doing so not worthy of Jesus Christ? People
are too often looking for some sort of recompense or reward. Oh!
People will say I'm not an atheist!
Yet, they live their lives in a schism or dichotomy whereby they allow
some things that God does not and allow other things that they feel that God
would bless him for doing so. So what
do we do? Let us set forth to venture
ourselves on this one single thing; be a testimony of God and of His Son Jesus
Christ. Let us not associate with
people who are skeptical because they do not have the knowledge of God, those
ungodly people, but that is around all of us especially children
and young persons. We need to shun those people who are nothing more than a pestilence. Let us awake to righteousness and not sin;
let us not listen to those who know not God.
No matter whatever science they may excel in, albeit they are
ignorant of our Creator, our preserver, and our Redeemer, for if we don't do
this we will prove shameful to everyone who knows about us or sees what we do
and if that is in line with what we say.
This will take courage! But we
do have the help of the Holy Spirit who will support us, guidance, in
everything we do for our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Arise, cry out in the night,
at the beginning of the watches;
pour out your heart like water before the face of the Lord.
Lift your
hands toward Him for the life of your young children,
whose faint from hunger at the head of every street.
Lamentations 2: 19
God has invited you to His great banquet
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