Friday, 29th March 2024
To guardian.ng
Search

How to shun worldly traps- Part 2

By Pastor W. F. Kumuyi
15 September 2019   |   4:06 am
The fact attested to by scriptures is that the Lord can make a sinner a saint while he is still here on earth, contrary to the erroneous belief of false teachers.

Pastor W. F. Kumuyi

The fact attested to by scriptures is that the Lord can make a sinner a saint while he is still here on earth, contrary to the erroneous belief of false teachers. This He does by cleansing the sinner with the Blood of Jesus Christ and giving him the power to live above sin. Freed from sin, his new life in Christ affects his disposition, lifestyle, language, dressing, interaction with others, etc. The Lord demands purity and non-conformity with the world.

As a representative of Christ, Apostle Paul, who wrote the Epistle to the Romans, appeals to believers to “present [their] bodies a living sacrifice… unto God”. Presenting our bodies to the Lord means to consecrate and surrender our lives to Him. Satan is never happy each time a believer decides to offer his time, talent, treasure, life, skill, ability, etc. to the Lord. When Mary anointed the feet of our Lord with a very costly ointment of spikenard, Judas Iscariot was not happy.

As we lay our lives on the altar of service, we should not be distracted by Satan and his human agents but be firm in our decision to serve God. A songwriter succinctly put it thus:

I have decided to follow Jesus…
No turning back, No turning back!
Though no one joins me, still I will follow…
No turning back, No turning back!
The world behind me, the Cross before me…
No turning back, No turning back!

The world will try to entice us to conform to its system and standard; it will strenuously attempt to distract us from preaching the gospel by engaging us with such pleasurable pastime as sports, games, politics, traditions, etc. But we must be watchful and diligent in our commitment to please the Lord Who owns our body, soul and spirit. If we accept Christ as our Saviour, we must obey all His commands and surrender to Him without reservation.

Believers need to appreciate Christ’s love and sacrifice in dying to save them from sin and assure them of a blissful eternity. Their commensurate response is to willingly render acceptable service to God. And such service can only be acceptable if we are not conformed to the world in fashion, politics, duplicity, deception and diplomacy.

For our service to be fruitful and rewarded in time and eternity, it must be selfless. Seeking pleasure and men’s praise will render our labour and service to the Lord worthless. But when we seek His glory and exaltation in everything we do, the Lord will surely reward us. We must be as selfless and faithful in our commitment to serving God as Christ, our Lord did. “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus”. And like Apostle Paul, we should always “count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord”. If we remain unwavering in loyalty and consecration in serving the Lord till the end, He will surely reward us.
Further Reading (King James Version): Romans 12:1,2; 2 Samuel 15:15; 1 Kings 20:4; 2 Corinthians 5:14,15; John 12:24-26; Philippians 2:5-8; 3:7-10; Matthew 6:24; John 13:13,15.

In this article

0 Comments