I spoke last week on a cruise and returned with a doozie of a cold that I’m now in the process of fighting. I have read that the older you get, the less you are subject to colds. Why? Because since there are a hundred or so different types, by the time you reach my age, you’ve had most and built up antibodies to them. In other words, you only get ones you haven’t had before.

Well, so much for the science—or pseudo science, as it may be—I haven’t bothered to look up the facts behind what I read, since they are of no practical value to me except after catching a cold. It’s true, however, that I had many more colds when younger than now. In fact THIS IS THE FIRST IN YEARS.

But unlike colds, the amount of sin in your life doesn’t cease with age. I wish it were like colds in that respect. It’s true that you do build up a sort of antibody to particular sins by replacing habits of sin with habits of righteousness (an expression borrowed from J.I. Packer, to whose writings I owe much). The problem is, the older you get, the more reflective you get, and so, the more you begin to recognize within yourself sins that previously, you may have never even considered such. While you may grow in spirituality, as a part of that growth you also grow in spiritual discernment, which enables you to look down nooks and crannies that you may have missed before.

So, while age has its spiritual advantages (some day I may write about them), many of which you’ll never recognize until you approach 90 or so, you can be sure that you will have to go on overcoming sin in your life. So—the lesson? Learn how to do so early! (see Winning the War Within)

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Give me one reason for what you’re doing.

“Well, I think that it’s a useful thing to do. Perhaps we can stop the abortion legislation.”

My friend, do you, as a Christian, believe that aligning yourself with Mormons, Roman Catholics, Muslims and Greek Orthodox people is the right way to solve the problem?

“I suspect so. Why not? After all, there are several well-known Christians in the group.”

Is that your standard of faith and practice—what famous people do?

“Well, no. But they seem convinced that it’s right. I’m sure they have their reasons.”

Do you know what they are?

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When you come down to it, so far as God is concerned, there are only two ways:

His—and all others.

And, when He commands something, He’s deadly serious about it. There’s no kidding about it. No fudging. No substituting. No negotiating. No bargaining. No persuading Him otherwise.

What He commands, He expects you to obey.

Christian, Have you been trying to get around some known commandment of God?

Tricky business, I’d say.

Not wise to attempt it; in fact, not even smart. To be entirely candid, why not go all the way and say it—it’s stupid!

Have you ever read Proverbs, carefully? If so you will agree with me.

So, are you being stupid or not? That’s the question.

If so, why continue on such a path? Wise up; God will have His way in the long run—if not sooner.

And, you know what? You’ll probably like it a lot less than the way you’re avoiding now!

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Most savvy Christians know that the prohibition to judging in Matthew 7:1 has to do with wrong judging, and not with judging altogether.

“I didn’t know that!”

Sure. In John 6:27 Jesus commands us to judge a righteous judgment. And, here in Matthew 7, he explains that he is speaking about the one who does not first take the log out of his own eye before he removes a splinter from another’s. That comment presupposes he will judge once he has dealt with his own sin.

“I guess I hadn’t connected that rightly.”

Yeah. But there are a couple of other things in the passage that also ought to be noted.

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Can you say with the apostle Paul, “Be imitators of me?” (I Corinthians 5: 16). If you can, congratulations!

“Well, I’m no apostle, so I doubt it.”

But those to whom he was writing were not apostles either. So he must have meant something short of that. Otherwise, they couldn’t have obeyed his command.

“Hmmm . . . I guess that’s true.”

And if and when any of the Corinthians did as he ordered them (notice that the statement isn’t anything short of a command) they too would be in a position to tell others the do the same (omitting, naturally, the apostolic authority that was behind Paul’s words).

“You mean if I learned to imitate Paul, I ought also to be someone that other Christians could also imitate?”

Right. And what a blessing you might become to many of them!

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The first name by which the church was known before the word “Christian” became attached to it at Antioch, was the “Way.” You can read about it in Acts 9:2; 18:25; 19: 9, 23; 24: 14, 22 (and possibly II Peter 2:2).

“What is the meaning of that title?”

Well, no one is quite sure how it came about. The name just appears in Acts without explanation. As you can see, no point is made about it in the passages above. But many think it came from the words of Jesus When He said, “I am the way, the truth and the life” (John 14: 3).

“But, if it came from that verse, what about the other two items—truth and life? ”

That’s a good question, but remember, Jesus went on to say, “Nobody comes to the Father except by Me” (6). And these words all occur in a discussion of the “way” to the place that Jesus was preparing for His followers (v.3). So, it’s quite likely that John 14 is the source of the name.

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In taking on the inconsistencies of Jews who claimed to be God’s people, but who had actually broken covenant with Him, Paul asks this question:

You who find idols an abomination, do you rob temples?
                                                                   Romans 2: 21

“I’ve read that before, but it doesn’t seem to make any sense. What is this ‘robbing temples’ all about anyway?”

Good question. Are you sure you don’t understand?

“Absolutely. I know what a temple is and what robbing is, but can’t seem to put the two together.”

Well, Paul is pointing out that those who were so concerned to be religiously correct in one area—if they thought more carefully about themselves—might discover that they weren’t so righteous after all, and needed the saving grace of Jesus Christ to cover their sins and cleanse them from all unrighteousness. In Romans 1 he laid out the reasons why Gentiles were sinful in God’s sight and needed to be saved. Here, he mentions ways in which the same is true of Jews. And, then, in Chapter Three concludes that “all [Jews and Gentiles alike] have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3: 23).

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A preacher can go wrong either way. As so often is the case, it’s easy to stress one side of a truth or obligation only to minimize the other. We are lopsided thinkers and livers.

“You can say that again!”

O.K., I will: “We are . .” No, I don’t want to go there. Let me make my point: In Acts 20: 28, Paul told the Ephesian elders,

Pay attention to yourselves and to all of the flock . . .

It’s possible to do the one while neglecting the other. There are elders who care little for the flock; there are elders who care little about their own spiritual condition. Either way, there are flocks that feel the brunt of it!

“I can see that. Either way, the flock gets cheated, fails to grow, and may even wander astray.”

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There are two ways of looking at it.

“At what?”

At anything—or, if you prefer, at everything.

“How’s that?”

Pretty simple as a matter of fact.

“Really?”

Really.

“Please explain.”

Thought you’d never ask. There’s God’s way and there’s man’s way. Every issue in life can be viewed from either perspective. Indeed, we always do view things in one way or the other. The problem is, too often—even Christians—view matters from man’s, rather than God’s perspective.

“Don’t the two ever coalesce?”

Only when man accepts and adopts God’s view of life and how to live it. In Isaiah 55:8, God says “My ways are not your ways and My thoughts are not your thoughts.” That pretty well sums up the problem. We can’t expect God to adopt our ways and our thinking; the only way we can come to agreement is if we make the changes necessary to conform to His thoughts and ways.

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With whom do you associate? Associations are important; probably far more important an influence for young people than most of us. The book of Proverbs speaks about harmful associations with all sorts of unsavory people, but perhaps the clearest New Testament injunction along these lines is found in I Corinthians 15:33:

Don’t be misled; “Bad companions corrupt good habits.”

The interesting assertion that this statement makes is that even after a believer has learned what J.I Packer calls “habits of holiness” (See his Keep In Step With The Spirit) it is possible for him to lose them. Compare Solomon’s youth and old age. And there are contemporary preachers of the Word who in their latter days we have seen wander from the faith. If you trace it back, you’ll frequently find that it was the influence of someone else that brought about the sad result.

Influence is a very expressive term. It pictures something flowing in. There will always be something flowing into individuals who have a close relationship. The question is what will flow, in which direction? If the believer is not influencing the unbeliever to lead him to Christ, it’s likely that he will be influencing the believer in wrong ways.

It is easy to be “mislead,” as Paul observes. We may think we are influencing the non-Christian when all the while the opposite is taking place. It is probably safe to say that, in almost any long term close relationship between a Christian and one who isn’t, the believer will be wrongly influenced.

So . . . be careful not to be misled!

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The fact that the Scriptures warn us about the many ways in which we can fail the Lord is a great blessing.

“Right. I don’t know if I could have made it this far without royally messing up my life if I hadn’t listened to some of those warnings.”

Sounds like you’ve profited from reading the Scriptures.

“You can say that again.”

Rather than doing so, may I quote one verse that seems to cover the lot?

“Sure, go ahead. I’m listening.”

Here goes:

So then, let the one who thinks that he stands watch out lest he fall.
                                                           1 Corinthians 10:12

“You’re right. It’s comprehensive. I think it would be good to copy it and post it in a place where I could see it every day.”

Now, that’s a good idea.

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Be imitators of me as I am of Christ.
                                                  I Cor. 11:1

“Why would Paul say that?”

I assume because he thought that they needed to do so—just as we do today. We all learn by imitation from our earliest to our last days. It’s unavoidable. So, we’d better imitate the right persons.

“Yes, but what I mean is why not simply tell the Corinthians to imitate Christ? How come he puts himself into the picture?”

Well, the passage doesn’t tell us.

“Right. But do you have any idea about it?”

Yes. But, of course, I can’t be absolutely sure.

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So you want to change.

“Yes, I’d like to, but I’m not sure that it’s possible. I keep trying, but then find myself going back to my old ways again and again.”

You are a Christian?

“Yes. I believe that Christ died for my sins and rose again from the dead.”

Well, then, there’s every reason for you to expect to be able to change. Jesus is deeply concerned about helping believers change. Listen to this:

. . . as the One Who called you is holy, you yourselves must become holy in all of your behavior
                                                                      1Peter 1:15

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That’s the entrepreneur’s goal. He invests everything he can in order to get a good return. How strange, then, that when it comes to the most valuable thing in life he entirely changes his goals.

“What are you referring to?”

His view of profit and loss.

“How does he do that?”

Well, he stops thinking of gain when it come to his spiritual destiny.

“Explain, please.”

Certainly. Listen to this: “For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain (Philippians 1: 21). How many business men do you know who think that way—”to die is gain?”

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What would you do to change your patterns of

• Church attendance and participation?
• Bible study methods?
• Witnessing to your neighbors and family members?
• Giving to the Lord’s work?
• Spending your time more profitably?
• Helping out those In need?
• Caring for the sick?
• Counseling those in trouble?
• Raising your children differently?
• Spending your money on things that count?
• Being more careful about your use of time?
• Considering what you watch on TV, what you read, what movies you see?
• Giving more consideration to developing the right relationships?

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