There a lot of things that may be lawful for us. There are things that we can do that won’t get us in trouble with the law or with our neighbors and friends, but they are not necessarily good for our soul. They won’t edify us. Lots of things are lawful for us. Drinking alcoholic beverages, smoking cigarettes, going to nightclubs, being in an intimate relationship with someone outside of marriage, watching movies, surfing the Internet etc. But if it doesn’t edify the soul, then what’s the point? It’s a waste of time. Why waste our valuable time and money and endanger our health for it? Not to mention our spiritual health for it? If that drink causes us to stumble and fall or that movie causes us to entertain ungodly things that will defile our soul, then why do it? What good will it benefit us in the end if it ends up defiling us? Apostle Paul expressed his feelings about this. He tells us,
All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not. {1 Corinthians 10:23}
We have to be very careful what we entertain in this life. Just because we’re allowed to do it and we will not end up in jail or hurt ourselves, that doesn’t mean it will be good for us. There is such a fine line between sin and righteousness, salvation and spiritual death. If we’re not careful we could end up dying spiritually because we have defiled ourselves. Remember our God is holy and He desires to live inside of us. If we have accepted Him in our lives and have received His Holy Spirit, then He is living inside of us. The Bible tells us,
What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s. {1 Corinthians 6:19-20}
The Bible tells us that whoever defiles the temple of God He will destroy.
If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are. {1 Corinthians 3:17}
If we don’t keep our bodies and our hearts and spirits clean and available to the Lord, then He cannot stay long. And if He has left us and is no longer living inside of us because we have replaced Him with our desires for unclean things, then we have died. When Christ is no longer in our heart and in our soul, then we do not belong to Him anymore. It is just a matter of time before unclean spirits will be taking over us and we will end up loving the world more than Him. If we no longer love Him so that He cannot correct us and admonish us to stay away from unclean things then watch out, we have died. And if we have died to Him, the Lord will tell us someday, “I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” {Matthew 7:23} Far be it. God forbid. We might still think we know the Lord but if we have don’t have His Spirit anymore because the world is more important to us and has taken over our hearts, then He doesn’t know us anymore. We no longer belong to Him, but to the world.
That’s why it is crucial and imperative in our walk with God that we take the time to talk to Him and clear ourselves with Him all the time – confessing our sins, repenting, and asking Him to forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. This is a daily process. It is important we ask Him to fill us again and again with His Holy Spirit and to give us more and more of His power to overcome everyday, because on our own we could never do it. On our own we will never be able to resist this world. We are not strong enough. Satan on top of this seeks those whom he can devour. {1 Peter 5:8} Satan is very subtle. None of us can resist him unless the Spirit of God is within us. That’s why it is important that we talk to the Lord all the time and confess our sins before Him and be right with Him. This is our righteousness – our continual communion and talks with the Lord, our confessing of our sins and making our hearts right with the Lord. We need to tell Him our need of Him. We need to ask Him to deliver us from our love for the things of this world, and for loving ourselves more than Him. It is crucial in our walk with Him to listen to His dealings telling us to stay away from things that may defile us. If He is dealing with us in our hearts to stop watching a show or a movie, or to stop hanging out in a friends’ house because they cause us to fall, then we need to listen. The Lord will let us know in our hearts what we need to do when we’re always talking to Him. He will show us the way. We don’t have to be ignorant of Satan’s devices causing us to fall away from God. The Lord will show us and will lead us to His truth, if we’re looking to Him always in prayer and are desirous to truly live for Him. He will also give us the strength to resist the temptations, as long as we’re leaning and looking to Him for strength. If we’re asking Him to give us the strength and to keep us away from sin everyday, He will help us. Remember, we are not alone in this walk with God. He doesn’t want us walking on our own in this life. He knows we could never live a holy and righteous life without His help. So we need to be always looking to Him and talking to Him everyday.
Jesus is holy. Our God is holy. We must listen to His admonition to stay away from things that defile us, things we see or we listen to or even things that we talk about with our friends and loved-ones. The Lord hears everything. He sees everything. If He is living in our hearts then He sees and hears and feels everything we see, hear, and feel. Just because we don’t see Him or feel Him doesn’t mean He’s not there. He is very much aware of what we’re feeling, thinking, and seeing. So watch out. We can fool ourselves into believing He’s not there. But if we truly want Him in our lives, we will be paying attention to His dealings with us, and we will believe that He’s always there. When we believe He’s there and we are following Him, He will show Himself more to us. If we don’t want Him He will fade away. But it doesn’t mean He stops seeing or hearing and knowing what we’re doing and saying, because He will need to judge us someday. We will be standing before Him to be judged based on what we’ve done in our bodies, and what we’ve said and what we’ve done for Him.
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. {2 Corinthians 5:10}
But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. {Matthew 12:36}
And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. {Revelation 20:12}
If we want the Lord we have to choose Him over the desires we have for the things of this world. If we love Him and we want to follow Him, we have to start learning to shun this world and obey His voice – His nudging in our hearts. Things we love in this world might be lawful and might be all right and acceptable to the world, but if it doesn’t edify our soul then it is time to start shunning them away and shutting them off from our lives. It’s time to start denying ourselves, pick up our cross and follow Him.
And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. {Luke 9:23}
For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. {Philippians 1:21}
I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. {Galatians 2:20}
Prayer
Lord Jesus, thank You so much because You love us. You do not stop loving us just because we fall away from You. Your desire is for us to repent always and take up our cross and follow You everyday. Please Savior help us to do so. Help us to talk to You always and let You know our need of You, to help us to deny ourselves and follow You. We cannot do this on our own. We have no strength of our own. We cannot resist the power of this world and the enemy of our souls. We need You. That’s why it’s so important to keep talking to You. Please Father, forgive us of our sins. Cleanse us from all of our unrighteousness and make us holy and pure before You. Help us to be mindful of Your Holy Spirit when You are dealing with us to turn away from anything that is defiling us. Help us to turn off whatever it is that we need to turn off, whether the Internet or a movie or whatever it is that is snaring us away from You at the moment. Help us to turn away from anything that we need to turn away from, so that we can be holy and available for You always. Please Father, we need You. We are lost and nothing without You. We need Your power and Your strength to overcome everyday. I ask for all of these things Father in Your most wonderful name, Jesus. Thank You Father. Amen.
