Jesus loves the little Children!

Just a short 27 verses into the book of Genesis we learn that God not only made man.  More specifically Moses is careful to tell us that God made man “in His image”.  That caring act of creation set man apart from all of the rest of God’s creation.

In Psalm 139 we learn that God has continued His loving act of creating man by uniquely creating each individual person.

Psalm 139:13-14 - For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.

We were formed by God’s own hand.  Knit together.  And the Psalmist says that our having been created by God in such a way that we were created to praise Him.  He says, I praise you BECAUSE I am wonderfully made.

Made in God’s image, we were created to praise God.  That is man’s chief purpose.  God created us so that we would freely praise His Name!  Yet, the Bible tells us in Genesis 3 that man has a dire problem.

Romans 3:23 says that we have all sinned and fallen short of God’s glory.  In other words, because we have all sinned, we have all failed to meet God’s standard of perfection.  And we are not just a little below the mark; we are woefully short of giving God the glory He deserves.

Our job as Christian parents is to teach our children what they were created for.  They need to understand that they were created to worship God. But our job is not a simple one.  We compete with their attention against TVs, iPods, video games, and a culture that increasingly pushes them to grow up quickly and grow up focused only on themselves.

Every human being was created to worship, and every human being worships something.  Our job is to point our children towards the only One who is worthy of our worship; urging them to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ.

The question then becomes one of how?  How do I lead them towards Christ?  How do I show them their need for and the value of a life lived for the glory of God?

Well, the key is to teach them God’s Word.  Use the principles from God’s Word to train them.  For example, the 10 Commandments.

It is so important that you teach your children the 10 Commandments.  God’s Law, the 10 commandments, is there for a myriad of purposes.  Chiefly, it shows that which God requires in order to be properly worshipped.

However, as we examine our hearts in light of each commandment we quickly realize that we have not perfectly met any of God’s requirements.  But in doing this the Law shows us WHO we are.

We are a people prone to give room in our hearts to other masters besides Christ.  But the Bible says in Luke 16:13 that our hearts can only have one master. 

The second thing God’s Law does is show us WHAT we need.  The Law commands us to do good, and then proves that we cannot and have not.  To do what the Law requires we need righteousness.  A righteousness that we obviously do not possess given our frequent transgression of it.

Next, the Law reveals WHO God is.  He is our Lord and our Savior!  His giving of the Law was intended to point us towards our need for CHRIST because HE and HE alone is the perfect fulfillment of all of those Laws that we could not keep.

Being perfectly righteous Jesus kept every Law perfectly on our behalf!  As we teach our children God’s Law they should see that they need Christ!  That God sent Christ to lovingly rescue them from their sin!

As we teach our children the 10 Commandments God will show them that their every violation of it or any one that they will ever commit has been absorbed by Christ on the cross!

The world tells our children that people should accept them just as they are, but the reality is that the world creates systems that force them to earn any acceptance that they may want. 

But teaching our children God’s Word teaches them that God will truly accept them just as they are.  Not because they are good, not expecting them to be perfect. 

No, the Bible teaches that God will accept them because He is satisfied by His Son’s sacrifice that was made on their behalf.

Not only that, but God’s Word teaches that God will put His very Spirit within them and that Spirit will begin to work in them so that sin’s reign in their life is broken as He begins to transform their lives! 

He transforms them and frees them from the burden of their guilt and sin and it frees them to be the worshipper that God has created them to be!

Remember our text in Psalm 139, I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made!  We have to teach them the beauty in having been created by a good and holy God.

But it will not do to simply teach these things to them.  That is the quickest way to produce self-righteousness in them.  We must not only teach them God’s Word, we must also model it for them.

Our kids have to see that we too love Christ and His law.  They need to see in us a wholehearted response to God and His Word to us.   Our lives must not only demonstrate the pursuit of obedience to God but they must also demonstrate the response we should have to disobedience.  Our children need to see us striving to obey Christ, and when we sin and fall short they need to see us repent. 

When your children observe your sin.  Maybe you blow your top and scream at them.  Maybe you speak harshly to your spouse in front of them.  Maybe you get cut off in traffic and they witness you saying terrible things about the person who has offended you. 

When those things inevitably come up, be transparent with them about what you’ve done, why you know it was sinful, and why you need to repent of that sin.  Make it your goal to not only tell them about the importance of trusting Christ but show them how that looks in your own life.

Psalm 1:1-2 - Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither.

When you pass one day, and your children inherit your possessions… what will you pass on to them that is of lasting value?  What will they remember about you?  The greatest legacy you can leave your children is one that teaches them to flee from their sin and trust in the sufficient grace of Jesus Christ.  They need to see and know that your delight is in the Lord alone!

Pondering the Death of Christians...

For about the last six months our church has been going through a season filled with many tears.  Over the last six months we have had to say 'goodbye for now' to dear and beloved people from amongst our membership.

All of this has of course placed the topic of death and final moments freshly on my mind. 

With each death I have sought to provide some comfort from Scripture for the grieving family and church family members.

All of that has led me to a few glimmers of hope extended to those mourning the death of a Christian.

 

Death for a believer is NECESSARY

That seems a bit obvious to say since we know that every living person one day experiences a physical death.  However death must come for a believer so that they may begin to enjoy that which has been promised to them. 

It is written in 1 Peter chapter 1 - [3] Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, [4] to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, [5] who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. [6] In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, [7] so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. [8] Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, [9] obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

As hard as this is to hear in a moment like this, we ought to seek to rejoice through our tears when a believer passes because they have now begun truly living.  The departed Christian now experiences true life.  Eternal life!  That which they had become truly persuaded of; that their sins had been forgiven by Christ.

Having entrusted their soul to a Savior who had caused them to be born again not to a vain or dead thing, but a Living Hope! 

We can rejoice in the face of the loss of a loved one who knew Christ because we know that they now experience a life that is unlike anything we can possibly know while in this body of flesh.

Believers live with an expectancy and trust that they will see Christ.  Christ so conquered death that He not only rescues those who trust Him from their sins but He also guarantees them life in Him.

Job 19:25-27 - [25] For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth. [26] And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God, [27] whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another.

Death, for a believer, is also TIMELY

While we cannot prepare for it no matter how much we are aware that it is coming, no one dies before the time that God has appointed for them to.

Hebrews 9:27 - [27a] And just as it is appointed for man to die once,

The time of all our deaths has been set by God Himself.  We can take comfort in knowing that God brings His children home to Him at the proper time.

Although we would seek to keep our loved ones near us for our whole lives, we rest in knowing that no one dies too soon or by accident.

Further, the believer never dies too late.  Rather they depart this world for their home in Heaven has been prepared and is ready for them to dwell in.

John 14:1-3 - [14:1] “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. [2] In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? [3] And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.

Death for a believer brings time in the house of mourning

 Now you may be wondering how this could possibly be a good thing? 

Ecclesiastes 7:2-4 -  [2] It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting, for this is the end of all mankind, and the living will lay it to heart. [3] Sorrow is better than laughter, for by sadness of face the heart is made glad. [4] The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.

I have learned far more from seasons of great sorrow than many seasons of mirth put together.  It is in the times of sorrow that we most learn to grow in grace.   Death brings a sharpness of mind that presses believer's to think about their own coming departure.  

It forces us to ask the hard questions like, 'Am I loving my family well and do they know how much I love them?', 'Am I leaving a legacy of Christlike faith for my loved ones to remember me by?', 'Am I making the most of every moment of this life God has given me?'

Those are not questions that we tend to ask in times of joy because we assume, in those times, that all of those answers are 'yes'.  But when we are walking through the death of a loved one, through the tears, our minds sober up and think on those things which actually matter.

Believers can find it better to  be in the house of mourning because of what it reminds us of:

Lastly, the death of a believer is a SOUND REMINDER for us all.

For Christians:

For those of you who are believers, you have every reason to rejoice that you too will one day not only be reunited with your loved one but even more amazing that that, you will also one day see Christ face to face!

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 - [13] But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. [14] For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. [15] For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. [16] For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. [17] Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. [18] Therefore encourage one another with these words.

We are to encourage one another.  Be assured that as we hurt through the deaths of believers we can also be reminded that God’s promise to bring us home to eternity is coming to pass!  

The death of a Christian is another reminder that God is faithful.  He has said that those who are in Christ will one day leave this world and go to be with Him and as Believers die, we can see that this is true!

We do not hope in vain, rather we have become persuaded from the heart that God is true and that Christ has paid our sin debt so that we can be fully pardoned and reconciled to God!

For Unbelievers:

If you have never come to Christ having turned from your sin having sought His forgiveness. 

May I say to you that are in great peril!  You have every reason to fear your appointed death for just as it has been appointed that you too will die, you will face God’s judgment.  Judgment for your manifold transgressions.

Hebrews 9:27 - [27] And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment.

The Bible says that we have all fallen short of God’s glory.  All of us have broken God’s law and become like one who is unclean.  Your sins are not just your mistakes nor are they merely mistakes. 

They are all your lies, lusts, envies, jealousies, blasphemes, hatred and they are all acts of treason against a Holy and Just God.  All of them justly condemning you before a Him. 

But God in His mercy has extended to you His grace that if you will confess your sins and turn to the goodness of Jesus Christ, who has died to pay your sin debt, God will forgive you because of Christ’s merits and grant you forgiveness, eternal life, and the peace which passes all understanding.

Pastor's Bookshelf: "Blood Work" by Anthony Carter

Over Spring Break I had the opportunity to catch up on much of the reading I have been putting off due to a busy schedule.  One of the books I read was Anthony Carter's "Blood Work".  As Christians we talk about the blood of Christ, we sing about the blood of Christ, and we use Biblical phrases that mention being made clean and pure of our sin by the blood of Christ.  But have we thought deeply on the blood of Christ?  Have we spent time pondering all that the Bible says about blood and specifically its necessity in atoning for sin?

Carter has thought very deeply on this very subject to give an in-depth and engaging explanation about the multifaceted benefits of Christ's blood shed for us.  I was exhorted to great joy many times over what Christ has done for me by washing me in His blood.  I believe you will be as well.  He explores everything from the obvious sin cleansing benefits to the implications that this should have on our every day lives.

This book is available from Ligonier.org and Amazon.com.  I highly encourage you to pick it up today!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Reformation Trust Publishing through their Blog for a Free Book Program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

5 Things I Learned By Staying Away From Facebook

When my family and I decided to take a vacation this Spring Break I also felt convicted to put all social media (such as Facebook and twitter) away for the entire time. Don't get me wrong. I think Facebook can be a very handy tool for Christians. 

As a Pastor I use it to post great quotes I come across, books worth reading, articles worth a look, warn about wolves, encourage/exhort brethren near me or in other countries. 

I post A LOT; albeit when I post an article I'm typically not on Facebook, I'm on a blog or news site and posting from there... even still.

I had to know whether my usage of Facebook had become an addiction/possible idol in my life.

The first couple of days, anytime I found myself in a moment where nothing was going on (waiting for my kids to finish eating... Standing in a line... Driving to our destination) I would grab my phone and reach my thumb towards the FB icon stopping just shy of pressing it.

I wasn't doing it from an obsessed desire to see what people were doing or to show all my friends what I was having for lunch... I was doing it because I wanted to fill the time.

By the end of day 2 it had become way easier. The urge was gone and I couldn't care less.  Day 3-5 I began noticing the things that I will detail below.  Sufficing to say here that by day 3 of no facebook or other social media it was actually quite easy to stay away.

Will I keep my facebook? Most likely. Will I continue to post so often?  Possibly on occasions but not nearly so much as before

This has helped me break the need to feel I have to check Facebook every 10 minutes (or less!!!).  

In fact, today being my first real day back online in the world of social media I have only felt compelled to log in to facebook just a couple of times and none during lunch rather than my usual every 3-5 minutes.

I HIGHLY encourage all of you to ask yourself: 'Just how dependent have I become on Facebook (or other social media)?'  Does the thought of giving it up even for a week sound like something you couldn't stand?

How about giving it up for good?  Yes or no?  I'm not saying you should deactivate your account, but if in your mind your thinking, 'I could never do that!'  My friend, you may have found an idol in your heart. Without further ado...

Things I learned from my Facebook Hiatus:

1.) Prayer time came much more frequently. I found out I was filling the free time with mindless facebooking which led to mass time consumption which equaled far less time spent praying and communicating with God.

2.) The time I spent in the Word was much more meaningful as I was not so distracted wondering who'd 'liked' my posts or who had done what that day.  It sneaks up to slowly, the desire to receive approval from others I mean. 

3.) I enjoyed more fully my time with my family. When I constantly check Facebook in the boredom time I sometimes miss my kids saying something to me the first time.  I also noticed I had far more patience in general. Don't get me wrong, I don't get upset at an interruption from Facebook, but I think the extra patience came from my brain not constantly being bombarded with my surroundings AND the Facebook world

4.) It isn't as much addiction as it is a constant effort to avoid boredom. Why do I feel I must constantly be entertained. A sound theology of rest is vital to my spiritual & physical health.   Rest

can also just be not filling my every short moment with something as much as it is taking an extended rest period such as a vacation.

5.) I fit in reading 2 books start to finish, each had at least 200pgs, and I retained more of what I read (no Facebook quote posting).  Two whole books!  Now I love to read, but absorbing two books in a week (after the kids went to bed and on our trip to and from our destination) is incredible for me.

Family Bookshelf: Parenting by God's Promises by Dr. Joel Beeke

There are countless systems for sale today that all aim to help parents raise their children to be productive members of society.  They teach everything from spanking verses timeout, punishment and reward systems, and numerous psychological approaches.  For any parent worth their salt there may be no greater fear than the fear of failure in raising your children.

That fear is amplified for Christian parents because we not only want our children to succeed in life but we also want to see them grow up to become men and women who love the Lord and lead their families to Christ as well.   The failure of most of what is found in parenting methods being sold today, inside and outside of Christendom, is that it seeks to address behavioral change as the desired goal of successful parenting.  But should that be the goal?  Dr. Beeke does not believe so and neither do I.

Rather than just working to change behavior (which can easily produce legalism in our children) we should instead be seeking to get to the heart of the behavior.  Change the heart of the child and the behavior will change as well.

In "Parenting by God's Promises" Dr. Beeke challeneges parents to adopt a method of parenting that is not new or trendy, rather it is the tried and true Biblical method of raising them up in the fear and admonition of the Lord and trusting God's faithfulness with the results.

For example, instead of being so focused on worrying about who our children marry, let's be equally concerned with teaching them to be "excellent spouses" and model for them what it means and looks like to be a faithful spouse.  Or rather than simply being angry over some infraction, let's sit them down and show them from Scripture why that decision they made was a poor one, a sinful one, and why God's ways are best.  Then, let's not hand out a retributive punishment, but a loving correction that serves to remind them of the lesson they've been taught about the Gospel and trusting God.  ((Yes that loving correction can include a properly administered spanking, not a beating out of anger.))

Further, we needn't try and coerce a decision for Christ out of them at the earliest possible age, but rather lead them to Christ and trust the God who saves to save them as He has saved us and countless others throughout the ages!  Let's teach our children about the God of grace who has so graciously offered up His own Son so that their sins could be forgiven in Him.

I highly recommend this book to any parent who is concerned with raising their child according to Biblical principles.

You can pick this up from Ligonier.org or Amazon.com

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Reformation Trust Publishing through their Blog for a Free Book Program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising." 

The snare of the flesh...

Exodus 20:14 - [14] “You shall not commit adultery.”

 

Commandment number 7 has everything to do with preserving our neighbor’s purity and the purity of ourselves.  This makes sense to believers for Proverbs 27:17 tells us that as iron sharpens iron so we are to sharpen one another.

We look out for each other's best spiritual interest at all times.  The perverse and immoral behavior that we see applauded on television daily is not new to our generation.  Man has had a propensity for sexual immorality from the fall.  Peter Hammond – “The sexual revolution is revolting in more ways than one.  It is an uprising against God Himself.  It is a rebellion against His sovereign authority and a rejection of the Law of God.”  Why?  What are the implications on society if this were not a commandment?  And how does this protect and promote liberty?  Well, the world would like you to believe that promiscuity is a private matter that doesn’t hurt anyone besides those involved.  So you shouldn’t get involved in it because it doesn’t directly affect you.  However, this is patently false.  The reality is that everyone pays for the private sins of others.  Don’t think so? 

Let me give you some statistics…

From 1973-2011 there have been over 54.5 million abortions in the United States alone.  In 2012, there were 9 abortions performed every four minutes.  That’s 1 abortion for every 26 seconds.  That’s only surgical abortions folks.  Because every birth control pill contains an abortifacient element to it, the CDC estimates that we can safely add 14 million chemical abortions done per year in the US.  From 2009-2010 Planned Parenthood received over 487 million dollars in government grants.  Where do you think that money comes from?  You and me.  The abortion debate has nothing to do with women’s rights and everything to do with sexual freedom.  People want the gratification of sex with 0 responsibilities.  What other consequences come from sexual freedom?  How about the rampant spread of STDs, AIDS, and broken homes that come from infidelity by one or both spouses. Single parents raising their children because the man who fathered them doesn’t want to be a parent.

Any pastor or counselor will tell you that adultery destroys entire families… not just marriages.  So what does Scripture say about adultery elsewhere?     

We are to flee from all forms of sexual immorality. 1 Corinthians 6:15-20
Galatians 5:19 says that sexual immorality is a deed of the flesh, not a deed of the Spirit. 
Lust, which is the core of adultery, is not limited to the physical act of adultery nor is it restricted by age.  Given the age of internet integration that we live in, pornography addiction, which is adultery of the mind, is affecting more than just the 20-30 somethings.  A recent poll revealed that men between the ages of 55-70 who use their computer to surf the web have confessed to viewing pornographic material as often as once a week.  Women in the same age bracket confessed to having used online chat rooms to flirt with internet strangers.  Half of that group said that they seek out old boyfriends on facebook and have had emotional affairs with those old flames.

So don’t think you are immune just because you have passed a certain age… Satan doesn’t care what age the sinner is, he just cares that he tempts people to sin…Although adultery is specifically mentioned here, there is a principle laid down, that believers are expected to live pure and holy lives.  Adultery resides not in the physical, but rather in the mind.  The battle for purity and holiness begins with the mind, not the flesh.

Matthew 5:27-28 - [27] “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ [28] But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

Jesus says that God sees lustful thoughts as adultery.  So for those who say they look but don’t touch, the Bible labels that person an adulterer.  It is a matter of purity.  By forbidding adultery God is protecting purity.  Purity both mentally, emotionally, and physically.

I showed you some statistics on murder, I would disgust you with further stats about STDs or grieve you with stats on divorce and such… but rather than that let me give you three reasons for obeying this law as it relates to promoting Christian liberty and see if that doesn’t provide a sufficient answer to our understanding.

1.) Obeying this protects purity

It is advantageous to be pure.  We are image-bearers of God.  God is pure and thus we are to be pure as well. Matthew 5:8 - [8] “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

Now, obviously sins has marred that image, but that doesn’t change the fact that we were created to be pure.  There is a speed limit on I-20 of 60mph.  I’ve hardly been on it once where people were obeying that law, should we remove all speed limits just because the majority break them?  Of course not!

Purity of heart consists of dedication to god.  At the core of the Gospel is the fact that we need to be cleansed and made pure from our sin.  So severe is the grime of our sin on our body and soul that it takes the blood of Christ to wash it off.  Pursuing purity is another way of saying that we are to pursue holiness.  After all, holiness is perfect purity.

1 Peter 1:16 - [16] …it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”

The dominant reason for su to pursue holiness and purity is because God is pure and holy and as Christians we are in relationship with Him.  We are to be holy because the Holy One has identified Himself with us in a work of His glorious grace.  Matthew Henry said that the calling of a sinner to salvation is a “powerful engagement to holiness”.  Obviously, obviously sexual purity is not the only area that we are to pursue holiness in.  But is there any other sin that can so adversely affect your body and life and the bodies and lives of others as lust and fornication?

2.) Obeying this protects the sanctity of marriage.

Why is that so important?  Let me give you a reason from Ephesians 5.  Ephesians 5:1-6 - Paul sets up there how it is that we are to “walk in love”.  That, he equates to being “imitators of God”.  We are to walk as Christ walked.  What did Christ do?  Verse 1 says that He loved us and gave Himself up for us as a sacrifice and offering to God.  How would that look in my life?  Well, we might say with Christ that we are to deny ourselves and take up our cross… or with Paul that we are to die to self or Ephesians 5:22-33

Adultery, the sin of adultery, directly undermines not only the purity of marriage relationships but it also distorts the Gospel.  Our marriages are to be a living illustration of the Gospel.  The wife is to submit to her husband as to the Lord; in other words, in like manner.  That submission points at honoring them from a principle of love for them; because God has ordained the husband to be the head of the wife.  As the church is to submit to the headship of Christ, so wives submit to their husbands.  You see the Gospel illustrated here?  Likewise, husbands are to love their wives.  Love then should be seen as a choice and not an emotional feeling.  How are husbands to love their wives?  As Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her!  Did Christ or will Christ ever abandon the church?  NO!  Did Christ or will Christ ever link Himself up emotionally, mentally, or physically with another bride?  NO!  Adultery, be it through the physical act, or a lust of the mind or even through flirting… damages the purity of marriage which damages the purity of the Gospel that we preach.  God designed marriage to be a union between one man and one woman that is not to be defiled by a failure for the wife to submit, or a failure for the husband to love, or divorce or any sort of infidelity.  Why?  Because Christ will not defile His relationship to His Father or us with a failure to submit to the Father, or a failure to love us, nor will He divorce us, nor introduce any sort of impurity to us.

3.) Obeying this shows practical evidence of the new birth

Holiness is the habit of being of one mind with God.  Pursuing holiness is marking sin in our life and putting it to death by the Spirit.  It is agreeing with God’s Word.  Loving what He loves and hating what He hates. 1 John 2:6; John 14:15

We must pursue purity in all areas because it most proves that we are born again children of God.  We must pursue holiness because our comfort and assurance depends on it.  “We cannot be too often reminded of this.  We are sadly apt to forget that there is a close connection between sin and sorrow, holiness and happiness, sanctification and consolation.  God has so wisely ordered it that our well-being and our well-doing are linked together.” – JC Ryle

Is there a greater comfort in this life than knowing we are secure in Christ?  I know of no such comfort!  And that is how observing this law is liberating for the believer, because as we are pursuing purity … pursuing holiness; particularly in this area of sexual purity of mind and body.  As we do that, we have a clear conscience before God, assured by the Holy Spirit.  1 John 3:21; Romans 13:5

So here do we go from here?  If you aren’t pursuing holiness, Christian, resolve afresh to chase hard after a holy life.  Or we might say, a Spirit-led life.  A life abiding in Christ.  John 15:4-5.  Abide in Christ, believer, Jesus said that if you abide in Him and Him in you that you will bear much fruit.  That will be fruit of holiness I assure you!

Do you want to attain holiness?  Are you lost?  Do you need Christ?  I assure you that if you are lost, then you certainly DO need Christ!  Along with a deep conviction of our sin comes a deep desire to be cleansed of it; that is true repentance.  Come to Christ, be forgiven and cleansed of all sin and be made holy in His sight by His blood.