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God
tells us that we should not associate with the ungodly.
First we must understand what the word associate means.
It means to spend time with someone. The intransitive
verb means to connect with the mind. Connect one thing
to another as in a friendship with someone. When we bond
with someone we then are connected as friends or we even
have a deeper relationship. To join as a partner in any
activity we are connected with the same mindset.
Matthew 13:31-42 speaks to us about the people we chose
to keep company with. Let’s take the example of the
mustard seed. The Kingdom of Heaven is like the
smallest seeds of the mustard plant. When they are
planted and germinate they will become a very large
plant. If not pruned, they will grow into the size of a
tree where even a bird can find shelter among the
branches. Jesus also uses this example. When baking
bread, women will put a measure of yeast in with the
flour. This then will permeate the whole of the mixture.
This tells us that if something or someone is in our
midst then the sin they carry could, if we are not
always on guard then Satan will attack. So in order to
be prepared for the on slot of evil we need to put on
the full armor of God. That is the word of God and we
need to carry it in our hearts. Ephesians 6:11
Jesus
was forced to drag a wooden pole to Calvary to the hill
called the skull. Golgotha the Place of the Skull, in
Aramaic pronounced Golgotha. This is where He was beaten
so bad that He could not be readily recognized. His skin
was torn apart so much so as to expose the bone under
the flesh. He hung there for us He paid the price for
our sins the sin of today and those that have taken
place along with the sins we are yet going to commit.
Matthew 27:33 - Mark 15:22 – John 19:17 – Luke 23:33
Jesus paid our price and we are now in His hands for
safe keeping. God the Father has burdened Jesus the
Christ with our care.
When
Jesus spoke He would often speak in parables. Matthew
10-11 in this manner when he spoke to His chosen they
would be able to understand Him better. Not necessarily
the others who do not choose to embrace Him. Using
illustrations was a way for most to remember what they
had heard Him say. He would use at least one
illustration when speaking to crowds. It had been
prophesied; I will speak in parables, I will explain to
you mysteries that have been hidden since the beginning
of time.
The
Kingdom of Heaven is like a farmer who planted his field
with all good seeds. At night while he slept, a cunning
and deceitful person crept into his field and planted
thistle amongst the wheat. When the crops began to
mature the thistle also grew. When the farmer’s hired
hands saw this they told the farmer that his choice crop
was full of unwanted thistles. They wanted to know if
they should pull them out. No exclaimed the farmer for
you could harm the good crop also. Let them both grow
and I will tell the reapers at the time of harvest to
separate them from each other, cast the thistle in the
fire to be burned up and place the good growth in the
barn for safe keeping. This is when there are sinful
people all around us. We can resist the beckoning call
of the world with the armor of God we will not be
overcome by the sin that is all around us.
His
followers asked Him why He spoke with the illustration
of the thistles and the flour and yeast used to make the
bread. Responding He said all right then, I am the
farmer that sowed the choice seeds. The world is the
field and the seeds represent the people of the Kingdom
of God. The thistle represents all the people that
belong to Satan for they have turned their backs on
good. The bad seeds are those that were sown amongst the
good seed by Satan the evil one. The end of the world
will come and the angels will be the reapers. Just like
in this story the thistles are separated and burned, so
will it be when the end of the world comes. God said I
will send my angels and they will divide the bad seed
from the good seed. The evil ones will be cast into a
furnace and consumed by the flame. There will be
gnashing of teeth. 1st Corinthians 5:5-8
the evil men will be cast from the midst of the
fellowship of the Christ.
The
scripture definitely shows that just by the fact that we
keep company with the ungodly we are subject to the
infection of sin, even as innocent as our contact may
be. We subject ourselves to their sin. Just like the
yeast in the bread dough spreads throughout the dough,
eventually their sin will take hold of us. We should
present the gospel to them.
Tell
them what God wants for them. God wants that no man
would perish but that all humanity would come to Him and
give up sin. Man in his selfish greed and lust will turn
his back on God and succumb to the allure of sin with
the worldly trappings, fornication, lying, cheating,
adultery and drunkenness along with a myriad of other
sinful actions and thoughts.
What a
terrible thing we do when we boast about our being free
from the sins that others are doing yet we associate
with undesirable evil men of the world. Do we not
realize that if those that we are around are sinning,
sooner or later that sin will affect us and everyone
around us? This evil cancer, this wicked person must be
removed from among us. This must be done so that we do
not get infected. We must remain strong in Christ, the
Lamb of God, who was slain for us. Let us feast upon His
word, remaining near Him, growing strong in our life as
a believer in Him. We must leave behind us the old
cancerous life with all of its hatred and wickedness
that we once were a part of. Instead let us feast upon
the Christ and His infallible word. Deuteronomy 13:4
informs us that we are not to have any other gods before
our God Jehovah, obeying His every word clinging to Him
with all our might. Keep in mind that many have a
different god than we. To some their god is money, to
some it is sex, yet some it is a sport that they are
infatuated with. We all have a void within our hearts
that we long to fill, but some go off and take in the
trappings of the world instead of putting Jesus in their
hearts. Do we not feel that it is sad that we can hear
God’s word and come away with out the word of grace in
our hearts? It is a good thing to share with others what
we have learned from the word of God and listen to
others about what they have experienced from reading the
word of God.
We can
see in Romans 8:14-19 where we are reminded that if we
are God’s children we are led by the Holy Spirit and
should not be like cowardly fearful slaves. We should
behave like we are God’s children, for we are if we have
asked Jesus into our lives to take control of it. We are
His very own children adopted into the protection of the
family of God. He is our heavenly Father and we can call
on Him at any time. The Spirit of God speaks to us deep
within our hearts telling us we are His children. Being
His children, we share in the treasures that He freely
gives to His Son Jesus. If we are to share in His glory
we are also to share in His suffering. What we go
through now to accomplish our service in the army of God
is nothing compared to the glory we will receive from
Him later. All of creation is patiently waiting
for the day when He arrives to take us home with Him.
Never more will we feel pain, anguish fear or
discomfort. It will be a glorious day when we are all
joined with Him.
Romans
13:11 informs us that another reason for us to live a
life worthy of a child of God is that time is running
out for us. The time left for us individually is much
closer than it was when we first believed. The night is
near over and the day of His arrival will soon be upon
us. Quit all those evil deeds of darkness and put on
the full armor of God for the right kind of living. Stay
away from evil and the bearers of sin who lie, cheat,
steal and those who commit adultery, murder and other
sin against God. Avoid the things from the darkness but
live in the light of Jesus not the darkness of Satan,
the father of lies.
We
should ask the Lord Jesus Christ to help us to live a
life worthy of a child of God. Do not make plans to
expose yourself to sin and the things of the dark. We
need to look at Luke 17:10 to see that when we are doing
what we are called to do we need not expect to receive
any special treatment or praise for doing our duty as
His child. Ephesian 5:4-7 states that dirty stories,
foul talk, and coarse jokes are not for us. Instead we
should remind each other of the goodness of God and His
plan for us. The Kingdom of God will never be in the
grasp of those who are impure or greedy trying to
satisfy their own lustful pleasures or idol
worshipers. Do not even associate with a person that
worships the attraction of sin more than God.
No
matter what sin we have committed God’s grace is
sufficient to cleanse us from any sin that we have
committed except the sin of denying the Holy Spirit. The
existence of the triune God cannot be ignored. So then
if we are truly regretful of any sin(s) we have, then
The God who created us will no longer be able to see the
sin for it is concealed by the blood of Jesus. See
Matthew 12:31-3
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Jim Brown |
