Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul; 1 Peter 2:11
And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked: (For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;)
2 Peter 2:7-8
It was ultimately the stability of Lot’s righteous soul that was at stake; not the loss of it…Lot had placed himself in the place where he was, due to his own greed and covetous attitude; he wanted the green, fertile hills of Sodom (Gen.13:10-11). He did not take into account the ruin and wreckage it would bring to his soul. The things he saw with his eyes, and heard with his ears took their effect on his everyday walk with the Lord.
We must keep ourselves from becoming entangled with this world system so that we don’t put ourselves in the same spiritual position that Lot found himself in. The apostle Paul stated in 2 Timothy 2:4 that ‘No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.’ When we do this, we run the risk of becoming desensitized. The world around us can have a devastating and crippling effect on how we look at sin in our own lives and in the lives of those around us.
So how should we receive the world and how should they perceive us? Here’s what Jesus said: If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. John 15:18-19
Understanding that the world loves and attends to its own, we should be single-minded in our view and approach to the world by not loving it or embracing it in any way, shape or form. Scripture states implicitly that we are not to love the world, or anything that pertains to it (1Jn.2:15). In light of this, we should carefully order our steps in the things of the Lord and abstain from those fleshly lusts which wage war against our soul. (1 Pe.2:11)
The Cross of Jesus Christ is our only hope in this world. It is because of His victory there, that we can be victorious here. Placing our faith in Christ and His victory enables us to live above the the corruption and turmoil that embraces this world. Does your faith remain in Christ and Christ alone?
Thank you for the Cross Lord
Thank you for the price you paid
Bearing all my sin and shame
In love you came
And gave amazing Grace
Thank you for this love Lord
Thank you for the nail pierced hands
Washed me in your cleansing flow
Now all I know
Your forgiveness and embrace
What else can be said? Thank you for the Cross Lord!
That’s the Word! Take it with you. God bless you.