COME TO YOUR SENSES

COME TO YOUR SENSES

I Cor. 15:33-34 ...Don’t be fooled by those who say such things, for bad company corrupts good character. Come to your senses and stop sinning. For to your shame I say that some of you don’t even know God.  NLT

       Some of the people in the church were advocating a lifestyle of sin. They were saying that because they were in Christ they could enjoy the pleasures of sin without worry. They were content to rest in grace and not deal with sin issues they had. They were like so many of us today.

      Somehow we have gotten the idea that because we live in grace sin in our lives is not that big of a deal. We aren’t as conscious of sin as we once were. We don’t care as much today about sin as we did in previous generations. We are more prone to dismiss or overlook sin in our midst. We justify ourselves because of grace. We allow ourselves to hang around with those who are living in sin. We aren’t bothered about where we go or what we do. We aren’t as sensitive as how others affect our character as we once were.

       One of the reasons why the Apostle Paul held the church accountable for their tolerance of sin in their midst was because he knew how it would tarnish and damage the character of those who were godly in the church. Because of our tendencies to not make waves, we are prone to lower our standards to accommodate those who are living in sin. He knew that instead of the faithful building up the unfaithful by their example, the unfaithful would tear down the faithful by their example.

      It is easy for sinners to hide in the church when the church doesn’t expose and deal with sin in her midst. It is easy for sinners to justify their sin when the church doesn’t speak out about sin. Is it any wonder that the Church is moving down the slippery road of self-destruction?

       I am not advocating a return to legalism. We do live in grace and are not bound by the law. However, we are not free from the law in the sense that it reveals sin in us and forces us to deal with it if we are going to be right with God. The standards of the law are very high and it is impossible for anyone to reach them, which is why Jesus came to be our Savior. But living in grace does not mean we can lower our standards. We must constantly strive to reach the standards of grace revealed to us in Christ Jesus. There is no room in grace for a lifestyle of sinning.