"Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God."- 1 Peter 2:16
This is a message I believe this country needs. People often like to believe that God's amazing grace permits us to sin all we want. Sorry to bust your little bubble, but the above passage tells you otherwise. We are given freedom through Christ, but the verse above should be pretty self-explanatory. Because Jesus forgives our sins, we are not given a 'free pass'. We are called to act Christlike as much as we can. But alas, "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."(Romans 3:23) We can never be perfect, but it is the effort we give to trust Him and maintain a personal relationship with Him. He has seen our hearts, which, honestly, are no better than a swampy abyss of sin. The amazing thing is- He still loves us, because all that sin has already been atoned for. We are to be free in Christ, free to love one another as God has loved us best as we can, not using our freedom to attempt to 'cover-up' the sin. While society may accept it, God does not.
"For this is will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people."-1 Peter 2:15
I love a good debate. I mean, I read in my Science textbook that Pascal was the original apologeist, and I said, "Hey, we've got his stuff on our bookshelf and I've never read it." And now I'm reading the works of Blaise Pascal. But, in real life, there are people out there who have claimed that God does not even exist. They will believe practically anything but that He does. It's sad, because without God, we are without purpose, so why insist on morals? It makes you want to snap out in anger at them, but, in truth, the Bible tells us exactly what to do. They can't deny if you're living a meaningful life, and if you point to God, well, there's honestly no sound excuse. People could make up any on the spot, but they all end up shattered. Ever heard the saying "do to others what you would have them do to you"?(Matthew 7:12) Even if they don't treat you well, you treat them well, and people will notice and their lives will be changed.
(note: If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all.)
And now, for some nerdyness... *taps fingers together mischeviously*
"One does not simply walk into Mordor. There is evil there that does not sleep."-Boromir, Lord of the Rings
I know J.R.R. Tolkien said that LOTR was not written as an analogy, but there's no denying it. This, I believe, can illustrate our fall into sin. You don't 'ease into' it, and it doesn't always just 'happen'. You make a mistake, and it can often lead to a domino effect. If you don't pay attention and just 'roll with it', you'll end up in Mordor, which is not a great place to be. This goes back to the first passage we discussed today. We are to try our best to let God stop the 'dominoes' from toppling.
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