3For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another.4But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared,5not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit,6whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior,7that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life...
That may not exactly be your biography, but there is a distinction between the heart that is right toward God and the one that is not. And, when we mix righteousness and unrighteousness, the holy and the profane, then we act in a manner detrimental to our relationship with God. If we call right what the Bible says is wrong, then we place ourselves in a state of spiritual risk and confusion. No matter what moral judgment we may make about certain behavior that we tolerate, we have to recognize that God's ways are right, true, and best for us - we must take heed that we do not compromise the authority of the Scriptures over our lives.
In Romans chapter 13, Paul gives some Scriptural admonition to check our hearts and our motives and to walk in the love of Christ, giving us the power to do what pleases Him and keep His commandments:8Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law.9For the commandments, "You shall not commit adultery," "You shall not murder," "You shall not steal," "You shall not bear false witness," "You shall not covet," and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."10Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.
An example of a violation of this principle is found in the story of a Nigerian pastor who has confessed to robbery in order to benefit his church. He, along with two others, have been arrested by federal officials, according to the Nigerian Daily Post website. The arrest occurred after law enforcement was tipped off that a group of robbers had hijacked a 25-foot container bearing 25 units of heavy duty outdoor split air conditioners. 22 units of the air conditioners have so far been recovered, while two had already gone missing and one damaged.
The pastor is quoted as saying that,
"I was arrested at Igando bus-stop for participating in hijacking and diversion of goods worth over N25 million. I have been engaging in these operations for years but after a while I stopped and invested proceeds from the operations in transportation.
“For about nine years, I didn’t participate in any of these operations because I had made enough from the operations until I received a call from God to serve him. I was doing well in my transportation business before I was duped by a woman.
“The reason I went back into robbing was to get money to expand the church of God where I pastor. If I had succeeded, I would have used the proceeds to build a house for God.”Here, the supposed end does not justify the means, and even if there may have been seemingly good intentions, you cannot justify breaking the law and violating God's commandments. That also applies to the Christian couple whose interview has been making the rounds recently. The Christian Post reports on a couple who have a rather odd wife-swapping and fitness "ministry." They believe they are not committing adultery because everyone agrees to participate.
Just because you attempt to place a God-stamp on immoral behavior does not justify it. These two examples are rather extreme, but there may be areas in our own lives where we accommodate and justify sin because we turn a blind eye to the Scriptures and even think that God condones behavior that stands in opposition to His precepts.
We live in an age where God's commandments are being compromised, and we must be on the lookout for ways that we are compromising truth in our own hearts. When we desire the things of this world more than the things of God, we are rejecting God's best for us. When we look for satisfaction in something other than the love of Christ, we have not regarded the Lord in His rightful place in our lives.
It's important that we make holiness a goal for us - recognizing that we have been given a new nature and have the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, we can be focused on thinking and behaving in a manner that is consistent with that new nature. We have to be careful that we do not accommodate sin in our hearts and minds and take the necessary steps to resist temptation, release the power of God, and repent of the sins that we commit, so that we can honor God and reflect His character in us.
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