Unfortunately, the big news in my town is that a local pastor was arrested for trying to solicit a prostitute. You may be expecting me at this point to go off in an angry rant against this man, but my reaction is just the opposite. My heart is broken for him. This man was deceived! He was deceived in so many ways. He was deceived to think that he would get away with it. He was deceived in thinking that seeing a prostitute would somehow cure whatever desire he was trying to fulfill.
Even though I have never met the man, I am trying to understand his motivation. What would drive a pastor of a church who has a wife and three children, to risk all of that for a temporary physical pleasure? Obviously, you don't just wake up one morning and say, "I think I will see if I can hire a prostitute today." There were a thousand small steps the man took in this direction before getting to this point.
Maybe he was hurt repeatedly by people in the church. Maybe he was overworked and burned out on the ministry. Maybe he had allowed his marriage to begin falling apart. Maybe he hadn't prayed or read God's word for himself in months. I don't know what emptiness he was trying to fill up, but something drove him to this point.
I was reading this morning Paul's encouragement to the young pastor Timothy, "Keep a close watch on how you live and on your teaching. Stay true to what is right for the sake of your own salvation and the salvation of those who hear you." This instruction is so simple to understand but much more difficult to live out.
Paul understood how the enemy works. The enemy knows that the best way to get us into some "big" sin is to get us to agree to a lot of "little" sins that will lead us in that direction. Paul is saying that the "little" sins are just as damning as the "big" sins. He instructs us to keep a close watch out for those "small" compromises, because each one leads us to a bigger one.
Paul also tells us how high the stakes are for us. He says not only is our salvation at stake but also the salvation of those who we have influence over.
My challenge to you is that you will never be able to avoid sin either "big" or "small" on your own. It will only happen as we rely on the power of God's spirit. If you are a follower of Jesus Christ, His Spirit lives inside of you and is the only hope we have to stay on the right path.
Additional Resources: Exit Ramps
Click on the above link to read an excellent blog on this topic by Pastor Steven Furtick.
Good Stuff Pastor Brad.
ReplyDeleteThat is a great word Sir Singleton. It is ironic that I just got done reading the whole book of 1 Corinthians, and had to do a book report on it. And I truly believe that this book helps bring light on this situation, even though this is not the only book that deals with this problem. But I want to complement my comment through this book.
ReplyDelete"Another thing that Paul addresses, is the biggest sin of this world and ties it with the most important thing that God has given us. 1 Corinthians 13:13, “ Three things will last forever- faith, hope, and love- and the greatest of these is love. But what is the biggest sin in the world in the time of Paul to our time now on earth. Since this sin does not change, we can find it in 1 Corinthians 6:18, “ Run from sexual sin! No other sin so clearly affects the body as this on does. For sexual immorality is a sin against your own body.” Sexual sin was and still is the hardest sin to deal with in this world today. This was in my own perspective was the root of all the Corinthians church problem. Paul addresses this in four to five chapters in his first letter, which his letter was only sixteen chapters to begin with, so that means almost one third of 1 Corinthians dealt with this topic. But the greatest gift is of course love as it says in 1 Corinthians 13:13. That whole chapter is defining what love is. If you don't believe me just read 1 Corinthians 13, and you will truly know the definition of love." ~Kelton Sparky
It says in 1 Corinthians 6:15-16, "15 Don't you realize that your bodies are actually parts of Christ? Should a man take his body, which belongs to Christ, and join it to a prostitute? Never! 16 And don't you know that if a man joins himself to a prostitute, he becomes one body with her? For the Scriptures say, "The two are united into one." "
I gave you some scriptures on what the Bible says, which this would be the Truth part of Sir Singleton's teachings, but now lets shine some light on this matter.
It is so cool that when Paul addresses the Corinthian Church. He tells them what they are doing wrong, but then he builds them up to do what is right.
"The admirable thing that Paul did was he addresses both issues. But I love it how he saves the best for last. He talks about what you need to change in your life and how to deal with it. And after Paul gives his lecture on the topic. He then tells you what you can do to change and gives them the knowledge of knowing what the most important gift is. In a Psychologist perspective, Paul used negative reinforcement, but then gives them a positive reinforcement to build them up. He points out you clearly know what is going wrong, and I will tell you why it is wrong. But now I am going to breathe life into you, and build up your foundation to help you become more like Christ." ~Kelton Sparky
Yes he sinned. But my prayer is that he will repent of his sin, and ask God for forgiveness. Taking everything to the cross is so important to do everyday in your walk with God.
" Remember their is always an exit to temptation."~ Brad Singleton and his sermon on Exiting Temptation. You just have to find it, and call upon the name of the Lord.