Maranatha - Awaiting Christ's Return

1 Cor. 15:52  In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

Tag: Galatians 5:19-21

What’s Stopping You From Salvation? Day 10 – Fornication

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On February 3, 2023

In Devotionals, What's Stopping You From Salvation?

Gal 5:19-21  Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,  (20)  Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,  (21)  Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

Good morning, Reader! My heart is saddened because of the decline of morality, not only in the U.S. but in the entire world. Some countries have legalized prostitution and others don’t even bat an eye when couples live together rather than get married. It breaks my heart to see the beautiful institution of marriage breaking down because of men’s sinful hearts.

Today’s sin of fornication falls under sexual immorality but is further defined as:

The incontinence or lewdness of unmarried persons, male or female; also, the criminal conversation of a married man with an unmarried woman.

Incest. 1 Cor 5.

Idolatry; a forsaking of the true God, and worshipping of idols. 2 Chr 21. Rev 19.

Noah Webster’s 1828 Dictionary

Isn’t it interesting the Mr. Webster used the word “incontinence”? We imagine it to relate only to the elderly who cannot control their bodily functions. But it’s use here is very pertinent, in my opinion. It means that an unmarried person cannot control his/her desires! I also find it interesting that the Greek word for fornication is:

πορνεία
porneia
por-ni’-ah
From G4203; harlotry (including adultery and incest); figuratively idolatry: – fornication.

Yes, it is derived from the same English word for pornography. We covered this in part in a previous post on “Sexually Immoral” but we’ll unpack it further here. Fornication is as serious a matter as adultery! Sex outside the bonds of marriage is a sin. Today, people live together without thinking twice about it; what’s extremely disturbing is that this sin exists amongst Christians! Reader, does God consider this a sin or not? We must turn to the Word of God for our answers! We cannot simply do as the world does and think it’s OK. We must have a spiritual plumb line in our Christian walk. Do you know what a plumb line is? Look to your left. Builders still use a plumb line to ensure the building is vertically straight. The building is not straight, as we can see by the plumb line next to it. The plumb line is directed toward the earth’s center of gravity which never changes; however the building, erected by man, isn’t straight at all. Had the builder used a plumb line, he would have seen his error. Friend, the Bible IS our plumb line. Just as the law of the land is what guides citizens, the Bible guides its readers. To top it all, the Bible is considered truth from God!

(1Ki 17:24)  And the woman said to Elijah, Now by this I know that thou art a man of God, and that the word of the LORD in thy mouth is truth.

(Joh 17:17)  Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.

(Rom 3:4)  God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged.

(Psa 12:6)  The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.

The world has lost its spiritual plumb line and has been deceived into believing that the Bible is no longer of moral value. The father of lies is the devil (John 8:44) and his efforts to deceive have not changed since the beginning of time. He’s an expert at it! He convinced Eve in the Garden of Eden that God “didn’t really mean what she thought He meant” but that he, Satan, knew better than God!

Gen 3:1-5  Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?  (2)  And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:  (3)  But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.  (4)  And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:  (5)  For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

God’s Word IS truth, Reader! There are way too many Bible verses that state this, written by different men, to ignore! (2 Sam 7:28, Psalm 119:160, John 17:17, 1 Kings 17:24, Psalm 19:9, Psalm 119:43, Psalm 119:151, 2 Cor 6:7, Psalm 119:142, Matt 22:16, Mark 12:14, John 18:37, John 5:32, Rom 2:20, Gal 2:5, Eph 1:13, Col 1:5, 2 Tim 3:16, 1 John 2:8, Rev 21:5, Rev 22:6, 1 Kings 22:16, Dan 8:26)

So you must decide for yourself whether God’s Word is true or not. If you say you are a Christian, are you being deceived as Eve was? She walked with the Lord in the Garden and yet she was still deceived. If you’re willing to continue in sin, then you must ask yourself if you are a truly a Christian or a “Christian” in name only. 2 Cor. 5:17 says that once you are saved, your old life passes away and your new life is formed. The Holy Spirit convicts us of sin and changes us from within. Any sexual sin is serious in God’s eyes. How do I know this? I know this because of today’s verse. God categorizes the person who commits this sin as one who will not inherit the kingdom of God. (Galatians 5:21)

The sin of fornication is summed up as: anyone who has sex outside of marriage. Why is marriage considered so holy? Marriage is holy because God ordained it. Marriage is holy when it is Christ centered. A holy marriage produces children who are loved and who have a father and a mother.

Heb 13:4  Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge.

Remember, the devil does the exact opposite of what God does. Therefore, if marriage is God ordained, then fornication and cohabitation is Satan ordained. Marriage to the devil doesn’t have to be between a man and a woman. If the devil manages to destroy marriage, then he succeeds at hurting God and destroying God’s image in the sight of man! Remember when he tempted Jesus in the wilderness? Satan tried to distract Jesus with the world’s temptations. Jesus responded with Scripture! Then Satan tried to get Jesus to worship him! Again, Jesus responds with Scripture and said:

Mat 4:1-11  Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.  (2)  And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.  (3)  And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.”  (4)  But he answered, “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”  (5)  Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple  (6)  and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, “‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and “‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’”  (7)  Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’”  (8)  Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.  (9)  And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.”  (10)  Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, “‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’”  (11)  Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him.

Remember Gen. 3:5  For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. The devil wants to take the place of God and this goal is exposed to us in 2 Thess. 2:3-4. Of course he’s going to try to deceive you to believe that God is not God at all and that none of the Bible is true. If God is not all about truth (as the devil tried to trick Eve into believing in the Garden), then what God says about those who commit these sins is not true either. But why take the chance? What if everything in the Bible is true???

There will come a time when it will be too late for you to repent. You will remember each opportunity you were given by God to be saved; you will remember each time you laughed it off and ignored it. You will wish you had not committed the sin of fornication and kept yourself until marriage. Please Reader, if you are guilty of this sin, it’s not too late. Repent of it and accept Christ into your life. (Act 16:31, Rom 10:9) I want to be sure that anyone who reads the posts on this blog can know beyond a shadow of a doubt that they are going to Heaven. Have you received Christ as your Saviour? If no, your sins are not covered by His sacrificial offering of Himself. You have not been redeemed by His blood. God will do what He said He would (Ecc. 3:14). It is no coincidence that God has placed you here for such a time as this so that you may be saved if you are not already. Please click here and the link will open up in a separate tab to You Can Be Born Again and Know It!

What’s Stopping You From Salvation? Day 9 – Adultery

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On February 1, 2023

In Devotionals, What's Stopping You From Salvation?

Gal 5:19-21  Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,  (20)  Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,  (21)  Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

Good morning, Reader! Some may think I have fallen off the deep end when it comes to this topic but it is one that needs to be covered whether we want to hear about it or not. Who is going to expose sin if we as believers don’t? Have you ever heard of Jonathan Edwards? He was one of the great preachers involved in the First Great Awakening in the U.S. during the 18th Century. His famous sermon, Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God is probably one of the best sermons I have ever heard or read. It would help you to read it and understand that although God is a God of love, He is also one of judgment and He will judge all sin. We cannot throw the baby out with the dirty bath water. We must look at sin with God’s eyes.

I truly don’t think that people today realize the gravity of their sin. Do they even care? Thoughts of eternity and where one will spend it seems to be the furthest thing from their minds. Today’s sin that will keep you out of Heaven unless you repent is adultery. The Spirit-led believer is not under the law because Christ saved us from our sins. (Galatians 5:16-18). We covered adultery in part on Day 5 but today’s post will concentrate solely on the sin of adultery.

There is indeed a consequence for sin. Today, when you break the law, you appear before a judge and sometimes a jury.The results of the trial are determined and your sentence and punishment is made. It is no different with God. In fact, it is God that gave us the type of legal system the world uses today. Do you not think that He will use this same “system” when it comes to judge you and your actions? He most certainly will. (Prior to the past one-hundred years, adultery was considered a crime.) In God’s eyes, adultery has always been a sin and will always be a sin.

  1. moichos (G3432) denotes one “who has unlawful intercourse with the spouse of another,” Luk 18:11; 1 Co 6:9; Heb 13:4. As to Jas 4:4, see below.
  2. moichalis (G3428), “an adulteress,” is used (a) in the natural sense, 2 Pe 2:14; Rom 7:3; (b) in the spiritual sense, Jas 4:4; As in Israel the breach of their relationship with God through their idolatry, was described as “adultery” or “harlotry” (e.g., Eze 16:15, etc.; Eze 23:43), so believers who cultivate friendship with the world, thus breaking their spiritual union with Christ, are spiritual “adulteresses,” having been spiritually united to Him as wife to husband, Rom 7:4. It is used adjectivally to describe the Jewish people in transferring their affections from God, Mat 12:39; Mat 16:4; Mar 8:38.

The simple definition of adultery is when a married person has sex with someone other than his/her spouse. Plain and simple. The adulterer has sinned against the spouse and it’s considered defiling the marriage bed! Hebrews 13:4 says that adulterers will be judged by God. Why is this so important? The family unit was created by God in the Garden of Eden and is the bedrock of all humanity. When adultery exists, the home’s God-designed structure has broken down. If the adulterer is the husband, then the head of the house has failed to be a godly leader in his home. If the wife is the adulterer, she has failed to honour her husband. Satan loves nothing more than to destroy the home!

Marriage today is not considered sacred. People get married and figure if this marriage doesn’t work, they’ll get a divorce and try again; or they won’t remarry and just co-habitate with someone. The devil’s goal is to destroy anything that was instituted by God. He loves what God hates and hates what God loves! He has succeeded in destroying marriages. Homes lack the leadership of a man to teach his sons how to be men and leaders of their own homes. The devil is the father of lies and a deceiver. (John 8:44) He leads women to believe that they don’t need a husband and can raise children on their own and still have them turn out to be good adults. Very few are able to do this on their own. Instead, their sons get involved with the wrong crowd and their daughters become women with low morals and standards.

The fact of the matter is the whole issue is a “heart problem“! People choose to do what they want to do and do not care about the consequences. You may say that you’ve never committed adultery. But Jesus took it a step further because He knew mankind had a heart problem.

Mat 5:27-28  Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery:  (28)  But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.

Jesus wanted you to know that just because you did not take action and actually commit the sin of adultery, you are still guilty of the sin if you looked at pornography or if you looked at another woman lusting after her. Do you see the severity of it? God does not take this matter lightly. Adultery is no laughing matter in the eyes of God. There will come a time for judgment at the end of your life here on earth. (Matthew 16:27)

Rev 20:11-15  And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.  (12)  And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.  (13)  And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.  (14)  And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.  (15)  And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

Rev 22:12  And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.

Mat 25:46  And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.

2Th 1:8-9  In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:  (9)  Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power;

Rom 2:8-9  But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath,  (9)  Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile;

Mat 13:41-42  The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity;  (42)  And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.

If you have not read the post on the reality of Hell, please take a moment to do so – you won’t be attending a party in Hell. There is nothing fun about Hell! The only “heaven” you will ever experience is what you have experienced right here on earth if you don’t repent and get saved. You will pay the price for adultery for all eternity. Eternity is real – eternity is forever. Today’s verse says that you will not inherit the Kingdom of God! Doesn’t that prick your heart? You may not care now but you will regret your decision for all eternity in a burning Lake of Fire. When you die without salvation, your soul will go to Hell. But at the end of the Millennium and Jesus’ reign on earth, Hell will give up its dead. These will appear before the Lord and every word and every action will be judged. You will then experience the second death which is being cast into the Lake of Fire where the pain will be excruciating. (Rev. 20:14, Rev. 21:8)

(Mat 8:12)  But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

(Mat 13:42)  And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.

(Mat 13:50)  And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.

(Mat 22:13)  Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

(Mat 24:51)  And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

(Mat 25:30)  And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

(Luk 13:28)  There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out.

There will come a time when it will be too late for you to repent. You will remember each opportunity you were given by God to be saved; you will remember each time you laughed it off and ignored it. You will wish you had not committed adultery and remained faithful to your spouse. Please Reader, if you are guilty of this sin, it’s not too late. Repent of it and accept Christ into your life. (Act 16:31, Rom 10:9) I want to be sure that anyone who reads the posts on this blog can know beyond a shadow of a doubt that they are going to Heaven. Have you received Christ as your Saviour? If no, your sins are not covered by His sacrificial offering of Himself. You have not been redeemed by His blood. It is no coincidence that God has placed you here for such a time as this so that you may be saved if you are not already. Please click here and the link will open up in a separate tab to You Can Be Born Again and Know It!

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