by Paul Krismanits

Created on: August 20, 2007

"For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope- the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good. These, then, are the things you should teach. Encourage and rebuke with all authority. Do not let anyone despise you." Titus 2:11-15

Sometimes I wonder why we Christians struggle so much to live righteously, especially when everything we need to know to do so is right there for us to learn and know. Yet even with all the knowledge we need we still struggle against it. It's as if we think we know better than God sometimes. I know many who think of the Bible as giving mere "guidelines" that do not need to be taken specifically. It's funny, but when Jesus commanded something I don't think He meant it to be taken anything less than absolutely seriously. Jesus spoke to crowds of uneducated, simple people, so He spoke simply. He did not give them great philosophies and deep theories for which they were to ponder the hidden meaning. No, He gave them simple truths and simple commandments, so they would know EXACTLY what He meant. Why do we taint that? Why do we insist in believing that we know better? So many today act as if the Bible has so many hidden meanings meant for different levels of "spirituality," whatever THAT means. To think that the teachings given to us by an all-knowing, eternal savior could be flawed in any way is absurd! How can we honestly think that we know better than what has been given us through those teachings? Jesus was very specific when He talked about the evils of lust, greed, pride, apathy, negligence, selfishness, drunkenness, debauchery, etc... So who are we to excuse these in any area? When I get drunk, I have sinned. It's as simple as that. Same as if I engage in pre-marital sexual activity, or if I steal, or if I murder, or even if I simply hoard my possessions with care for nothing but my own gain. These are ALL sins. They are no lesser or greater than each other, they just are. Some may have greater consequences on this earth, but in God's eyes they are all the same. We are to realize this, and to fight every day to eradicate as much sin in our lives as possible. This is why it is so dangerous

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