RPG Adults
DANGER TO THE SOUL
LORD’S DAY, AUGUST 14
1 Peter 2:11-12
Psalm 19:1-4
“…I trust in thy word.”
DANGER TO THE SOUL
Peter reminded us once again that, as God’s children, heaven is our home and we are only travellers and strangers on this sin-cursed earth. Scripture warns us again and again of the very real spiritual danger of adopting the world’s habits and becoming comfortable in this present world (1 Pet 2:11).
It is not strange or rare to find people who, though once strangers in a country, have come to like its customs so much that they become permanent residents. These people often adopt the manners and practices of the native peoples to such an extent that they are no longer distinguishable from them. How sad to see a child of God so entangled with the selfish desires of this world that he is indistinguishable from the unsaved around him. It is these very desires called “fleshly lusts” in 1 Peter 2:11 that we are specifically warned against.
Many people mistakenly feel that God has singled out all the “fun things” in life and arbitrarily called them sin. But Scripture explains that we are to abstain from fleshly desires because they war against the soul. Sin damages our spiritual well-being and robs us of our God-given inner joy and peace.
Modern psychiatrists and sociologists tell us that human beings can be happy and well-adjusted only when free from all social restraint. While their words seek to make God a liar, the result of their teaching proves that God is indeed right and these sins do war against the soul. There is more hopelessness, destroyed families, drug addiction, and wasted lives from this “restraint-free” teaching than the world has ever seen before. As God’s children we must not follow the manner of the world and our old nature because these things destroy the well-being of the human soul. Instead, we must act in accordance with our heavenly citizenship, refraining from sinful desires. Such Christ-like living alone brings peace to the soul and a witness to the world.
THOUGHT: What is the great danger to the Christian pilgrim?
PRAYER: Keep me, Father, away from my own sinful desires.