WHAT HAVE CHRISTIANS DONE WITH THE WORD SIN?
WHAT HAVE CHRISTIANS DONE WITH THE WORD SIN?
Part 2
I started last time to write about religion. I mentioned a lot of things that were considered to be sinful, but many of these were made by men. This time I will focus on things that are wrong, but they are more and more accepted in several churches. Some churches will even accept yoga in their churches. They will say that yoga is a form of gymnastic and it will help you to relax. It might help you to relax, but it isn’t a mere form of gymnastic. I have been to India and yoga is a part of Hinduism. Every movement is made to worship different gods. You might not worship these gods, but you become part of something with a root of another religion. If the root is unclean, the entire tree is. It is therefore very important that you find out the root of the things you are involved in. “I really feel that I relax better when I practice yoga. It must be good then.” It is actually possible to learn to relax without practicing yoga. Some people think that it is yoga when they lay on their back and take deep breaths. When you breath deeply with you stomach, it is divine. I have several times helped people to breathe deeply during a panic-attack. I have asked them to lay on their back, putting one hand over their stomach to feel their breath. They will concentrate on something else than their fear and it is also very good for the brain and the rest of the body with oxygen. The Lord is saying that we should not have any other gods than Him. Yoga is therefore a sin.
The Bible says that God has created us as a man and woman. The marriage should be between a man and a woman. At the end of the first chapter of the Letter to the Romans, we read about sexual sins. To have sex with the same sex is considered sinful. If we read this verse from the Bible, you might be thrown into prison in some countries. Quite a few churches marry homosexuals and the Word of God loses its power. One goes against the Bible. I regret the fact that some Christians have treated homosexuals badly. Jesus loved the sinner, but not the sin.
In Acts 5 we read about Ananias and Sapphira. They were giving money to the church. The problem was that they lied about the amount and kept some money for themselves. They had sold land. They did not only lie for people, but for The Holy Spirit. The result was that they both died before the service was over. I also know that many people in churches today are lying about money affairs. My daughter is an accountant and she would cry when she attended church. She was seeing some of her customers raising their arms praising God in church, but next day they wanted her to write wrong numbers on their documents. Some of them put pressure on her, but she never agreed to do so. I believe that many Christians would die in the church if the Holy Spirit came strongly to the meeting or maybe God would give them a chance to repent. I unfortunately know of pastors calling it a white lie when they lie about their income on their tax form. I know of a pastor cheating a person for 7000 crowns when he sold his house. He said that this is normal in business. I really do not know why this pastor didn’t die, but Ananias and Sapphira did. I believe that the story about them is mentioned to stress the fact that we should be honest about our economy.
Corruption does not belong in the Body of Christ.
I mentioned earlier that marriage should be between a man and a woman according to the Bible and God wants us to get marriage. Today many churches accept that people live together without being married. Some people say that it is better that they move together and see how it works. This is not Biblical and should not be accepted by pastors. I have met newly saved people that felt that they lived a sinful life outside of wedlock and they decided to get married after they got saved. John 16:8 says that The Holy Spirit will convict the world about sin, righteousness and judgement. I am therefore surprised when Christians chose to live in sin. Some people do not know what is sinful or not and need to be taught. I do not know how many I have delivered from pornography. Some people forget that the Lord sees them even if their wife and children do not. Newly saved people also need to hear that one doesn’t have sex on the first date. Sex belongs to the marriage.
You might read 1.Corinthians the 5th and the 6th chapter. Paul is warning against a list of different sins. A small yeast is enough to destroy the entire congregation. A pastor or a spiritual leader might think that she or he is loving by admitting sins, but it is the opposite. A pastor should care for his sheep and he must talk about things that are harmful then. We warn small children and tell them not to touch a hot plate on a stove. I saw today a picture of Jesus with His arms outstretched. He did not point a finger. Jesus wants us to get closer to Him and He will help us to become more like Him.
I started by addressing religion and today I addressed sins in the churches.
The greatest sin that we can do, is to turn our back to God and say no to His offer for salvation.
WHEN YOU SIN, GO TO HIM WHO CAN FORGIVE YOU ALL YOUR SINS!
Mother Else