So, I have observed that when people referred
to sins among unmarried people and married people, they automatically state:
‘fornication’ and ‘adultery’. Are those the two sins that Christians must not
commit? CERTAINLY NOT!!!!
There are some false doctrines out
there that are misleading people. Some people have stated that, if you commit
other sins apart from fornication and adultery, God would forgive you of your
sins easily while the sins of fornication and adultery are not easily forgiven
by God. This is certainly not true; my Lord Jesus Christ forgives all sins
(apart from sins against the Holy Spirit Matthew 12:31 - That’s another topic
of its own).
The
unpardonable sin is defined as continually attributing the work of the Holy
Spirit to Satan in full knowledge that the work is of God. All sin can and will
be forgiven when there is genuine repentance.
Even blasphemy, or profaning God’s name in some way, can be forgiven
when God’s forgiveness is sought. However,
blasphemy of the Holy Spirit ascribes to Satan what is done by God, and that
cannot be forgiven.
My Lord Jesus also does not categorise sins as
none is better. It is quite unfortunate
that we believers have categorised sins, we easily condemn some sins than
others. I am also guilty of this. Lafunky
covers her face in shame.
Let me categorically state that, I
disagree with doctrines that state that, only fornication and adultery are sins
that must not be found among believers.
The Bible tells me that the little
Foxes spoil the vines (Songs of Solomon 2:15). What does this mean? This
suggests that, any sin that we commit, regardless of the gravity, it could
impede our relationships with Christ.
The Bible says that, if ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love,
even as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in His love (John
15:10). There is no way we can effectively walk with God if we continue to
allow the little Foxes (sins) to be prevalent in our lives.
These little Foxes
(sins) are subtle and can ruin our relationship with Jesus Christ; some of which
are: lying, consulting other gods, continuous anger problems, condemning
others, pride, being conceited, jealousy, hatred, envy, cheating others,
betraying others, our not so nice attitudes, gossiping, etc.
Laziness can also
spoil the vine. The Bible says in Proverbs 6:10-11 that, “You sleep a little; you take a nap. You fold your
hands and lie down to rest. So you will be as poor as if you had been robbed;
you will have as little as if
you had been held up”. This suggests that, a little laziness can grow
bigger and bigger, and therefore, makes the individual to become lazier, and
ultimately the individual becomes poor due to laziness. Our not so nice
attitudes can spoil our reputation. Just one word can ruin our relationship
with others; one mistake could ruin one’s career, etc.
How are you guarding your vine so that the Foxes
would not spoil your vine?
One of my goals for
this year is to stop gossiping and I must say that I am doing very well (I'm
grateful to God). However, I am still failing in some aspects. Since
I have determined to stop gossiping and I committed it to God’s Hands, He is
helping me and I must continue to accept His help. The scripture that continues
to help: “I can guarantee that on judgement day people
will have to give an account of every careless word they say” (Matthew 12:36-God’s Word Translation).
So, how is God
helping me to stop the little Fox that wants to spoil my vine? God has told me
to reduce the amount of time that I spend conversing with people on the phone,
God continues to remind me to be slow to speak, think before speaking, reduce
the numbers of phone calls that I make during the day, to ensure that I am
mindful of my conversations; all these things are helping me to remove the
Foxes in my vine.
How are you removing the Foxes in your life? What are the little Foxes that are trying to
spoil your vine?
Do you know that
while the little Foxes spoil the vines, the 'little' actions that you take daily
can also improve your vine?
Please ensure that you take actions that would develop your vine on a daily basis.
- Myss Lafunky