28/07/2011 - MANY BELIEVE IN VAIN

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Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the Gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that Word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.

I Corinthians 15:1-2

A preacher of the Gospel of Jesus needs to pay very close attention to the message he gets across because in case he turns away – albeit just a little – from the royal Message, he can induce many people to sin. After all, the eternal happiness of many people depends on the mission he or she received.
We, as ministers of God, do not have a message of our own to give the ones who need it, but rather the Word of the Lord which is the very power of the Almighty One to save mankind. If, nonetheless, consciously or unconsciously we try to twist it with other ideas or our own plans we will take responsibility for the eternal harm that we will cause to those who heed us. That warning is not only suitable for the preachers of the Gospel but also for all Christians because, one way or another, we are all announcers of the Good News.
We know that it was not the eloquence of any servant of the Lord that made us understand the message of the cross but rather the Holy Spirit. That is the reason why we must not deviate from the feeling we had in our hearts when we heard the divine Message for the first time. As a matter of fact, that voice that convinced us to take our stand in Christ was not speaking to us by chance; it was the Lord who was calling us to be part of His people. Therefore, swapping it for any other doctrine – or even a religion – is the most foolish attitude someone might take.
In the light of the verses we are studying there is a requirement for the Good News to operate in us: we must stand firm in the revelation we were given. If we do so, we will see that that Message is powerful to heal, deliver and save us. On the other hand, if we forsake what the divine voice said to us, we will prevent the power from Above from operating on our behalf. So, my brethren, make sure you do not to fall for the tricks of men
who, using a wide range of reasons, cause people to turn away from the Lord and, as a result, become an easy prey of the enemy.
It is important to keep in mind how the Gospel was announced to you because what you understood when you heard it is the will of the Almighty One for your life. What He speaks is not at random or irresponsible; rather, He fulfils exactly what He promises. One day, undoubtedly, the Lord will demand accountability for what we have done or what we have failed to do regarding the revelations we received (Romans 14:12). The Bible, by the way, states that those who are shy – those who think they are not qualified to fulfil the divine plan in their lives – will be thrown into the lake which burns with fire and brimstone (Revelation 21:8).
Many people believe in the Most High in vain. They even make some efforts to do what they think is the Father’s will but they deceive themselves when they turn their backs to the Words the Lord Himself spoke to them and start to pay heed to the things men tells them to do. Well, those who do this actually believe in vain because although the works they do might be considered commendable from a worldly standpoint, they turn out to be a sheer waste of time and energy.
In Christ, with love,
R. R. Soares