01/05/2013 - THE ROOT OF YOUR PROBLEMS

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Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.

Colossians 3.5

Some Christians are always sad because they are unable to walk in righteousness. They want to please the Lord, live under God’s blessing, but are almost always controlled by evil thoughts and sinful desires. Some think they should get baptized again or even truly accept Jesus. But that is not what the Word says. The Word tells us to put to death our carnal desires.

Although we are saved, we still have a worldly nature, which is corrupted by that which we see, hear and watch other people doing. If you do not put your natural tendencies to death, you will go through life committing sin, repenting, promising not to fall again and giving into temptation all over again. God instructs us to put our members which is our earthly nature to death.

A person who does not know God’s Word, when he hears that a Christian was tempted in the area of fornication, will soon consider him a sinner to be avoided. But he is likely to have the same problem. The truth is that, despite having been saved by the Lord and washed by the blood of Christ, we must fight against evil. Those who fail to wage the battle of holiness and don’t come out victorious do not please the Lord.

Uncleanness still has control over so many people! They do not admit, but deep inside they are having unclean thoughts. Some people do not dare putting these thoughts into practice, but others do. Jesus taught us that we can commit sin with our eyes. And we can also sin through evil thoughts and desires.

The passion mentioned in the verse above is, for example, this feeling that takes over some people who live for their carnal desires. For them, what matters is to be in bed with their spouse all the time. They are carried away by this licit pleasure and end up living exclusively for this aspect of marriage. Over time, they might get tired of always being with the same person and seek other people thus becoming adulterous.

Paul also mentions idolatry. Obviously, feeling sexual desire for your better-half is a good thing. But when these desires are evil and come from Satan, they must be completely eliminated from your heart. He who belongs to Christ must learn how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor (1Thessalonians 4.4) and must not act like those who are lost.

Lastly, the apostle also says that covetousness (extreme desire to acquire or possess things, which is a type of idolatry) needs to be put to death by those who are the temple of the Holy Spirit. Covetousness is common in the lives of those who do not fear the Lord, but we Christians must eliminate it from our lives, since we are beloved children of the eternal Father.

In Christ, with love,

R. R. Soares