THE REWARD OF UNRIGHTEOUSNESS – Monday April 13th 2015

THE REWARD OF UNRIGHTEOUSNESS 

Memorise: For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Romans 6:23

Read: Acts 5:1-11, Bible in one year; Joshua 10:16-12:6, Matthew 20:1-28

In our Bible reading, we find a couple, Ananias and Sapphira, who were gravely judged and punished because they lied. Just like this couple, there are some Christians who gave God 5% of their income and label it as tithe. Galatians 6:7 says,

“Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.”

Anyone who changes the word of God is a son of perdition, and the end of such is not to be desired. Jesus Christ said that all the people given to Him by God, He did not lose anyone except the son of perdition (John 17:12). At the time He made this statement, Judas Iscariot was still going around as a disciple. However, as far as Jesus was concerned, he was already lost. Although Judas cast out demons and also went on evangelism with other disciples, his final place was perdition. He had no lot in the kingdom of God. Something very frightening is that some people even steal what others have given to God. What all has been said and done, some very denoted people in church will miss it because of the impure motives behind their service.

Do you know that some people assist the tempter? You may wonder how this can be. After they fed their eyes with lust inducting items and activities during the day, they recline to ponder over them later. Before long, they may find themselves practicing such ungodly acts. This was the undoing of Samson. Everywhere he went, he had issues with women. He was supposed to be God’s answer to the enemies of Israel, and the power of God was mighty upon his life. He moved from killing a ferocious lion with his bare hands, to killing one thousand men with the jaw bone of an ass. Nevertheless, after he failed to heed God’s several warnings, he received the reward of unrighteousness, and judgement was unleashed on him. He experienced an unpleasant turning point: the man who was once unconquerable became the conquered, and the victor became the victim. Bound and blinded, and the victor became the victim. Bound and blinded, he was taken into captivity and became a slave who was forced to grind corn in the enemy’s prison. In Jesus’ Name, your case will not be like that of Samson. God has been warning a lot of people, saying “get away from the side of the world and follow the path of righteousness”, but such people often think they can outsmart God. They think that because everything seems to be alright, they are still safe, not knowing that the wrath of God is awaiting them. It is a dangerous thing to continue to resist the Almighty.

Action Point

In any area you have erred, open your ears and your heart to yield to God in repentance.