Welcome to “Going Deeper with the Word.” In this segment, we welcome people of all backgrounds, religious or not, to review with me the Word of God. The Word of God provides guidance, direction, and instructions for living our lives and walking with God.
Today, we examine how God’s Word provides clear guidance and direction about how being exposed to sinful activities may affect our walk with God.
Let’s review examples of God’s Word that can lead and guide our steps and back up the principles we learned in today’s message. I will be reading scripture today from the Amplified Bible.Â
Here is our first verse:
Do not love the world [of sin that opposes God and His precepts], nor the things that are in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust and sensual craving of the flesh and the lust and longing of the eyes and the boastful pride of life [pretentious confidence in one’s resources or in the stability of earthly things]—these do not come from the Father, but are from the world. The world is passing away, and with it its lusts [the shameful pursuits and ungodly longings]; but the one who does the will of God and carries out His purposes lives forever.
– 1 John 2:15-17 AMP
In this verse, we clearly see John the Baptist explain that we cannot choose to love the world or the things of the world and the Father at the same time. As I mentioned in the message today, I truly believe that the sins of the world and intimacy with God cannot co-exist in our hearts. There are many things depicted in today’s media that are commonplace in the world, however, commonplace in the world does not necessarily mean that they are aligned with the will of the Father.
Let’s have a look at another verse.
I will set no worthless or wicked thing before my eyes.
I hate the practice of those who fall away [from the right path];
It will not grasp hold of me.
– Psalm 101:3 AMP
In this verse, we see King David exclaim that he has decided to not allow wicked things to pass before his eyes. In today’s message, we discussed the risks of watching media that glorifies sin. He goes on to suggest that in doing so, he keeps himself from the temptation of pursuing the same practices. The same applies to us. We must resist the temptation to normalize the sins portrayed in certain media, or we may find ourselves embracing and potentially pursuing the same sins.
Let’s look at one last verse.
And do not be conformed to this world [any longer with its superficial values and customs], but be [a]transformed and progressively changed [as you mature spiritually] by the renewing of your mind [focusing on godly values and ethical attitudes], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His plan and purpose for you].
– Romans 12:2 AMP
In this verse, we once again touch on the fact that we should do our best to not be tempted to conform to the world. Consuming certain media that normalizes or glorifies sinful activity for our mental simulation may tempt us to be accepting of the same activity in our own lives. Remember, God does not tempt us into sin. The creations of man can most certainly tempt us into sin. Certain media can tempt us to act in sinful ways as our minds normalize the sinful activity we watch and hear in the media.
Let us not place ourselves in harm’s way by consuming media that glorifies sin. Let us instead seek God, His holiness, and His blessing within us. The creations of man will never satisfy us as much as the blessing and anointing from God can.
Thank you for your time in reviewing these verses with me today.
Thank you for the opportunity to share encouragement. Here @walkinginstepwithGod we truly appreciate your support. We are fully committed to Christ and the community. We invite you to join us in fellowship and to seek opportunities for fellowship in your local community as well.
