Christian Living

Generations of Sin

by Thomas Kirkpatrick
12/20/21
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“We know that no one who is born of God sins; but He who was born of God keeps him, and the evil one does not touch him.” (1 John 5:18)

Our nation seems to be drifting faster and further into the eternal pit. It is a concern to us all, but it is not a hopeless situation. Though sin has abounded ever the more, the grace of God abounds greater when we confess and repent. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9). It was not only my generation but every generation sense and maybe before. We have forsaken God and His commands and now receive our complacency's fruits. Never was it the government’s responsibility to teach our children the spiritual way they should go in the faith of our Lord and Savior. Neither is it the right of the government to curtail our practice of Christian faith openly and unrestrained. Our complacency has allowed generations to come who have never learned the truth of their creator.

My Pastor has often said that God does not waste words in His scriptures. When the Lord speaks, we should stop taking His words in and meditate on the wisdom He has given us. His word teaches us many things, and all are essential to survive life here in the world and live in His Kingdom. When we are truly His, we should be obedient to all He speaks to us. The Lord gave His law to Moses, and if we had obeyed, the world would have been better now. “Now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require from you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways and love Him, and to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the LORD’s commandments and His statutes which I am commanding you today for your good?” (Deuteronomy 10:12)

During His earthly ministry, the Lord Jesus comprised all the Law God gave Moses into a prevailing law. “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” (Luke 10:27) Certainly, if we obeyed His words, we would not see all the hateful evil things happening in our nation today. I believe it is because we, as mothers and fathers, have failed to obey this law towards our children. “You shall teach them to your sons, talking of them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road and when you lie down and when you rise up.” (Deuteronomy 11:19)

I cannot help to ponder and ask myself this question. Are we really as Christian as we claim to be? We all fall short of God’s glory, but now I ask, have we also fallen short of our Christian duty? In the space of time the Lord has assigned me to live, I cannot help but judge now more than ever is the time for us to be the message of God’s gospel of His Kingdom. From the Morning Prayer to the Evening Prayer, it is time to be fully engaged in His ministry work of love for our neighbor and a guide for the children in our life. Our complete effort to prove our love for the Lord by our obedience. “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” (John 14:15)

Societies always form sides in politics, special interests, personal activities, and social clubs. There is nothing wrong with that as long as we realize there are only two sides in the long run. They are the Children of God and the sons of disobedience. There is no middle ground in eternity, only a gulf between the two. We should live our lives here in the same perspective; there is no middle ground, as we are a friend of God or an enemy. Disobedience dims our perseverance and weakens our relationship with God. We desire to be close to Him, only one step behind as He leads us on. It not only affects us, but it affects our children. “I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants.” (Deuteronomy 30:19)

We serve a God of love full of mercy and grace towards us. Always willing and wanting to receive a repentant sinner with forgiveness. His wrath is sure to come, but He is longsuffering towards us, as He loves us as a Father towards His children. “The LORD is slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, forgiving iniquity and transgression; but He will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generations.” (Numbers 14:18)

We are citizens of the Kingdom of God working to bring His Kingdom down to this world, but we are in this world whose god is an evil fallen angel who hates God and humanity. He knows the war was lost on the Cross of Jesus, he knows he is bound for the fiery pit, and he wants to destroy all that God loves. Where God loves us, the Devil hates us and seeks to destroy us. “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8)

There is a situation we need to consider, every area in our life that is not surrendered to the Lord permits for a demon to enter in. We have to weigh these possibilities when we choose to rationalize our reasons for white sins. White sins are no different than black sins, as, with God, He hates all sin. When we sin, we disrespect Jesus, who paid for our sin. When we sin without repenting, we dig a pit deeper than we know. “He who digs a pit may fall into it, and a serpent may bite him who breaks through a wall.” (Ecclesiastes 10:8)

I have a temper that has a trigger. I manage it almost well, but if it goes off and I lose control. My loss of temper passes quickly, and I find myself apologizing swiftly. As much as I dislike that, it seems I would not lose my temper in the first place. “Be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil an opportunity.” (Ephesians 4:26-27)

Forgiveness is very important as our forgiveness depends on it. Satan will take advantage of that as if we are not forgiving and allow that responsibility to linger, we have left a door open to the Devil. “But one whom you forgive anything, I forgive also; for indeed what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, I did it for your sakes in the presence of Christ, so that no advantage would be taken of us by Satan, for we are not ignorant of his schemes.” (2 Corinthians 2:10-11) Open doors create an opportunity for the Devil to build a stronghold in our lives. As I said before, when we leave doors open, demons will come in.

I am not saying this as an advantage, but overcoming a demonic stronghold in our lives draws us closer to God. We cannot win a battle against the Devil, who has taken a stronghold in our life. “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses.” (2 Corinthians 10:3-4)

If we are battling the Devil’s stronghold in our life, then we are in a spiritual battle that requires the spiritual armament God has given us. (Ephesians 6:13-18) “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:12)

Who we are battling with are unseen to us as they are spiritual, but we can see the evidence of their work in our lives. Satan was an archangel the same as Michael and Gabriel, but self-pride was his downfall. God cast him down to earth, and a third of the heavenly host went with him. Satan’s fallen angels are a spiritual form, and they can walk and move across the earth as Satan can. Demons are also evil spirits that will harm humans when they possess them. When a demon enters a human body, or something else, they cause injury and illness. Because they possess the body, they will cause evilness to come over them. I believe Demons are in possession of many of the sons of disobedience and possibly surrendered Christians’ areas.

To battle against demon possession of ourselves, we need to pray and fight every thought against the Word of God. “We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.” (2 Corinthians 10:5) We also need to be on watch for our brothers and sisters of the faith by accountability groups. “See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled; that there be no immoral or godless person like Esau, who sold his own birthright for a single meal.” (Hebrews 12:15-16)

Suppose the Christian believers of our nation would come together and live the gospel message of our Lord, be the light that others can see, and live in the name of Jesus at every opportunity. “When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him.” (Colossians 2:13-15) In that case, we could lead many out of the Devil’s captivity. It is for the children, so their life will be secured in the hope of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. “We know that no one who is born of God sins; but He who was born of God keeps him, and the evil one does not touch him.” (1 John 5:18)

Thomas N Kirkpatrick

First Baptist Church of Durant, February 21, 2021