“For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment.” (2 Peter 2:4). It is no longer news that hell is real and it is a place prepared for the unrepentant sinners. If the fallen angels could be cast into hell, what becomes the fate of mere mortal beings? Of course, sin sinks sinners into hell! However, there is need to understand the channels or gateways through which sin operates.
“For all that is in the world – the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life – is not of the Father but is of the world.” (1John 2:16). The three gateways by which the entire world is being drifted and plunged to hell can be deduced from the above scripture. Interestingly, they work subtly through lust, to lure precious souls into hell. The first is the flesh, but it does not connote the physical body frame housing the internal organs. Rather, it means the Adamic or sinful nature which is often referred to as ‘self’. The natural man is biblically described as being under the influence of flesh. In the contemporary world, flesh or self is a very strong gateway through which the devil perpetrates his evil act. For instance, nudity is the order of the day in the name of modern-day fashion or fad. Nowadays, young ladies ‘dress to kill’, simply called ‘slaying’.
We now have Christians copying weird hairstyles as well as bogus and loud make-up styles of the world. Unedifying slangs of the world are gradually finding their ways into lexicon of the church. Immoral nature of friendship between the opposite sex is already being rationalized as inevitable by-product of modern form of male-female relationships. The world seems to be setting the standard for the form of music that we embrace and promote. 1 Peter 4:2-3 admonish us not to live “…in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God. For the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings…”
Beloved, are you still bogged down or distracted by the ways of the world or chains of your past? Have you burnt your bridge with the old ways? You cannot be free from the lust of the flesh if you have not. Determine to make a clean break today! Cry to God for help and seek godly counsel where necessary. (To be continued). God bless you. SHALOM
