Based on Ephesians 5:1-7 (New King James Version)
“Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma. But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints; neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. For this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not be partakers with them.”
Today, there is a great error that has been proliferated throughout the world, including within many churches, the error or sin that love means to justify and even fight for sin. This great contradiction is being supported by a great number of people, and it continues to grow rapidly, where things that are sin are put as examples of love. Quite simply, in today’s society, and within many churches, evil is seen as good and good is seen as evil, as I am very sure that quite possibly many will be offended when reading this message, and will say that this is a bad message, or possibly, they might even say that it is blasphemous, but his ministry, by the grace of God, is dedicated to sharing Jesus Christ and His Truth with the world, and not to propagate anything else (may God help us remain faithful).
Therefore, let us see more clearly the issue of defining sin and what it does. God defines sin through the Word for the good of mankind, because God since the beginning has tried to help mankind avoid what is harmful to them. Ever since God told the first man that he should not eat of the forbidden tree, He was not trying to hide something good from them, nor just because, but rather, because mankind was surely going to do die if they disobeyed. And thanks to that disobedience, we have what we have today in the world. We have death. No matter what mankind tries to do for themselves, whether they can even find the cure for all of the different kinds of sicknesses and plagues that exist, every human being will die at some point, without exception. No human will live forever. That is the great legacy that disobedience has left. This is the simple consequence of sin, as it is written: “For the wages of sin is death…” Romans 6:23a. And the Word also says this: “Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am tempted by God’; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.” James 1:13-15. This is the truth regarding sin. No matter what a person would want to believe, whether thinking that nothing bad is going to happen, or that God is wrong, sin kills, and it kills in the most definitive kind of way, killing both the body and the soul of man. Sin is what makes a person die physically, and forever, eternally separated from everything that is life for all eternity. This is the evil that God has tried to help mankind avoid sin man was created.
Now then, let us go deeper into what God said in today’s passage that is sin, something that is not just sin, but the same kind of sin that can make a person not be able to have an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God if it is practiced; the issue involving fornication, uncleanness, and covetousness that is related to idolatry. For starters, fornication consists of having sex outside of marriage. Whether they are partners (as they are called today), or casual sexual encounters, or the act of sex apart or outside of marriage (and regarding marriage, we are talking about the union between a man and a woman, just as God created it), all of that is considered fornication. In the context of this passage, uncleanness refers to inappropriate things related to fornication and also what the Law of God explains as things or voluntary acts that are unclean (or unnatural). For example, whether the coronavirus came to existence in China because there was a problem with bats and food, or whether it involved a sterile laboratory where trials and/or experiments were being done with bacteria or viruses, all of that before God is considered unclean. And regarding covetousness, the Bible says very clearly that the love of money is sin, and it relates it here to idolatry which defines all things that are put ahead of God, like money, family, etc., anything that is put ahead or given priority over God. If these things are practiced or they become a lifestyle, quite simply, those that live in such a manner will not inherit Christ’s kingdom (this is what the Bible says).
Let us try to see this issue in a practical sense so we can understand. If I have a son or daughter, and that son or daughter would like to play with a poisonous snake, what should I do as a father that wants what is good for them? Should I go get it for them so they can play with it? Should I support them in their search? Should I tell them that if they decide to do it, to just be careful? Or, if I really want what is good for them and to help them avoid all danger, should I not just explain to them the danger and that they should just avoid it for their own good, so they don’t even have to worry about anything? That is what God tries to teach us through His Word, so that we don’t just avoid getting into trouble, but even avoid the risk. But unfortunately, many don’t think that way because they either don’t understand, or they just don’t want to accept that the natural consequences of sin are that it produces death, just like when a human being gets bitten by a poisonous snake, when it injects its venom, and it is only a matter of time for the person to die. Many people think that, because they don’t just die right away, or because something humanly catastrophic doesn’t happen immediately, that the issue of sin and the evil it produces is a lie, that it’s a fable or an exaggeration. In the end, they believe the same thing the devil told Eve so long ago: “You will not surely die.” The devil’s lie continues being the truth to many, and unfortunately, even many supposed believers, especially those who even believe that since we have the grace of Christ, that everything is forgiven, and that there is nothing to worry about. Adopting a sinful lifestyle produces the same evil outside of God’s grace as well as within God’s grace. This is what the Word of God teaches.
So then, what is then true love? The only one that knows how to love perfectly is God, because God is love. True love will never consist of supporting sin because God will never support something that produces death and destruction in a human being. And if a person really wants to love someone, they should do the same as God does, by letting them know the truth so they can also have what Christ came to give, as it is written: “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” John 10:10b. Because God loves us, He only wants for us to live eternally, and so, He teaches us to do those things that produce life, and not the things that cause death, sooner or later. So then, what exists in your life, God’s true love, or the lie that produces eternal death and destruction? Lord bless! John