“Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.” Col 3:5 (NIV)
People, power, pleasure, and prestige can become idols. Idolatry is worshipping created things rather than the Creator (Rm 1:25). Anything that comes between you and God is an idol. Idolatry is the sin of the mind against God. The first two commandments of the Ten Commandments confront our propensity to have other gods and to worship idols (Ex 20:3-6).
God created us for worship. We are created to worship the One true living God. God is seeking the kind of worshipers who worship Him in spirit and truth (Jn 4:23-24). Worship is in our DNA. We will worship! However, we must decide the focus of our worship. We choose who or what we worship.
- “Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry.” 1 Cor 10:14 (NIV)
- “Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God.” Romans 8:8 (NIV)
We are to mortify that which belongs to our sinful nature. The cravings of our sinful nature seek to pull us back into the lifestyle God delivered us from. Upon salvation, we received the imputed righteousness of Christ. We became a new creation (2 Cor 5:17). Yet, we still live in this body of flesh, which craves sin.
Starve the flesh. Eliminate sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires, and greed. Run from sin and run to Christ. Surrender to the complete control of the Spirit. Yield to the prompting of the Holy Spirit. Do not think about how to gratify the cravings of the sinful nature (Rm 13:14). Confess sin specifically and receive God’s forgiveness completely.
Pursuing God,
Stephen Trammell
Executive Pastor
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