Blessed Hope Bible-Presbyterian Church
500 Upper Bukit Timah Rd, Singapore 678106
In this generation where entertainment and pleasure-seeking are so much a part of lifestyle can the people of God hold fast to follow the Lord in the ways of holiness? Inadvertently, believers come under great pressure to conform to the world. How can the believer remain faithful to his Lord and not incur God’s wrath by any friendship with the world?
The Apostle Paul seeks the believer who have confessed Jesus Christ as his Lord and Saviour to give his wholehearted devotion. Why should the believer who is saved from the filth of his idoltrous past go back to partake the filth of sin in demon-worship? Its unbecoming of the believer and most rebellious of him. It puts him in danger of God’s wrath.
When the believers go to the temple and be a part of the temple feast, is he not partaking of the worship? He may not think anything of the idol but the fact that this sacrifice is brought to devils. Be aware of the spiritual implication of such actions. Demonic power culminates in Satan worship. Satan is the evil one, the prince of this world.
We know that Satan possess great powers to torment mankind. Job suffered under the onslaught of Satan. God protected him. Mary Magdalene was possessed with seven devils before she was glorious saved by Jesus. The demons departed out of her, never to bother her again when she received Jesus Christ, the Son of God, in her heart. She was the first to be at the tomb of Jesus on resurrection day. She was the first to see the resurrected Christ. She loved her Lord. Jesus comforted her.
Indeed, the people of God, having been delivered from their idolatrous past, be willing to keep themselves pure from the pollution of idols. To abstain from all appearance of evil. May the people of God today be identified with Him through baptism and on a regular basis partake the Lord’s Supper in fellowship with the Lord. Amen.
Believers are a joined as one body in Christ through faith in the one act on the cross where Jesus’ broken bodily offered as sacrifice for our sake to save us from our sins.
Through that one offer of Christ on the cross, we by faith receive forgiveness of sins. The Lord’s Supper was instituted by our Lord Jesus before He went to the cross to help His people remember His death till He comes again. That they may not forget that there was no greater love than this, no greater sacrifice than this, no greater suffering than this.
The cup of blessing pertains to the cup of grape juice that we used for our Lord’s Supper. In partaking the cup, we remember the Lord’s death on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins. His blood was shed for the remission of our sins. Spiritually the believer is nourished and strengthened in the partaking of the Lord’s Supper. He does so with prior self-examination, confessing his sins before God in prayer. Amen.
The Apostle Paul addresses his audience as enlightened men who understands his concern for their spiritual prosperity and he asks them to make their educated assessment of his exhortations thus far. He has exhorted them to flee idolatry, seek holiness and to yield not to the temptation of a discontented and murmuring spirit. The Israelites were chastised by God for their unbelief, idolatry and immorality. God’s instruction is plainly taught in His Word and therefore for our admonition.
God’s people are exhorted by a loving entreaty to put Him first in their lives, to put God first in their hearts, to put God first in their actions. An idol is that which displace the due honour and worship accorded to our God. All that we have and are comes from Him. By seeking other affections, we forfeit God’s blessing in our lives. The word “flee” is given as a command for habital action.
The Lord provides a way of escape for His people in every temptation. He will always provide for His people the escape route so that His people might be saved from the pitfalls of sin. Do not be alarmed when you are sorely tempted. God allows it to test you. He also provides a way out. God is faithful. He will not let you down.
Beware of self-confident. Be rather God-confident as warns the Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. The Apostle Paul warns here against self-conceit. Pride blinds the heart giving one a sense of delusion of having good one’s standing before God. The reality is that such a one has crossed the line, the boundary of God’s will and faces the chastisement of God!The verb “take heed” is a command for continual action. It literally means “to see”, “to perceive correctly”.