IF THE ANSWER IS YES

BEFORE READING THIS POST, PLEASE READ YESTERDAY'S POST FIRST.

If your answer to yesterday's question is yes, then what I am going to say applies to you. If you disagree with what I wrote yesterday, then I doubt that this will be of much concern to you.

"...LET EVERY ONE THAT NAMETH THE NAME OF CHRIST DEPART FROM INIQUITY" (2 Tim. 2:19).

The Apostle Paul, the Bible's most prolific writer on the subject of grace, said that believers should not continue to sin. He knew that the life of a Christian was a battle between our two natures, for he, himself, struggled to walk in the Spirit so that he would not fulfill the lusts of the flesh (Rom. 7:1-8:4). Paul did not try to make excuses for his sin, but demanded of himself that which he wrote for all believers to read: depart from iniquity!

"...HE THAT WINNETH SOULS IS WISE" (Prov. 11:30).

One reason it is important for a Christian to get victory over sin, is that our sin causes others to reject our testimony. The Word says that the redeemed of the Lord should say so (Ps. 107:2). But unbelievers who watch the behavior of those claiming to be a Christian, "knowing" how a Christian should speak and act, do not want the hear from those who don't practice what they preach. Even if their knowledge of the do's and don'ts of being a Christian is wrong, a believer should avoid those things others believe are inconsistent with our testimony (Rom. 14:13; 1 Cor. 8:1-13). If you think that smoking, drinking, flirting, dressing immodestly, cussing, etc. are acceptable for Christians to do, people who believe that those behaviors are wrong will have little or no respect for what you have to say. If you love God, win souls!

"...THEY...BY YOUR GOOD WORKS...GLORIFY GOD..." (1 Pet. 2:12)

Another reason to avoid behaviors that are viewed as inconsistent with being a Christian is that what we do should produce praise for God (Matt. 5:16; Jn. 15:8). Can you imagine someone seeing you smoking, or drinking, etc., and saying, "Praise God?" And even when an unbeliever challenges a Christian's actions, the believer will usually spend a great deal of time "explaining" why the person is wrong. The Holy Spirit convicts of sin; the flesh defends itself. Walk in the Spirit and you will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh (Gal. 5:16)!

I AM FROM MISSOURI; IF YOU SAY YOU ARE A CHRISTIAN, SHOW ME!