“These people are as useless as dried-up springs or as mist blown away by the wind. They are doomed to blackest darkness. They brag about themselves with empty, foolish boasting. With an appeal to twisted sexual desires, they lure back into sin those who have barely escaped from a lifestyle of deception. They promise freedom, but they themselves are slaves of sin and corruption. For you are a slave to whatever controls you.”
2 Peter 2:17-19 NLT
As we consider our new found freedom in Christ, the possibility for deception is still present. Just as Adam and Eve were sinless before God and chose to fall from his grace, we too are capable of choosing to follow something other than him in our freedoms. Just as in Eden, the devil is ready to supply us with a different input than God’s word. In the case of those after Adam, it is not the unknown possibilities of forbidden fruit, but it is the known return to our carnal states. We must remember that false teachers are seeking to lure us, not simply away from God, but back over the line of his judgement. We must remember what we leave behind if we choose to follow them. Perhaps their freedom provides them momentary pleasures, but they are slaves in the worst way. Their is no love between them and their master or them and each other. They are fully controlled by the lusts of their spirits. This leads them to disease, mutilation, bitterness, emptiness, and sadness. These are the wages of their sin, and all for the momentary dalliance of having things their way. It is not hard to see how a life of sin has drawn lines across the faces, bodies, relationships and consciences of those who pursue its quick goods. God wants more for us. His blessings have real and lasting value, starting in a joyful heart and ending in loving community. W must know what we sacrifice when we return to our lusts.
JOSH McGARY. COM 