•8:00 AM
Bro. Roy Beaty, Sugar Land Church of Christ
"Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away. And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection. But those on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience." - Luke 8:11-15 KJV.
When one "hears and obeys" the gospel of Jesus Christ, he discovers that it is much better to obey the Lord than to remain in sin and be lost eternally. he obeys with enthusiasm and gratitude to God for making a way for his salvation. If his initial conversion was all that is needed for entrance to heaven, it would be wonderful. However, the difficult part of conversion is "staying" right after discovering and accepting what is right.
What is it that makes after conversion so difficult?
Paul described the problem to be the duel nature of man, "For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members" - Romans 7:19-22 KJV.
Paul in the above scriptures is not giving man a license to sin but explaining that when a person is converted to Christ, God does not remove former temptations out of the person's view. Even Christians can be tempted by his pleasures of the past after conversion even though now he has a strong desire to do what is right. Where one part of man has this strong desire to do what is right, the other part of man has a constant battle to fight with is prior knowledge and participation with sin. Jesus warns His Apostles, "Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing but the flesh is weak" - Matthew 26:41 KJV.
The scriptures do not teach that following the right way is going to be easy. Even the scripture where the Lord promises that His yoke is easy and His burden is light states that following the Lord does come with a yoke to carry and burdens to bear (Matthew 11:30). Jesus also says that the way to heaven is "strait" and narrow and many will not find it. Vine's Bible Dictionary says that the word "strait" means, "Being restricted on both sides, under a pressure which prevents a definite choice." When one obeys the gospel he also must be prepared for the trials that come afterwards.
Staying right may have its difficulties but the weight of staying right has greater value than doing what is wrong. Enduring the afflictions of life promises greater gains than yielding to them, "For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory" - II Corinthians 4:17 KJV. Man makes his own choices as he has from creation whether to do what is right or follow after the way of sin, "Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?" - Romans 6:16 KJV.
It is better to stay in the right way than to stray from it.
Peter puts it this way, "For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, then, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, the dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire" - II Peter 2:20-22 KJV.
