Alienship Vs. Denizenship

Twenty-plus years ago, I was doing AA and I remember being told that if I hungout in a bar (not to drink), but to minister alcoholics, they would most likely get me drunk before I got them sober. Here was my take away: these battles are best fought on our turf, not theirs.

So it is with saving the spiritually lost -going into the lions den is dangerous. Having said that, if we’re thrown into a pit, we can trust Jesus to bring us through the trial, but to enter them voluntarily, without the prompting or annoiting of the Holy Spirit is to risk getting eaten alive.

Lot the Righteous.

The Bible tells us Lot was a righteous man, but as a full-time resident of Sodom, his soul was vexed day-to-day by their unlawful deeds. What affect did that have on Lot? The Genesis account implies that Lot was not very influential in his ministry to the Sodomites – God sent two angels into the city, and after 25 years of Lot’s ministry, or lack thereof, they could not even find ten righteous people.

Why is that?

It would seem that Lot, although a Godly man, conformed to, or was broken by, a filthy world and thus lost his light and saltiness. Perhaps God’s will, and Lot’s ministry, would have been better served if he stayed in a tent on the outskirts of town, making occasional visits or better yet, inviting the lost to his dwelling as they ventured beyond the city walls. Just a thought on my part, but clearly establishing his roots in Sodom wasn’t working out too well

It bears repeating…

Many are called to such a ministry, but let’s be very clear on the issue: they are affective because they were compelled by God to do so. Lot did not have such a calling on his life, at least the Bible does not record one, nor does it record any fruit from such a calling.

As it pertains to life in general, I’ve always taught my children that if they ‘hangout’ in a barbershop, eventually they will get a haircut. The axiom holds true for those who have been set-apart for Kingdom purposes. We’re called to be in the world, maintaining holiness in unholy places, living as aliens, not denizens, among natural men.

This takeaway is clear:

“…[B]y the mercies of God…present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”
(Romans 12:1-2)

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One Step to a Healthy Life

O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank God–through Jesus Christ our Lord! Romans 7:24-25aSpiritual healing comes through Christ alone and cannot be obtained through any fleshly endeavor. Scores understand the principle, but too often we return to carnality (solutions of the flesh), forgetting that the principle is worthless without Jesus Christ. Deliverance comes in the presence of the Lord and in the person of Jesus Christ—it is God’s one-step program.

Honestly, we can throw away twelve-step curriculums and self-esteem courses, for the benefits they proffer are temporary at best and frequently do more harm than good—and that is coming from an AA alumnus. I back that statement in the light of Paul’s assertion in Romans 7:18.

For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. Romans 7:18

Whatever man puts his carnal hand to is corrupt; there is nothing good in man. This is the reason why the Apostle Paul asks who will save him and not what can save him or how can he be saved. Paul tried the whats and the hows and it left him a miserable wretch. Paul discovered the only cure was in Christ Jesus and that’s my testimony too.

I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. John 15:5

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