Staying Strong In A Sinful World- Part 1
By Allan E. McNabb

After feedback from last Sunday night’s sermon, I want to review the major points of the lesson, and remind you of the Scriptures we talked about.

It’s Hard. . . .
By the will of God, we live amid unbelievers, for reasons I’ll not enumerate in this article  (1 Cor. 5:9-10).

Although it’s God’s will, it’s difficult to stay strong while living around sinful people.  Like Lot, our souls are tormented by their lawless deeds (2 Pet. 2:7-8).

In this brief series, I want to review the major principles of staying strong in the Lord.

Keep Your Heart Right
From the old and new testaments, we learn that our actions reflect our hearts.  If our hearts are right, our actions will be right.  But if our hearts are wrong, our actions will be wrong.

The problem resulting in Israel’s sin was in their hearts.  Through the prophet Malachi, God tells them:
“Take heed then to your spirit, and let no one deal treacherously against the wife of your youth” (Mal. 2:15).

Even more to the point, Jesus tells sinful Jews:
“Do you not understand that everything that goes into the mouth passes into the stomach, and is eliminated?  But the things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and those defile the man.  For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders.  These are the things which defile the man . . .” (Matt. 15:7-20).

Known By Your Fruits
Since our actions reflect our hearts, our hearts are known by examining our actions.

In warning the people of false prophets, Jesus tells us we know them by their fruits.
“Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.  You will know them by their fruits . . . (Matt. 7:15-16).

The important point for this lesson is that you know your heart by looking at your fruits.  If you’re not acting like a Christian, your heart can’t be right with God.

Furthermore, we can know other peoples’ hearts by looking at their fruits.

For example, if a young man tells a lady he loves her and wants to marry her.  Yet he treats her badly.  His fruits prove him to be a liar, showing he doesn’t truly love her.
Judged By Your Fruits
Since our fruits reflect your heart, it stands to reason we’ll be judged according to our fruits.

In line with this thinking, Jesus tells us we’ll be judged by whether we practice lawlessness.
"Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.  Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’  And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness’” (Matt. 7:21-23).

There’ll be people at judgment who call Jesus Lord, but their fruits prove they don’t truly believe He’s the Lord because they practice lawlessness.  As a result, they’ll be punished for eternity in hell.

Don’t Deceive Your Heart
Some people deceive their hearts, believing they’re righteous, when their fruits clearly reflect the sinfulness of their lives.

James says these people are forgetful hearers of the word, and delude themselves.  They hear what God says but don’t change, continuing in sin while thinking they’re righteous.
“But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.  For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was” (Ja. 1:22-24).

Anyone who thinks he’s righteous, but isn’t a doer of the word, deceives himself.
“If anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man's religion is worthless” (Ja. 1:26).

How do we know whether we’re doers of the word, or we’ve deceived ourselves?

James gives us the acid test by which we examine ourselves.
“If anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man's religion is worthless.  Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world” (Ja. 1:26-27).

If you’re a Christian and controlling your tongue, visiting orphans and widows to relieve them in their distress, and keeping yourself unstained by the world, you know you’re a doer of the word.

It Takes Work
It takes work to get our hearts right with God, and keep them right!

Peter specifically addresses the need for this work, when he commands us to prepare our minds for action.
“Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1 Pet. 1:13).

In upcoming articles, we’ll address the work it takes to prepare ourselves to be strong, and to stay strong.