Ambrose.J. Chakre
[dropcap]D[/dropcap]o not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. James 1:22
Deception can only come in two ways; it will either come from within or from others. The consequences but it also threatens our survival in the next life. The deceitfulness of deception is that if we are deceived in this life, we may be destined to suffer the torments of hell in the age that is to come. If anyone of us ( The Church of Christ ) are blinded by the deception of sin, it is our prayer that the ‘clouds of sins’ be removed lest you fall into the pit because of your spiritual blindness. The challenge that is set before us is that unless our spiritual eyes are opened we will never be able to discern the spiritual truths of these spiritual words..The Church as an institute of holiness has been instituted by God to purify His bride and to prepare her for His second coming. As we perceive these words of truth we are awakened by the reality of what our spiritual condition is. Acknowledging the truth and not embracing it can be likened to a man who loves a woman but is not prepared to take her as his wife. It is to our knowledge that the sacredness of romance and marriage are inter connected but unless love binds the two together the ultimate desires of the two couples may not be achieved. The point I want to stress here is that unless we truly love God, we will never be able to enter the gate of life. These spiritual truths are part of our preparation to edify and purify every member of the Church of Christ that none may be found guilty of any sin on the great judgment day.
The sins of complacency and mediocrity now threaten the survival of many of our loved ones and unless they are set free from these sins the eternal life which they desire will never be theirs. It is often said that the power of grace has the power to redeem and save people but it is often observed that grace is not treated in the way it should be. The filth of our moral will not be repeated here because our aim is o instill the need of our acceptance of His Word. In one of my earlier works “Spiritual Examination “, I emphasized about the need to protect our salvation and the works of the present is also for the same purpose but with greater authority. The situation of the present clearly reveals that we are not only living in the era of the last days but we are living in an age where the sins of deception is at its worst. The Word of Life clearly states “Do not merely listen to the Word and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the Word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in the mirror and after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it – he will be blessed in whatever he does” ( James 1:22-25 ). The sayings of this Saint is as true as the Word is. Whenever a sermon is preached on salvation, we lose much when we don’t accept much. The act of deception can be defined as an act of foolishness.
The wonderful sermons we hear will be of no value to us if we don’t really value it. Though we may be blessed materially, we may be in danger of ending up in the lake of fire if we are not blessed spiritually. Talking about eternity is like lighting a fire to warm ourselves but walking away from it can be likened to the acts of the foolish.
The scripture states that we are to love God with all our mind, our heart and with all our strength and the other interpretation of it is that we are to listen to His Word with all our mind, our heart and with all our strength. In view of this it will be beneficial if we sleep more at home and be more attentive during the Holy services lest we end up in hell because of our acts of negligence. The acts of the deceiver will only be to deceive. Let not the deceiver deceive you and deceive not yourself. Accept the truths of these words and be set free by it. When you live the talk, you will be set free by it. The Church of Christ loves you through the love of Christ. Even as you read this we know not who you are but God knows what you are and it is our prayers that the blessings of these truths be yours today. You are a member of the Church of Christ.
