How To Live Right For God
By David J. Stewart | July 2012
2nd Corinthians 10:5, “Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.”
Hey, I read a fantastic Scripture yesterday in 2nd Corinthians 10:5-6
“Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against
the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience
of Christ; And having in a readiness to revenge all
disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.” I never saw
this truth before until yesterday, but it became clear to me. When I fail to do
the right thing, I get mad at myself and I “revenge all disobedience” by making
a big deal about it in my mind. I literally get mad at myself and think about it
for days when I fail to obey God in some matter.
This is how you live right, that is, by subduing your mind. This is exactly what 2nd Corinthians 1:-5 teaches, that is, you bring every thought into captivity to obedience to Christ. Arrest every thought if it's a lust, hate, gossip, murmur, complaint, doubt, et cetera.
If it's hateful thought, then you arrest that thought and bind it, saying “I will not hate another human being. Life's too short to live with a burden of hatred. Christ died for my sins and forgave me. I will not hate! Lord I pray for that person, that Your will may be done in their life.”
Or if it's a lustful thought then you arrest that thought, thinking to yourself “I will not have a garbage pail for a mind. I want to please God in all my ways. The flesh is only temporary and death is coming for everybody. Beauty is only skin deep. That whore is walking death on two legs. The Lord will judge us all in eternity. She likely never had a good Christian home while growing up. She's probably not a Christian. She's not dressing that way to be mean most likely; she just wants attention. She is being selfish and doesn't love the Lord Jesus.” Today women wear their dresses up, and men their pants down. American culture is depraved.
You see friend, you can't hate nor lust if you instead fill your mind with thoughts pleasing to the Lord. ANYONE can live right and have a clean mind in 2012! Do you want to please God by having the mind of Christ. Instead of seeing a hot babe, view that woman as someone who needs Jesus Christ and is rebelling against God in the area of modesty. Ephesians 6:12 teaches that our battle is not against FLESH, but against SPIRITUAL forces. A woman who is dressed immodestly with the attire of a harlot is spiritually distant from God. The Devil is working in her heart according to Ephesians 2:2. She is not right with God. She may or may not be saved. You cannot know by the way she is clothed.
Living for OTHERS will change your entire life and the way you view OTHERS. A Christian man who is living for OTHERS won't lust upon a sexy woman who is exposing her body in public; but rather, he will think about the Lord and 2nd Corinthians 10:5-6. Literally, when I see a woman hanging out all over the place, I almost always think of 2nd Corinthians 10:5 and quote it in my mind... “Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. It's never easy, but it gets easier over time because it becomes a habit. If you'll start thinking immediately, “No, I won't think that way!,” then it will eventually become habit (character).
Proverbs 24:9, “The thought of foolishness is sin: and the scorner is an abomination to men.”
Jesus called His generation adulterous and wicked. Certainly the world today hasn't become any better. With the advent of technology, it has allowed man to travel further down the path he was already on. Modern communications, television, photography, printing and the internet are far more of a curse than they are a blessing. Sodom had NONE of these inventions. If they had, they would have been as wicked as we are today.
Mankind has always taken God's
blessings and turned them into something evil. God created the world and made
DNA; yet mad scientists today are playing God, attempting to “IMPROVE” on
perceived flaws in God's creation. God made some things seemingly imperfect for
a very good reason I assure you! In the times ahead we are going to find out THE
HARD WAY why God made things the way He did, when genetic monsters rend against
mankind. Just as one example are the thousands of mutant genetically-modified
(GM) mosquitoes which scientists have released into the wild. Only God knows
what will become of this tampering with nature. My friend, I said that to say
this... living right means trusting God in all
Living Right Is Not Salvation
No one can live right if they don't think right. And you won't think right if you don't have the Spirit of God to guide you. There are many intelligent people in this world who are sold out to Satan. Thinking right doesn't mean living morally according to man's carnal standards; but rather, according to God's divine Laws. No one is living righteously who doesn't have obedience to God as their ultimate goal. The first step of obedience is to obey the good news (the Gospel) of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Gospel is that Jesus DIED, was BURIED and then RESURRECTED three days later (1st Corinthians 15:1-4). Jesus shed His precious blood for our sins (1st Peter 1:18-19). Through faith in Jesus Christ we are saved (Galatians 3:26). We are saved by grace through faith PLUS NOTHING! So when I speak of doing right and living right, it is with the understanding that every person MUST be born-again first, before they can ever live right to please God.
Having said that, let me also say that living right has absolutely NOTHING to do with going to Heaven. Eternal life is a free gift (Romans 5:15; 6:23). Jesus paid our sin debt! Beware of any false prophet who places an obligation or burden upon the sinner to change anything to be saved. God accepts you just as you are, as a dirty sinner. Whatever changes God wants to be made is another matter, and He will tend to that in the chastisement department after you are in Christ (Hebrews 12:6-8; 2nd Corinthians 5:17). Christ bore our burden of sins upon Calvary's cross. It was not intended for us to bear the burden of our sins, nor to endeavour to change and live right to be saved. We live right because WE ARE saved, not TO GET saved.
Any plan of salvation that places requirements, stipulations, burdens and obligations upon the sinner is a false Gospel. Biblical salvation is receiving, not giving. It's not what we're doing that gets us to Heaven; but rather, where we are looking. Look to Jesus! Isaiah 45:22, “Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.”
