Romans 2:21-23
“21 Thou therefore which teachest another, teachest
thou not thyself? thou that preachest a man should not steal, dost thou steal?
22 Thou that sayest a man should not commit adultery,
dost thou commit adultery? thou that abhorrest idols, dost thou commit
sacrilege?
23 Thou that makest thy boast of the law, through
breaking the law dishonourest thou God?”
I believe most
of my preacher friends would agree with me when I say that when we sit down to
study for a sermon or to write an article or devotional, often times the Holy
Spirit has us examining ourselves as we study and even when we write the final
draft. It has always amazed me how this works. When our hearers and readers
think we have directed our thoughts toward someone imparticular, it maybe that
our thoughts were on ourselves and not on anyone else. There have been times
the Lord led me to write or preach with no one in mind, not even myself, and
later someone let me know it was for them. Sometimes with a “thank you” or
sometimes with a “how dare you”.
Something we all
need to remember about the one delivering the message, is that we are not
perfect. We are sinners saved by grace, just like many of our audience. We have
our faults and failures in this life and often times the Holy Spirit convicts
us of these and instructs us in these through the word He gives us to preach or
to write.
In our text
verses, Paul was warning preachers and teachers of these very things. We must
examine ourselves and our own lives before preaching that “Hell, Fire, and
Brimestone” sermon. That is not to say that we are perfect or ever will be
perfect in this life, but are we beyond reproach? How are we living compared to
scritpure? This is why I write so much on why we must look to Christ in
everything in this life. For my benefit and I pray, for the benefit of those
these devotionals reach.
Praise ye the
Lord!!!
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