ANOTHER

“I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.” (Galatians 1:6-9 KJV)

I would like to share a story with you. It is not so funny, but it does have a point. There was a gentleman, we shall call him Thomas, who attended a wedding reception. At the affair another gentleman, we shall call him Cedric, started a conversation with him. As the two men chatted Cedric picked up his glass of punch and threw it into Thomas' face.

"Oh, I am so sorry!" said Cedric. "This is so embarrassing. I have certain urges that I just can not resist. It is very embarrassing."

"Well, maybe you could use some counseling," said Thomas. "I understand that the new pastor down at the New Gospel Family Life Center, you know, where the Old Time Bible Baptist Church used to be, he counsels people about their problems."

"You may be right," replied Cedric. "Thanks, I will give it a try."

A month passed and then the two men saw each other at a mutual friends house.

"Hey," asked Thomas. "Did you ever go get counseling for your embarrassing urges?"

"I sure did," answered Cedric. "And I want to thank you for the recommendation." Then suddenly Cedric pitched another glass of punch into Thomas' face.

"Well," said Thomas annoyed. "I guess the counseling did not help"

"Oh, yes it did," responded Cedric. "I still have the same urges, but I am no longer embarrassed by them."

Now the moral to this story is that changing the message, or hyping the emotion in order to get people to feel differently about their sin does not really help them. They just feel better about themselves. Guilt and embarrassment about sin is given to us to bring us back into proper relationship with God. The Holy Spirit of God is not only our Comforter, but also our convictor. ALL SIN KILLS. Changing its name, or using others to excuse our sin, does not make it any less deadly.