What if you bought a new car, a really expensive one, and a friend wanted to borrow it.\u00a0 Oh yes, he or she would have to be a really good friend for you to consent.\u00a0 So they borrow your car and when they bring it back you are devastated.\u00a0 Not only did they paint elaborate graffiti all over it, but they also modified the inside.\u00a0 It doesn’t look like the same car and its value has significantly lower.\u00a0 Would you be happy?<\/p>\n
\u201cFor you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God\u2019s.\u201d – 1 Corinthians 6:20<\/p>\n
I should probably stop right here and let people figure out what they should do, but I\u2019ve never been an appeaser when it comes to truth.\u00a0 Here is a fact that no true Christian can deny.\u00a0 God is good and Satan is bad.\u00a0 Here are some more facts.\u00a0 God is Almighty, and Satan is merely the \u201cgod of this world.\u201d\u00a0 God\u2019s enemy is Satan and the carnal mind.\u00a0 God\u2019s people live according to God\u2019s will, Satan\u2019s subjects live according to the world system.\u00a0 God\u2019s people identify by themselves by their surrender to God, and Satan\u2019s people identify themselves by surrender to Satan.\u00a0 That was really simple.<\/p>\n
Now consider that the subjects of Satan love to wear his symbols.\u00a0 They love to wear death and demons on their clothing and tattooed on their bodies. Some of them will even engage in image mutilation in order to honor their master.\u00a0 Image mutilation is getting worse as the apostasy increases and the world system becomes more hedonistic.\u00a0 It is a statement of self-possession, i.e. \u201cIt my body and I\u2019ll do with it as I please.\u201d\u00a0 It is the same premise used by pro-abortion advocates.\u00a0 However, to own oneself is not to be owned by God.<\/p>\n
Clearly, God\u2019s word declares that as Christians, we do not own our bodies.\u00a0 Our bodies belong to God.\u00a0 When He redeemed us with the blood of His Son, we became His possession.\u00a0 Therefore, we should honor God with our bodies as we do with our spirits.<\/p>\n
That being the case, why would someone who claims to be God\u2019s property mutilate their body, which is created in God\u2019s image?\u00a0 If we belong to God, why should we be identified as the property of Satan?\u00a0 Is that okay with God?<\/p>\n
Most Christians do not seem to care what God thinks about their appearance.\u00a0 It is as if they are making statements to the world system; \u201cOkay, you\u2019re stronger than us.\u00a0 Your influence is more powerful.\u00a0 We are terrified of being criticized by you.\u00a0 We want what you have.\u00a0 We want to identify with you.\u00a0 It is embarrassing to be identified as a Christian.\u201d<\/p>\n
So we have this body that belongs to God, but we\u2019re going to tattoo graffiti all over it, get all types of piercings, and wear the symbols of bondage and death on our bodies and clothing.\u00a0 No, I\u2019m not a legalist,\u00a0 I don\u2019t preach against women wearing jewelry, makeup, or pants.\u00a0 I\u2019m just saying that we should be conscientious about bringing glory and honor to God.<\/p>\n
Why should free people headed to heaven be identified with bound people headed to hell?\u00a0 Is there any spiritual benefit in it?\u00a0 When our fashion to please the world negates our passion to please God, it\u2019s time for change.\u00a0 Confession is not possession.\u00a0 If we claim the Name, we ought to want the same.\u00a0 Is that too much Jesus?<\/p>\n
\u201cHoly Spirit search me.\u00a0 Expose every unclean thing in me.\u00a0 Make my heart pure.\u00a0 Make me the same on the outside as I am on the inside.\u00a0 I present myself as a living sacrifice.\u00a0 Consume me with purging fire.\u00a0 Help me bring honor and glory to God Almighty.\u00a0 I surrender to the One who bought me with the life of His Son, the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.\u201d<\/p>\n
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What if you bought a new car, a really expensive one, and a friend wanted to borrow it.\u00a0 Oh yes, he or she would have to be a really good friend for you to consent.\u00a0 So they borrow your car and when they bring it back you are devastated.\u00a0 Not only did they paint elaborate […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-773","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","post-preview"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paIm2N-ct","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.truthkeepers.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/773"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.truthkeepers.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.truthkeepers.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.truthkeepers.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.truthkeepers.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=773"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.truthkeepers.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/773\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":775,"href":"https:\/\/www.truthkeepers.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/773\/revisions\/775"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.truthkeepers.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=773"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.truthkeepers.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=773"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.truthkeepers.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=773"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}