Within and Outside the Walls 2

….A man is tempted when he is drawn away by his own lust and enticed.

                                                                     James 1:14

How did we get here?

Every time a person falls without taking a second look to find out why he/she falls, there is a risk of having the same fall happen again. Why? Because he/she never knew why he fell and does not know what to look out for to avoid a second fall.

This is why I want us to answer this question first, How did we get here?

How did we get into a situation where our flesh seeks the most to do those things that our spirit hates?

It’s time we forgot for a second the story about Adam and Eve, and how man fell and sin was passed to all men. If we have been accepted Jesus as our saviour then we can claim to be new creature, for whom old things have passed away and all things have become new.

If so how come we that have been born of incorruptible seed have corruptible tendencies? Let’s do some reasoning together and draw the picture of an average believer.

Lets call this believer Billy; Billy loved to read as a child and read a lot of books while growing up, from various authors ranging from Enid Blyton’s classics, Pacesetters, Hardley Chase, Harlequin, Mills and Booms, Jackie Collins, Harold Robins, Sydney Sheldon, Dennis Robins, Barbra Taylor and the likes.

When it came to music, Billy listened to and sang every genre of music uncensored, from various artists like Boys II Men, R Kelly, Tupac, Aerosmith, Eric Clapton, Janet Jackson, Maria Carey, Toni Braxton, Madonna, Aron Hall, Withney Houston, Bob Marley, etc

Billy watched enough movies without proper guidance; Billy saw it all on TV, kissing, smooching, sex and all.

At school Billy talked and fantasized about sex with friends who were either practicing with their housemaids or neighbours, or dreaming about it.

The neighbourhood also exposed Billy to adults who abused Billy.

All these formed Billy’s attitude toward sex. Then came Billy’s first relationship which lasted for years. Soon Billy began experimenting, and soon it became a way of having fun for Billy.

Then something happened and Billy accepted Christ. Billy became a new creature but did not suffer a memory loss.

A major source of problem with staying in faith for Billy was the knowledge acquired years before knowing Christ. Billy’s mind had been well cultivated in those years by the media, Billy’s environment and experiences.

This is a brief summary of Billy’s life. Any sincere person reading this piece will agree with me that Billy paints the picture an average Christian’s life. A major issue everyone of us had (or still have) after giving our lives to Christ was the life we lived before knowing him. For me I lived in the nightmare of the life I lived before knowing Christ. Not that my life before knowing Christ was as colourful as Billy’s but my life before knowing Christ disturbed my prayer life, worship and thought process. For me I had to stop reading any literature that was not Bible based, (I even avoided Christian Romance) and listening to the radio so as to avoid anything not godly going inside of me.

Bible says don’t conform to the world but be transformed by the renewing your mind. My beloved in the Lord you will agree with me that the situation we have today is this;

• we go to church
• read our Bibles more often
• Pray more often than we used to
• Listen to the Music we used to listen to + Gospel Music
• Read all the books we used to read + Christian Romantic Novels
• Follow the Fashion trend (seeking the cover page look)
• Watch all that TV provides with little or no filtration
• Listen to the Radio 24/7

And then expect to live a holy life because we are new creatures.

We did not suffer a memory loss, the pleasure of sex outside and inside Christ is the same, the only difference is that now you are in Christ you have a conscience that gives you a guilty feeling after.

Jesus Christ said, the things that defile a man are not the things that go into a man but the things that come out of a man. Why? Because you can decide to make something positive or negative of what goes into you. We have taken in all the multi media jargons and it has produced fruits of ungodliness, so much that now we are in Christ we are still who we were before knowing Christ, the only difference is that we feel guilty after and ask for forgiveness.

Imagine if Billy became born again after he was 20, almost ripe for marriage, so some years after conversion Billy takes on the first relationship without this renewal of mind the Bible requires of us, what do you think will happen?

You can be sure that Billy might not know the first thing two children of God in a relationship should be doing. And some Christians in church will meet Billy (burning and active for the Lord because of the fresh fire) and would be taken to her. From there a relationship begins.

So based on all this assumption a relationship begins, by the time either of them know what is happening, the quality of their foundation is revealed.

After giving our lives to Christ we need a complete overhauling. Someone reading this might say yes, but this happens over time, I do agree with that, nevertheless I believe a level of renewal of mind must take place.

Roman12:1-3 says I beseech you therefore brethren by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto the God, which is your reasonable service. And be not be conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.

The things we have consumed in form of books, videos, music, words before knowing Christ have formed our philosophies and made us who we were before Christ.

So we did not get here just because man fell in the garden, we got here by virtue of the decisions we made before knowing Christ. We need to take some responsibility. And now we need to begin to prepare again the soil of our heart for God. Go back to the word of God for direction.

Remember How shall a young person live a clean life? By carefully reading the map of your word. Ps119:9 (MSG)

For some others this is not the story, it is that they have lived so much of a holy life that they don’t know what it feels like, what they carry is their curiosity, without any knowledge they fall victims at a time when they let down their guard. Remember He that breaks the edge, the serpent bites.

Bible says let no man thinks he stands lest he falls, this is one rule everyone must appreciate. No one has immunity from falling a victim, so even now I don’t see myself as attained. I do not speak because I am an authority, I speak because I am one who shares in this struggle.

Some married person reading this might regard all this as information for the single but I say no it is not, that is why I referred to the scripture, Let no man think He stands. A married man/woman is more exposed than the single, times come when for some reasons spouses cannot come together sexually because either of the two is indisposed for one reason or the other. Then other party needs to go back to all the lessons he/she learnt as a single and then it usually becomes a little more difficult.

No matter you status, No one is beyond being tempted sexually.

How then shall we escape?

Please your Comments will be well appreciated and stories of how you’ve been able to stay above will be well appreciated. You might be saving a soul.

See you soon.

Omolola