Articles
Some Similarities
I realize the last couple of bulletins that I have been talking a lot about the coronavirus. Reason being, it’s obviously on the minds of everyone. Many Christians have discussed how sad it is that there isn’t as much concern for an individual’s spiritual state as there is for their physical state. Lord willing, next week I will deal with other Biblical topics that aren’t virus centered. Yet, I would like for us to see some similarities between the physical pandemic we are currently experiencing and the spiritual pandemic that exists.
If you get too close, you can become infected.
We know this is true, physically; but the same is true, spiritually. We are told that evil companions corrupt good morals (I Cor. 15:33). Choosing who we decide to hang around with, can cause us to stumble (Prov. 12:26). Saints do not cut themselves off from people in the world, but they are also aware of the danger of the leavening influence of others (I Cor. 5:6). As we can see, even social distancing needs to exist when children of God are tempted to walk in the ways of the word (I Pet. 4:3-4).
If you become infected you can get well.
This is where our comparison breaks down a little. Those who are sin-sick, can become Christians (Rom. 6:17), and those fallen, can be restored (Jas. 5:19-20; I Jn. 1:8-10), but the statistics are not the same. In other words, the majority of those dying in their sins, will perish, as Jesus taught (Matt. 7:13-14). On the spiritual side, no one can make us sin, so the onus is on us to resist the wiles of the devil (Eph. 6:11).
If you become infected, it will affect your family and job.
When it comes to sinful behavior, it can, and does, affect others. Families have been broken and jobs have been lost, due to being a slave to sin (Rom. 6:12-16). Read the list of transgressions found in Galatians 5:19-21, then ask yourself if committing any of these are not that serious. Obviously, both the virus and sin need to be taken seriously. Which is more serious? Consider how long eternity is!
