Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Flee from Unrighteousness



(Psalms 55:8-11) I would hurry to find a shelter from the raging wind and tempest." Destroy, O Lord, divide their tongues; for I see violence and strife in the city. Day and night they go around it on its walls, and iniquity and trouble are within it; ruin is in its midst; oppression and fraud do not depart from its marketplace.

(Matthew 7:24-27) "Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it."

When you find yourself in the midst of unrighteousness, whether it has been inflicted upon you or by your own doing, the answer and only appropriate response is to flee. David says that he hurried to find shelter, meaning that he did not stroll away from danger. He did not waste a moment or linger around to bid his friends and acquaintances farewell; he fled and he fled quickly!

Paul warns the Corinthian church that bad company corrupts good morals (1 Corinthians 15:33). He did not mean that we should never associate with individuals who are unrighteous, but that we should not participate—in any way and on any level—in their unrighteous deeds. The Lord's intention is for the righteous to bring the unrighteous into their righteousness, not for the righteous to immerse themselves in unrighteousness in order to influence the unrighteous.

When you find yourself in the midst of unrighteousness, whether it be in the privacy of your own thoughts or in the company of others—even believers—flee and flee quickly lest you be influenced by the unrighteousness

Questions For Discussion

How are unrighteous situations inflicted upon you?
What are some ways the enemy entices you to linger in an unrighteous situation?
How does the Lord intend for you to respond to unrighteousness, even in the midst of believers?

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