Category: Sin

Bible Verse of The Day – 9-8-21

Part 2

1 Corinthians 6:9 (NKJV) 9 Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites…

Thanks for joining us again!

We ended yesterday’s devotional with this question; Why would Paul be addressing sins such as these when writing to believers?

Here’s the answer.

  1. He wanted to make a specific point that would help reinforce some things he had said that weren’t necessarily directly related to these sins, but that might make it easier for people to understand the big picture.
  1. The sins he brings up are familiar to those he is addressing because they are prevalent in the geographic region where he is teaching. And some of these people may have once been involved in them, before becoming followers of Christ (1 Corinthians 6:11). This is the case with the specific group of people Paul was writing to in verses 9 & 10, the verses we’re studying.
  1. Some members of the church community where he is teaching may be practicing some of these things because they had been involved in them prior to becoming Christians and had not yet gained understanding that they were not acceptable and should be refrained from.

We need to take note of what Paul said before he listed the actual sins; Do not be deceived.

Paul warned them not to be deceived into thinking that practicing these sins was acceptable for believers.

The fact that he used those 4 words before naming the sins alludes to the fact that some of them somehow believed that it was OK to participate in these types of sins, and that it would not jeopardize their spiritual wellbeing.

He wanted to make it clear that this was false.

Now that we’ve covered that, let’s move ahead tomorrow and talk about the actual sins that were being addressed by Paul.

Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie

Seven Seas Ministries
P.O. Box 272
Bradford, RI 02808

401-315-0902

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Bible Verse of the Day – 9-7-21

Part 1

1 Corinthians 6:9 (NKJV) 9 Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God?…

Before we dive into the various things mentioned in verses 9 and 10, let’s preface this with two things.

First, this is not written to condemn anyone. We are writing this to bring light and understanding to some topics that are often avoided because they are deemed by some to be too sensitive and controversial to touch.

We, however, do not shy away from these things. And it’s for one reason that this is so; truth sets people free.

So, if truth sets people free, then truth needs to be spoken, even when these truths are difficult, sensitive, or even contentious.

Lastly, we want to bring hope and light into dark situations. People in darkness can’t find their way out without a beacon of light to follow. So, we want to offer that beacon, that ray of hope that draws them out of their sin, into God’s light, where forgiveness is offered and redemption can be found.

Let’s get started!

Verse 9, above, states that the unrighteous cannot inherit the kingdom of God.

This is a fairly simple way of stating that those who are not seen as righteous by God will not enter His kingdom; will not inherit eternal life or spend eternity in His presence, in heaven.

Knowing that, let’s talk about who is righteous in God’s sight.

In its simplest form, God sees as righteous those who have recognized themselves as sinners, sought His forgiveness and placed their faith in Him, through the death of Jesus Christ on the cross.

That’s the short definition of righteous.

We won’t dive too deeply into all of this. Suffice it to say that this is all we need to know for now in order to study the topic at hand.

With that said, we need to understand that these words, penned by the Apostle Paul, were being written to Christians; believers. They were not being written to the world or the “unsaved”.

Why would Paul write of such things when addressing the body of Christ?

That’s an excellent question. So, let’s use that as the springboard for tomorrow’s devotional, as we begin to go a little deeper!

Stay tuned for more, tomorrow.

Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie

Seven Seas Ministries
P.O. Box 272
Bradford, RI 02808

401-315-0902

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Bible Verse of The Day – 9-6-21

Introduction

1 Corinthians 6:9-10 (NKJV) 9 Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, 10 nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.

We live in an age of gray.

Black and white, right and wrong, have been swept under the rug and classified as antiquated and outdated.

Anything goes and is permissible in this “enlightened” time in the world’s history.

That’s what we would be told, anyway, by so many who support this kind of behavior.

Love is love, we’re told. It doesn’t matter who or what you love as long as you’re OK with it.

Sin is old fashioned, they say. Those values have gone out of style. And “who can truly define sin anyway?”, we hear again and again.

God’s word, however, tells us something vastly different. And though the world will tell us that God’s word is no longer relevant, or that we are misinterpreting it, they speak blindly and ignorantly, having no real knowledge of God or His word.

Sadly, much of this terrible, blasphemous ideology has trickled down into the church, being accepted by some believers as truth. And while some may not necessarily embrace it as truth, they will tolerate it and say that we are not to judge others.

We are here today to set the record straight and break this down so that the truth is clearly known, and there will be no question about what is right or wrong, based on what God’s word says about it.

This will not necessarily be all-encompassing. But it will give enough proof from God’s word to show that there should be no question about any of these topics.

Lastly, before we dive in, let’s be clear that this is not being done to throw stones, point fingers or condemn by our words.

God’s word convicts and also offers hope. So, let us be judged by the word of God, and let us be subject to God via His word, following that word on the path to an acute awareness of our sin, the need for genuine repentance, and a conscious choice to seek forgiveness as we follow Christ wholeheartedly, giving ourselves wholly to Him.

So, over the next several days, we will tackle these topics, one at a time, making sure that they are clear and irrefutable in the context of God’s word. We will define anything that may not be as clear as some might like it to be, making sure not to leave anything hidden or unclear wherever possible.

So, join us starting tomorrow for our newest teaching series. We’re looking forward to sharing it, and we hope you will truly enjoy it and it will help bring clarity and understanding where there may have been confusion.

Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie

Seven Seas Ministries
P.O. Box 272
Bradford, RI 02808

401-315-0902

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Bible Verse of The Day – 6-23-21

Galatians 5:1 (NKJV) 5 Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.

As I have been studying in the book of Romans recently, I have seen and read a lot about sin in the lives of believers.

If we pay close attention to the word of God, and what it says on this topic, it becomes clear that this is a really big deal. It’s not something that we should just brush off and ignore.

The verse above tells us to stand fast in the liberty by which Christ has made us free.

Looking more closely at some of the phrases used here gives us a bit deeper insight into what this verse means to us.

Stand Fast: Don’t backtrack. Don’t surrender again to sin. Don’t budge when sin tempts us.

Liberty: Freedom bought and paid for by Jesus Christ, through His death on the cross.

Entangled: Ensnared, entrapped.

Yoke of Bondage: Sin, unrighteous behavior that holds us captive, separating us from God’s presence in our lives.

So, if we were to paraphrase the verse based on these definitions, synonyms, and understanding from the Holy Spirit, here’s what it might read like.

Do whatever it takes to hold onto the freedom that Jesus Christ died to give you. Don’t surrender it at any cost. Don’t let the enemy slyly lead you into the chains of sin again, from which you have already been set free.

So, we urge you in love to do just that; resist sin and temptation to fall back into the sin that Jesus died to deliver us from.

The freedom that we have was costly for the One who died to make it available to us.

Let’s cherish it, honor it and respect it with our hearts and our lives.

Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie

Seven Seas Ministries
P.O. Box 272
Bradford, RI 02808

401-315-0902

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Bible Verse of The Day – 6-18-21

Romans 6:17-18 (NKJV) 17 But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. 18 And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.

As we walk through our lives, we will ultimately be slaves to one of two things; sin or righteousness.

There is no middle ground.

We were all slaves to sin the moment we were born. We didn’t know that, because we were spiritually dead. But it’s a true fact verified by God’s word.

At some point in our past, we became aware of our sinfulness and decided to surrender ourselves to God and be cleansed by the blood of Jesus, having our past sins forgiven; washed clean.

When that happens, we start fresh. Our slate has been wiped clean.

Then, we choose moment by moment what we will do. Sometimes our choices are good. Sometimes they’re not so good.

As we mature, hopefully the number of not-so-good choices declines, and the number of good choices increases. This is a sign of surrendering to God and outward proof that we are becoming a slave to righteousness.

Some of us might take longer. We mature more slowly. But we eventually “get there”.

Others may never truly surrender to God’s leading, and will live on as slaves to their sin.

To those, today I urge you in love to consider your condition. Consider first the price that was paid by Jesus for your redemption. It cost Him everything. And He gave it willingly, for you and for me.

Also consider the price you’re paying in the choices that you make each day, minute by minute. And consider the effects that these choices have on those around us.

Who and what do we love more; our sin, or the God who created us and the Son who died for those very sins that we enslave ourselves to?

Lay them down today. Surrender to Him. Give those sins to Him and let Him break the chains of slavery that hold you.

It’s never too late. And there is no sin too big for God to handle.

Today is your day. This is your moment.

Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie

Seven Seas Ministries
P.O. Box 272
Bradford, RI 02808

401-315-0902

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Bible Verse of The Day – 4-30-20

1 Timothy 1:15 (NKJV) 15 This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.

What is Paul admitting to here?

He’s talking about how his life was conducted before Christ came into it. He was chief sinner. Anyone who refers to being a chief usually means that they are the leader, or the head honcho.

How many of us today will admit this so easily and readily, like Paul did? To be honest, no one, really.

Romans 6:17 (NKJV) 17 But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered.

This is the best part. Even though we all sin at one time or another, and some of us, so we think, are better at it than others, Jesus Christ has set us free and we no longer have to be slaves to it.

Obey God’s word, repent, believe in His son, Jesus, and we will be free.

Will we still sin at times? Yes, because we don’t become perfect. Our flesh is still with us.

But we become saved, we are now covered by the blood of Jesus Christ. And through Him, we can repent and ask God’s forgiveness, and be set free from those things that tempt our flesh.

2 Corinthians 5:21 (NKJV) 21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

Sin is always going to try to get in our way. But Jesus will help us to live right. It’s in Him we become the righteousness of God, through His cleansing blood.

Holy Spirit, our Helper, help us stay in Him. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie

Seven Seas Ministries
P.O. Box 272
Bradford, RI 02808

401-315-0902

If you know someone who will enjoy this or be encouraged by it, please feel free to share it with them!

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Bible Verse of The Day – 4-23-20

Romans 1:18 (NKJV) 18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness…

My heart goes out to the lost.

I know, though, that men choose their path. We all do. And at times some will deliberately reject God. That’s right; they choose the unrighteous path.

And God can’t stand it. He really cannot STAND to be near or around sin. So, what does that tell us? If we are deliberately choosing sin, and ignoring truth, He will not and cannot be near us, even if He loves us.

That’s why when Jesus was on the cross, He cried out, “why have you forsaken me?”.

Matthew 27:46 (NKJV) 46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”

For a short time, Jesus felt the hell experience. He was separated from God because He took on complete identification with sinners.

He took the punishment that we deserved. He carried the burden of humanity’s sin, for us, so we wouldn’t have to experience it.

God cannot be near sin.

God’s personal wrath against sin is no joke. Rather than bringing Him glory, sin brings dishonor against God and contradicts His Holy, moral character.

It doesn’t matter how bad our sin is, because sin in God’s eyes is sin. There is no depth to it. It’s all bad.

Sin will suppress or, in other words, restrain, stifle, conceal or smother truth.

The good news is that, even though God can not come near sin, He sent us a Savior.

That savior is Jesus Christ, His only Son, who suffered and died for each one of us. He did this so that through His perfect cleansing blood that was shed for us on the cross, we too can confess our sins, ask for God’s forgiveness and He will draw near, forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

1 John 1:9 (NKJV) 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Oh, the precious blood of Jesus that washes our sins away! Amen.

Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie

Seven Seas Ministries
P.O. Box 272
Bradford, RI 02808

401-315-0902

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Bible Verse of The Day – 2-19-20

Romans 1:20-21 (NKJV) 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, 21 because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.

We are living in a time when wrong is right, and right is wrong. Everything is backwards.

It’s not hard to see that much of the world seems to have gone crazy. Are you constantly amazed and shocked by the level of sin and immorality that you see around you? Even common sense seems not to be so common any longer.

As the world has very openly rejected God and His truth, the downhill slide of immorality seems to be accelerating. This is to be expected when God is driven out of every aspect of our societies and cultures.

A Godless society is destined to fall very deep into darkness and depravity. Hence, the things we see today in very large numbers around the globe.

You see, God offers His mercy to us freely. But when man largely rejects Him and His goodness over and over again, He will eventually give them over to the very things that they pursue; idolatry, murder, lust, greed, etc.

When this happens, we begin to see levels of sin and depravity that we may never have imagined could be so. And these very people eventually reap the results of their behavior.

Romans 1:26-27 (NKJV) 26 For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. 27 Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due.

This is why it’s so important that we pray and seek God, living our lives as examples of His light, His love and His mercy, that we might rescue even one from the depravity that this world is falling into, just as we have been rescued by that very same love and mercy.

Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie

Seven Seas Ministries
P.O. Box 272
Bradford, RI 02808

401-315-0902

If you know someone who will enjoy this or be encouraged by it, please feel free to share it with them!

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Bible Verse of The Day – 1-8-20

1 John 3:6 (NKJV) 6 Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him.

A few years ago, we received an email from someone who had read one of our daily devotionals. That devotional had covered the topic of sin and the believer, and they had written back to tell us that what we had said about sin was untrue, and that Christians are incapable of sinning.

They told us that once a person is a follower of Christ, they are no longer capable of sinning.

While this isn’t a widely held belief, we wanted to write about it today to clear up any misconceptions when it comes to this idea.

The verse above states that “whoever abides in Him does not sin”. It is this verse and other similar scriptures that are part of the doctrine that says it is impossible for believers to sin.

The problem with that idea is that the verses used to back it up are taken grossly out of context or badly misunderstood.

In 1 John 3:6, above, John is referring to habitual sin, not just a single incident. In Chapter 1, verse 8 he clearly states that believers do sin, and that anyone who says they don’t is deceived.

1 John 1:8 (NKJV) 8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

John’s goal in 1 John 3:4-10 is to combat false teachers of that time who were saying that sin doesn’t matter because it’s simply our flesh doing what it is supposed to do. They believed that flesh is bad, and since we live in fleshly bodies, we are destined to live lives of continual, habitual sin.

What these people miss is the fact that when we become a child of God (born of God), He gives us a new nature.

That new nature is Holy Spirit-driven, meaning that we will now be convicted if we contemplate sin or are faced with any temptation that can lead us into sin. No, we will not be perfect in following His leading. But as we grow, our tendency to sin will become less and less.

What John is teaching here is good for all of us to consider. Sin will entice each and every one of us. It’s a fact of life.

But what isn’t a fact of life is that we are powerless to fight it off. On the contrary, we are very well equipped to fight it off. God’s word tells us so many, many times.

We are told to resist the devil and he will flee (James 4:7). We are told that we are never tempted without God providing a way out, and that no temptation is more than we can bear (1 Corinthians 10:13).

So, as believers, it’s important for us to understand this. Habitual sin in the life of a believer, with no remorse, and no efforts on the person’s part to stop it, is not what God expects, and it is not a true reflection of what the life of a believer should be.

In fact, John himself stated very plainly at the end of the verse above (1 John 3:6), that whoever sins (habitually and without remorse), has neither seen Him or known Him.

Very sobering words, for sure. And words that we need to weigh carefully in our own lives.

Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie

Seven Seas Ministries
P.O. Box 272
Bradford, RI 02808

401-315-0902

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Bible Verse of The Day – 10-7-19

1 John 1:8-9 (NKJV) 8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

As believers, it’s sometimes hard for us to admit our faults, our shortcomings, our sins.

We like to think we have it all together and have a good handle on our behavior every minute of every day. But the truth is that we all fail from time to time, falling to temptation and doing something that disappoints us and disappoints God.

We all sin. It’s a fact that we can’t escape, no matter how hard we might try to talk our way around it.

Now, as believers, God wants us all to grow and mature. He doesn’t want us to stay as spiritual infants all our lives. And as we grow, the sin in our lives should diminish, a little at a time. Our ability to fight off temptation should become stronger.

No, we will never reach a point where we are perfect. We will still slip and fall occasionally.

Here’s the best part of all of this, though; God tells us in verse 9, above, that if we sin, we simply need to confess our sin to Him and He will forgive us for it.

This doesn’t give us a license to sin freely. Doing so is a slap in the face of Jesus, who died a brutal death to atone for those sins.

But, it’s good to know that as we walk this walk in frail human flesh, if we do sin, we have an advocate, and we have forgiveness simply by asking.

1 John 2:1 (NKJV) 2 My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.

Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie

Seven Seas Ministries
P.O. Box 272
Bradford, RI 02808

401-315-0902

If you know someone who will enjoy this or be encouraged by it, please feel free to share it with them!

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Bible Verse of The Day – 6-19-19

Romans 7:20 (NKJV) 20 Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.

We all wrestle with making the right choices. It’s part of human nature. The Bible calls it “the sin nature” or “the sinful nature”, depending on which translation you read.

Basically, this means that it is in our human nature to sin. This is the root of the vast majority of the problems that plague humanity as a whole.

Many may try to blame it on specific things that ignore the sinful nature of man. But in the end, it all boils down to the fact that our human nature enjoys sin.

Many people actually delight in sin. Some grow to love certain sins to the point where it destroys them, emotionally, spiritually and physically.

So, what do we do about this? Are we powerless, destined to “sin ourselves to death”?

Not at all. God has provided a way for us to break free from this sinful nature that tries so desperately to control and destroy us.

How?

By deliverance through Jesus Christ!

Romans 7:25 (NKJV) 25 I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!…

God is merciful and He doesn’t want to see a single person perish at the hands of sin. So, He provided a way of deliverance through the blood of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit.

It’s up to us to reach a point where we want to be set free, pushing back the desire to please ourselves and, instead, learn to live to please God.

It’s not always easy. In fact, sometimes it can be downright difficult, especially if we love the sin.

But with God, nothing is impossible if we will submit ourselves to Him and surrender our will.

There is freedom waiting for us. We just have to reach out and grab hold of it, in Jesus’ name.

Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie

Seven Seas Ministries
P.O. Box 272
Bradford, RI 02808

401-315-0902

If you know someone who will enjoy this or be encouraged by it, please feel free to share it with them!

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