Honor

Proverbs 3: 1 - 4, My son, do not forget my law, but let your heart keep my commands; for length of days and long life and peace they will add to you. Let not mercy and truth forsake you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart, and so find favor and high esteem in the sight of God and man. NKJV

Do you suppose a Christian wakes up one morning and suddenly decides to commit a sin or a crime? Shouldn't the power of the Holy Spirit be enough to prevent God's children from committing the same wickedness as sinners? The Bible teaches us, "Greater is He (Jesus) that is in us than he (Satan) that is in the world?" So what is it that we need to know that can keep us, Christians, from falling from grace and doing the unthinkable?

I can tell you, today, that it can be summed up in one word, "honor"? If a person doesn't honor God, then it limits what God can do for that person. In Matthew 13, we see where the Jews in Jesus' hometown didn't honor Him as the Son of God, and, therefore, He couldn't perform many mighty miracles because of their unbelief. God calls dishonor of Jesus' divinity in people's hearts, unbelief. Consequently, we must guard our hearts from dishonoring God (unbelief), lest we open the door for sin to enter our lives.

I want to give you a couple of examples that will show you just how important it is for Christians to honor God, His Word, and His authority in our hearts...especially when we feel justified to resort to the flesh nature and ignore God's Word in a situation.

King David is described in the Word of God as a man after the heart of God. David found great favor in God's sight, and his throne has been forever established. How could such a mighty man of God fall from the pinnacle of spiritual success that was bestowed upon him, slip into the deepest recesses of hell's power, and sin against God? The answer to this question is addressed in 2 Samuel 12: 8 - 9, I gave you your master's house and your master's wives into your keeping, and gave you the house of Israel and Judah. And if that had been too little, I also would have given you much more! Why have you despised the commandment of the LORD, to do evil in His sight? NKJV 

Satan seized a moment in David's life when he had turned his heart from the Lord and despised His commandment. David chose not to honor God's Word in his heart, and it opened him up to the allure of temptation and sin. I must also point out that Satan sought this opportunity to get into David's heart so that he might destroy the king's family as well. If you read chapter 12 completely, you will discover what it cost David personally to dishonor God's Word and to fall into sin. We're told in Romans that the wages of sin is death.

Let's look at an example of a king who was given an opportunity to commit adultery with another's man's wife, much like the sin of David. However, he was kept by the Lord from following through with it. Abraham had lied to the king and deceived him into believing that Sarah was Abraham's sister. 

Genesis 20: 6 - 7, And God said to him in a dream, "Yes, I know that you did this in the integrity of your heart. For I also withheld you from sinning against Me; therefore I did not let you touch her. Now therefore, restore the man's wife; for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you shall live. But if you do not restore her, know that you shall surely die, you and all who are yours." NKJV

Notice that the Word doesn't describe King Abimelech as a man of God or of faith. It simply says that he was a man who had integrity, and he respected certain lines of morality. As a result of this king's honor, God was allowed to keep him from sin and from bringing death into his family. Hopefully, through these two examples from the Bible, you can see more clearly the importance of honoring God's Word and His will in our hearts.

In Galatians 5, Paul teaches us that if we walk in the Spirit, we won't fulfill the lusts of the flesh. How do you respond to the Holy Spirit when He instructs you to do something, and it doesn't agree with what you want to do in your heart? Do you submit your will to God, or do you ignore the Lord? Sin doesn't just come on us suddenly. God gives us little nudges and warnings, and if we ignore those warnings and despise His conviction and command to relinquish, then we open the door for sin to rule over our hearts. We must remain submitted to God, and we must resist the Devil. Obeying this principle is the only way to keep ourselves from sin. Honor God first.

Praising God for Truth,
Pastor Asa Dockery