This
book is for all those of us who love the Lord Jesus:
because this whole topic
is an issue that deeply concerns every one of us, and it
really matters.
Is there indeed a sin we treat as a virtue? Could this
possibly be true of us,
of me?
If
there is something basic in biblical teaching about the
way I live that is
somehow slipping past me, then I want to do something
about this.
I will be eager to learn what it is, so that I can bring
my life into line with
the will and plan of God, by the power of the Holy
Spirit: because of my love
for the Lord Jesus - who said to his disciples, “If you
love me, you will
do what I command you” (John 14:15). And he
said to those who claim
to be his disciples, “How can you call me
‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the
things that I tell you?” (Luke 6:17, 46.)
Yes,
there is a sin we are treating as a
virtue.
This
sin is greed—sheer plain greed. Coveting. The
comfortable, respectable, sin.
But the extremely dangerous and damaging sin. It is
condemned by the Tenth Commandment.
It is the sin Christ spoke against more often and more
vehemently than any
other— he warned against it in the strongest possible
terms: “Beware! Take
care! Watch out!” It chokes the Word of God in your
life, he said. It hinders a
person entering the
The
risk to us from this sin is all the worse because it is
so often not recognized
as sin. It is so all-pervasive that we do not actually
see its deceitful
danger. But statistics show it is insidiously at work in
the church, seriously
affecting its work and witness in the world.
It
is a trap and a snare that can so easily catch us quite
unawares. Breaking free
of it is in fact one of the most difficult issues we
face in our Christian
lives. Can anything be done about this? Yes! It is
crucial that we become aware
of what the Bible says about it, and then think through
how to live our lives
in accordance with biblical teaching.
This
book will point to all the relevant Scriptures. Can you
afford not to heed what
they say? They just might save you from spiritual
disaster. Don’t treat this
lightly. Jesus didn’t. Paul didn’t.