September 10th, 2000, Sunday Morning
"Spiritual Suicide"
How even saved Christians are
"killing" themselves
(Special Guest Speaker: Brother Jim Harwell)
OPENING: Hosea 13:9, KJV
- Statistics show there are 13 suicides every 60 seconds ... and the numbers are only
going to get worse in the future. When people think life is too much, they easily throw
in the towel: drown themselves; blow their brains out; etc.
- It's tragic for individuals of such great potential, put here by God for
a purpose, to go down the drain and die like this.
- However, there is another way to die (even if you're
saved): spiritually. This can be accomplished
through drugs, alcohol, illicit sex, and disobeying God your Father.
- Hosea 13:9: In this context of scripture, God is addressing
Israel's SPIRITUAL not PHYSICAL death--without the loss of the soul.
- CAUSES OF "SPIRITUAL SUICIDE"
- When you reject God's offer of salvation:
- John 3:16: When you reject spiritual salvation, you're unsaved
in Jesus Christ. There is no salvation apart from Him. Those who reject commit
spiritual suicide and are lost forever in eternity. It's caused by neglect with the
"I'll do it one day when I get my current affairs in order" mentality ... yet no one knows
if there will be a tomorrow!
- 2 Thessolonians 1:7-9: The punishment for rejecting salvation is
eternal destruction. You can't place the blame for this on the devil or God. If you're
unsaved, your choice of hell for eternity was made by you and you will bear the
responsibility.
- Jesus tasted death of every saved
AND UNSAVED man on this earth.
- Hosea 13:9: Spiritual suicide is even committed by God's
saved and chosen (Jewish) people, as well.
In this context of scripture, it is a matter of destroying your usefulness to God.
- Mark 8:34: By withholding your life from God
(not giving it to Him to be used) then you shall lose your life.
- When Christians "depart" from God
- Hosea 7:13: Backsliding (which leads to worldly involvements)
and departing fellowship with God.
- Hosea 4:16: For those of you who've tried milking a cow and
it refuses to move, here's an example statement of backsliding.
- Hosea 7:8: Mingling with those who do evil is called
"getting involved in the world."
- Hosea 7:4: And not only do we sin, but it is continuous--with
no end.
- James 4:4: To love the world is to hate God.
- Hosea 4:17: "idols", in this context, means
pleasures and fornications of sin. "Let him alone"--referring to Ephraim--means
keep yourself fully separated from it. Don't even dabble in it.
- Matthew 5:27-28: Being actually, physically involved with this
sin is the same as thinking about it with all your heart. Why? Cause Jesus said so.
- Hosea 7:9: What does this verse mean? It means that we don't just
instantaneously separate from God, say, at the end of a church service. People get involved
with the world and don't know they've departed fellowship and separated from God because
it happens a little bit at a time. One little thing after another takes over--AND
YOU DON'T NOTICE IT.
- Example: The violent, sexual content of video games today. It slowly,
unnoticeably is increased ... and accepted.
- Hosea 13:1: You cannot get involved with the world and expect
not to be burned from it.
- Refusing God's instruction
- Hosea 4:6: We, as Christians, are priests of God. We destroy
the knowledge of God by not accepting or hearing it. In this way, one dies spiritually.
This suicide is committed by starving yourself of the word of God (for Jesus said
to the devil in Matthew 4:4 that we don't just eat food to survive but
obey every word of God).
- Your life is precious to God.
- 1 Corinthians 6:19: When God saved
you, it was for a purpose. You were bought with a price because God put much stock in
you ... and the price was high. God saved you so he may use you.
- WHY GOD BOUGHT YOU:
- So He would use us.
- Matthew 9:37: God needs the life of every Christian. He recognizes
that many souls are perishing and the workers (pastors, soulwinners, witnesses, etc...)
are few (reference Laboring together with our Lord--3 Sep 00).
Why so few? Because people are withholding from service.
- Romans 6:13: Many believe they are useless and of poor material ...
unable to benefit anything or anyone. This is not true. If you give yourself to God,
he will mold and shape you and equip you to do His work--to be His instrument.
- Not everyone was called to be a pastor, missionary, etc. but withholding your
service to God is spiritual suicide. It was result in a worthless life. You may be
talented to make money and be educated but all that doesn't count to God. The happiest,
safest place to be is to be in and doing the will of God.
- If God is for you, who can be against you?
- So we may glorify Him.
- 1 Corinthians 10:31: In ALL we do (notice it doesn't say "in only
the good that happens to us") we should give Him the glory. Our body does not belong to us
but to Him that made us; If we cannot glorify God then He cannot have our body and
that is spiritual suicide.
- It hurts to find Christians who are content with just being
saved and feel no further work is required to enter
Heaven. Coming to church is not performing service to God--it's only to
worship Him.
- Remedy for spiritual suicide
- Hosea 13:9: WHO = God
- Hosea 13:14: How God will do this
- Hosea 14:2: What YOU must do to recover
- Hosea 14:4-9: The result of your confession to God. (And note
your confession of repentance means you're sorry--which means you will not do it again.)
CLOSER
- Proverbs 28:13: Prosperity will follow a repenting heart as opposed
to hiding (which is impossible before God, anyway) your sins--a spiritual suicide.
