Sinnerholics & The Devil’s Toys
by Cary Rodgers, pastor
Life is short on this planet and it is totally empty and void without Christ. James 4:14 says, “Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.” A vapor is a mist of a cloud of tiny water droplets suspended in the air. It is here for a moment and then quickly evaporates. If life is like a mist, what is one day? Each water droplet represents the gift of time that God gives you daily. Every water droplet of time in your present moment is precious. What are you doing with it? “For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.” - 2 Peter 1:24, 25.
You only have one lifetime on this earth to get it right. Only what you do for Christ will last, everything else will fade away as meaningless and worth nothing. “And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.” - 1 John 2:17.
Your probationary trial of life is almost over. Probation is defined as “the process or period of testing or observing the character or abilities of a person in a certain role.” - Google Dictionary. Jesus is observing and judging our characters to see if it measures up to His holy and righteous character. He is urgently letting you know that the period of testing and observing your character is almost over. What will be the result? Character is the dynamic sum of a collection of the repetition of your thoughts, feelings, behaviors, and habits in that order. Is your character like Christ or Satan? Remember, Jesus is judging your character, NOT your intentions. Intentions are not relevant in the courts of Heaven. They are empty. Your character must be just like the character of Jesus Christ, holy and blameless without sin.
The rapid fulfillment of Bible prophecy in our present time reveals that we only have a short time left. The promise of our great deliverance from this sin filled place of sickness, pain, misery, and death will soon take place! Jesus is coming again! Do you really believe in this promise? Does the fruit of your character reflect this reality or are you consumed with the cares, worries, and distractions of this present world? In order to make it from earth to the everlasting Heavenly kingdom, not one dust particle of sin can be a part of your character. This is very serious. You must have total and complete victory over sin! Praise the Lord, this is the reason why Jesus came! He came to this sinful planet on a search and rescue mission to save you! Why? His love is deeper and wider than space!
Sin is like a very deadly disease that eats away the vitality and strength of your soul. Sin makes no apologies nor weeps after the death of its victim. Sin is our main problem as soon as we are born! Psalms 51:5 says, “Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.” Sin is etched in our characters. We are all born “sinnerholics” with a natural addiction to sin. Sin is the disobedience of God’s law (1 John 3:4) and the standard for righteousness (Psalm 119:172).
Sin is like a two thousand ton boulder that keeps the sinnerholic hopelessly trapped under its weight. When a sinnerholic looks at the law of God it reveals to them that they are fatally trapped and its standard of righteousness is too high to reach! Its standard is like a 350 mile high mountain. Trapped under a two thousand ton bolder with a 350 mile high mountain to climb this is IMPOSSIBLE for the sinnerholic! They can try to reach the standard by themselves, but they will NEVER be able to do it alone no matter how many times they try. Jesus is the only one qualified and strong enough to lift that boulder of sin and help you reach the top of His mountain of righteousness. He will take you from a sinnerholic trapped with sin to a former sinnerholic that reflects the character of Jesus Christ, no longer trapped with the weight of sin!
Sin is addictive, habitual, and will keep you drunk with pride, lust, cares of this world and its Babylonian wine of lies! Sin pleases the flesh with temporary excitement and pleasure then takes you low like an alcoholic going through withdrawals. Jesus wants to take you from sinnerholic to former sinnerholic. We must become former sinnerholics in order to be in the kingdom of righteousness.
“Know ye not that the unrighteous [sinnerholics] shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you [former sinnerholics]: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.” - 1 Corinthians 6:9-11.
Sinnerholics are not only addicted and drunk, but they are also BLIND! Blindness and drunkenness are a bad combination that will lead to self destruction. How far will a blind and drunk alcoholic go when trying to cross a busy highway? He will stumble to his sure death!
Can those who are sinnerholics, drunk and blind, see that time is almost over? “Troublous times are right upon us. The signs of the times reveal that the day of the Lord is soon to come. The daily papers are full of indications of a terrible conflict in the near future. Strikes are common. Thefts and murders are committed on every hand. Men possessed by demons are killing men and women and little children. The taking of human life is a matter of daily occurrence. All these things testify that the end of all things is at hand. The powers of earth are stirred with an intensity from beneath; and the Lord sends to His people the warning, ‘Heaven and earth shall pass away; but My word shall not pass away. And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come on you unawares. For as a snare shall it come on all that dwell on the face of the whole earth.’ ” Ellen White, The Nearness of The End, Union Conference Record (Australian), January 15, 1904.
The end of all things is a hand. Jesus says, “Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.” - Luke 21:36. Jesus is pleading with His people to watch and pray! If you are still a sinnerholic, today it’s time to go through the detox program of Jesus Christ. He will sober you up, thoroughly clean you up, and heal your blindness. He will take you from guilty to not guilty, sinner to saint!
Sin and its devices that please “the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life,” (1 John 2:16) keep the sinnerholic drunk, blind, and addicted to sin! These are Biblical facts that God’s professed people looking for the second coming of Jesus must understand clearly. Sin is nothing to play around with nor take lightly. We cannot make ANY provision or way for sin to enter in our spiritual experience with Jesus Christ. Once you are truly in Christ, your old sinful habits, drunkenness, and blindness should pass away. All things in your character must be totally transformed in the likeness of Jesus. (read 1 Corinthians 5;17). You are no longer who you used to be. Your thinking, feelings, behavior, and habits have all been changed by the power of God.
In our fast paced world full of attractions, distractions, and entertainment, the majority of professed Christian’s today have been mesmerized and deceived by Satan. They believe that they can go to the Devil’s toy box and play with his toys while at the same time drink from the pure fountain of God’s truth and be saved. This is as fictional and delusional as Hollywood’s movies! Can you mix pride and humility and have humility? Can you mix corruption and holiness and be holy? Can you have sin guilt, but still remain righteous? No. No. No. Impossible! 1 Corinthians 10:20-21 says, “But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils. Ye CANNOT drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord's table, and of the table of devils.”
No matter a person’s profession, denomination, affiliation, or the longevity of their church membership, if they are playing in the Devil’s toy box trying to mix the holy with the profane, the truth with lies, righteous with worldliness they are still sinnerholics! They are blind, drunk, and addicted to sin! Think about it, do you think you can drink the wine of Babylon mixed with the pure water of truth and NOT get DRUNK? That is like mixing vodka and pure water and not expecting to get drunk! What will you get if you mix truth with lie? Deception! “Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter? Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? either a vine, figs? so can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh.” - James 3:11-15.
The Bible is abundantly clear, but many professed Christians try mixing it anyway! This is extremely foolish! Let’s make it real and practical. They think it is okay to watch Netflix movies as long as they read some portions of the scriptures that day. They feel comfortable spending countless hours cheering on their favorite NFL or NBA team as long as they had prayer and Bible study. They say they practice God’s health message but take the poisonous pharmaceutical drugs of Babylon! These are straight deceptions from the Devil that feed the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life.
Someone may be saying, “What? I cannot watch my NFL or NBA team and be a Christian too?” Question, what does the NFL and NBA promote? Competition, lust, sex, alcohol, and a waste of time. Don’t be fooled because some players pray on the field before they play. God is not in it. He is in the soul saving business, not the Superbowl, that is the devil’s playground. What about Hollywood or Netflix movies, TV programs, and video games? They promote sex, lust, lies, alcohol, big pharma, violence, and a waste of time. Can you mix the jazz, rock, rhythm and blues, and rap with the gospel and glorify God? No. All these things are the toys of Satan. They are provisions of the flesh that intoxicate and blind sinnerholics. Can someone who is trying to recover from alcohol go to the bar? The same is true spiritually, sinnerholics who drink from Satan’s cup will relapse and get trapped once again in sin. Philippians 4:8 must be our guiding principle, “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” This is pretty straight. If it is not true, honest, just, pure, lovely, of a good report, if it has no virtue, nor any praise, CUT it off, cancel your subscription, delete it, and let it go! Again, life is too short to hold on to things that will destroy your life.
What is God’s explicit instructions for those who are still trying to mix it? “And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.” - 2 Corinthians 6:15-17
How dangerous is it to be in a local church or conference that promotes mixing the cup of the devil and the cup of Jesus, promoting idolatry but at the same time saying they worship Jesus? This is extremely dangerous for your soul and your family. Your soul salvation will be in jeopardy. Many churches today are mixing worldliness, lust, the LGBT movement, and spiritualism with the gospel. Who are they fooling? Themselves. Some are promoting and having church sponsored events at the movie theater. For example, an SDA church in California had a church social at the theater to watch the “Black Panther” movie. The pastor, as well as many members were in attendance. The pastors in churches like these are spiritual bartenders mixing truth and lies which cause the membership to get drunk on the wine of Babylon! All the true believers in Christ need to flee these churches and find a local church that is preaching and teaching Bible truth without mixing it!
What instructions does God give for those who have “bartender” pastors or church leaders? “Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” - 2 Corinthians 7:1. “Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence, touch no unclean thing; go ye out of the midst of her; be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the LORD.” - Isaiah 52:11.
Are you still struggling with sin? What is the remedy for sinnerholic “Christians” who are stilling mixing Satan’s toys with God’s truth? “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.” - James 4:7, 8. “Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.” - John 15:3 “Sanctify [make holy] them through thy truth: thy word is truth.” - John 17:17. “Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently: Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.” - 1 Peter 1:22, 23.
We are living at the end of God’s judgment hour. Your probationary time of building your character in the image of Christ or Satan is almost over. When your probationary time is over, what will the Judge, Jesus, say about your case in the end? Sinnerholic or righteous?