1)
Furthermore then we
beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have
received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more
and more.
2)
For ye know what
commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus.
3)
For this is the will of
God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication:
4)
That every one of you
should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour;
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saints of God, we have a responsibility to live a life becoming holiness. That
life can only be manifested if one accepts and embraces the truth. While it is
true that many apply some principles of truth to their lives, others
stop short of allowing the truth to guide their entire lives.
In
that the truth of God has been so distorted and "embellished" upon,
for a minister of God to be a true minister, he must present the truth
of salvation at all costs.
Part
of the counsel that he must give is steering man away from the flesh. In that this is what is most familiar, when
threatened with the unknown, we appeal to what is comfortable. If man is ever
to gain heaven, he will have to be instructed in how to forsake the flesh. For
this, they need a teacher with experience—in
possessing his vessel.
We
have, in the church today, entirely too many saints afraid to be good examples.
They are afraid because of the ostracism and ridicule they feel they may have
to face. Why? Because largely, good examples are "downplayed" by the
masses, while bad examples are glorified. This seems to be the natural
outgrowth of a people who want an excuse for doing wrong. For, if just one is
proven righteous, all others must comply.
If
we are ever to get to God's required state of being unblameable,
we must be motivated to change. This is what the Lord does for us by
allowing tests to come. You see, when we recognize that many things we attempt
to do do not work, we are to see that we need to do something
else! The "Something Else" that we need to utilize is Jesus and
His requirements.
Most
frequently, possessing one's vessel is taken to refer primarily to sexual
purity. Yes, this is one connotation, but there is so much more involved in the
possession of one's vessel. Doesn't the scripture mention "sanctification
and honor?" There are so many facets of this and included is the general
requirement of conducting oneself according to all the precepts of the
Lord. We cannot act as we want or do as we please. We cannot dress as we
want or go where we please. We have been adopted into righteousness and
therefore, have a responsibility to uphold that righteousness.
Note
that the command is given in scripture that you
(the reader) "possess your vessel." Attending to our own
responsibility would greatly reduce our complaints about what others are doing
and what is being done to us. Our time would be spent examining, "What am I doing?"
We
are often very quick to voice what we will and will not "take" from
someone else. But the problem is and will continue to be not what others do or
do not do, but rather, how much control I have over my own vessel. The rest of our spiritual lives will lead us to heaven
if we will ever accept that salvation has nothing to do with anyone
else—this is an individual, personal thing. We are spoken with, by God, as individuals--God
gives me requirements. There is no
such thing as a "group salvation."
None
of the things that daily life involves—children, work, money, jobs, spouses—are
to be handled of ourselves.
Difficulties surrounding these things involve no more of anything –but faith.
The problem is that in 1997, Man (both redeemed and sinner), is his own solution to his problem. This
ensures that he has no solution.
We
are at a point where we must declare a "war" on flesh. In allowing it
to "run wild," we are watching society and the Church disintegrate before our very eyes. Only by refusing to accept as truth what we feel, think and believe will we be
able to regain possession of these vessels made of dirt. It requires the
acceptance of "what thus saith the Lord," only!
Some
of us come to salvation knowing little, then after salvation, we get a
"little" knowledge. The knowledge is not the problem, but it is that
we stop with the "little". That makes that that we do have very
dangerous. The saddest thing about it is that it is we who retard our growth.
By aborting our tests and trials, we ensure that we will never advance beyond a
certain point.
The
possession of one's "vessel" is not to be taken lightly, for it must
always be understood that if one is unwilling to be the possessor, there is
another more than willing to do it for him. One who is unwilling to do this is
akin to a drug addict or alcoholic, who start doing what they do of their own
free will, then find it not so easy to stop.
So,
what does it take to stop doing those things which are uncontrolled and uncontrollable?
It takes self-respect, but most importantly, God-respect. This is the reality that we
must face. Only refusal to follow the flesh will enable us to do that which
will please the Lord and gain us eternal life.