A young man asked his...
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A young man asked his religion teacher a wise question. He asked why, when there were several other religions in existence at the time, Christians were the only ones persecuted. They alone faced martyrdom if they did not give up their religion and vow allegiance to the state. The answer is that the Christians were the only ones who took their religion seriously. They should not compromise their faith. That is the commitment which Paul is demanding when he says you must be willing to die to sin and to become alive in Jesus Christ. Many pictures advertise the advantages of weight loss by persons who need to reduce. Before and after ads have become famous, picturing people before they lost weight and showing how they looked after they had lost pounds. We need to realize that there is a before and after for Christians. After receiving Christ into our hearts we are not the same as before. We no longer run with the wrong crowds, nor willfully do those things we know to be wrong. We become dead to them so that they no longer tempt us into sin. Now we turn to Christ to overcome the weaknesses of the flesh and by his presence and power become alive to the "temptations upward" which we find in our Christian faith. -- Lentz
