Awake to Righteousness
“Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God:” (1 Corinthians 15:34)
Paul warned the Christians at Corinth to “Awake to righteousness, and sin not;” and not to tolerate sin in their lives, because “…some have not the knowledge of God:” Some of the people around them not only didn’t know Jesus as their personal Saviour, but they did not know the truth about God.
Paul said this because he obviously cared about those who did not have the knowledge of God. They were people God loved, even if they did not know or care about Him. They were people for whom Jesus died and was buried and rose again. They were people who would spend eternity in one of two places: heaven or hell. They were the people Jesus talked of when He gave the Great Commission: “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” (Mark 16:15)
People can lack the knowledge of God today. According to Pew Research Center, 4% of Americans identify as atheist and another 5% identify as agnostic (“10 Facts About Atheists”, Michael Lipka, 12/6/19. Pew Research Center) That’s almost 1 in 10. People may have been raised with no religious influence or in so-called “churches” where the Bible was not taken seriously. They may be decent people, but without the input of God’s word in their lives, they don’t have the knowledge of God.
The Bible says you can be a decent person without religion in your life: “For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness,” (Romans 2:14-15) If a person can live decently without religion, then what’s the problem?
The problem is that decent people are still sinners: “For ALL have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;” (Romans 3:23, capitals added) It doesn’t say, “all have murdered,” or “all have robbed,” but “all have SINNED.” As a result, they are separated from God and headed for hell: “And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.” (Revelation 20:14)
Yet even if they don’t know or care about God’s word, Jesus loves them and died for their sins: “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8) He was buried and rose again: “I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen;” (Revelation 1:18) He wants these precious people to receive Him as Saviour, which is why He said, “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” (Mark 16:15)
People may think Christians are hateful by speaking against sin, and wonder why Christians won’t just leave people alone. We can’t do that because our Saviour told us to reach sinners. Sin separates people from God. Sin hardens hearts. Sin deceives. Sin condemns people to hell. Jesus saves sinners. Speaking against sin is a way of showing love to the sinner. If you love someone but he or she is ruining their lives with liquor or tobacco or gambling, don’t you love them enough to say something?
Christians can’t counter every false report that’s made about us. Yet we can “awake to righteousness” in two ways. We can be faithful to reach people with the gospel, and we can pray and strive to live in a way that is consistent with the gospel, and that “…becometh the gospel of Christ:” (Philippians 1:27)
If you want to see from the Bible how to have eternal life by receiving Jesus as your personal Saviour, please go to www.clevelandbaptist.org, click “Helpful links,” then “How Do I Go to Heaven?”
Brian Miller 7/21/2023