What God Hates (Part 4)

Fourthly, God hates a heart that devises evil imaginations. Thought is sown in the mind before it is reaped in the field of action. The law judges sin according to the act, but God judges us according to the evil of our hearts. Jesus said in Matthew 5:28, “Whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”

We are living in a day when men and women’s imaginations are evil in the sight of God. The Bible says that He hates this. No person with an evil imagination can inherit the Kingdom of God. Evil imaginations lead to habits, habits lead to bondage, and bondage leads to death.

For years we in the Church of God were considered too strict and bound by the law instead of the spirit of grace. So we began to modernize our preaching, teaching, and doctrine. I do agree that some of the stuff we were taught at one time was not really Biblically sound and that as our knowledge of scripture grew we embraced change. Yet, change brings good things and bad things as well. Some of the things we spurned for years have now returned in new forms to tempt us, and if we're not careful will destroy us.

In many cases the church has become a breeding ground for the wrong ideology of methods for reaching the lost. Compromise is the rule of the day and copying the next trend instead of following the leading of the Spirit has become our new God or method of godliness. The heart of many is on the next, new spiritual wave we can copy or inspire in our imagination that we think will lead us to godliness, or a least a quick promotion. Even if we meant something for good or do something that make us current is wrong if God is not the inspiration behind it. Our thoughts and imaginations can become sinful and destructive if God is not in the center of them. It more than a dress or behavior code-it's why we do what we do that makes the difference.

Romans 6:23 says, “The wages of sin is death.” That Word still stands today. Lust, greed, compromise, bad habits, bondage, and wrong motives still bring destruction for eternity. Become a game changer and not just a player of games. That is our challenge today!