He that chooses the things of the world over the things of God will show his hatred for God once God denies him something that he wants, just as a spoiled child throws a temper tantrum when he does not get his way. But that is where discipline comes in. Just as Jesus chose to make the ultimate sacrifice for us, we can choose to serve God and not be spoiled children.

God created us with the capacity to think and to choose, because He desired that His relationship with us be one of mutual love as well. To God, how we choose, rather than what we say, is the essence of our expression of love.

The devil can certainly devise a temptation that we lack the strength to overcome, so we must simply avoid being available when temptation comes. We may find ourselves disobeying God if we overestimate our strength and fail to heed the admonition of God to avoid temptation rather than to try to resist it.

The admonition to love one another is placed directly after the admonition to not compete, because it is difficult for love and competition to coexist. One of the most destructive things to a marriage that a married couple can do is to compete with one another. God does not tell a man and woman married to one another to become a team, or to work together, but to become one.

The unsaved are lost, not because of their sin, as we are all sinners, lost or saved, but because of their arrogance, in that they refuse to recognize that they are not good enough to merit God’s Kingdom. Heaven is not a place for good people, but only for the humble people, because only the humble can be saved.

Many people confess Christianity but are not committed to it because they are not really convinced that they need salvation. They may know that Romans 3:23 says that all are sinners, but they hold the preconceived misconception that God would not send everyone to hell and since they are as good as anyone else, God won’t send them to hell either.

The simple reason that we should devote ourselves to living by Christian principles is that the end time is coming, and we don’t want to be caught off guard. Sin of every form distracts us from being watchful, and dealing with the negative consequences of sin will have us looking the other way as the Day of the Lord comes upon us. Jesus is telling us that it is wise of us to be obedient to the Bible, which is the doctrine of Jesus Christ, in an informed, insightful and intelligent manner, so that we do not miss the signs that the end of time is coming.

Let us reject the pride and the sin of the world and espouse humility before Christ, let us reject the arrogance of the world to espouse faith in Christ, and then, let us endure the persecution of the world, because of our testimony of the deity of the Christ. The kings will come against us, and the world will persecute us, but it is only by giving our lives in defense of the Christ that we can become victorious heroes in the army of the Lord.