‘Licence to sin’ BY HUMPHREY MTANDWA The church has been conditioned by the devil that they can no longer endure sound doctrine. Apostle Paul said to Timothy some shall not know the difference between what is good and what is bad because their conscience would have been burned up as if with a hot iron. Jude’s intention when he began to write his letter to the church was to encourage the believers, but as he put his mind to it, the Spirit convicted him to address how the church had been moved from her original position of truth. Jude spoke of men who came into the church who were ungodly and with the sole purpose of changing God’s true message. He further says they turned God’s grace to become a license to sin, knowing that could only lead believers to deny Jesus Christ. Hell was not created for men so God will not take pleasure in seeing men perish. Can a believer lose his salvation? Jude wrote of angels who even after Satan’s rebellion continued to sin, how they were immediately captured and chained up until judgment. He used this example to show that even the elect can fall away or be tempted. The book of Jude tries to expose these men who even in our time are secretly a part of the church. The book is also a call to stand for the truth and not compromise. The Bible calls lot a righteous man yet he was pushed to compromise because he allowed the culture of Sodom and Gomorrah change him slowly. Just like righteous Lot, the church has now started to embrace certain ungodly things. Lot felt it was okay to offer his daughters to the man of Sodom (for sexual favours) in order to save the angels that had been sent to the city. Why do we no longer preach about sin and the effects of sin? It is because man can no longer endure sound doctrine? The foundation of a healthy Christian walk is having understanding of the word of God. Without the word of God a Christian cannot have victory over sin. David said he had hidden God’s word in his heart so that he would not sin against God. The Psalmist understood the word of God is the only tool that can enable a Christian to overcome sin. Yes, man can no longer endure sound doctrine; yes there are many who are now among us who came with the sole purpose of corrupting the godly seed of God. Like Jude, men have to be raised that will focus solely on the teaching of brethren to root out false doctrines that are now a part of our Christian belief system. The Bible says sin shall not have dominion over us and Apostle Paul emphasized that by saying he that is born of God cannot sin. The teaching ministry in the church has to be revived because it has the power to equip believers on how to have dominion over sin and expose those that have been planted by the devil to cause believers to sin. A child can never understand the danger of fire unless they experience it. Yes at times they are told fire is dangerous, but knowledge alone without revelation is not enough. The moment a child sees fire after they have been burned they are fearful of it. Many are blinded to the effects of sin but sin, just like fire disfigures and destroys. Let’s begin to teach and learn about the negative effects of sin on a human soul and refuse to allow sin to dominate our lives. God bless you. l Humphrey Mtandwa is an anointed minister of the gospel and teacher of the Word based in South Africa. He has written several books including The Enoch Generation, Truthfulness and Theophany. He blogs at mtandwa.blogspot.com and can be contacted via e-mail or WhatsApp on +27 610286350.