How blessed are those who reject the advice of the wicked, don’t stand on the way of sinners or sit where scoffers sit! Psalm 1:1 CJB
SOME good people’s lives, careers, marriages and businesses are ruined simply because they listen to bad people’s advice. You see, our text today is addressing the righteous. The assumption is that you and I are already born again, God-fearing people. No doubt about that!
But if good people follow the counsel of the wicked, then their goodness is effectively rendered irrelevant. So when the devil wants to mess up the integrity, influence or impact of good Christians, he doesn’t have to make them backslide. He doesn’t have to stop them attending church events or participating in Christian ministry.
The evil one just induces you to pay attention to the advice and ideas of bad people. So although you are still a born again, heaven-bound, child of God, your behaviour is determined by the beliefs and ideas of unsaved, hell-bound sinners. You are in the Church but no different from the world. You love the Lord but your conduct says otherwise. God forbid!
So in fact, if we don’t watch it, our lives as unsuspecting children of God can be controlled by the devil! Isn’t that why the world doesn’t understand our testimony? Isn’t that why our Gospel is not credible? Our spirits are born again, but our minds are corrupted by satanic ideas. Let us reject the advice of the wicked, beloveds. Let us be more discerning in our choice of counsel. Let us guard our hearts and minds jealously. That’s the first key to unqualified success in the sight of God.
Pastor Josh