Saturday Song: Cher, "Gypsies, Tramps, and Thieves"

People certainly can be hypocritical about outward appearances. They claim they'd never do this or that but those folks secretly indulge themselves in what they despise in others.

The end of the chorus of this song says it all. The people of the town called that traveling show "Gypsies, tramps, and thieves" with enormous smugness and self-righteous pride. But after sunset, all the men would come around and lay their money down.

Listen to the song here.

But Romans 2:1  (BBE) shows ) that self-righteous people often project their sins onto others. Paul wrote, "So you have no reason, whoever you are, for judging: for in judging another you are judging yourself, for you do the same things."

In the previous chapter of Romans, Paul outlined how humanity sank into immorality. He knew that there would be people patting themselves on their backs because they never did any of the sinful things he listed.

But Jesus said in Matthew 5:28 (KJV), "But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart."

All sin comes from the human heart. Doing external deeds such as not stealing or murdering looks good to people but all evil actions begin inside of us. Check out what Scripture says in James 1:13-15 (KJV). "Let no man say when he is tempted, 'I am tempted of God:' for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death."

So, how do we avoid the trap of sin? Paul answers that in Galatians 5:16 (KJV). "This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh."

How wonderful it is that we have the power from God to avoid the snares Satan sets up for us. We need not give in to sin because we think we have to make our lives livable.

On Monday, I'll deal with the confusion some Muslims have about our Bible containing four accounts of Christ's life.