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Questions
Of
Vital Importance
Oswald J. Smith (1889 1986)
There are seven questions that every Christian
should face, questions of such vital importance that to
ignore them is to imperil one's spiritual life. Let us
consider them, then, one by one, and may God help us to
answer them honestly and sincerely.
1. Am I committing any known sin?
“If I regard iniquity in my
heart, the Lord will not hear me” (Ps 66:18). He will
not even listen to what I say. Hence, my prayers will not
be answered while I am harboring sin.
Note, if you will, that I have said “known” sin, for
it may be that you have to face what the Bible terms “the
sin which doth so easily beset us” (Heb 12:1), some one
sin to which from time to time, you yield. It may be but a
weight, an idol, and yet it is sin, and God says you must
give it up.
“...Your iniquities have separated between you
and your God, and your sins have hid His face from you,
that He will not hear”(Isa. 59:2). Sin separates. Sin
hides God's face. There can be no communion, no
fellowship where there is sin.
“...Let everyone who names the name of the Lord
depart from iniquity” (2 Tim 2:19).
That is God's command. We must forsake all
known sin if we are to be approved of Him. Oh, then, let
us turn from everything we know to be wrong,
everything that grieves the Holy Spirit. Let us put it out
of our lives, for we will never make any progress in the
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Christian life until we break with sin.
Sin is like a millstone; it will always hold us down.
And if we yield to it, we will crave it again. To feed
desire is to fan it into a flame that can never be quenched.
The only real sorrow that can ever come into the life of a
Christian is the torture and anguish of the heart that
harbors sin.
Therefore let us break with it, break with it at all
costs, or we will never know “the peace of God, which
surpasses all understanding” (Phil 4:7). Sin will ruin
us unless we give it up. “...The way of transgressors is
hard” (Prov 13:15).
My friend, “Remember Jesus Christ.” He can
break every fetter and snap every chain. He can set the
prisoner free. And He can set you free, yes, even from
your besetting sin. Not only is He mighty to save; He is
also able to keep. You can be victorious over every
known sin by the power of His indwelling Spirit. It pays
to be an “Overcomer.”
2. Am I living in obedience to God's will?
“...Yield yourselves unto
God...” (Rom 6:13). Have I surrendered all? I sing it, I
know. Again and again I exclaim, “Have Thine own
way, Lord,” but do I really mean it? Will I go where He
wants me to go? Or do I still want my own way? And do
I put self first instead of Christ? Is He the Lord and
Master of my life?
God must have obedient children. If we are self-