Crampons

Good morning and welcome in everybody.  Today, we are going to take a look at a passage of scripture, but before we do that, I wanted to tell you a little story.

A long time ago, Andrew bought me a gift that has really gotten a lot of use over the years. They really weren’t very expensive, nor did they need to be for me to appreciate them. You see, every time I would walk down the hill in our backyard, I would occasionally slip. It has always been a pretty normal occurrence because we are built on a very steep hill.  Because of the water runoff in the spring, the hill always seems to have a lot of ice buildup.  The special gift that he bought for me was a pair of rubber crampons.  On icy mornings, I strap them onto my shoes in order to walk up the slippery slope.  They have little spikes all over the bottom so when I go up to the truck, I don’t slip and fall down.

This reminds me of the Christian Life.

Each of us will have to go through certain things in our lives that we must endure and overcome.  But like a mighty mountain that has been placed in our path, we need to begin the steep ascent, so we can eventually reach the summit.  To prevent us from slipping, God has provided us with the equipment that we need, His Holy Word. The Words of God are the traction that we need to help us climb all the way to the top of the mountain. What we need to do is strap them on, obey them, and start climbing.  If you do this, no matter how steep the path becomes, you shall never fall.

2 Peter 1:10-11  Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall: For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

When I first got my ice cleats, they came with instructions that explained how to put them on, but just reading the instructions was not enough to get up the hill.  In fact just having a set of crampons in the closet doesn’t do anything for you either, unless you are going to put them to use.  You might know how to use a fishing rod, but you won’t catch any fish until you start casting off the dock.  You might know how to ride a bicycle, but you are not going to get down the road until you start pedaling. The Apostles wanted the church to be filled with knowledge, but by itself, knowledge is not enough to get us to heaven until we apply what it says to our daily lives.  We need to put them into active daily use and become a doer of what they say.

James 1:22-25  But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.  For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:  For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.  But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.

Being a hearer “only” denotes that you received what was said, but it didn’t result in any action.  Someone might hear a fire alarm go off in a building. Although it registered in their mind, they can’t be saved from the fire unless they flee from the building. I’ve always taught that hearing the Word of God preached is only 10% of the Christian Life.  The other 90% begins when you leave the building. God wants to bestow a blessing upon us, but in order for that to come to pass, we must first do His will from our hearts.  He is ready and faithful to reward us, just as you would reward your own child for having a great week, but we must prove ourselves faithful and diligent. Words are just words on paper, until they are written in your heart, and you become a living, breathing, epistle of Truth.

Hebrews 4:1-2  Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it.  For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it. 

God gives us the promise of eternal life, but we have to act accordingly to finally obtain that promise.  This is why doing the will of God is so crucial, because it affects our eternal salvation.  Sincere faith will have actions of obedience and submission to the will of God.   

James 2:17-22  Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.  Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.  But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?  Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?

God’s Word can prevent us from slipping when we do what it says.

Hebrews 2:1  Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip.

To pay earnest heed means to pay very close attention to something. For example you might play close attention to the road that you’re driving on.  You might pay close attention to the recipe that you’re cooking.  You need to play close attention to the teachings of scripture because we don’t want to make any mistakes and slip into sin.

1 Corinthians 10:12  Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.

We must remain devoted and loyal to the teachings of scripture, never wavering from God’s Word or allowing ourselves to be deceived with others. If our feet are going to keep firmly planted on the mountainside, they will need to be firmly planted in the truth.

2 Peter 3:17 Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness.

God sees your life undergoing a change.  God sees your transformation and conversion.  God sees your obedience and submission to the gospel, and He will reward you. Just make sure that when you begin your climb, you are wearing your….

…. Crampons

Let’s think about these things for right now. We can be found on your web browser by searching, tlkjbc where you can find our diaries distributed through various platforms. We are not associated, nor affiliated with any other religious groups. You can get our entire podcast feeds directly, along with transcripts at tlkjbc.com or I suppose that you could find us somewhere up here, in the Great Northern Minnesota woods. Peace to you all, and Lord willing, we will talk with you some more tomorrow. Till then, bye bye everybody.

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