NO NEUTRAL ZONE. I am tired and grieved over the amount of people I have seen walk away from the faith over the past almost 30 years. Just in the past ten years, there’s been a huge increase. The Bible prophesied of the end times and the great falling away, “apostasy”, that would take place in and among God’s people.
I had a close friend and confidant that is doing and saying things now that I would have told you they would never do. I can tell you where it all started: with a relationship they were told by myself and the Holy Spirit to depart from. Not only were they told, they were given dreams from the Lord. But they never heeded that word. Instead, they continued to have an intimate fellowship with that person, disregarded the warning, disobeyed the Spirit and eventually departed from the narrow path. Today, they are unrecognizable from the person they used to be.
Relationships are not benign. People either help build you up in the faith, strengthen your relationship with the Lord and His people/church, sharpen your resolve, help discipline your walk; OR they are slowly eroding your conviction, moral character and integrity, reducing and destroying your faith, and thus your foundation in Christ. The people you surround yourself with either increase you or decrease you. It may take awhile for things to happen, but make no mistake, people are either strengthening you in your walk or retarding your walk. They are either building your faith up or weakening your faith. There is no neutral zone. Who you spend your time with matters. Oh how I wish people fully had a revelation of God’s Word! I copied it in four different translations;
“Do not be deceived: “Evil company corrupts good habits.” I Corinthians 15:33 NKJV
“Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good morals.” 1 Corinthians 15:33 HCSB
“Do not be so deceived and misled! Evil companionships (communion, associations) corrupt and deprave good manners and morals and character.” 1 Corinthians 15:33 AMPC
“Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.” 1 Corinthians 15:33 ESV
Bad company does not just mean to not hang out with thieves. It also means do not hang out with the lukewarm and apathetic, do not hang out with the emotionally unstable, do not hang out with the self-righteous and self-centered, do not hang out with those who only want to party and drink, do not hang out with the sexually immoral, do not hang out with those who consistently neglect the assembling of the church, do not hang out with those who talk bad about the Word of God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, your pastor or your church. In short, do not fellowship with those who do not take their Christian walk seriously. Paul continues to tell us what to do after telling us to depart from bad company,
“Awake to righteousness, and do not sin; for some do not have the knowledge of God. I speak this to your shame.” I Corinthians 15:34
You would do well to heed these words. Relationships are life or death. Choose wisely.
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