Title: Keep Yourself (1 John 5:21)
Content br> Everyone puts all their efforts into protecting the precious thing they love and value. For example, home, family, honor, conscience, wealth, occupation, health, life, nation, country...etc.
The Bible tells the saints to keep each one of them.
1. This verse is premised on the fact that there is a power to deceive the saints.
(In the present world, these forces are really strong)
The forces of delusion are as follows.
1) Satan (Ephesians 2:2, Luke 22:31, 2 Corinthians 11:14)
2) Satan's workers (2 Corinthians 11:15)
2) Idols (1 Cor. 12; 2, Rev. 13; 15)
3) Covetousness (Ephesians.2;3,4;19,Ja.1;14)
4) The world and its winds (Rom. 12:2)
5) Various sins (Galatians 5:19-21)
6) Love of the world (2 Tim. 4:10, 1 John. 2:15-17)
2. For what purpose did you say to protect yourself?
1) To avoid falling into idols (1st of the week.5:21)
Idols are the first visible idols, which are false idols, the object of religion, and the second invisible idol in our hearts, which is covetousness (Colossians 3:5).
You have to protect yourself so you don't fall for it.
2) So as not to be stained by the world (Approx. 1:27)
You must protect yourself from being polluted by the evil things of the world, such as evil ideas, evil currents, evil fashions, and evil trends, compromise with, or go with.
(e.g. hedonism, materialism, successism, egoism, compromiseism, etc.)
3) To be clean (1 Tim. 5:22)
To keep the soul washed with the blood of Jesus clean, protect yourself
naughty
4) Do not deviate from God's love (Jude 1:21)
We must protect ourselves so that we do not deviate from the path of faith to receive God's love and to thank God for His love.
3. What does it mean to protect yourself?
1) It means to protect one's own heart, that is, the soul. (Prov. 4:23)
2) It means to keep one's thoughts. (Phil. 4:7)
3) It means to keep your good conscience. (1 Tim. 1:19, 1 Pet. 3:16, 1 Tim. 3:9)
4) It means to keep your faith. (1 Tim. 5; 12, 6; 21, 2 Tim. 2: 18)
4. How can I protect myself?
(You must fight and win against the forces that tempt you, the enemies of the soul. You need strength to fight and win. Of course, it is spiritual strength. To cultivate spiritual strength, you have to do as follows)
1) Be faithful to the word of God (Matthew 4:4.Rom.10:17)
2) Be faithful in prayer (Matt.6;13.Matt.26;41,Phil.4;6-7)
3) Be faithful to the Lord's work (care for souls) (Matthew 24:45)
4) Be faithful to the fellowship of saints (Heb. 10:24)
5) Be faithful to worship. (Heb.10:25)
conclusion:
It is also important to protect what is important to you as a family, socially, nationally, and personally.
But more incomparably more precious than this is the preservation of our saved souls, good conscience, and faith.
We must protect ourselves. We must protect our souls, our thoughts, our good conscience, and our faith.
If we fail to protect these precious things that we should protect, fall into idols (idol worship and covetousness), become stained with the world, become defiled, or turn away from the love of God, there will be no more tragic misfortune.
As the saved saints, how sad would it be if these precious things became ill, weakened, deteriorated, or mistreated by Satan while protecting our precious things physically?