“For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end;”.- (Hebrews 3:14)

The great evangelist Billy Sunday said the problem with a lot of people is they treat sin like a cream puff instead of a rattlesnake.

Have you ever seen a baby rattlesnake? They are actually kind of cute. They have a little snake body, a little rattler, and little fangs. Someone might say, “Look at that little baby rattler. He’s so cute.”

Let me tell you something about that baby rattler. He might be smaller in size than an adult, but his venom is actually more potent, drop for drop, than the venom of an adult rattlesnake. And if that little rattlesnake were to give you a little bite, you would die if you couldn’t get to a doctor quickly.

Make no mistake about it. Sin is powerful. It is elusive. It is tricky. And it can appear so appealing on the outside. I have seen people who knew better, Christians who have walked with the Lord for years and know His Word well, fall into sin and be deceived by it.

We must be very careful, especially when it comes to seemingly small sins in our estimation. Sometimes we look at something and say, “That isn’t a big deal. It’s just a small sin. Surely it won’t do that much harm in my life.” Watch out. Dynamite comes in small packages.

We are told in Hebrews 3:12–14, “Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.  But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end;”

We must be careful and not let sin harden our hearts.–Greg Laurie

“Every word of God is pure…“– Proverbs 30:5

When you watch a play, read books, take in a movie, or even converse with friends, you must have the filter on. Is this worldview right? Are these ideas true? Is this lesson correct? Is the moral of this story actually moral?

But when we come to the Word of God, all the filters must come off. The reason why is that there is no filter—our own ideals, the best philosophies, the most scientific theories—that is as pure as the Word of God itself. If we filter the words of God through our own understanding, then we contaminate, rather than purify, the ideas which are conveyed.

Every word of God is pure. There is not a drop of foolishness in the ocean of God’s revelation. There is not a single falsehood within the many pages of the Bible. Every word of God is trustworthy because every word of God is true.

How do you read your Bible? Do you read it with the filter of your own wisdom, desires, and preconceptions? Or are you allowing the unadulterated word of God to wash over your receptive soul, cleansing it of every prejudice, personal ambition, and sinful ideology?

God’s Word should be a set of glasses through which we view all the rest of the world — music, psychology, biology, journalism, business practices, college lectures, or retirement plans. Anything else is just one fallen head influencing another fallen head. (Baptist Bible Hour)