Where In The Bible Will I Find:

Teaching Against Sin, Or Negative Preaching?

Most certainly there are both positive and negative commands regulating the Christian's conduct. Every moral attribute that one can think of that tends to make men better is enjoined upon the Christian. These were taught both by Jesus and the apostles. The space provided is insufficient to list all the prohibitions in the various catalogs of sin, but sins that Paul warned us against are the works of the flesh: "Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God" (Gal. 5:19-21).

To this group he adds, "...effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners…" (I Cor. 6:9-10). These are just some of the social sins that members of the Lords church must avoid. There are many warnings given to members of the body of Christ who are guilty of these kindred sins. "…If ye live after the flesh, ye shall die…" (Rom. 8:13).

If one thinks that all who live after the flesh shall die physically, there could be no warning therein, for all must die physically. Paul means that those guilty of living after the flesh would be eternally banished from the presence of God, which is called the second death.

The apostle Peter also warns us against sin, "For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them" (II Peter 2:20-21).

False teachers say that a child of God cannot be lost, but if when one accepts Christ he can never so conduct himself as to be finally lost, then, pray tell me, what can this passage mean? Those who do not accept Christ will be lost (II Thess. 1:7-9). But, if as Peter says that it will be worse for him who escapes the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of Christ and goes back there into, how can one believe that a member of the church can turn back into the world again without being lost?

If you say a Christian won't do it, then why did Peter warn against something that he had no fear of happening? My friends, there are over two thousand warnings in the Bible clearly showing that some fell and others will also unless they heed these warnings. We need more, much more, preaching against sin.