Keeping your Soul: The Ear Gate to the Mind
By David Cox
© 2012
Sunday School Series 3, Number 3
https://www.coxtracts.com/free-teen-sunday-school-classes/
In this Sunday School class, we examine the effect of constantly seeing and hearing sin over and over again, and how it wears down our resistance to sin as happened in the life of Lot.
2Pet 2:7 And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked: 8 (For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;) 9 The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:
God himself refers to Lot as “a righteous soul.” So Lot was a Christian. But his life and the life of his family were ruined because he allowed the wicked conduct of the wicked to enter into his life and he eventually participated with that wickedness, that is, works and attitudes that are dark or evil. The true child of God: 1) He does not do bad deeds, 2) He does the justice or copies morality of Jesus (as Jesus showed us with his personal life), 3) He does not want to see or hear about these things. We must also not listen or see stories or histories of the sins of these kinds of people so much that we do not do them because listening to them causes the temptation in our hearts equally to see and listen to others doing it.
1Tim 4:1 Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; 2 Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;
“Evil spirits” pull people towards perdition. These work to sear the conscience, that is, to make sin common and familiar among us, that people accept these things little by little, as happened with Lot in Sodom. There is no shock to sin.
Eph 4:17 This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, 18 Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart: 19 Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.
Evil Music. We are studying the sin process here, and the process begins with seeing and hearing sin time after time so that one becomes accustomed to this. This lowers our moral defenses each time you are exposed to another example. The music of our world is exactly this. This talks about sin, rolling it over and over again in different examples, but basically the same sins. This talks about sexual relationships, which are not between a husband and the wife of the same man, but anything other. We can describe this music as focusing on sex, on killing others, on hurting others, on getting drug and high on drugs (and funny experiences while high), on making fun of others. But this evil music focuses on putting up for public consumption things that really are sins, but they are not presented for condemnation as sin, but are just for “fun”. Youth culture today is involved with everything vulgar, bad, blasphemous against God, and it seems that this is what they like the most.
Ps 1:1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. 2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.
1Thess 5:21 Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. 22 Abstain from all appearance of evil. (Get away from everything that even appears like evil.) 23 And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.
Every Christian’s objective should be to filter all the experiences and elements of his life, so that the bad things remain outside of his mind and experiences. If we understand this, the repetition of sins before our eyes, in our ears, in our mind is something that gradually lowers our resistance to the point where we will accept doing such sins, such as Lot did. Even if we do not actually do the sins, they destroy our lives because we accept the sins as “normal”.
1John 1:6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:
Rom 6:6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. 13 Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. 16 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? 17 But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. 18 Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness. 19 I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness.
So, what Paul wants us to do is to present our whole life to God, for the purposes of God, in order to walk in righteousness (the good things we MUST do).
2Cor 7:1 Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
We must remove all contamination from our flesh and spirit.
Prov 4:20 My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings. 21 Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart. 22 For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh. 23 Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.
Young people, be careful what you see and hear, that it does not turn into your destruction in the end, by pulling you away from God and you miss heaven because your heart is not really right with God. Your mind is something that defines what you are. If you put garbage in it, what will you become? Trash.
You seek to be a man of God or a virtuous woman of God. Put things, ideas, activities, interests, music, and elements that move you closer to God, to be more like Christ, and eliminate everything to the contrary.
In other studies, we will examine Rock Music specifically.
