But you, dear friends remember what was predicted by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ;  they told you, “in the end time there will be scoffers walking according to their own ungodly desires.”  These people create divisions and are unbelievers, not having the Spirit.
But you, dear friends, as you build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, expecting the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ for eternal life.  Have mercy on those who doubt;  save others by snatching them from the fire;  have mercy on others but with fear, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh.  Jude 1:17-23  HCSB

This past January when I got the flu, I thought I had been so careful to avoid contamination.  I had used essential oils that were supposed to protect me.  I had taken vitamins and supplements to try to build my immune system.  But somehow I was contaminated.

You see, sin is like that.  It’s highly contagious.  Once we catch it, we get all tangled up in it.

You may drop something off on the doorstep of someone contaminated with a contagious illness, but you shouldn’t go in and hug them, right? If they have a contagious illness, you certainly don’t want to get contaminated.

You should handle sin the same way.  We know that we have all sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).  But once we are saved, truly saved, then we want to keep God’s commandments.  We don’t want to sin (1 John 2:1-3).  We also need to be careful to avoid sin.

God hates sin, he hates pride and evil behavior (Proverbs 8:13).  God wants us to love the sinner, but hate the sin. The reason for this, is that if we do not hate sin, we can easily be lured in by it. In today’s scripture passage, He gives us some very clear instructions on how we are to deal with sinners.

Some sinners will come against us simply because we believe in and love our Lord Jesus Christ.  We will face ridicule from some.  Some may doubt, but be willing to hear about God’s plan of salvation.  We need to be sure to tell them of God’s love for them.  Our scripture passage says that we are to snatch them from the fire.  Our passage says to have mercy on them or to convince those who are doubting.  Know that sometimes you will be the one to plant the seed, but someone else may come along to water it.  In other words, you may share God’s love and mercy with them, but someone else may lead them to salvation.  Don’t get discouraged as long as they are willing to listen.

Our scripture passage goes on to say, have mercy on others, but with fear.  There are some who not only don’t believe, but are wicked and evil, the Bible is very clear on the fact that Christians should keep their distance from evil people.  We can show mercy on them but stay away in fear of contamination.  They don’t want to hear what you have to say and will do their best to drag you down with them.

You see evil, wicked behavior is like a terminal disease that is highly contagious.  When we are confronted with evil, our human nature is to respond with evil, but Romans 12:17 warns us against repaying evil for evil and instructs us to try to do what is honorable in everyone’s eyes.

While we are instructed to love everyone, we are not instructed to love their evil behavior.  In fact, we are instructed to hate evil (Proverbs 8:13).  We are instructed to avoid evil and even the appearance of evil and reject every kind of evil (1 Thessalonians 5:22).

Just as we attempt to avoid evil, there will be those who are evil that will not listen to what we have to say concerning Jesus and salvation. They won’t welcome us or accept what we have to say.  In Matthew 10:14, Jesus instructed His disciples to leave that home or town and shake the dust off of their feet.

This past Sunday, our pastor spoke on the book of  2 John concerning false teachers.  In verse ten, we are instructed not to welcome those who do not believe as we do into our homes.  For to welcome this person is to be ensnared in this person’s evil works.

Be very careful.  Remember, when you see someone sinning to stay away from them and their sinful behavior.   The good thing about praying for someone is that it can be done from a safe distance.

The Bible tells us to avoid evil for a reason. Paul warns in 1 Corinthians 15:33 that bad company corrupts good morals.  Don’t think that you can win your alcoholic friend over to Christ by hanging out in the bar with him.

None of us know the day nor the hour when we will be transported from this evil world to begin a life in heaven with God the Father.  We must be prepared, we must not become infected with habitual sin in our lives.  Once we accept Christ as our Savior, we should not want to sin, but don’t be fooled.  The devil will work twice as hard to get you back.  The devil didn’t need to work so hard before you were saved, he already had you.  But he will begin to work overtime to get you back.  He will use others, sadly even family members, to accomplish his goals.

Just as we take precautions during flu season by getting vaccinations and washing our hands often, and avoiding those that are contagious ,take precautions to avoid sin.  Avoid evil.  Whatever you do, you don’t want to get caught up in that.

Have a great day!