Several days ago I met a man on the street who I really feel I hit it off with. I found him to be funny, sincere, gregarious, and just a tad irreverent. In other words, my kind of guy. We spoke of many things, but most importantly, we spoke of God and the Lord Jesus Christ. I found this man to be what many would consider to be a ‘Salt of the Earth’ sort of person. Ahhh, very refreshing!
As we continued in our discussion, I could not help but notice the odd ‘red flag’ pop up from time to time. One of the first red flags that I picked up on was the man’s cavalier attitude towards getting inebriated. He spoke of it as though getting drunk was kind of an old friend who he liked, but probably wasn’t the best guy to hang around with. The Bible teaches that bad company corrupts good character.
1st Corinthians ch 15 vs 33
‘Be not deceived: Evil companionships corrupt good morals’
There is a reason Jesus said upon forgiving people also said, ‘Go, and sin no more’. He knew that if they returned to repeating the same old sins over and over again, they would fall back into the pit that they had just been lifted out of. This results in your so called repentance being difficult to be taken seriously, not only by God , but everyone else as well.
The phrase “just as a dog returns to its own vomit and a pig to its wallowing in the mud” is a proverb, found in the Bible in Proverbs 26:11 and 2 Peter 2:22, that illustrates a person’s stubborn and incorrigible return to foolish, sinful behavior, even after experiencing negative consequences or making superficial changes. The disgusting imagery of the dog and the sow highlights the repulsive nature of such a relapse into old, destructive habits and serves as a warning against superficial piety without genuine internal transformation.
Proverbs 26:11
‘As a dog returns to its vomit,
so fools repeat their folly’
2 Peter 2
False Teachers and Their Destruction
2 But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves. 2 Many will follow their depraved conduct and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. 3 In their greed these teachers will exploit you with fabricated stories. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.
4 For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell,[a] putting them in chains of darkness[b] to be held for judgment; 5 if he did not spare the ancient world when he brought the flood on its ungodly people, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others; 6 if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes, and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; 7 and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the depraved conduct of the lawless 8 (for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard)— 9 if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to hold the unrighteous for punishment on the day of judgment. 10 This is especially true of those who follow the corrupt desire of the flesh[c] and despise authority.
Bold and arrogant, they are not afraid to heap abuse on celestial beings; 11 yet even angels, although they are stronger and more powerful, do not heap abuse on such beings when bringing judgment on them from[d] the Lord. 12 But these people blaspheme in matters they do not understand. They are like unreasoning animals, creatures of instinct, born only to be caught and destroyed, and like animals they too will perish.
13 They will be paid back with harm for the harm they have done. Their idea of pleasure is to carouse in broad daylight. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their pleasures while they feast with you.[e] 14 With eyes full of adultery, they never stop sinning; they seduce the unstable; they are experts in greed—an accursed brood! 15 They have left the straight way and wandered off to follow the way of Balaam son of Bezer,[f] who loved the wages of wickedness. 16 But he was rebuked for his wrongdoing by a donkey—an animal without speech—who spoke with a human voice and restrained the prophet’s madness.
17 These people are springs without water and mists driven by a storm. Blackest darkness is reserved for them. 18 For they mouth empty, boastful words and, by appealing to the lustful desires of the flesh, they entice people who are just escaping from those who live in error. 19 They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity—for “people are slaves to whatever has mastered them.” 20 If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and are overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. 21 It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them. 22 Of them the proverbs are true: “A dog returns to its vomit,”[g] and, “A sow that is washed returns to her wallowing in the mud.”
Are you a dog who loves the taste of its own vomit? Are you a pig that loves returning to wallowing in the mud after being all washed up? If you are ‘All of the above’, then perhaps you may wish to reconsider your commitment to being a follower of Christ. Did no one ever tell you that being baptized does not give you ‘Carte Blanche’ to go on sinning with the attitude that since we are saved by ’The Grace of God’, we can just carry on as we always have and not change our lives whatsoever. If that is the case, then you may wish to consider these words.
Romans ch 6 vs 1-23
Believers Are Dead to Sin, Alive to God
6 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? 2 [a]Far from it! How shall we who died to sin still live in it? 3 Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too may walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have become [b]united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be [c]in the likeness of His resurrection, 6 knowing this, that our old [d]self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be [e]done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; 7 for the one who has died is [f]freed from sin.
8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, 9 knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, [g]is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him. 10 For [h]the death that He died, He died to sin once for all time; but [i]the life that He lives, He lives to [j]God. 11 So you too, consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.
12 Therefore sin is not to reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts, 13 and do not go on presenting [k]the parts of your body to sin as [l]instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those who are alive from the dead, and [m]your body’s parts as [n]instruments of righteousness for God. 14 For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under [o]the Law but under grace.
15 What then? Are we to sin because we are not under [p]the Law but under grace? [q]Far from it! 16 Do you not know that the one to whom you present yourselves as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of that same one whom you obey, either of sin [r]resulting in death, or of obedience [s]resulting in righteousness? 17 But thanks be to God that [t]though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that [u]form of teaching to which you were entrusted, 18 and after being freed from sin, you became slaves to righteousness. 19 I am speaking [v]in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented [w]the parts of your body as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, [x]resulting in further lawlessness, so now present [y]your body’s parts as slaves to righteousness, [z]resulting in sanctification.
20 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in relation to righteousness. 21 Therefore what [aa]benefit were you then [ab]deriving from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the outcome of those things is death. 22 But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you [ac]derive your [ad]benefit, [ae]resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gracious gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Make no mistake about it, we are to live lives that are exemplary and holy. When we crossed the threshold from death to life through the God ordained act of obedience which was our baptism, we became ’New Creations’ as far as God is concerned. Unfortunately, men in their haste often fail to teach those that are baptized that their old way of life is over, and as far as resuming old practices and habits are concerned, they are to ‘Cease and Desist’, and not to mock God by flagrantly disobeying him, using tired old excuses like ‘Hey, nobody’s perfect’, or ‘We’re only human’.
Galatians Chapter 6
6 Brothers and sisters, even if a person is caught in any wrongdoing, you who are spiritual are to restore such a person in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you are not tempted as well. 2 Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ. 3 For if anyone thinks that he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. 4 But each one must examine his own work, and then he will have reason for boasting, but [a]to himself alone, and not [b]to another. 5 For each one will bear his own load.
6 The one who is taught the word is to share all good things with the one who teaches him. 7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a person sows, this he will also reap. 8 For the one who sows to his own flesh will reap destruction from the flesh, but the one who sows to the Spirit will reap eternal life from the Spirit. 9 Let’s not become discouraged in doing good, for in due time we will reap, if we do not become weary. 10 So then, [c]while we have opportunity, let’s do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith.
Praise be to the Father in Heaven, and to his Son Jesus Christ, Amen!
Friday September 5th, 2025
By Lucien Alexander Delean aka ‘Looch’