CLEAN UP YOUR ACT

Clean up your act.  That was a phrase I heard of growing up.  In other words, change your actions because you need to get it right.  How about the phrase, “get it together”.
They both meant the same thing.  When a person receives Jesus as Lord and Savior, they are promised to have eternal life with God in heaven.  However while we are on this earth, we need to obey Romans 12: 1-2, which tells us not to continue to be conformed to the worlds way of thinking, speaking and living.
We are told to renew our minds to the Word of God.  Things we thought were right or wrong, or the way we should think, speak and act, we will find out are not according to God’s ways.
We essentially need to clean up our act.  Change the way we think, speak and live.
How do we do that?  Psalm 119: 9 “Wherewith shall a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed thereto according to Thy word.”
Psalm 119: 11 “Thy word I have hid in my heart, that I might not sin against Thee.”
Knowledge of the Word of God and obedience to it will prevent us from being deceived by something that feels or sounds good or winds of doctrine.
It is the responsibility of every believer to read the Word of God and listen to the Word of God and very importantly be instructed in the Word of God.
One of the main responsibilities of the local church is to teach those who attend, the truths found in the Word of God.  
Eph. 4: 11 tells us one of the responsibilities of the pastor/teacher of that church.
Eph. 4: 12 “For the perfecting (maturing) of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.
Vs. 13 – 14 “Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect (mature) man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.  That we henceforth be no more children tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men and cunning craftiness whereby they lie in wait to deceive.”
If you want to clean up your act; get it together and mature in the things of God we need to take heed to what we read in the Bible.
I have always said, there is nothing worse in this world than a half-baked Christian.  They do not know the full counsel of God and think, speak and live like unbelievers in this world.
Be responsible for growing up, getting established, getting your act together by reading, hearing and being taught the Word of God on a consistent basis.