Second Friend Day - Elmer Towns

5. You must not defile your body. Some people have the attitude "My soul lives
forever . . . ignore the body." As a result, they overfeed their fat body, stink it up like a tobacco
barn or pickle it in alcohol. You cannot separate your body from your soul until death. But the
way you treat your body reflects your attitude to spiritual things, and vice versa. Therefore,
harming your body is sin because it destroys your Christian testimony, shortens your life, stunts
your Christian growth and mars your character.
A young man fixed himself a drink at a cocktail party. He passed the glass to all of his
friends, "Put something in," he begged, meaning some type of drugs they had. He went into
convulsions and was blacked-out for four months. After he regained consciousness, a minister
led him to the Lord. He spent a year convalescing at a Christian camp. Feeling a call to the
ministry, he went to Bible college but continued to experience blackouts when faced with any
pressure or tension. Not being able to serve the Lord, he became depressed, which in turn
increased the blackouts. In a fit of depression he committed suicide. The final sin of taking his
life began with the first sin of drug abuse.
6. You must not adversely influence others. When Cain killed Abel, he asked, "Am I
my brother's keeper?" Many have repeated that question, implying they are not responsible for
others. However, John Doane observed, "No man is an island. " We live in a human community
where every action is both influenced by and has an impact on others.
The Bible used the phrase "stumbling block" to teach that it is a sin to harm others by our
influence. Paul warns, "Take heed lest by any means this liberty of yours become a stumbling
block to them that are weak" (I Cor. 8:9). In many New Testament villages the meat sold in the
market had been sacrificed to idols. Those who had been idol worshippers refused to eat any
meat sacrificed to idols because it was a compromise of their convictions. However, a few
Christians thought that hamburger was hamburger, ignoring the convictions of other Christians.
Paul agreed to this opinion. "Neither, if we eat, are we the better; neither, if we eat not, are we
the worse" (I Cor. 8:8). However, Paul said it was wrong to hurt other people by what we eat
(our influence). "If meat make my brother to offend, I will eat no flesh" (I Cor. 8:13).
Many feel dancing is an artistic form, reflecting coordination, style and rhythm.
However, some Christians have been ensnared by lust through the power of suggestion in touch,
rhythmic beat and tempting words. Can a Christian who enjoys dancing destroy his brother for
whom Christ died?
What to Do With Sin
Recently a minister's car began to sputter and lost its power. When it happened he was
irritable, and wouldn't go out on the road because he was afraid it would stop. The mechanic
checked out the spark plug, fuel pump, distributor; he couldn't find the problem. Finally his boss
told him to blow out the fuel line. A little bit of trash was causing all of the minister's problems.
There was not enough grit to fill a quarter of a teaspoon, yet the car lost its power.
Sin is like trash in the fuel line. You lose power to do the will of God and fall into bad
habits. Sin makes you irritable and keeps you from doing what you know is right. God does not
want you to sin but He knows that you will, just as a gardener doesn't want weeds but expects