“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?” (Romans 6:16)
There is an old account of a man who had an excellent hunting dog which one day chewed up and ate part of his New Testament. When the man mentioned this to his pastor, he offered to bring him a new one, but the man politely refused the offer, saying he could afford to purchase one on his own. “But,” he said, “That is not what I am concerned with.” “Well, what is it then?” replied the pastor. “I am concerned that now the dog will learn to love his enemies and no longer be a good hunting dog.”
My friends, you should be, if you have been born again, completely useless to your old master. He should not be able to find one crack in your armor, his darts should fall listlessly upon your shield, his blows against your helmet should avail him nothing.
“Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.” (2nd Cor. 2:11)
Everything your old master, our adversary, he who continually accuses us before the throne of our new Master, everything that he places before you should be seen as detestable, those seasons of the pleasure of sin should never even be contemplated, we are loosed from the bonds of sin, we have received a new heart, our new Master, the Lord Jesus Christ, should be the focal point of all our contemplations, the desire of our heart, the purpose of our lives.
“And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.” (1st Cor. 6:11)
The old dog, my friends can indeed be taught new tricks, but he must be willing to learn, you must make a conscience decision to be willing to never harken to the voice of your old master ever again. The person who does so will be hounded, no pun intended, for the old master now hates you with as much if not more feigned love than he once had towards you.
The things of the world will be easier to grasp than ever before, the enticements of sinful pleasures, those things you sought so diligently for will now be placed in an easily accessible place for you. What you once thought of as unattainable will be offered to you with what might seem as without effort. All so that you will return to your old master.
“Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.” (John 8:44)
As Christian found out, the path just on the other side of the fence looked smother but led to hardship and great danger.
Those whose desire to see the Lord glorified will find much of the world and the lust thereof now are offered to them seemingly without cost, without great effort, for the father of lies would not have you serving any other, and even though he knows you are no longer under his control, that does not mean you are free from all of his influences or evil deceits.
“Just a small taste, just one little step off the path, what can it hurt, you are forgiven, justified and the Almighty understands you are dust.” Many a good man has been led astray by the smallest of deceits.
That old hunting dog can still be taught to be of value, in fact greater value than he may ever have thought of. How do I know this truth? There were some men fishing one day, knowledgeable in their craft, until One came along and said, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” (Matt. 4:19)