Vaccinations have been a hot topic recently.  The anti-vaxers are all over social media, spouting about all the supposed side effects that these vaccines cause.  Have you ever watched one of those commercials on the television for medications?  They always have a disclaimer portion towards the end that describes all of the possible side effects of these medications.  Some of those side effects are much more problematic than the issue that they are supposed to be helping.  Vaccines are even worse, with some of the ingredients that go into them; However, I am not going to tell you whether or not you should vaccinate your children.  I would like to speak to you about the vaccinations that every Christian needs to receive.

Three crucial vaccinations for you

Vaccination against unholiness

 Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;
As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance:
But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation;
Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy. - 1 Peter 1:13-16

As a Christian, you have the ability and decision to either live holy or to live unholy lives.  You are called to be Holy; this means that you have a choice.  The Lord is calling you to be holy today; the Lord is calling you to distance yourself from the ways and values of the world.

 If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus:
That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;
And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;
And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. - Ephesians 4:21-24

We are to put off the old man and to put on the new man.  The new man is created in righteousness, and you receive this new man once you are born again.  You now have two natures, and these two natures war against one another.  The new nature does not replace the old nature; the old nature is still there.  The new nature does not overpower the old nature either.  The new nature resides within you along the side of the old nature.  You need to decide to put off the old nature and to put on the new.  This starts in the spirit of your mind.

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. - Romans 12:1-2

Renew your Mind

You need to renew your mind, the battle between the natures begins with the mind.  The things that you think about are important, the things that you put before your eyes are important.  You will become what you think about (Proverbs 23:7).  Your mind, if left alone will be the enemy of God:

And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled
In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight: - Colossians 1:21-22

 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. - Romans 8:7

You can’t be passive when it comes to your mind.  You need to actively work at keeping your mind focused on things that it should be focused on; it will not naturally default to the doing right.  Your mind, like your body, does not want what it should.  That is why it must be renewed day by day:

For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. - 2 Corinthians 4:16

When getting a vaccination against resistant diseases, often they require booster shots, that is what it is to renew your mind day by day, that is your booster shot, and without this booster, the disease of unholiness will run rampant in your mind.

Vaccination against immaturity

And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;
And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;
And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.
For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins. - 2 Peter 1:5-9

Add these things to your Faith

• Virtue
• Knowledge (Proverbs 22:17-21)
  • Don’t lean on your knowledge (Proverbs 3:1-7)
  • Seek knowledge from the Lord (Proverbs 2:1-10)
• Temperance (Proverbs 25:28,  Proverbs 16:32)
• Patience (Romans 5:1-5)
• Godliness
• Brotherly Kindness (1 Thessalonians 5:14-15)
  • Love for the brethren is how Christians will be defined (John 13:34-35)
• Charity (Colossians 3:12-15)

To become spiritually mature, you must add some things to your faith.  Achieving faith is not the finish line.  It is the starting line;  your spiritual life begins with faith.  Peter tells us in the passage above that we should give all diligence in adding to our faith.  Adding to your faith is not an option;  giving all diligence is an appeal to work hard, and put all of your efforts into adding to your faith.

The body will reject the vaccine

Your body will want to reject this vaccine, just as your body will reject the vaccine from any disease, by spiking your temperature, it will reject the vaccine of maturity:

For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I.
If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good.
Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.
Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.
For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:
But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin. - Romans 7:15-25

Your body will fight you every step of the way, but if you take this vaccine, you will get the victory over the disease of immaturity.  If you refuse to accept this vaccine, Peter warns you that you will find yourself in a place where you will forget what the Lord has done for you.  He does not say that you will lose your salvation, if you have been born again you have eternal life (1 John 5:13), but you will forget how big of a deal that is, and you will become unfruitful and useless to the Lord.

Vaccination against impatience

And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good?
But and if ye suffer for righteousness' sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled;
But sanctify the LORD God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:
Having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ.
For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing.
For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: - 1 Peter 3:13-18

The next vaccine that you need to take as a Christian is the vaccine of patience through suffering.  The Lord isn’t so much concerned with your comfort, but with your character.  Don’t always be looking for a way out of, or around suffering.  The passage above indicates that if you go through suffering, troubles, and tribulation in your life properly, it will cause people to ask you about your hope.  In other words, if you do not rejoice in suffering, (Romans 5:3-5) no one will ask you about your hope.  Notice that you are to be happy and rejoice “in” suffering, not “for” the suffering.  You can rejoice in suffering because you know that you already have the victory.

The Lord knows about your suffering, and he knows what suffering and trials that you will go through, just like he knew that the Disciples would go through the storm in Matthew 14:22-32.  He knew the storm was coming, but he sent them through it anyway.  Peter wanted to get out of the boat and avoid the storm, the Lord allowed him to get out of the boat, but that was not the Lord’s perfect will for Peter.  Jesus asked Peter “O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?”  Peter’s doubt was about getting out of the boat and attempting to avoid the storm.

Suffering is painful; when you receive a vaccination at the doctor’s office it hurts, but it is necessary to protect you from those diseases.  I know that suffering hurts, I know that suffering, a lot of times, is unfair, but I also know that if you will be patient is suffering, the Lord can use that attitude for good.

For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself.
For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord's.
For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living.
But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.
For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.
So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.
Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his brother's way. - Romans 14:7-13

Without accepting these vaccinations, you will hinder your spiritual life, and worse than that; you will be in danger of infecting those around you.  Take these three vaccinations and fight off the diseases of unholiness, immaturity, and impatience today!

Our hope at Irvington Bible Baptist Church is that this podcast provided some encouragement and has helped you to develop a closer relationship with the LORD Jesus Christ.