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| Sin: What's It To You? March 7, 2004 The Word of God says there is pleasure in sin for a season (Hebrews 11:25), and for the sinner and a carnal natural person this is true. But I believe to a child of God, the prospect of sinning and it's short term pleasures should hold no appeal whatsoever! If there is even the slightest inclination to look longingly at the world and wonder what it would be like to experience their 'prosperity' or the 'fun' lifestyle they seem to enjoy, then we need to engage in an indepth heart examination to see if we are truly born again, or if like the Church at Sardis, we 'have a name to live, but are dead.' Paul, in 2 Corinthians 13:5, exhorted the believers to "Examine yourselves whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you except ye be reprobates?" No knowledge is so important to believers as the certainty that they have eternal life (cf. 1 John 5:13; see John 17:3). All professing Christians should examine themselves to ascertain that their salvation is a present reality.* It isn't enough to simply draw on a past experience at the altar. As Leonard Ravenhill put it so clearly, "I don't ask people anymore if they are born again. I ask them, 'Does Christ live in you?'" I love the book of 1 John!! The disciple who so often laid his head on Jesus breast and listened to his heartbeat, captured the importance of a close abiding realtionship with the Lord in this epistle! In chapter 3 verse 6, he writes, "Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him." Then in verse 8, he makes this stirring indictment, "He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning." Verse 9, "Whosoever is born of God doth not committ sin; (doesn't continue in sin or practice sin) for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God." I believe the words 'cannot sin' refer not a physical inability to sin, but that there is no desire to engage in sinful practices. The seed is God's very life, Spirit and nature dwelling within the believer. (I Johm 5:11-12; John 15:4; 2 Peter 1:4)** In order to live a pure and holy life, it is important that we have a Biblical viewpoint toward sin. The attitude of the world today is to see everything as relative. What is wrong for me might be okay for you based on circumstance, situation or personal preference. The lines are blurred between right and wrong and no clear standards exist in the mindset of the world at large. But as followers of Jesus Christ, bought by His blood and called by His name, the difference is stark and the lines are clear. It was sin that caused Jesus Christ to go to the cross of Calvary to redeem you and me from the slave market of sin, paying the terrible price for your soul and mine! It is sin that separates one from God and causes prayers to be unheard and unanswered. And it is sin that will ultimately separate one from God's presence for eternity. I will never forget the illustration one of my favorite professors at Christ For the Nations gave when he was talking about the awfulness of sin and wishing to impress upon the students just how terrible it really is. His words have definitely made a lasting impression 14 years later!! He compared sin to chocolate-covered vomit! It may look good and it may even smell good on the outside (for Satan always tempts us with something that looks appealing!) but once we bite it...it's too late....we discover just how awful and sickening it really is! That illustration has helped me often when making a decision, to remember that sin is never ever going to be right, good or wholesome. no matter what it may seem to be at the present! It is something to be repulsed; something to flee from! I am thankful, that if we do give in to temptation and sin, that when we truly repent with a broken and contrite heart we have this promise according to 1 John 1:9, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." May God give to each of us a heart that desires to wholly follow after Him, leaving the decaying things of the world and seeking to abide in His presence alone! David wrote, in Psalm 16:11, "Thou wilt show me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand are pleasures forevermore." |
| "I have seen the face of Jesus Tell me not of aught beside; I have heard the voice of Jesus And my soul is satisfied." ~ Anonynous |
| * The Full Life Study Bible, Zondervan, p 1823 ** The Full Life Study Bible, Zondervan, p 2006 |
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