Seriousness of Sin

 

 

Sin Kills: Even what we'd regard as a "white lie:

·       Acts 5:3–4 But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land? While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to man but to God.”

Whenever, we sin against man, we also sin against the three members of the Trinity. Therefore Peter informed Ananias that his sin hadn’t just been against man but primarily against the Triune God who had placed His laws within out hearts and minds. King Saul had likewise sinned against God:

 ·       1 Samuel 15:11; 20–23 “I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned back from following me and has not performed my commandments.”…And Saul said to Samuel, “I have obeyed the voice of the LORD. I have gone on the mission on which the LORD sent me. I have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and I have devoted the Amalekites to destruction. But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the best of the things devoted to destruction, to sacrifice to the LORD your God in Gilgal.” And Samuel said, “Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, he has also rejected you from being king.”

God honors those who honor Him. Saul lied to God, Samuel, and had blamed his army for his own sins. When we reject the Word of God, we reject God, and He will reject us. It would be preferable to pluck our eye out if it would cause us to not sin:

·       Matthew 5:29–30 “If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.”

Unconfessed sin is so deceptive and destructive that the one sin of Adam and Eve led to many others—lying to God, hiding from Him, blame-shifting, and refusing to confess their sins and to repent. It resulted in death and the Fall of God’s entire creation.

·       Genesis 3:7–13 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths. And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. But the LORD God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.” He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.”

 Resisting Sin

Jesus resisted the Devil  by relying on the Word: Matthew 4:3–11 And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But he answered, “It is written, “ ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, “ ‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and “ ‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’” (Psalm 91) Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’” Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, “‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’”

If Jesus relied exclusively upon he Word, how much more must we. This is only one reason why we must rely on the Word:  

Psalm 1:1-3) Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.

·       Psalm 119:11 “Your word I have treasured in my heart, that I may not sin against You”

God does the heavy lifting. He makes new our heart and mind through regeneration. To grant repentance is also to grant us faith. The two are inseparable. Both are necessary to open our minds to the things of God to escape from bondage to the devil:

·       2 Timothy 2:24–26 …Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance [regeneration] leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.

We cannot blame God, the devil, our upbringing, or a lack of freewill for our sins. Nor does He implant unwholesome desires within us. Instead, we are to take full responsibility by confessing and turning from our sins:

·       James 1:13–15 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire.

The only way that we can face our sins is to know that we are beloved and forgiven:

·       1 John 1:8–10 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

It is only with this assurance that we can live truthfully and confidently.