It is just us and sin. You cannot make peace with war. You cannot broker a truce with hostility. And so it is between you and sin. There is no peace, no calm, no truce, no cessation of hostilities, and no agreement for rest and no treaty. Sin is your sworn enemy and Satan is the master of using it in an attempt to destroy you. You are in a war. You are in a war until the day you die. And what’s more sin has an ally in its war against you. The Bible calls it your flesh. But the Bible is not speaking primarily of your skin, bones, muscle and organ tissue, but is speaking of your thoughts, your desires, your goals that have been so wrongly habituated because of the presence and power of your sin nature that you are born with. Like a board that is warped, our thoughts, desires and goals (hearts) naturally tend to reflect their warped condition. Sin, in spite of its destructive properties, history of devastation, agonizing effects upon our lives, yet retains remarkably powerful influence upon us. That influence is called temptation. That which Satan throws at us to destroy us can be the means that God uses to drawus to him. (1 Cor. 10.13; Hebrews 12.1–2) How do I deal with temptation? 1. Sin is toxic. This is so difficult for us to grasp because sin does not come labeled as poison. Sin has laughter, mood music and a measure of prestige. It appears to have secrets to success, experiences that will thrill, and an image that will impress. But, all of he things that sin seems to be are actually the part of the lure that hides the hook, the point is tipped with soul poison. a. Sin is rebellion against God. I know that when I say that, it is natural for many of you to think that sin is your friend, good times, your helper and that God is the tyrant who is threatened by his own creation having a good time, when in reality God is the true lover and provider of your soul’s delight. We rebel against the true lover of oursoul and the true champion of our joy when we sin. b. Sin is the perversion of that which is good. God made everything good. Sin perverts everything, The scary thing is that perversion is appealing to us. It looks like something that we want because our hearts are warped by it. c. Sin is empty Sin leaves you isolated, lonely, empty, broken, used by it and by others, even while youare using others. It is dirty, guilty, angry, depressing, bitter, deceitful and hopeless. d. Sin is irrational. The field of psychology is driven in large measure by trying to find causality and rationality for certain destructive and anti-social behaviors. Bottom line is that sin does not make rational sense. Sin is extremely stupid, and that, this a very legitimate use of the word stupid. It is why I say, “sin causes brain damage.” If you are going to engage successfully in your fight with temptation, you need to use correct language. Sin is the condition of our hearts that is in rebellion against God, because we think that we know more than God. Sounds strong but it is the truth.
Posted on: Sun, 04 Aug 2013 20:14:26 +0000
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