Most of us, if asked for the definition of sin, could confidently assert, “Sin is the transgression of the laws and commandments of God” If, however, we were invited to analyze the nuances of the power of sin, maybe we would be more hesitant Yet the apostle Paul was so convinced of the seriousness of sin in our lives, he gave it the rank of a monarch “Let not sin reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof “(Rom 6 12) By personifying the phenomenon, Paul captured the all-encompassing aspects of “king sin ” He knew his subject well, having, like us, lost many a battle to sin “For the good that I would I do not but the evil which I would not, that I do (Rom 7 19) Our Lord himself taught that no king should go out to battle before carefully assessing the strength of the enemy forces (Lk 14 31) It is only right that we should be fully cognizant of the power of our most persistent and implacable adversary.
Sin’s powers
As we start our consideration we should remind ourselves that sin does not come from any external agent, it comes from within This of course is a principle of our faith, rejecting as we do the doctrine of the personal devil We do know that in some circumstances, God chastens us for our ultimate good, but He does not tempt us to do evil This was an error made by some of the believers in the early church James was at pains to refute this false concept “Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man but every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed” (Jas 1 13,14) The following verse goes on to show that sin is a step-by-step process “Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death” (Jas 1:15)
With the wonderful advantage of the inspired scriptures as our daily guide, it is possible to consider ourselves far more sophisticated than believers of bygone ages Take for example the admonition of Solomon to his son not to yield to the invitation from the wicked woman (Prov 2 16- 19) Do we feel a little complacent when we read this as part of our daily readings? After all, if a modern day counterpart suggested that we go and sin, of course our response would be “no way!” Sin is not usually so blatant, and in its various forms it can be as subtle as the serpent that beguiled Eve As Peter discovered when one feels strong, suddenly the depths of weakness can be reached Confidence in the flesh led him to deny his master, the Lord Jesus Christ We are not always in control and can easily be provoked, enticed, deceived or pressured into sinful thoughts and activities There are those weak moments when we lose our tempers, envy others, or fail to speak up for godly principles Although aware that such behavior is un-Christ-like, we yield, usually at times when we are tired, angry, afraid or jealous.
In order to develop sin sensitivity, we need to be fully cognizant of the nature of sin The fundamental problem is that sin separates us from God “But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear” (Is 59:2).
Using the scriptures as our basis we will look at some of the facets of sin.
Sin is enjoyable and appealing
Moses deliberately chose to forego the opportunity to enjoy its pleasures in order to follow the narrow way of godliness “By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season “
Sin gives only temporary benefits
Enjoyable and profitable as the broad path of evil may be, life is short and unpredictable, inevitably death will terminate all pleasure and advantage “A worthless person, a wicked man, walks with a perverse mouth, he winks with his eyes, he shuffles his feet, he points with his fingers, perversity is in his heart, he devises evil continually, he sows discord Therefore his calamity shall come suddenly, suddenly he shall be broken without remedy ‘ (Prov 6:12-15 NKJ)
In one of his letters the apostle John, after explaining that lust and pride are products of the world, states “And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever” (I Jn 2:17)
Sin is ultimately unsatisfying
The possession of riches is not a sin (although our Lord indicated that the pitfalls are many) It is the constant scheming and striving for money that is wrong However vast his acquisition of wealth and pleasure, man always yearns for more “I said in my heart, Come now, I will test you with mirth, therefore enjoy pleasure I searched in my heart how to gratify my flesh with wine and how to lay hold on folly, till I might see what was good for the sons of men to do under heaven all the days of their lives Yet there is no end to all his labors, nor is his eye satisfied with riches” (Ecc 2:1, 3, 4:8 NKJ)
Sin is self-centered
“Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts for men shall be lovers of their own selves” (Jam 4 3, II Tim 3 2) Try as we might to subdue it, self-interest is always lurking near the surface and breaks out in times of stress
Sin is deceitful
“But exhort one another daily, while it is called today lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin” (Heb 3 13) How often we persuade ourselves that a certain course of action is justifiable because it is important to gratify our particular needs of the moment The bigger car that we cannot really afford would be more comfortable for the elderly sister we take to the meeting each Sunday, or the new house with the lovely sitting room and fabulous garden would be so much better for entertaining brethren and sisters (irrespective of the fact that the associated Increased maintenance will eat into our valuable time).
Sin enslaves
In Romans 6, the chapter we use frequently at baptismal services, Paul uses the analogy of mankind being a servant (or as the NKJ translates the Greek word doulous — as slave) no less than seven times His rationale is to show that once we were slaves to sin, but after baptism we must change our allegiance and become slaves to God.
The wages of sin
Probably some of the best-known and most commonly ignored words in the Bible are “the wages of sin is death” Perhaps we need to ponder the question posed by the writer to the Romans more frequently “What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death” (Rom 6:21).
From the foregoing examples it is obvious that sin is a heinous killer, separating the sinner from God Why is it then that the wicked seem to prosper? The situation has been a conundrum for the faithful through the ages It worried the psalmist Asaph to the extent that he wrote “My feet had almost stumbled, my steps had nearly slipped when I saw the prosperity of the wicked “(Ps 73 2,3) He found the answer by coming near to God in His sanctuary “It was too painful for me, until I went into the sanctuary of God, then I understood their end for indeed, those who are far from you shall perish But it is good for me to draw near to God, for I have put my trust in the Lord God, that I may declare all your works” (Ps 73:16, 17,27,28 NKJ)
The antidote to sin
Now we are privileged to come into the sanctuary of God and draw near to Him through His Son Bearing our nature, the Lord Jesus experienced all of the enticing temptations the flesh can produce, but remained sinless Enlightened by his deep knowledge and understanding of the scriptures, he saw clearly the role of sin and the consequences for those who follow it He was constant in his resolve to do his father’s will After being weakened by fasting in the wilderness for forty days and forty nights, he was still able to resist the power of the tempter Drawing upon the word, he banished sin from his presence “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, you shall worship the Lord your God, and him only you shall serve Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him” (Matt 4 10 NKJ) The Lord Jesus was unrelenting in overcoming sin and so indeed we should be in our attempts to emulate him As we take the emblems in his memory, let us give thanks that he took the battle with “king sin” to the grave and rose the victorious monarch of all.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One