The Perils of Sin -By Brother Chuck

By Brother Chuck

Sin will always take you farther than you want to go, keep you longer than you plan to stay, and cost you more than you ever thought you'd pay. Sin takes on a life all its own. It's a lust and a desire that gets stronger and stronger each time you give in. It is like a black hole that simply can not be filled. Sin can never be satisfied or quenched. A rich man was asked once, what would make him happy. He answered, "One more dollar." And then he'd be happy? No. He would want one more dollar. The lust of sin can't be satisfied. Sin always wants more from you. The sin that satisfied you yesterday, won't satisfy you today. And the sin that satisfies you today won't satisfy you tomorrow. It just keeps growing and growing and growing. It's hold on you gets stronger and stronger each time you give into sinful desires. The end result is always the same, it's death; spiritual death, lost in your sin, maybe forever. "These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death" (James 1:15 NLT).

You can't escape your sin. Your guilt won't let you. Your guilt will gnaw at you day and night. Your self-imposed condemnation alone may overtake you. Then there's the likelihood that you've quenched or grieved the Holy Spirit. That's the last thing you wanted to do. How did you let it go this far? You never wanted it to go this far. Just a little bit of sin was all you wanted. You didn't mean to hurt anybody, especially God. You can't face God now! Your guilt just won't let you. How will you pray now? How will you worship? You've separated yourself from God. It was your choice, not His. You used to be so close to Him. Sin does that you know? It separates us from God. Thank God for the conviction of the Holy Spirit. It's not comfortable, but it's necessary and appreciated. It's His job to convict you of your sin. The Psalmist David when he sinned against God with Bathsheba said, "...my sin is always before me" (Psalm 51:3b). The Message puts it this way: "I know how bad I've been; my sins are staring me down."

Eventually, your secret sin will expose you. You're going to be found out, "...take note, you have sinned against the Lord; and be sure your sin will find you out" (Numbers 32:23). You know what that means. It means you can count on it, be certain of this, YOUR SIN WILL FIND YOU OUT! "There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs" (Luke 12:2-3 NIV). "Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account" (Hebrews 4:13 NIV).

"What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death" (Romans 6:21 NIV)!

Friends, Satan will tempt you. He will lie to you. He will tell you this sin won't hurt you. But it will. He will tell you, your sin is not hurting anyone else. It is though. Sin affects everyone around you. Just look at the family of the alcoholic, or the drug addict, or the adulterer. Do you still think your willful sin is not hurting anyone else? Satan will lie to you every time! It's what he does. After all, he is the "father of lies'' (John 8:44). He is also a skilled trapper. He carefully sets his traps for you. And once you've taken the bait, and entered into sin again, he'll sink his claws so deep into you, it may take years to get them back out if you're able to at all. And the end result? It's always the same, it's death. "These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death" (James 1:15 NLT).

I know a youth pastor who pastors about 400 youth at our church. He brought them all to the church parking lot one day where he was standing on the roof of the church preaching. He preached about sin and how it is an insatiable lust and why it should be avoided at all cost.

To make his point, he threw a raw egg onto the church parking lot. The egg shell broke and the egg splattered all over the parking lot. All the kids were thrilled with delight. They oohed and aahed when the egg splattered. Then he threw down a boom box (portable audio system) onto the parking lot. It broke into pieces. The kids were even more excited. They roared and shouted. Then he heaved down a large TV. This really set the kids off. They were jumping up and down and laughing and hollering and were extremely thrilled. Then he pointed to the parking lot where a car was driving kind of fast. It hit a small ramp and went airborne. And the crowd of kids were absolutely unhinged. They couldn't contain their excitement. They were laughing and jumping up and down. They were oohing and aahing at this incredible feat. Then he gathered their attention once more and threw down another egg. They didn't move. They had seen this stunt before. Nobody oohed. Nobody aahed. Nobody jumped up and down. Not after seeing a TV smashed to smithereens and a car jumping a ramp. This egg hitting the parking lot was nothing to them now. In the beginning it excited them. They shouted with pleasure. It was fun and exciting. And now? Well now, it's a nothing burger. It's no big deal. It's yesterday's news.

The sin that satisfied you yesterday, won't satisfy you today. And the sin that satisfies you today won't satisfy you tomorrow. It just keeps growing and growing and growing.

"For the wages of sin is death..." (Romans 6:23a).

"Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am tempted by God"; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death" (James 1:13-15).

BUT I HAVE GOOD NEWS FOR YOU!

GOD GIVES GRACE!!

He's huge in mercy! He'll wipe out your bad record. He'll scrub away your guilt too. Your sins won't "stare you down" anymore. You are forgiven! Shout Hallelujah! I am forgiven!

More good news, when you sin, Jesus is advocating for you. It's when we feel as though God has left us that He's right there with us! We have Christ in our corner. He's our defense attorney. He's pleading our case before the Father. "My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous" (1 John 2:1 NLT).

The shame that accompanies sin makes it difficult for us to approach God in prayer or worship. Take comfort though, there is One who is holy, without sin, set apart and exalted above the heavens, who always lives to make intercession for you. That One is Jesus. "But because Jesus lives forever, his priesthood lasts forever. Therefore he is able, once and forever, to save those who come to God through him. He lives forever to intercede with God on their behalf" (Hebrews 7:24-25 NLT).

The sense of heaviness that accompanies our sin is God leading us to repentance. So repent! Say you're sorry. Don't do it anymore. Move on. Leave your sin in the rear-view mirror. God's grace is sufficient for you. "But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me" ( 2 Corinthians 12:9 NIV).

"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9).

Listen, you're not powerless. Stop giving in to your own desires. If you're a Christian, you have God the Holy Spirit living inside of you. He's an omnipotent (all-powerful) God. Sometimes, you just need to say NO to temptation. You've been set free from sin. Live your life as if you're possessed by the Holy Spirit. "Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you" (James 4:7). Just stop doing it! Quit acting like you're powerless. Stop sinning!

"Come back to your senses as you ought, and stop sinning; for there are some who are ignorant of God–I say this to your shame" (1 Corinthians 15:34 NIV).

"See, you have been made well. Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you" (John 5:14).

When You Let God Down

"Peter did what he swore he wouldn't do. Three times the salt of Peter's betrayal stung the wounds of the Messiah. And he would never forget the look on Jesus' face. So Peter returned to Galilee. Once again he had fished all night with no success. And a voice from shores yells, "Try the other side!" When John recognized Jesus, Peter swam to shore and stood in front of the friend he betrayed. For once, Peter was silent. The moment was too holy for words.

What do you say at a moment such as this? It's just you and God. You both know what you did. And neither of you is proud of it. What do you do? Consider doing what Peter did. Stand still and wait-too repentant to speak, but too hopeful to leave. He has come back. Jesus invites you to try again. This time, with him."

~Max Lucado

From his book: "He Still Moves Stones"

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