“A Spirit-filled life surrounded by Spirit-filled friends will not make room for sin’s ever-lurking influence.”
Thoughts from daily Bible reading for today – April 5, 2023
Sin through the commandment might become exceedingly sinful. Romans 7:13
A cavalier attitude toward sin can get us in trouble by muting our intimacy with the Trinity. The Lord is jealous, and any sinful suitors competing for His children’s affection are not welcomed in His house. New converts to the faith have a childlike tenderness to not sin against God and His sons and daughters. Yet, as a believer becomes familiar with the faith, complacency can creep in unnoticed and forfeit intimacy with Christ, inviting in the sinful guests of pride, lust, and lying. Fortunately, those mature and growing in the faith grow even more sensitive to sin’s presence and quickly acknowledge God’s resources as spiritual weapons. Love for God takes sin seriously by rejecting the sin of unbelief that nailed Jesus to the cross. To die with Christ is to honor Him by not sinning against Him. Yes, the closer we draw near to Christ, the further we flee from sin.
Charles Spurgeon, a man who was not one to bargain with sin, makes the case for Christians not to minimize the seriousness of sin and its consequences for Christ and the cross: “Sin, a little thing? Is it not poison? Who knows its deadliness? Sin, a little thing? Do not the little foxes spoil the grapes? Doth not the tiny coral insect build a rock that wrecks a navy? Do not little strokes fell lofty oaks? Will not continual droppings wear away stones? Sin, a little thing? It girded the Redeemer’s head with thorns and pierced his heart! It made him suffer anguish, bitterness, and woe. Could you weigh the least sin in the scales of eternity, you would fly from it as from a serpent and abhor the least appearance of evil. Look upon all sin as that which crucified the Savior, and you will see it to be ‘exceeding sinful.’” Yes, little sins numb us to give in to the big sins eventually, but love is vigilantly alert to the seriousness of sin’s drawn-out consequences.
“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).
Keep an eye on sin, or it will take you down and even take you out. You are never truly alone, as the Holy Spirit is just as present as the evil hunting you. If you battle sin with the spiritual weapons of faith, love, humility, wisdom, prayer, scripture, and accountability, you will see sin stand down. A Spirit-filled life surrounded by Spirit-filled friends will not make room for sin’s ever-lurking influence. But if you isolate yourself from healthy relationships and think you are above the expectations you have of others…you are being set up by pride for a precipitous downward spiral. The little sins of self-deception will lead you to the life-altering consequences of the larger sins of financial misconduct, sexual infidelity, and power’s devastating control.
Beware of lying to yourself that you are above the standards the Lord has for all of His children. The destructive road of sinfulness is traveled by all who ignore the serious consequences of sin. We all must remember…a repentant heart can be forgiven and restored, but the relational devastation may take years, a lifetime…sometimes never, to rebuild trust and goodwill. Like the destruction of a hurricane to a coastal community and its landscape, life is altered by the costly mess and ongoing cleanup, so a life demolished by sin will never be the same. By God’s grace, a life of integrity can grow back stronger, but not without scars. So, be wise and do not grow careless with sin; instead, relentlessly love, obey and flee the very thought of sin.
“We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5).
Prayer
Heavenly Father, give me a sensitivity to sin motivated by love for you and love for others through Christ’s love, and in Jesus’ name, amen.
Application
What sin have you let into your life that needs to be confessed and forsaken?
Related Reading
Genesis 39:1-12; Psalm 51:1-17; Proverbs 28:13; James 4:17; 1 John 1:9
Worship Resource
Corey Voss: Nothing But The Blood
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