It’s just a small,
three-lettered word, but what havoc it has brought upon earth and all
its
inhabitants, especially man. Definitions for this little word are:
· To be without a share in
· To miss the mark
· To err, be mistaken
· To miss or wander from the path of uprightness and
honour, to do or go wrong
· To wander from the law of God, violate God's law, sin
· That which is done wrong, sin, an offence, a violation
of the divine law in thought or in act and
· Collectively, the complex or aggregate of sins
committed either by a single person or by many.
It isn’t a very popular
subject among the nation’s pulpits anymore, so it’s coated over with warm,
fuzzy, feel-good messages so as not to offend anyone. It’s often practiced, but
re-defined, or just simply ignored.
There was once a saying,
“Give him an inch and he’ll take a mile.” You can’t get any more accurate than
that when considering its supersonic growth rate. One little sin by Adam and
Eve committed from heeding the father of lies, and look at us now. It got so
bad by the time of Noah God destroyed everyone with a world-wide flood except
for Noah and his family, along with designated animals. However, the germ was
still there, and in no time at all, it spread like a silent killer … again.
Sin is like yeast with its
effects upon flour, or one lonely rotten apple among a barrel of fresh ones. It
spreads and destroys until all is rotten. Sin cannot be reversed by anyone or
anything that has already been contaminated by it, and we all have.
Scripture says, “For all have
sinned, and come short of the glory of God; (Romans 3:23) and “For the wages of
sin is death; …” ((Romans 6:23) Because of sin, everyone and everything dies.
There are no exceptions. As soon as we are born, we begin the process of dying.
Think about that.
One unique thing about man
though is that he is an eternal being. Eventually our body will die, but our
soul will live on eternally. The question is “Where?”
“But I will forewarn you whom
ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into
hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him.” (Luke 12:5)
“But our citizenship is in
heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ,”
(Philippians 3:20)
There are two destinations
after the body dies; one is hell, the other is Heaven. Those without Jesus
Christ will go to hell. Those who have Jesus Christ will go to Heaven. No one,
I would hope, wants to go to hell, so how do we go to Heaven instead after we
die?
“For God so loved the world,
that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not
perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)
“This is real love—not that
we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away
our sins.” (1 John 4:10)
“For when we were yet without
strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet
peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while
we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:6-8)
“…Believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.” Acts 16:31)
“Since we have now been
justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath
through him! For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him
through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we
be saved through his life! Not only is this so, but we also boast in God
through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received
reconciliation.” (Romans 5:9-11)
Obviously God has provided
the best of Heaven, Jesus Christ, so we can be saved from sin and its ultimate
end. To rid us from sin, thereby paving the way for us to live eternally with
Him, Jesus took our sins upon Himself at the cross. Those who know Him as their
Savior and Lord, grieve when sin is in their lives, because we know He paid a
heavy price to rid us of those very sins.
Am I saying Christians still
sin? Oh yes, unfortunately, it is so. Romans chapter seven reminds us of the
struggle. When a Christian sins, we do not lose our salvation, but we sure do
harm our fellowship with God. When we sin He tells us to come to Him and
confess our sins and He will forgive us and restore that fellowship (John 1:9).
Now that is grace.
Even though we still sin as
Christians because we remain in these mortal bodies, we don’t like it. The
whole thing just makes us miserable, and I’ve been miserable many times. How
about you?
Sin takes on many shapes, but
today its most vile forms are being practiced publicly and proudly. There’s no
point in my rehashing specifics. I’ve done that several times before, so let’s
just say that today nothing is hidden. There is no shame. There is no guilt.
There is nothing but sinful man calling down judgment upon their own head,
because they refuse to repent and forsake their sins.
“If anyone, then, knows the
good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.” (James 4:17)
“Woe to those who call evil
good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put
bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.” (Isaiah 5:20)
“This is the verdict: Light
has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because
their deeds were evil. Everyone who does
evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their
deeds will be exposed.” (John 3:19-20)
Notice those last two verses,
John 3:19-20, have you ever wondered why people today get so upset, even
vicious, when sin is pointed out? Well, there it is. They don’t want their
behavior exposed as sin. They don’t care to expose their sins. Just don’t
condemn them.
Let’s go back to a saying I
quoted earlier, “Give him an inch and he’ll take a mile.” Have you noticed that
public sins are getting more and more disgusting as the days pass?
God said of Noah’s day, “The
LORD saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth,
and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all
the time.” (Genesis 6:5)
And then He said here, “In
those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right
in his own eyes.” (Judges 17:6)
Isn’t this describing us in
the 21st century to a tee? We have reverted to the days of Noah, and
the times of Israel when there was no leader. Folks, we have no leader, except
in name only, and our days are drawing short. Those who call for repentance may
be ridiculed, but judgment is coming.
Much could be said about sin,
and none of it is good, except for the Good News of Jesus Christ. We may not
want to talk about sin, but our barrel of apples is rotten. The yeast has
consumed us, and the reaper is on his way. We can be sure our sins will find us
out (Numbers 32:23).
Anytime now Jesus will be
coming to remove His bride, the Church, from this earth. Soon afterward His
judgment will commence. “From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say,
Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 4:17)
He closes the Book by saying,
“I come quickly.” (Revelation 22:7, 12, 20)
Grant Phillips
Email: grantphillips@windstream.net
Pre-Rapture Commentary: http://grant-phillips.blogspot.com
