A week ago when I was listening to a preaching on the sixth commandment, I stumbled upon an interesting fact. I came across a scripture where it spoke about running away from sin. I'm sure all of us are no strangers to sermons on fighting sin. Countless priests and preachers have spent endless hours with this topic. Say this prayer, read this scripture and so on. But let's talk of a different strategy to tackling this trap of the enemy.
Before we go deeper into handling the problem, let's know what we are dealing with. Sin is actually quite simple (both, to define and commit). I generally define it in two ways:
Before we go deeper into handling the problem, let's know what we are dealing with. Sin is actually quite simple (both, to define and commit). I generally define it in two ways:
- Disobedience to God and
- Anything displeasing to God.
For example, we all know that it is written, "thou shall not steal". Now, when we steal we disobey God hence committing sin and displeasing Him.
Now, when we sin, there are a whole bunch of curses and punishments that come as a packaged deal. Documented very well in the entire Bible, I like to broadly classify them as follows:
Now, when we sin, there are a whole bunch of curses and punishments that come as a packaged deal. Documented very well in the entire Bible, I like to broadly classify them as follows:
- You go away from God.
- You don't go to heaven.
- And naturally that means you burn in the lake of fire.
Now that ain't a pretty sight !
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, let us begin by acknowledging that none of us are blameless in God's sight. We have fallen into sin even if it was against our will. Jesus said in Matthew 26:41, ''...the spirit is willing but the body is weak''. Firstly, we need to ask for forgiveness for sins that we have already committed. Jesus said in Matthew 11:28, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." Dearly beloved, please re-read that verse. No matter how many burdens you are carrying, no matter how weary your sins have made you, we can come to Him and and He will give us rest. It is not sufficient only to turn away from sin but we must also turn to him. From Revelation 3:16 we know that all those are not with Him are against Him.
The next fundamental "note to self" we need to make is to avoid temptation. Prevention is always better than cure. Sometimes it may seem easy but be careful, if you rely on your strength rather than God's grace, we run the risk of making the mistake Moses made in Numbers 20:1-13. Due to this, Moses missed the promised land.
The best example we can take is from a man named Joseph. After the whole incident with his brothers and the Egyptians, he landed up in Potiphar's house (Potiphar was the captain of Pharaoh's army). Genesis 39:5-6 tells us of all the responsibilities that he had as Potiphar's main man. He was handsome, had all the fortune he could ask for and now Potiphar's wife offered herself to him. Sounds like an offer most men would not resist right ? But Jospeh knew better than most men and fled away leaving behind everything (even his cloak). No matter how much this world has to offer, if it causes us to sin, we must turn in the opposite direction and run away from it. Jesus said so himself in Matthew 18:8, ''So if your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It’s better to enter eternal life with only one hand or one foot than to be thrown into eternal fire with both of your hands and feet."
But as is the case with most of us (me being no exception), we are highly likely to succumb to the temptation. If such a situation has to arise, we need to realize that the same Sovereign Lord that will come to judge the entire world is also our loving father who is always waiting for His prodigal sons and daughters to return back to Him. No good dead you do can ever erase even a single sin but it is only by His shedding of His precious blood that he has redeemed all of us. So if you do stumble, he expects you to do just one thing, dust the dirt off your back and walk on the righteous path again. Every time we fall it is of utmost importance that we rise up, keep our eyes on Him and Him alone and continue our journey.
As I end this, it is my humble prayer to the Lord that we may always be reminded of the rewards that Joseph received for remaining away from sin and that it may inspire us also to do the same. I also pray that He give us the faith of Job (atleast the good part) and the wisdom of Solomon that we may never depart from his word.
The next fundamental "note to self" we need to make is to avoid temptation. Prevention is always better than cure. Sometimes it may seem easy but be careful, if you rely on your strength rather than God's grace, we run the risk of making the mistake Moses made in Numbers 20:1-13. Due to this, Moses missed the promised land.
The best example we can take is from a man named Joseph. After the whole incident with his brothers and the Egyptians, he landed up in Potiphar's house (Potiphar was the captain of Pharaoh's army). Genesis 39:5-6 tells us of all the responsibilities that he had as Potiphar's main man. He was handsome, had all the fortune he could ask for and now Potiphar's wife offered herself to him. Sounds like an offer most men would not resist right ? But Jospeh knew better than most men and fled away leaving behind everything (even his cloak). No matter how much this world has to offer, if it causes us to sin, we must turn in the opposite direction and run away from it. Jesus said so himself in Matthew 18:8, ''So if your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It’s better to enter eternal life with only one hand or one foot than to be thrown into eternal fire with both of your hands and feet."
But as is the case with most of us (me being no exception), we are highly likely to succumb to the temptation. If such a situation has to arise, we need to realize that the same Sovereign Lord that will come to judge the entire world is also our loving father who is always waiting for His prodigal sons and daughters to return back to Him. No good dead you do can ever erase even a single sin but it is only by His shedding of His precious blood that he has redeemed all of us. So if you do stumble, he expects you to do just one thing, dust the dirt off your back and walk on the righteous path again. Every time we fall it is of utmost importance that we rise up, keep our eyes on Him and Him alone and continue our journey.
As I end this, it is my humble prayer to the Lord that we may always be reminded of the rewards that Joseph received for remaining away from sin and that it may inspire us also to do the same. I also pray that He give us the faith of Job (atleast the good part) and the wisdom of Solomon that we may never depart from his word.
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