Don’t Sin

We have concluded our series on holiness and, although my heart yearns to write endlessly, my time is temporarily occupied by a development we are busy with. Therefore I have decided to leave our study on the epistle of John for a while and just regularly place a golden nugget or some of my previous articles until such time as I am in a position to write regularly again. Do not forget to like my Facebook page at Word Bytes for then you have regular access to some more teaching.

“No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it,” (1 Corinthians 10:13).

I do not know what temptations you have struggled with before or currently have a hard time with. I know though, that I am tempted quite often to sin in a certain area. When temptation comes it usually works like this: Initially I resist it, but as the lies from Satan and the self-justification of my sinful nature increases, I sometimes give in to the pressure, my flesh enjoys it for a while, after which regret kicks in and condemnation follows. This is probably what Paul referred to when He wrote about the thorn in his flesh (2 Corinthians 12:7-9).

It is easy to justify ourselves with the fact that we are weak, as an excuse to enjoy the sins that are common to man.

In church we, however, had a simple message the other day about the above passage in 1 Corinthians 10:13, which triggered the following thought in me:

The Lord promised He will give a way out of a temptation. If we therefore surrender to sin, we do not bear with the temptation supported by His power, but basically slap Him in His face so to speak, for we then show Him we did not want His way of escape, but rather desired to sin.

We read in Hebrews 12:4: “In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.”

Say for instance you have parked your car on a sloped road facing a cliff. You get out having a look at the view, when your child releases the handbrake and the car starts rolling. You have just swum in some nearby pools and are barefoot. You run closer and throw your weight against the car which causes your bare feet to drag across the rough surface of the road until the no skin is left and blood flows. Are you going to let go of the car because your feet are bleeding and let it drop down the cliff with your child it? No, you are going to resist its momentum until you succeed.

Sin is like that car - a killer! It kills your godly potential, you success as a ministering Christian, the souls of those you influence and those you do not reach because of your sin of disobedience.

Sin is not only doing wrong things. It is any form of disobedience. “Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin,” (James 4:17).

Are you resisting sin to the point of shedding your blood? Do you rely on the Lord for His way of escape?

Lord, you are purifying your church. Please include me.