Lesson 7 –The Truth About Sin
Over the years of my ministry, I have had people ask me if this thing or that thing is sin. Most do not actually want an answer to their question, but are seeking approval for the thing they are currently doing. Without telling me so, they are admitting they are doing something they feel is wrong in God’s sight, but want me to tell them that “under their circumstances”, God will probably look the other way. When they learn that God does not take sin lightly, they don’t usually stop their actions, they simply stop asking.
What actually is sin? I’m certain there are very long and highly educated definitions of sin, but if we could sum up in just a few words, what sin actually is according to God’s Word, the Bible, what would it be? Of course, God has provided that “in a nutshell definition” for us to base our view of sin upon.
Proverbs 24:9 The thought of foolishness is sin: and the scorner is an abomination to men.
Foolishness! God’s Word proclaims that sin is “foolishness”. That is very plain, but what is foolishness? The root word for the act of foolishness is “folly.”
Webster’s Dictionary of American English (1828) defines “folly” as “…any conduct contrary to the laws of God or man; sin; scandalous crimes; that which violates moral precepts and dishonors the offender.”
Conduct contrary to the laws of man we understand. This is called “breaking the law” and carries a penalty of money, time incarcerated, or both. But what about conduct contrary to the laws of God? These are the “foolishness” Proverbs 24:9 calls “sin”. Therefore, anything that is contrary to God’s law is considered sin, even the thought of it.
I can hear someone proclaiming that we have no control over the thoughts that Satan places within our minds, so how can we be held accountable for those thoughts as sin? You are one hundred percent correct. We cannot stop Satan from invading our thoughts with his temptations, however, what we can do is dismiss them as contrary to God’s Word, and not allow them to dwell in our thoughts. Someone once said that you cannot control who rings your doorbell, but you can control who you let in and drink coffee with.
Why is going against God’s law such a big deal? Because when you go against what God has revealed to man through His Word, you are telling God that you don’t like His way, and want to do it your way. When a child tells a parent that, consequences, as well as discipline are certain to follow. How much more should we expect from God, who is our heavenly Father? While a parent loves their child, and disciplines, as well as instructs for correction, God’s love for His created humans is so much more intense, that He will not stop trying to show us His ways and will.
According to Proverbs 24:9 sin is foolishness, therefore, the one being foolish is a “fool”. What is God’s view of a “fool” from His Word?
Psalm 14:1 The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.
The one who considers sin in their thoughts, as well as allowing those thoughts to work out into actions, is saying in their heart, “There is no God.” That is a harsh statement, but true. By allowing sinful thoughts to remain in your mind, you are disregarding any punishment for your sin. How can there be punishment if there is no God? Let me illustrate this. If I steal five dollars from my dad’s desk, I have totally disregarded his “law” that states I am not allowed to do that. My reasoning for stealing it is that Dad will not know, therefore, I will not suffer any consequences. If he discovers what I have done, there will be consequences. But if I say in my reasoning that there is no dad, then I can steal the money with no fear of any consequences. Since there is no dad, there is no law. If there is no law, I am free to do whatever I wish. That is the mental reasoning behind sin. It is like the little child who holds their hand in front of their eyes and claims that you cannot see them.
The problem with that reasoning is that there is a God and that He does see what is taking place in your heart and mind. The fool has said in his heart, that is in his reasoning and in his determination to have his own way, that there is no God, but God declares that those who allow sin to be considered in their thoughts “are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.” God does not “wink” at sin as if it were just something that a little child does, but will outgrow in time. God sees the falseness of sin and the damage it does to your relationship with Him, and He hates it. In our understanding, we can compare it with a parent who watches as their beloved child destroys their life with drugs, or alcohol, or tobacco. The love for the child is so intense that it makes the hatred for the thing that is destroying them even more intense.
If you ask the parent who is watching their child, or loved one, or spouse, destroy their lives, what they would be willing to do to get them to stop the behavior that is consuming them, they would answer that they would do anything they could, but do not know what that may be. God is not in that position since He can, and does do something, everything, about it. God will allow circumstances and situations to come into your life that will attempt to draw your attention to Him. God will not force Himself upon you since He has created you with a free will, however, the direction He is presenting you with can be very obvious and intense, because His love for you is extremely obvious and intense. God is never content to just sit back and allow you to perish in your sin.
2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
How far will God go with you when you have allowed sin to remain in your life in His attempt to bring about a change in your life, known as repentance? God has placed into you what is called a “conscience”, which is that inner “voice” that lets you know when something is not correct.
Webster’s Dictionary of American English (1828) defines “conscience” as, “Internal or self-knowledge, or judgment of right and wrong; or the faculty, power or principle within us, which decides on the lawfulness or unlawfulness of our own actions and affections, and instantly approves or condemns them.”
The first attempt God uses to correct your thinking and your consideration of sin is your conscience. The old saying, “Let your conscience be your guide” is not accurate. While God will work within your conscience to warn you that something is not correct, your free-will can override the conscience, resulting in doing what your conscience warned you not to do. Each time you override your conscience and partake of what it is warning you against, it becomes easier to do, and the voice of warning is quieted. God’s Word calls this “seared” in 1 Timothy 4:2. When a juicy steak is placed upon the grill, it is subject to very high heat to “sear” it, which cooks the outer portion of it very quickly to seal in the juices. When you “sear” your conscience with ignoring its warnings, you have placed your desires over it, and in a sense hardened it so nothing can come out of it.
When God’s first line of warning is violated, the conscience, He must move on to more drastic measures to get your attention. Things in your life will become more complicated. Challenges will present themselves for which you have little or no ability to control. Just as a loving parent does not enjoy bringing discipline to his child for doing wrong, God does not seek to destroy you, He is trying to get your attention so He can develop you. Difficulties will become more severe as you continue to resist God’s attempts to reveal His will to you. God never hates you while this is going on, but is trying to get your attention to realize what you have allowed to enter into your life, sin. Sin is destroying you, the one He loves beyond measure, as well as unconditionally.
There will come a time when you will have no choice but to give up fighting Him and be receptive to what He is trying to teach you. You may find yourself in jail, or in a hospital bed. You may not have any options but to declare bankruptcy. Your marriage may be so far gone that it appears to be impossible to restore. Why would you force God to resort to such drastic measures to get your attention, when the solution to the entire sin issue is to turn from it and turn to God? It is a very simple solution, but is so very difficult to do. Sin will never give up its hold upon you by any effort you can do on your own without God’s intervention. If you could turn from your sin on your own without God, He would not be God. If you were to be able to break the hold sin has upon you without God, Jesus Christ would have suffered all that He suffered for no reason, and would have died for no purpose. When it is through the power of God in your life that you turn from your sin, He is glorified in your life, and not you.
Why can’t you break the hold sin has upon you without God?
Romans 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
Sin is in you from the time you were born, and from the earliest years of your life it has shown itself. The first lie, the first act of rebellion to parents, the first cookie taken when told not to is the beginning of a lifetime of sin showing itself within you. Natural man is sinful. Your body and mind desire it and like it.
Galatians_5:16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. (17) For the flesh lusteth [wars] against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.
There is a battle constantly going on within you. It is a battle between your flesh and the Spirit for control of you. The flesh wants to be in control and keep you from God’s will and plan for your life. The Spirit wants to be in control and draw you closer to God so you can carry out His will and plan for your life and enjoy His blessings. Which one wins the battle? Which one will control you? Whichever one you encourage. If you encourage the flesh by allowing sinful things to remain in your life and thoughts, the flesh will win. If you encourage spiritual things to remain in your life, reading and meditating (thinking about) the Bible, applying what you have learned, church participation, prayer, etc., then the Spirit is victorious in your life and heart.
Galatians 6:8 For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.
Bruce graduated from college five years ago, got married, and has two children, a boy who is three years old, and a girl who just turned one year old. There were no job openings within his career field at the time he graduated, so he took a job outside of the profession he studied for. While his job paid a good salary, and he found the work easy, it wasn’t what he wanted to spend the rest of his life doing. His wife was a stay-at-home Mom with the little ones until they both started school, then she planned on going back to work also. There were plenty of job openings in her career field, so finding work would be easy.
Since Bruce was the sole source of income for his young family, he needed to carefully consider any move that might jeopardize his income. However, he did scan the help wanted ads in the newspaper, as well as the online job postings on several job sights. Everything he found either required several years prior experience, or involved a move to a different location. So, Bruce kept watching and praying for God to open something up that was what He wanted for them. Bruce and his family were very active in their local Bible teaching church, so everyone there was also looking for him also.
One evening, one of the friends from the church called Bruce and gave him the name of someone he had heard about that was looking for someone to work in the field he was looking for. Bruce called and arranged a meeting for the next evening after work. The job that was available would eventually lead into the job that he wanted, but there were other responsibilities he needed to take care of first, one of which was sales. The pay that was offered would be adequate to support his family, with a little to spare. Bruce talked it over with his wife and decided to take a week and pray about it. During that week both of them had negative feelings and thoughts about the job offer, but reasoned it would be a way for him to get the job he wanted, so he accepted the offer.
Part of what was expected of him would be some overnight travel, which neither him or his wife were thrilled with, but if it meant building towards the position he wanted, it would be worth the sacrifice. He went through several weeks of training to become familiar with the products offered, and then was assigned a customer list that was within the local area for a few weeks to get some experience before he went on the road. His first trip took him several states away, which proved to be very difficult to say good-bye to his wife and family, even though it was only for a week.
During the next few days, he was able to visit each one on the list he was given, and introduce himself as the new sales rep. The trip went well, and everyone seemed to be very pleasant to work with. However, he was extremely glad when he finally walked through the front door of his home, and was able to kiss his wife hello instead of good-bye. The next few weeks were spent locally, but then the next trip was to begin. This time he went to a different part of the country with another list of customers to visit, as well as some prospects to call upon. Things went well through the first few days, but then one of the prospective customers wanted to meet him over dinner in the evening, and suggested a location. Bruce had never been to that area before and didn’t know anything about the sections of town. As he pulled into the parking lot of the location he was given, he noticed that it was not a restaurant, but rather a bar. That didn’t set well with Bruce, and he was very close to calling the prospect and asking him to either change locations, or cancel the meeting. He wanted to make a good impression on the new prospect and gain his account, so he decided to keep the appointment. He reasoned within himself that he didn’t need to drink anything, and just enjoy the meal as well as the conversation.
Upon entering, he was pleased to see the prospect sitting at a table waiting for him. They ordered their meals; the prospect ordered drinks for both of them. Bruce told him very kindly that he didn’t drink, but the man insisted with such a tone that suggested if Bruce wanted to do business with him, he would accept the offer. Bruce wanted to get up and leave, but he knew doing business with that man would be completely out of the question if he did, which would be very hard to explain to his boss back home. The amount of business this man could send their way was major, and would have a large impact on his company’s growth.
Their meal was almost finished when the band began to play very loud, seductive music. To Bruce’s shock, several ladies who were very skimpily dressed began to dance among the tables of customers. One of them brushed against the back of his head as she passed behind him. This was not right. What am I doing here? I love my wife, and she definitely would never approve of this. What would my Pastor say, or the people in the church if they knew I was here? Most important, what is God thinking of me in this place? Bruce told the prospect that he could not do this, got up, and walked out of the establishment. As he was leaving, the man shouted to him that he would regret his decision, but Bruce knew what he was doing was not right.
Back at his hotel room that evening, he thought about all that had happened, and began to have thoughts that he may have made a wrong choice. How would his boss react when he found out that he had walked out on the largest prospective customer the company ever had? As he was thinking on these things, a knock came on his door. When he opened the door, one of the ladies from the club was standing there, barely dressed, and informing him that she was a gift from the client to “give him one last chance at doing business with him.” That was all Bruce needed to realize how wrong any relationship with that man would be. He politely said no to the lady and closed the door, locking it promptly. That night Bruce began to remember the negative feelings he had during his time of prayer about taking the job, and realized they were warnings from God not to accept it. Bruce has gone against the direction God had given him, and now he had to go home and face the boss. Surely, the boss would understand.
Bruce flew home the next morning, and as he went into the office area of the company, he was greeted by the boss demanding he come to his office immediately. The boss did not understand Bruce’s actions. He had cost the company a major account, and now the boss would have to go and try to patch things up to get the account. The boss didn’t want to hear about Bruce’s convictions and how the Lord had led him away from that situation. The boss told him that when you are in business, anything goes to get the account, and compromises must be made. The meeting was over in less than thirty minutes, and within another fifteen minutes Bruce had packed his things from his desk and was out the door for the last time, on his way home.
His wife was thrilled to have him home and not needing to travel anymore. She was particularly thrilled that he stood upon his convictions and did not compromise. She loved that about him. He was a very good husband and Dad, and she could count on him to follow God’s leadership for their family. That time of testing grew their love for each other, as well as their faith in the Lord, greatly. Over breakfast the next morning, reality set in that they were totally without an income. There were still no prospects on the job postings online, and the only thing they could think of was returning to his former employer that he had left, and asking if his old job would still be available. That was something that he didn’t want to do, since admitting defeat, as well as making a wrong choice, are very difficult. As they prayed about it, they both seemed that the Lord was wanting him to go and see if his old job was available.
A few days passed while Bruce thought upon the prospect of facing his former boss, even though he was a very kind and honest man. Bruce had quit, which meant the company was shorthanded due to his decision. Surely, he would not be looked upon with favor, since he had been gone several months. He kept finding other “opportunities” to pursue, but none of them worked out. Bruce and his wife continued to pray, and the same thought kept coming to their minds, which was to return to his former job, and at least see what the boss had to say. What would it hurt? All it would cost him was his pride, and a rejection.
As Bruce walked into the boss’s office, the boss got up from his desk and walked over to him, hand outstretched, and a smile on his face. The door was closed, and they talked for almost an hour. Bruce told him of how he wanted to be working in the field he had trained for, and that seemed like the opportunity to do so. He explained about the immoral things the boss at the company he went to work for wanted him to do, and that he would not compromise his convictions with the Lord. The boss listened intently, and was very supportive, assuring him he had made the right choice. There was enough business out there without having to compromise on standards or convictions.
To Bruce’s surprise, the boss told him that he had no idea of the career direction he desired. Then he told him that his brother owned a business across town that was looking for someone within that field, and that he would be glad to give him an excellent referral. A few days later, Bruce found himself employed at that company, in the career field he desired, and at a higher pay than he had before, which would certainly help since they had just found out that baby number three was on its way.
Do you see how subtle sin is in your life? Bruce had a great opportunity to land a very large customer, but the cost would be high to him personally. He would be highly regarded by his boss, but the cost would be going against what God had taught him was right. The temptations that presented themselves to him were the things God was trying to warn him against in the first place. When Bruce, and his wife decided to override those warnings, and do what they thought was right, things began to go downhill quickly. Bruce’s faith was tested and he learned from it. That is the entire purpose God has for testing’s, trials, and the difficult things and times that come into your life. They are for your spiritual growth and the maturing of your faith.
Sin will always take you farther than you intended to go, keep you longer than you intended to stay, and cost you more than you intended to pay.