The
Deceitfulness Of Sin
(Exhortation - December 2000)
Yet the apostle Paul was so convinced of the seriousness of sin in our lives, he gave it the rank of a monarch. "Let not sin reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof…" (Rom. 6:12). By personifying the phenomenon, Paul captured the all-encompassing aspects of "king sin." He knew his subject well, having, like us, lost many a battle to sin. "For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do" (Rom. 7:19). Our Lord himself taught that no king should go out to battle before carefully assessing the strength of the enemy forces (Lk. 14:31). It is only right that we should be fully cognizant of the power of our most persistent and implacable adversary.
Sin’s powers
As we start our consideration we should remind ourselves that sin does not come from
any external agent, it comes from within. This of course is a principle of our faith,
rejecting as we do the doctrine of the personal devil. We do know that in some
circumstances, God chastens us for our ultimate good, but He does not tempt us to do evil.
This was an error made by some of the believers in the early church. James was at pains to
refute this false concept: "Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of
God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: but every man is
tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed" (Jas. 1:13,14). The
following verse goes on to show that sin is a step-by-step process: "Then when
lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth
death" (Jas. 1:15).
With the wonderful advantage of the inspired scriptures as our daily guide, it is possible to consider ourselves far more sophisticated than believers of bygone ages. Take for example the admonition of Solomon to his son not to yield to the invitation from the wicked woman (Prov. 2: 16-19). Do we feel a little complacent when we read this as part of our daily readings? After all, if a modern day counterpart suggested that we go and sin, of course our response would be "no way!" Sin is not usually so blatant, and in its various forms it can be as subtle as the serpent that beguiled Eve. As Peter discovered when one feels strong, suddenly the depths of weakness can be reached. Confidence in the flesh led him to deny his master, the Lord Jesus Christ. We are not always in control and can easily be provoked, enticed, deceived or pressured into sinful thoughts and activities. There are those weak moments when we lose our tempers, envy others, or fail to speak up for godly principles. Although aware that such behavior is un-Christ-like, we yield, usually at times when we are tired, angry, afraid or jealous.
In order to develop sin sensitivity, we need to be fully cognizant of the nature of sin. The fundamental problem is that sin separates us from God: "But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear" (Is. 59:2).
Using the scriptures as our basis we will look at some of the facets of sin.
Sin is enjoyable and appealing
Moses deliberately chose to forego the opportunity to enjoy its pleasures in order to
follow the narrow way of godliness: "By faith Moses, when he was come to years,
refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; choosing rather to suffer
affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a
season."
Sin gives only temporary benefits
Enjoyable and profitable as the broad path of evil may be, life is short and
unpredictable; inevitably death will terminate all pleasure and advantage. "A
worthless person, a wicked man, walks with a perverse mouth; he winks with his eyes, he
shuffles his feet, he points with his fingers; perversity is in his heart, he devises evil
continually, he sows discord. Therefore his calamity shall come suddenly; suddenly he
shall be broken without remedy" (Prov. 6:12-15 NKJ).
In one of his letters the apostle John, after explaining that lust and pride are products of the world, states "And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever" (I Jn. 2:17).
Sin is ultimately unsatisfying
The possession of riches is not a sin (although our Lord indicated that the pitfalls
are many). It is the constant scheming and striving for money that is wrong. However vast
his acquisition of wealth and pleasure, man always yearns for more. "I said in my
heart, Come now, I will test you with mirth; therefore enjoy pleasure…I searched in
my heart how to gratify my flesh with wine…and how to lay hold on folly, till I might
see what was good for the sons of men to do under heaven all the days of their
lives…Yet there is no end to all his labors, nor is his eye satisfied with riches"
(Ecc. 2:1, 3; 4:8 NKJ).
Sin is self-centered
"Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon
your lusts…for men shall be lovers of their own selves" (Jam. 4:3; II
Tim. 3:2). Try as we might to subdue it, self-interest is always lurking near the surface
and breaks out in times of stress.
Sin is deceitful
"But exhort one another daily, while it is called today lest any of you be
hardened through the deceitfulness of sin" (Heb. 3:13). How often we
persuade ourselves that a certain course of action is justifiable because it is important
to gratify our particular needs of the moment. The bigger car that we cannot really afford
would be more comfortable for the elderly sister we take to the meeting each Sunday, or
the new house with the lovely sitting room and fabulous garden would be so much better for
entertaining brethren and sisters (irrespective of the fact that the associated increased
maintenance will eat into our valuable time).
Sin enslaves
In Romans 6, the chapter we use frequently at baptismal services, Paul uses the
analogy of mankind being a servant (or as the NKJ translates the Greek word doulous --
as slave) no less than seven times. His rationale is to show that once we
were slaves to sin, but after baptism we must change our allegiance and become slaves to
God.
The reward of sin
Probably some of the best-known and most commonly ignored words in the Bible are "the
wages of sin is death." Perhaps we need to ponder the question posed by the
writer to the Romans more frequently: "What fruit had ye then in those things
whereof ye are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death" (Rom. 6:21).
From the foregoing examples it is obvious that sin is a heinous killer, separating the sinner from God. Why is it then that the wicked seem to prosper? The situation has been a conundrum for the faithful through the ages. It worried the psalmist Asaph to the extent that he wrote: "My feet had almost stumbled; my steps had nearly slipped…when I saw the prosperity of the wicked." (Ps. 73:2,3). He found the answer by coming near to God in His sanctuary: "It was too painful for me; until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I understood their end…for indeed, those who are far from you shall perish…But it is good for me to draw near to God, for I have put my trust in the Lord God, that I may declare all your works" (Ps.73:16,17,27,28 NKJ).
The antidote to sin
Now we are privileged to come into the sanctuary of God and draw near to Him through
His Son. Bearing our nature, the Lord Jesus experienced all of the enticing temptations
the flesh can produce, but remained sinless. Enlightened by his deep knowledge and
understanding of the scriptures, he saw clearly the role of sin and the consequences for
those who follow it. He was constant in his resolve to do his father’s will. After
being weakened by fasting in the wilderness for forty days and forty nights, he was still
able to resist the power of the tempter. Drawing upon the word, he banished sin from his
presence: "Away with you, Satan! For it is written, you shall worship the Lord
your God, and him only you shall serve. Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came
and ministered to Him" (Matt. 4:10 NKJ). The Lord Jesus was unrelenting in
overcoming sin and so indeed we should be in our attempts to emulate him. As we take the
emblems in his memory, let us give thanks that he took the battle with "king
sin" to the grave and rose the victorious monarch of all.
Phillip MacKinnon