"Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin" (Romans 7:24-25, ESV).
"A fool vents all his feelings, but a wise man holds them back" (Proverbs 29:11, NKJV),
"I see the better things and I approve them, but I follow the worst." (Ovid, a Roman poet of antiquity).
"The road to hell is paved with good intentions." --C. S. Lewis
Note: From this post, I hope to show you that the sin crescendo is the malady spiraling out of control and that Christ is the only cure and answer.
They say that all who entered here (hell) should give up all hope. They toyed with the devil and reaped what they sowed. They have made the final decision, step by step to go the way of the devil by the exercise of their own will and cannot blame God for their fate, that they claimed they didn't see coming. They made their decision one step at a time knowing what they were doing and not being forced to do anything they didn't want to do. Sin is like that: It is like a gateway drug that leads to dangerous drugs and further addiction, seeming harmless at first, but then there's no turning back after the point of no return--you become enticed as it's slave (you are now a confirmed and possibly a hardened sinner) and the only hope is to be set free by Jesus, who is "the Way, the Truth, and the Life" (cf. John 14:6). A. W. Tozer said, "Jesus is not one of many ways, nor the best way, but the only way!"
An example of the progression of sin from Colossians 3 is lying leading to abusive speech, leading to slander or character assassination, leading to malice, then wrath, then finally outbursts of anger, and Jesus equated anger with murder (cf. Matt. 5:22)! How do people get addicted to sex? Greed leads to evil desire, then passion or lust, then impurity, then acted out sexual immorality itself. The problem arises as to how to defuse the time bomb of escalating sin before we do something that will get us in trouble with the law or what have you. Psychologists have a term that may be helpful: Opposite action. To neutralize greed, for example, be thankful! To neutralize anger, forgive! Sin is a contrary spirit to God (man's declaration of independence from God) and we must learn to undo it by reversing its appeal with "opposite action." Sin may seem harmless in incubation, but when hatched it is dangerous and must be recognized for what it is: Calling it by other names or denying it will do no good (some believers are in denial, when the first step to recovery is simply admitting you are powerless to overcome it alone), and denial will only compound or postpone the problem. Call a spade a spade and don't invent or concoct pretty names for your sin.
Everyone has some trigger sin that leads to a chain reaction if not checked. Sometimes there may be cues that we need to avoid and flee immorality like it is written. We can even have pet sins that we tend to be lax about and tolerate, but fail to realize their danger and nip it in the bud like they say in slang wording. We all have a sin which easily besets us according to Hebrews 12:1 and needs to recognize and admit this. Sin at any level is a dangerous thing to flirt with and to experiment with. "The eye is never full of seeing," and that is how innocent looking [which isn't necessarily sin, but letting the imagination get carried away is], and curiosity and finally addiction to boot can take over a person's life, and he ends up becoming a pervert--there will be no perverts in heaven. I've heard people admit to being a "dirty old man" and thought nothing of it, but God frowns and condemns any such acting out of perverts' fantasies. There is only one solution: "But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh" (Gal. 5:16, ESV).
All this means this: You must learn to walk with the Lord in fellowship by keeping short accounts of your sins and confessing them per 1 John 1:9 in the ESV ("If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness [unmentioned ones]"). Remember we all have our individual issues and all of us have feet of clay (flaws not readily apparent), and Jesus sees through the veneer. We have two natures: The one that gets fed the most will dominate your behavior! You cannot be spiritually starved and expect to get the victory! In sum, the antidote to sin is a close walk with the Lord and a spirit of gratitude and praise: "Enter His gates with thanksgiving, his courts with praise!" (Psalm 100:4, ESV). But note well: "If I regard iniquity in my heart the LORD will not hear me" (cf. Psalm 66:18).
How does a person become a slave to his own sin? He thinks it's okay to fudge a little and become lax, i.e., he doesn't see it coming and lets the little sins slide not taking holiness and sanctification seriously. Three people didn't see their sinful downfall coming on the day of Christ's crucifixion: Pilate had long given in to public pressure and expediency and finally caved to public opinion and compromised his own morals and Rome's standards to boot; Judas had been flirting with Satan and listening to his ideas, like when Mary anointed Jesus, and it was only a small step after already opening the door to Satan to give in to the temptation to betray him; Peter was impetuous and compulsive and didn't think before he spoke often and thought too highly of himself and his flesh got the best of him on that night. So the three gave in to the world, the devil, and even the flesh: The big three are our enemies also! In fact, we are our own worst enemy just like the cartoon character Pogo of Walt Kelley fame said, "We have met the enemy, and he is us." Sometimes we have to reach rock bottom before we realize our own nature and repent or find God like Peter did when Christ reinstated him. If we don't know what God is like we will never know what we are really made of either. Judas felt remorse, but not true repentance, and did not match it with faith in forgiveness from Christ, because he didn't know Him.
We all have to know ourselves and our weaknesses because others may figure us out and learn how to push all the wrong buttons. The Greeks sought to "know thyself" as well as to "know God." The two go hand in hand and compliment each other. Knowing God helps you know yourself and see yourself for what you really are and in the true light. The fool gives full vent to his rage according to the Bible. We all need an outlet but we must learn to be angry and not sin or do something we'll regret. Most of us have experienced losing it, or giving someone a piece of our mind, or letting them have it at some point. Some believers have anger management problems but don't realize they are nurturing sins that feed into this vicious cycle of anger and regret over it. Personally, I have learned to know myself well enough to know how the devil tempts me and to avoid those situations (i.e., watching certain TV channels), and so nip it in the bud--don't open the door to Satan or given him a beachhead or opportunity to use you for his will or to be captive to his spirit. It is easy to get carried away when you don't know yourself and how the devil uses you when you are at your weakest--he likes to catch you on a "spiritual high" and whenever you've done something for the Lord he will counterattack to neutralize you and put you out to pasture, so to speak, being of no benefit to God's will.
Sin is like a chain reaction or a domino effect that must be stopped dead in its tracks! It could also be pictured as a roundabout that you cannot get off or a vicious circle that goes for infinity. The only escape is to be delivered by Christ who paid the price to set you free--we have the power to live in the Spirit, not permission to live in the flesh! Sin is slavery and bondage, and there is no freedom but in Christ. No other religion names sin as the issue to man's evil and offer the solution of atonement--other religions offer philosophy, works, enlightenment, or meditation. There's only one Savior given among men under heaven (cf. Acts 4:12) though. "... [And] you shall call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins" (Matt. 1:21, ESV). You don't need to be enlightened or turn over a new leaf or make a New Year's resolution, but to repent and this can only be done by God's grace as you come to Him in sincerity and throw yourself at His mercy, realizing your helpless and hopeless state without Him. You have to realize your spiritual bankruptcy. Einstein said that it is easier to denature plutonium than the evil nature of man! Jeremiah had a lot to say about how evil man is: "The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately sick, who can understand it?" (Jeremiah 17:9, ESV) and "Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard his spots? Then also you can do good who are accustomed to doing evil" (Jeremiah 13:23, ESV). Even Moses said, "The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually" (Genesis 6:5, ESV).
There is a way to avoid the gateway to your personal "hell": You must make an honest assessment of yourself (as Socrates said, "The unexamined life is not worth living") and you must be accountable, aboveboard, frank, and straightforward; this means no hypocrisy or semblance of holiness under the guise of your walk--going through the motions, memorizing the Dance of the Pious, or talking the talk without walking the walk. Why? We Christians are held to a higher standard and it is like living in a glass house once the world figures out you are a Christian--life gets complicated, inconvenient, uncomfortable as we have to move out of our comfort zones. This is called the "buddy system" or having a sponsor in AA's 12 steps. Every believer should have someone they can level with and be honest with without any pretense from a faux friend. Your spouse has you pegged and may be partial! Mates (they are often your chief critic or sparring partner!) can be good, but often they just know how to push each other's buttons. It is counterproductive to put such a burden on them alone--you may need a circle of friends or church you can call home and be involved in.
Don't be like a fish out of water or a Lone-Ranger Christian trying to fight the devil all on your own--we are not his match and woe is us when we get on his hit list if we are unprepared. We all have different thresholds of sin tolerance; however, remember, sin doesn't just happen: Satan knows our foibles, weaknesses, and faults and exploits them to the max--so beware of his schemes, especially mind or psychological games! Let me quote Paul: "... I have forgiven that one for your sakes in the presence of Christ, lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices [schemes]" (2 Cor. 2:11, NKJV).
The only way to defeat the enemy is to be outfitted with the full armor of God per Ephesians 6:10ff, ESV: "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might...." Note that keeping your eyes fixed on Jesus will keep you out of trouble (cf. Hebrews 12:2)! Finally, for survival purposes, I challenge you with the five necessary K's: Know Scripture; know thyself; know your enemy; know the will of God, and finally, know God! Soli Deo Gloria!
"A fool vents all his feelings, but a wise man holds them back" (Proverbs 29:11, NKJV),
"I see the better things and I approve them, but I follow the worst." (Ovid, a Roman poet of antiquity).
"The road to hell is paved with good intentions." --C. S. Lewis
Note: From this post, I hope to show you that the sin crescendo is the malady spiraling out of control and that Christ is the only cure and answer.
They say that all who entered here (hell) should give up all hope. They toyed with the devil and reaped what they sowed. They have made the final decision, step by step to go the way of the devil by the exercise of their own will and cannot blame God for their fate, that they claimed they didn't see coming. They made their decision one step at a time knowing what they were doing and not being forced to do anything they didn't want to do. Sin is like that: It is like a gateway drug that leads to dangerous drugs and further addiction, seeming harmless at first, but then there's no turning back after the point of no return--you become enticed as it's slave (you are now a confirmed and possibly a hardened sinner) and the only hope is to be set free by Jesus, who is "the Way, the Truth, and the Life" (cf. John 14:6). A. W. Tozer said, "Jesus is not one of many ways, nor the best way, but the only way!"
An example of the progression of sin from Colossians 3 is lying leading to abusive speech, leading to slander or character assassination, leading to malice, then wrath, then finally outbursts of anger, and Jesus equated anger with murder (cf. Matt. 5:22)! How do people get addicted to sex? Greed leads to evil desire, then passion or lust, then impurity, then acted out sexual immorality itself. The problem arises as to how to defuse the time bomb of escalating sin before we do something that will get us in trouble with the law or what have you. Psychologists have a term that may be helpful: Opposite action. To neutralize greed, for example, be thankful! To neutralize anger, forgive! Sin is a contrary spirit to God (man's declaration of independence from God) and we must learn to undo it by reversing its appeal with "opposite action." Sin may seem harmless in incubation, but when hatched it is dangerous and must be recognized for what it is: Calling it by other names or denying it will do no good (some believers are in denial, when the first step to recovery is simply admitting you are powerless to overcome it alone), and denial will only compound or postpone the problem. Call a spade a spade and don't invent or concoct pretty names for your sin.
Everyone has some trigger sin that leads to a chain reaction if not checked. Sometimes there may be cues that we need to avoid and flee immorality like it is written. We can even have pet sins that we tend to be lax about and tolerate, but fail to realize their danger and nip it in the bud like they say in slang wording. We all have a sin which easily besets us according to Hebrews 12:1 and needs to recognize and admit this. Sin at any level is a dangerous thing to flirt with and to experiment with. "The eye is never full of seeing," and that is how innocent looking [which isn't necessarily sin, but letting the imagination get carried away is], and curiosity and finally addiction to boot can take over a person's life, and he ends up becoming a pervert--there will be no perverts in heaven. I've heard people admit to being a "dirty old man" and thought nothing of it, but God frowns and condemns any such acting out of perverts' fantasies. There is only one solution: "But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh" (Gal. 5:16, ESV).
All this means this: You must learn to walk with the Lord in fellowship by keeping short accounts of your sins and confessing them per 1 John 1:9 in the ESV ("If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness [unmentioned ones]"). Remember we all have our individual issues and all of us have feet of clay (flaws not readily apparent), and Jesus sees through the veneer. We have two natures: The one that gets fed the most will dominate your behavior! You cannot be spiritually starved and expect to get the victory! In sum, the antidote to sin is a close walk with the Lord and a spirit of gratitude and praise: "Enter His gates with thanksgiving, his courts with praise!" (Psalm 100:4, ESV). But note well: "If I regard iniquity in my heart the LORD will not hear me" (cf. Psalm 66:18).
How does a person become a slave to his own sin? He thinks it's okay to fudge a little and become lax, i.e., he doesn't see it coming and lets the little sins slide not taking holiness and sanctification seriously. Three people didn't see their sinful downfall coming on the day of Christ's crucifixion: Pilate had long given in to public pressure and expediency and finally caved to public opinion and compromised his own morals and Rome's standards to boot; Judas had been flirting with Satan and listening to his ideas, like when Mary anointed Jesus, and it was only a small step after already opening the door to Satan to give in to the temptation to betray him; Peter was impetuous and compulsive and didn't think before he spoke often and thought too highly of himself and his flesh got the best of him on that night. So the three gave in to the world, the devil, and even the flesh: The big three are our enemies also! In fact, we are our own worst enemy just like the cartoon character Pogo of Walt Kelley fame said, "We have met the enemy, and he is us." Sometimes we have to reach rock bottom before we realize our own nature and repent or find God like Peter did when Christ reinstated him. If we don't know what God is like we will never know what we are really made of either. Judas felt remorse, but not true repentance, and did not match it with faith in forgiveness from Christ, because he didn't know Him.
We all have to know ourselves and our weaknesses because others may figure us out and learn how to push all the wrong buttons. The Greeks sought to "know thyself" as well as to "know God." The two go hand in hand and compliment each other. Knowing God helps you know yourself and see yourself for what you really are and in the true light. The fool gives full vent to his rage according to the Bible. We all need an outlet but we must learn to be angry and not sin or do something we'll regret. Most of us have experienced losing it, or giving someone a piece of our mind, or letting them have it at some point. Some believers have anger management problems but don't realize they are nurturing sins that feed into this vicious cycle of anger and regret over it. Personally, I have learned to know myself well enough to know how the devil tempts me and to avoid those situations (i.e., watching certain TV channels), and so nip it in the bud--don't open the door to Satan or given him a beachhead or opportunity to use you for his will or to be captive to his spirit. It is easy to get carried away when you don't know yourself and how the devil uses you when you are at your weakest--he likes to catch you on a "spiritual high" and whenever you've done something for the Lord he will counterattack to neutralize you and put you out to pasture, so to speak, being of no benefit to God's will.
Sin is like a chain reaction or a domino effect that must be stopped dead in its tracks! It could also be pictured as a roundabout that you cannot get off or a vicious circle that goes for infinity. The only escape is to be delivered by Christ who paid the price to set you free--we have the power to live in the Spirit, not permission to live in the flesh! Sin is slavery and bondage, and there is no freedom but in Christ. No other religion names sin as the issue to man's evil and offer the solution of atonement--other religions offer philosophy, works, enlightenment, or meditation. There's only one Savior given among men under heaven (cf. Acts 4:12) though. "... [And] you shall call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins" (Matt. 1:21, ESV). You don't need to be enlightened or turn over a new leaf or make a New Year's resolution, but to repent and this can only be done by God's grace as you come to Him in sincerity and throw yourself at His mercy, realizing your helpless and hopeless state without Him. You have to realize your spiritual bankruptcy. Einstein said that it is easier to denature plutonium than the evil nature of man! Jeremiah had a lot to say about how evil man is: "The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately sick, who can understand it?" (Jeremiah 17:9, ESV) and "Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard his spots? Then also you can do good who are accustomed to doing evil" (Jeremiah 13:23, ESV). Even Moses said, "The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually" (Genesis 6:5, ESV).
There is a way to avoid the gateway to your personal "hell": You must make an honest assessment of yourself (as Socrates said, "The unexamined life is not worth living") and you must be accountable, aboveboard, frank, and straightforward; this means no hypocrisy or semblance of holiness under the guise of your walk--going through the motions, memorizing the Dance of the Pious, or talking the talk without walking the walk. Why? We Christians are held to a higher standard and it is like living in a glass house once the world figures out you are a Christian--life gets complicated, inconvenient, uncomfortable as we have to move out of our comfort zones. This is called the "buddy system" or having a sponsor in AA's 12 steps. Every believer should have someone they can level with and be honest with without any pretense from a faux friend. Your spouse has you pegged and may be partial! Mates (they are often your chief critic or sparring partner!) can be good, but often they just know how to push each other's buttons. It is counterproductive to put such a burden on them alone--you may need a circle of friends or church you can call home and be involved in.
Don't be like a fish out of water or a Lone-Ranger Christian trying to fight the devil all on your own--we are not his match and woe is us when we get on his hit list if we are unprepared. We all have different thresholds of sin tolerance; however, remember, sin doesn't just happen: Satan knows our foibles, weaknesses, and faults and exploits them to the max--so beware of his schemes, especially mind or psychological games! Let me quote Paul: "... I have forgiven that one for your sakes in the presence of Christ, lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices [schemes]" (2 Cor. 2:11, NKJV).
The only way to defeat the enemy is to be outfitted with the full armor of God per Ephesians 6:10ff, ESV: "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might...." Note that keeping your eyes fixed on Jesus will keep you out of trouble (cf. Hebrews 12:2)! Finally, for survival purposes, I challenge you with the five necessary K's: Know Scripture; know thyself; know your enemy; know the will of God, and finally, know God! Soli Deo Gloria!