1John 3:4; 1 John 3:8; Titus 2:11-14
Sin is terrible. It can cause a mother to kill her child (as in abortion) or a father to cause his children to suffer (as in desertion and abandonment). It can cause an entire nation to fall (which is what will happen to our country if we do not turn back to God) or an individual to abuse his own body to death (as in sexual perversions, smoking cigarettes or drug abuse.)
The Bible tells us that sin is the transgression of God’s Law. It is merely either doing what God tells us not to do or not doing what God tells us to do. It is saying, “No!” to God’s way and choosing another way. All disobedience is sin. Sin is utterly destructive. It separates us from God, it ushered in death, and it will ultimately send one’s very soul to Hell, a place of eternal pain and torment.
Sin came from Lucifer, who was a created being, an anointed cherub. He was beautiful and highly exalted, but, because of his beauty, pride arose in his heart. He decided to attempt to exalt himself above God.
In a nutshell, Lucifer (Satan) deceived or tricked God’s man, Adam, and his woman, Eve, and they both disobeyed God. Because they disobeyed, every man and woman born after their fall became infected with the evil of sin, and that infection continues, even until today.
One might wonder, if sin is so bad, why doesn’t a person stop doing it? Good question. But the truth of the matter is, sin is a part of the nature of a person. He desires to sin. It would be easy not to sin if not for the fact that it is woven into his DNA. Babies, for example, don’t have to be taught to lie; it’s a part of their sinful nature.
Scenario: Three-year-old Baby John knocks a vase off the table, and it breaks.
Mother: “Baby, John, did you break the vase?”
Baby John: “No.”
Who taught Baby John to lie? No one had to teach him. It came with the package.
It is only by the power of God that we can “just stop the sin business.” It’s like a man who has a 52-inch waist and 33-inch hips. He may pull his gut in for a few minutes, but before long, he will have to let it go back to its natural state. Only when that man loses the weight (girdles only give the illusion that the belly is gone) will he be free of a protruding abdomen.
Some people refuse to even try to stop sinning because they love sin. For example, the comedian who loves his “trade” of lying and cussing may refuse to let go of his “work” because he loves it. He loves the fame and accolades that he receives as a celebrity and refuses to let go. Others desire to be in a right relationship with God, but they refuse to let go of the sinful “perks” and “side benefits.” They say that pole dancing puts food on their table or stealing supplements their income. Those individuals have such a firm grip on sin that they refuse to let it go.
There is another situation in which an individual would like to be set free from sin, but sin has a death grip on them.
Scenario: A young girl is abducted and forced into a life of prostitution and drugs. Nightly she is forced to abuse her body and her soul. She does not want to do the things that she is forced to do, but sin has such a grip on her that she cannot get free.
In this scenario, the individual cannot get free of sin because of the solid grip that sin has on her. What she needs is an outside force that is stronger than the grip of sin to intervene on her behalf.
In actuality, whether the individual has a grip on sin or if sin has a hold on the individual, the solution is the same. The individual needs a real relationship with Jesus Christ, our Lord, and Savior. Jesus is the solution to every man or woman’s sin problem.
Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God who knew no sin, became sin so that we could be set free. The righteousness of God hates sin, and His justice requires that it is punished. This means that, without Jesus, all men and women are destined for Hell as a punishment for sin. But Jesus Christ came to earth and He died in our stead for our sins so that we do not have to die for them.
A person who wants to be set free from the grip of sin has only to want to be free, then embrace the solution that God has provided. The bottom line is this. Whether you can’t seem to let go of sin or if sin has a firm grip on you, you can be set free. If you provide the “want-to,” God will provide the means for your salvation. God, however, is not going to do everything for us. Each individual has a role to play if he wants to be set free. If we will call upon the name of Jesus, repent of all sin, accept Jesus as Lord and Savior, Jesus will break the yoke of sin from one’s life. Then, if we will ask for the Holy Ghost power to resist the devil, we can remain free from the death grip of sin forever.
Let Us Pray: Dear Heavenly Father, I thank You for providing a means of deliverance from sin and a method of remaining sin-free by the power of the Holy Ghost. Father, give your Saints an even greater desire to spread the word to those who are caught in the death grip of sin so that they too can fee set free. In the Mighty Name of Jesus, I pray. Amen and amen.
