When I see people around me involved in sin, I tend to think that they are conscious of what they are doing. I may even tease them about the sin they are involved with. But the truth concerning the "deceit of sin" recently hit me in a new way. I had forgotten how deceitful sin really is. I was watching the "Bill Bond's Tonight" news program, and he had some guests on that were stripping to pay their way through college. One woman was asked if she would involve herself with a certain sin for even more money. Her response was no. She said that she was a person with high morals. I laughed to myself. Here we have a person with no morals claiming to be rather righteous.
The real meaning of her words were, I am involved with some gross sin, but there are grosser sins that I will not involve myself with. Hebrews 3:12-13 says "See to it, brothers that none of you has a sinful, unbelievng heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness." This woman is living a life disobedient to God and is utterly deceived by sin. When someone turns away from the living God, they open themselves to be attacked by the deceit of sin. We need to be extremely careful when considering whether something is right or wrong. We must take care to ensure we are not being deceived by sin.
We must get to the point in our life where we trust God's word more than our feelings, emotions, or thoughts. Our feeling, emotions, and thoughts will fail us, but God's word will never, no never fail you. The Bible teaches that God's word is more certain then any emotions, feelings, or thoughs. (2 Peter 1:16-19) I would rather make a Bible based decision and feel bad, then go against the Bible and feel good. Yet I hear case after case of people claiming God's blessings on there sinful actions. We all probably know a "christian" who left their spouse for another. When they are questioned about it, they may say "well it was never God's will in the first place for us to get married", or "I know I am in God's will..I have such a peace about it". Words can not express how sin has deceived such a person. So you think it was never God's will for you to get married in the first place. I got a revelation from God for you. It is now God's will that you love your spouse. Divorce is not an option.
If this, "brother" or "sister", had been close to God they would have know that God hates divorce. (Malachi 2:16) This sin decieved deceived person would also have known that "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be equipped for every good work" (2 Timothy 3:16-17). And what does 1 Timothy 5:8 say "If any provide not for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever." I once thought that that verse was speaking about a man providing financially for his family. I now see that it can equally apply to a women. A family has many other needs besides money. When we make decisions without a Bible verse to lean on, we have moved into a dangerous place. If we are not "Leaning on the Everlasting Arms" of Jesus, we are supporting ourselves and can then fall at any time. Lets look at an event that happend to King David.
"One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful, and David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, "Isn't this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite?" Then David sent a messenger to get her. She came to him, and slept with her...The woman conceived and sent word to David, saying "I am pregnant". (2 Samuel 11:2-5) We get no indication at this point that David knew he sinned. Somehow David was distracted by the events, and did not review the situation. He was clearly told that Bathsheba was a married women, he knew better then to do what he did.
David, still deceived by his sin, attempted to cover it up. What David should have done was to confess and repent of his sin to minimize the consequences. Many people today still try to cover up their sins like David. So they sin in trying to cover-up a sin. Now they have two sins to deal with. Only the cross of Jesus is able to cover up sin. David tried to get Uriah to lay with Bathsheba. When unsuccessful, David plotted to have Uriah killed while fighting in a battle. David recieved word that Uriah was killed during battle, but David still had no recogition of his sin. Then God intervened to show David his awful sin. "The Lord sent Nathan to David. When he came to him, he said, "There were two men in a certain town, one rich and the other poor. The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle, but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food, drank from his cup and even slept in his arms. It was like a daughter to him. Now a traveler came to the rich man, but the rich man refrained from taking one of his own sheep or catttle to prepare a meal for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the ewe lamb that belonged to the poor man and prepared it for the one who had come to him. David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan, "As surely as the Lord lives, the man who did this deserves to die! He must pay for the lamb four times over, because he did such a thing and had no pity." Then Nathan said to David, "You are the man!"...Then David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the Lord." (2 Samuel 12:1-7,13)
This event truly shows that it is God who shows a person their sin. I consider the event of someone seeing their sin a miracle. I use the word miracle, since God is the only one capable of such a task. It is supernatural. Thus, if we think we can convict a person of their sin, we do not understand what the Bible teaches on the subject. All we can do is tell them what God has already said. God can then use his words to penetrate a deceived sinners hard heart.
Before I repented of my sins and turned to Jesus, the only sin of all the possible ones I was involved with, that I could identify was "telling a lie", and did not consider the consequences that bad. The reason is that I was comparing myself to those I see around me. Since I was just like everyone else, I must not be that bad. It is only when we compare ourselves to God's holiness that we can see our true sinfulness. And it is only by God's grace that He lets us see ourselves as we really are.
I get angry many times when I hear Christians justify sinful activities
or behaviors. The problem is people tend to judge whether things are
right or wrong using human arguments. Or claiming that they have Christian
liberty to engage in a certain activity. Why don't we look at things from
God's perspective. The next time you have a questionable activity you are
about to engage in, ask yourself two questions.
It is amazing how our attitude changes when we consider the event from God's point of view. When I was 24, I became a Christian. I was involved in a Christian singles group. During one singles activity, they took me to an R-Rated movie. Maybe these believers are smarted then myself. After years of studying the Bible I can find no verse, or Bible principal justifying attending such a movie. I do not know about you, but I personally would not want to remember through eternity that I was raptured out of an R-Rated movie.
To me the issue is black and white. I could load up principal after principal, verse after verse condemming such an activity. Let me just site the most basic. "Hate what is evil; cling to what is good" (Romans 12:9). In a sence we need to stop reasoning, and apply what the Bible teaches. You will always be deceived when you attempt to reason without using Bible verses as you basis. Our reasoning is infected by sin, the Bible's teachings have no infection of sin. Let me illustrate reasoning infected by sin.
There are some, quote Christian teachers, who teach that the amount of allowed physical contact between unmarried couples depends on the commitment between the two individuals. They try to claim the benefits of; mutual discovery, mutual expression of affection, and personal growth. They claim that the Bible only condems pre-marrital sex. Such teachings are void of any spiritual benefit. These teaching are damming. One has no right to treat as their, that which does not belong to them. Talk like "physical contact depends on the commitment" is just plain psycho babble. It is nonsence. I sometimes marvel at how deceitful sin really is. It is hard to believe that garbage like this is taught by so called Christian leaders.
Perhaps the biggest deceit of sin is the idea that one can workout their own life without Jesus. The Bible clearly states that "..each of us will give an account of himself to God," (Romans 14:12) and also "Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment". If at this time, you have never senced the need to be forgiven of you sins, ask God to show you how sinful you really are. Without seeing how sinful you really are, you will never understand your need for Jesus. After you die, and are standing before God in judgement, you will then know how much you needed Jesus. And as you are being tormented in Hell forever and ever, you will then know of your need for Jesus. But it would be too late. Ask God today for Him to show you your sinfulness before it is too late. God says there is no one who does good. (Psalm 53:1) When God shows you your utter sinfulness, thank Him for it. You are only one step away from heaven. Admit to God that your sin had deceived you into thinking you were OK. And now you know it is your sin that makes you not OK. Thank Jesus for dieing on the Cross as payment for your sin. Turn away from your sin, and turn to God. Tell God that you surrender, and are tired of fighting him. Then give God your life for Him to guide, direct, and do as he pleases. Shall we pray.