23.3.06

The Terrible 3-letter Word

Have been taking the time to read a book pertaining to the theme of holiness in a Christian's life entitled 'Go and Sin No More - A Call To Holiness' by Michael L. Brown. It is truly an awesome, dynamic life-changing book..I thank God for moving me to purchase it from Crest Christian Bookstore at Far East Plaza a few weeks ago. As I read its pages together with God's Word, the Lord spoke to me in deep ways. I prayed through many things as His Word penetrated my heart through the reading of this book.

Every sin we commit grieves the heart of God and prevents us from getting close to Him. This book teaches us how to overcome temptation and live a passionate life of holiness that will fill God's heart with joy. Filled with practical steps and biblical guidance that will give strength to boldly and aggressively banish sin from our lives, we can by God's power begin to live a life that is pleasing in God's eyes and experience a deeper level of spiritual strength, hunger and effectiveness.

Sin is the dare of God's justice, the rape of His mercy, the jeer of His patience, the slight of His power, and the contempt of His love.
~ John Bunyan

- Twenty Reasons Not to Sin -


1. Sin does not satisfy.
[John 6:35, Jeremiah 2:13]

2. Sin leads to more sin.
[Proverbs 5:22; 27:20, Ecclesiastes 5:10, James 4:7]
Sin always drags the human character - and the human will - down. Sin NEVER lifts us up.

3. Sin leads to worse sins.
[Proverbs 14:12; 16:25, Proverbs 16:2]
Sin leads to worse sins - uglier, harder, more destructive, more despicable, more disgusting, more deadly. Make an about-face right now and slam the door shut in sin's face. Turn toward holiness and away from hardness. Grow in purity and not perversion. Walk in the direction today that you want to walk in forever.

4. Sin enslaves.
Sin hath the devil for its father, shame for its companion, and death for its wages.
~ Thomas Watson

5. Sin degrades and humiliates.
[Ecclesiastes 10:1, Proverbs 6:32,33]
Jesus upgrades, not degrades our lives. He loves to shower us with honour and glory. He not only redeems our lives from the pit, but He crowns us with love and compassion [Psalm 103:4]. He washes us with His blood, frees us from our sins, and makes us a kingdom of priests to serve Him and the Father forever [Revelations 1:5,6]. He takes us into His family, and He is not ashamed to call us His brethren [Hebrews 2:11]. The next time, you are tempted to sin, think of the Saviour instead. As you resist the enemy of your soul, Your Friend will be there to fortify you and help you stand.

6. Sin steals joy.
[Nehemiah 8:8a, Psalm 16:11, Proverbs 17:22; 18:14]

7. Sin steals our confidence before God.
[1 John 2:28; 3:21,22; 4:17; 5:14,15; Hebrews 4:14-16; 10:19-22]

8. The wages of sin is death.
[Galatians 6:7,8, Psalm 37]

9. God will punish sinners - in this world and the world to come.
[Leviticus 26:14-33, Revelations 2:5,16,21-23; 3:3, 15, 16, Psalm 90:11,12]

10. Sin hurts the Lord.
[Ezekiel 16:9-14; 16:15-23, Luke 22:61,62]

11. Sin hurts the sinner.
Sin will haunt you and hunt you until it hurts you.

12. Sin hurts the sinner's family and friends.
'Ah, how doth the father's sin infect the child, the husband's infect the wife, the master's the servant! The sin that is in one man's heart is able to infect a whole world, it is of such a spreading and infectious nature.'
~ Thomas Brooks

13. Sin brings reproach - to the sinner, to the church, to the name of the Lord.
[Proverbs 14:34, 1 Corinthians 12:26,27; 5:6,7]
Jesus shed His blood for this world, but we can make it more difficult for sinners to come to Him by discrediting His holy name. Jesus lived a sin-free life on this earth, but we can sully His perfect reputation by our misdeeds. A stupid, petty, unrewarding sin can taint the very image of Jesus. Our godlessness can bring God reproach.

So put the sin down and lift up Jesus instead. And rather than burdening Him with your disobedience, surrender yourself wholly to Him with a consecrated heart. He certainly deserves nothing less.

14. Sin makes light of the blood of Jesus.

[1 Peter 1:17-19, Romans 5:6-10, Ephesians 1:7-8; 2:13, Hebrews 9:13,14]

15. Sin puts the sinner on the side of the devil, demons, and the world.
[John 15:19, 2 Corinthians 4:4, James 4:4]

16. Sin sets the sinner against God, the church, holiness, life, blessing, and victory.
[Matthew 12:30, Psalm 51:4]
We are one body in Christ. When you sin, you work against your brothers and sisters in Christ.

17. Sin saps the anointing.
[Luke 4 :14-21, Acts 10:38]

18. Sin steals time.

19. Sin has eternal consequences.
[1 Corinthians 8:11, Romans 14:15,20]

20. Your sin will always find you out.
[Numbers 32:23, 1 Timothy 5:24, 25, Luke 12:3, Ecclesiastes 12:14, Matthew 5:29,30]

With these 20 reasons not to sin, it simply makes no sense to sin against our Lord God Almighty in any way. May the Lord strengthen and empower us to live victoriously for Him alone..May we depend wholly upon the power of the Holy Spirit to lead a life of holiness and purity for the glory and honour of our everlasting God..

Dearest Lord, help us. We need You to preserve and protect us from the devil's wiles and his horrible tactics of enslaving us in the evil bondages of sin. Please guide us into living consecrated and holy lives. Help us make a difference in this generation, in this dying world. Lord God, we no longer want to be controlled by the flesh but by the Spirit..help us live Spirit-filled, Spirit-led, Spirit empowered lives for You alone. Lead and guide us into a wondrous life of tasting Your amazing goodness amidst the gloriousness of triumphant victory over sin and the flesh.

In Jesus' name,
The name above all names,
Amen.

No comments: