Hebrews 3:12-14 (NASB)
I recently was speaking with someone who was
responding to a message our pastor gave on the importance of daily Bible reading.
He said he did not need to be condemned that he did not do so. I replied, “No
you don’t need to be condemned but you will go spiritually hungry. Reading the
Bible is like eating food. If you want to turn down a banquet you can do so.
You need not feel ashamed, guilty or condemned -- you just won’t get the
blessing of the meal.”
In that conversation we see a problematic way
of thinking about the things God asks us to do and not do.
It is true we have a place where we can live
without condemnation.
Therefore there is now no condemnation for
those who are in Christ Jesus. Romans 8:1 (NASB)
But It seems that today’s generation is
obsessed with not being condemned and not obsessed with living the abundant
life Jesus promised to those who would listen to Him and do and not do what he
says.
"Why do you call Me, 'Lord, Lord,' and
do not do what I say? 47 "Everyone who comes to Me and hears My words and
acts on them, I will show you whom he is like: 48 he is like a man building a
house, who dug deep and laid a foundation on the rock; and when a flood
occurred, the torrent burst against that house and could not shake it, because
it had been well built. 49 "But the one who has heard and has not acted
{accordingly,} is like a man who built a house on the ground without any
foundation; and the torrent burst against it and immediately it collapsed, and
the ruin of that house was great."
Luke 6:46 (NASB)
We miss the reality of the consequences of
our not listening and doing what Jesus commands us to do and not do in favor of
an emotional response like guilt, shame, regret, hardness of heart, bitterness
or pride.
In this response we miss the key to living
the abundant life God promises us if we will follow Jesus’ commands.
In this series of teachings I want to focus
on what the Bible calls sin. We can call it wrong doing, evil acts, purposeful
intention to do wrong, willful mistakes or any number of similar words. The
Bible has several words it uses for the concept as well. Sin would be the one
that encompasses them all.
Simply put sin is an act that God does not
want us to do because it harms us, harms others, harms our relationship with
God or harms other’s relationship with God.
SIN IS DECEITFUL
The scripture verse we saw at the first tells
us one of the most important things about sin we can know. Sin is deceitful.
13 But encourage one another
day after day, as long as it is still called “Today,” so that none of
you will be hardened by the DECEITFULNESS OF SIN.
Hebrews 3:13 (NASB)
Here is what the dictionary says about the
word deceitful:
|
Sense 1
|
Meaning:
intended to deceive
Synonyms:
Context examples:
deceitful advertising / fallacious testimony
/ smooth, shining, and deceitful as thin ice / a fraudulent scheme to escape
paying taxes
Similar:
|
Sense 2
|
Meaning:
Marked by deliberate deceptiveness especially
by pretending one set of feelings and acting under the influence of another
Synonyms:
duplicitous; two-faced; double-dealing; double-tongued; Janus-faced; ambidextrous; double-faced; deceitful
Context examples:
she was a deceitful scheming little thing / a
double-dealing double agent / a double-faced infernal traitor and schemer
Similar:
All of these
meanings apply to sin. It disguises its harm under a deceitful image.
In doing so
it makes itself smell, taste, sound,
look and feel good. But it is not.
Not only
does it deceive us about its harm it deceives us about the warnings given not
to do it.
When we were
younger Carie and I lived in a home with a pot belly woodstove. During the cold
Ontario winters we kept it so hot that it sometimes took on a faint red glow.
One of my
sons continually struggled with boundary issues. Virtually anything that was
told him became a challenge to his autonomy. The very things I would say to him
not to do were what he had to do. He was about four the first winter we lived
in the house. I tried every way to help him understand he was not to touch the
woodstove when it was hot. I even let him feel the heat coming off of it by
holding his hand close enough to the stove to not hurt him but let him get the
idea that it would be extremely painful for him to touch it.
It was only
a few days into the heating season when I heard a cry from him downstairs like
I had never heard before. He was screaming with everything in him. What had
happened? I knew before I ever made it downstairs to find out. He had to touch
that stove. It was an irresistible temptation. Why? He, like all of us, had an
acute vulnerability to be deceived.
I say this not only from my observation of others who have fallen under deception -- I have my own tragic history with sin and its lies.
Next Part - The Lies of Sin Part Two
http://leonardterry.blogspot.ca/2013/03/the-lies-of-sin-part-two.html
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