Sin

It has become abundantly clear to me that God hates all sin with such a passion that even the smallest, seemingly most insignificant, sins are an abomination to Him. His holiness is so intense and shines so brightly that even the slightest glimpse of His face would drop us dead on the spot. Does that seem a little extreme? I have no doubts Scripture teaches us this over and over again, yet we are mostly unwilling to hear it.

Sin is deceitful and it always coddles and subdues the vileness that it is to God. He is the standard of truth, the only true due north, that one can find their way. If we don’t believe everything He says and does is the standard of truth, then we are serving another god.

If sin is hated by God, shouldn’t it be hated by us?

We suffer from a low view of sin, because we have a low view of God.   To fully understand God’s view of sin, we must gain a more accurate view of God Himself. This is not easy. Our flesh fights against knowing God. The carnal mind is at enmity with God, and there is only one way to kill the carnal mind and that is to have it renewed through the Scriptures. We must be conformed to His will and not our own.

And he (speaking of Azariah) did what was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father Amaziah had done, except that the high places were not removed; the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places. Then the LORD struck the king, so that he was a leper until the day of his death; so he dwelt in an isolated house. – 2 Kings 15:3-5

God had clearly defined ways in which He is to be worshiped, but in his pride and arrogance Azariah usurped God’s authority. He decided it was okay to perform the priestly duties. Does this really seem like it’s a capital offense?   Azariah’s leprosy eventually killed him, in effect; God killed him through the disease that He gave him. God was offended and the punishment was death.

We see this cycle repeated over and over again in the life of the King’s of Israel, but to bring it closer to home, do we see this repeated in our lives? Do we see that our disobedience brings God displeasure and chastening?

How do we apply this seemingly, insignificant lesson to our lives, because talking about something that happened 2800 years ago doesn’t always seem relevant.

Since therefore it remains that some must enter it, and those to whom it was first preached did not enter because of disobedience, again He designates a certain day, saying David, “Today,” after such a long time, as it has been said:

“Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts.” – Hebrews 4:6-7

Sin is hardening to our hearts, and a constant reminder of our need to depend on Jesus for His mercy and grace as the needed medicine for a diseased heart. He is the only hope we have, He is the great Physician.

Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience. – Hebrews 4:11

Many will fall because of disobedience. The Word of God is clear on that subject. This is a horrible and fearful thought for me to consider. I must strive to enter through the narrow gate, because it’s the only place I can find rest, and I must never cease striving against sin. I will kill sin, or sin will kill me. If you don’t battle sin every day, then sin will overcome you, and take you by force.

I urge you beloved, to seek His mercy and His grace, and if you are redeemed, then you will have victory. This does not mean perfection, but if you wallow in the same sin as you’ve always wallowed, if you continue to return to your vomit, then you are probably not saved.

Kevin