Let's Talk About Sin! Ugh!

The beauty of it all is salvation through Jesus Christ. He lifted the sting of sin from off our lives. Sin is misery to all, but Christ is joy to all who believe.

Sin can and will stop, hinder, and keep us from seeking God’s face and can close His ears to our cry.

Encapsulated in sin lies total and complete destruction of every sort and kind. Sin set in motion every calamitous way that is now in the earth. If you don’t understand that every pestilence we can ever know or have known sin is the reason for it, you will be intimidated every time the word sin is mentioned, rather than seeing the barriers it erects in seeking God, and counteracting every barrier by setting your lines of demarcation to forfeit it having dominion over you.

Sin produced and is still a trigger for all destruction. The wages which sin pays will always bring death. The first type being spiritual death in which we were separated from God because of sins propensity. Sin signifies and is indicative of separation from God; in other words, to sin is to have a wall of partition between you and Him. Sin is a giant bomb exploding throughout and in every life, until the day we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord. The blood that Jesus shed is how sin is dwarfed in what it could really do to us. In a nutshell, so to speak, sin is a dictator that will take you with or without knowledge, or your permission.

Here is the sad part about going through life and not having a clue of what sin is, you know that you have never made any pledge to it or even really decided to walk in its ways. Yet you are a sinner whether you know it or not. Subtly did sin guide my footsteps until I was 25 years old. I lived in it, walked, talked, and unconsciously and unknowingly existed just to commit another round the next day, and I didn’t even know it. Now that's the ignorance that produces a fool.

I was not the product of a Christian home, we didn’t attend Church on a weekly or any basis. My father and mother were not saved and neither sin, nor the devil was ever mentioned. Give God thanks if you are from a Christian home and learned the wiles of sin early in life.

The first time I knew I was a sinner was at 25 years old, I had no hint of what a sinner really was or did. I remember hearing a message that mentioned Satan and Lucifer, wondering who in the world is that? Even though, it was made clear by the end of the message. There is darkness that some of us have had to go through and some are going through and will not know but retrospectively when we are on the other side of the cross. Ignorance is, simply not knowing. Jesus asked His Father on the cross to forgive because of ignorance (they know not what they do).

The point I am driving and inculcating is that I don’t remember ever consenting to sin, now that is the most diabolical aspect of ignorance of this sort, a non-consensual role in sin. We must intercede for anyone who could possibly be walking in the shoes I was ignorantly given to stride through sin wearing. Stop! Right now, please ask the Heavenly Father to have mercy on the lost and reveal to them what sin is and the answer to it, Jesus Christ. I beg you because ignorance is no bliss.

Don’t ever believe everyone knows what sin really entails, or you will be assuming. Ask them that question, do you know what sin is and what the end of it will pay you? Most sinners believe that they are good people, because they are unaware of their posture or condition before God, and that sin is separating them from the living God who will be the final judge.

(Luke 23:34) Then, said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.

Those who rallied for His crucifixion and carried it out couldn’t have really known what they were doing, because if they had known they would not have crucified the Lord of Glory. There isn’t a sinner who really knows in depth, what they are doing because sin is a state of temporary insanity. Jesus knew that sin was not something we could possibly know how to get out of without the help of the Godhead and the Word. When we seek His face we find His glory. In His face there is brilliance unspeakable, the countenance of God is brighter than the sun in all of its glory, yet it is possible to see the sun without realizing who made it. In His presence, this is where we witness healing of ourselves holistically.

The premise of sin unleashed upon the world can be likened to the opening of Pandora’s box. In this story we are told of a box, that when opened evil and bad characteristics came out of the box and that they were very harmful. Sin took what was once an angel and changed him into a devil. It took a man and woman once created in the image of God and changed them into sinners, whose desire would be to hide from God because of sin and produced separation from God in spirit. Sin makes us want to hide from God. It is only when we become accountable for our lives and all the decisions we make that we are choosing not to hide but to draw near to God and resist running away from Him. I don’t care what your challenge is, I encourage you please give it to God.

The Word and Spirit of God exposes sin and reveals to us what it is, and can do if it is allowed to reign over us. Jesus came so that sin would not and doesn’t have dominion over us. Sin brought with it separation from God, sickness of every type, spiritual, mental, emotional and physical. All floods, fires, hurricanes, tornados, terrorisms, violence, murders, theft, greed, moral decay, and every evil that is imaginable, is in the world because of sin, because sin set in motion all calamity.

2 Peter 2:9 The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished.

In the King James Version the word how in this verse is italicized, I find that very interesting. Only the Lord knows how or in what manner to do this. This verse blessed me tremendously. I had to realize that I didn’t know how, but the Lord does. This was another opportunity to trust Him even more.

Sin may have made its way out of Pandora’s box, so to speak. However, the Lord Jesus Christ stops it from triumphing over and in our lives and has put sin back in the box. Sin is not a subject we enjoy talking about but it is a fox that destroys the vine. On an average, insert sin into a conversation or it is preached from the pulpit, everyone gets quiet and introspective. It is a touchy subject, yet it is a menace. Why? The reason being that sin is a tormenter.

Jesus exposed sin and shed His precious blood to provide us freedom from its unholy grip. Why should we allow it to intimidate us?

We should be able to know by now that sin wasn’t playing around with any creature, angelic or human. Sin took what was once an angel and changed him into a devil and his followers into demons. Why not daily seek what is necessary to combat sin when it raises its ugly head in our lives. Sin shall not have dominion over me, means that I am not going to let sin torment me any longer because I receive the righteousness Jesus gives and the grace to forebear. The righteousness and sinlessness of Christ is superior to sin.

I know that, I know that, I have a relationship with the Honorable Father, and my union with Him means everything to me. You and I have to determine that nothing, not even sin is going to ruin our relationship with God. I am going to seek His face and change my stance in approaching Him in doing so, making the necessary atonements in my life to make fellowship with Him my personal ongoing reality. Atonements that are needed to keep my life in harmony with Him. God has bonded with us through Jesus, we are in a real live relationship that should be free of dead works of the flesh and fixed on the finished works of Christ.

I don’t believe any believer in their heart of hearts desires to break fellowship by deliberately sinning, because sin is a pest and annoyance. The highest thought that has ever crossed my mind is the ideal that sin someday will be no more. It will be abolished and impossible to commit because it will be non-existent. Now that is deserving of a Hallelujah right now! Wherever you are at this very moment shout “Praise the Lord.”

Prior to our born again experiences, we have actual accounts of all the devastation sin caused. We are those accounts. I was a mess before Jesus showed up. We even have evidence of how sin is destroying lives everyday. Watch the news, you will see sin in action in every part of the world, how it devastates people and causes them to do unspeakable things and specifically those who have not accepted Jesus Christ as Lord. Jesus never toyed around with sin. I truly believe He knew the magnitude and its ability to wreck any and every life. Jesus came that we would have life and have it more abundantly. Sin is diminishing in our lives and a life of abundance is prevalent. He promises that we too will live without sin. Now that is a very high promise and it grants peace. Not only will we not be incapable of sin, it will not exist anymore, because sin is not allowed in the presence of God. Jesus cast sin out of the Father’s presence forever, and from out of man and woman presence.

Have you ever given it any thought what it would be like never to commit another sin? That is the intimate place we are seeking to be in everyday in our relationships with God. We know that we have the ability to fall short of the glory of God and we repent when we do. If there is no sin to commit, we are ushered into the presence of God and into His rest. It is wondrous to consider nature being changed in such a way that you no longer have the ability to sin. When Jesus returns we will be changed, never to sin again. Hallelujahs start now shout! Hallelujah!

The purpose for laboring the issue of sin is to encourage you, no matter what your situation is to always put the cross before you and cry out as the psalmist in;

(Psalm 25:1-2, 3-4) Unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul. O my God, I trust in thee: let me not be ashamed, let not mine enemies triumph over me. Shew me thy ways, O Lord; teach me that paths. Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day.

Enemies are those who attack and mean us harm. Well, sin, the devil and demons sound like enemies to me, and even we at times are our worst enemy. All of our thoughts, actions, desires, motives that do not represent the Sovereign God are enemies. Of course King David was a warrior, in a different type of warfare in the natural realm. We also are engaged in spiritual warfare.

It is of the utmost importance to know how to conduct warfare on your own behalf before you can conduct it on others behalf. Take authority over sin, declare to it what the Word says, it shall not have dominion over you, because of the Lord Jesus Christ. Take authority over and from every principality and power, ruler of the darkness of this world, all spiritual wickedness in high and low places, every demon and devil operating against your life. These enemies can cause us to be separated from our God, just like Adam and Eve, by the decisions we make. We need boundaries, lines of demarcation that show us the extent of any type of separation from God.

We need to be so attached to God that we can and are enabled to discern any foul play. We are not wrestling with flesh and blood, but principles and powers that govern them, which are strategically assigned against everything we desire and endeavor to do for God. The flesh was taught how to sin before we knew what sin was in. Sin was in the world before we arrived. Some have been given the treasure of going to Church and being taught about sin and its demise. If that is your reality thank God right now, wherever you are, say Thank You, Lord! Yet be aware that some people don’t know the wiles of sin and continuously are walking in its ungodly counsel, standing in the way sinners do. We who know don’t want to climb into the seat of scorn and rail out judgment.

When you see for yourself and it has to be something we see for ourselves individually, as well as collectively, that sin is not playing and that there are eternal consequences involved. Your heart will ache. If a sinner dies in their sin, where do you think they will end up? I’ll leave that question with you. I know in my spirit that the only thing that halts the affects of sin in the earth are the fervent effectual prayers of the righteous which are availing much. Prayer is actively stopping sin from doing what it is designed to do, take souls and place them in darkness and blind them.

We all have a story of life in sin and how it affected our lives. Sin is ugly, cruel and doesn’t have any favorites that it cares about. Sin is hatred and hostility towards God, there is not a trace of love in sin. Lust is the only byproduct of sin that can be confused with love, which is only if you love the concept or idea love. I exhort anyone who will take heed; sin is not playing with anyone. Why play with it? Don’t allow sin to produce separation in your relationship with God. Sin will hang you out to dry if you don’t turn to God and repent. Jesus hung sin out to dry for each and every one of us who would believe.

God is holy. What should my mindset, attitude and posture be in approaching Him? A prerequisite in drawing near to Him is to understand and know that He is holy. Sin hides God's holiness from us. We should see His holiness every time we pray. How? By acknowledging the blood, we don't plead the blood, the blood pleads for us. We should approach the throne in the imputed righteousness and sinlessness of Jesus. When God looks at us He sees Jesus, Christ in us the hope of glory.

"When thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy face, Lord, will I seek" (Psalm 27:8).

In the midst of this Psalm, King David is acknowledging a conversation with God, in which he is told by the Lord for him to seek His face. In his communion with God he is given some instruction and he then replies in obedience and says, my heart declares to You Lord, that I am setting my will in motion and will be actively moving towards seeking Your face. God gave him an imperative and He agreed and decided to obey. It is all about relationship, we must have our own personal and intimate relationship with God. When I think about seeking His face my approach, comes into play. Are the lines to communicate with Him clear? Is there any sin that I can regard in my heart? It is a personal question only we can ask ourselves. And if yes, what am I going to do about it, in order to see His face?

I don’t deceive myself that I can stand before a holy God and not acknowledge the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ for the remission of sin. We must acknowledge the sinlessness and righteousness of Jesus Christ that paves the way to the Heavenly Father. If I want to go in His presence to seek His face, I must ask to be forgiven for any and every trespass. I must be aware of those sins of omission; did I forget to mention ask for cleansing of any ongoing offense. We are not very different than repeat offenders that arbitrarily can be seen in the penal system. They are called criminals because they commit a variety of crimes, but sinner is a more accurate and scriptural narrative. Choices are what put them behind bars from a non-working value system. Choices are what place us under the sin ball.

Repentance should always be the stance I take to appear before Him. Asking God to forgive me and cleanse me from all unrighteousness and repenting for every way that is not pleasing in His sight and turning from sin to Him. His eyes are holy. It is not my heart’s desire to defile the holy eyes of God. If we say we have no sin, we become liars where the truth doesn’t reside. But if we confess our sin, He is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us.

Sin is an unwanted skeleton in the prayer closet. Each bone represents another aspect of what needs to be removed, purged, pruned and cleansed. I need to get all the skeletons out of my closet, so that I can go in there, shut the door and pray. Cleaning and clearing the prayer closet of excess and clutter is a daily part of maintaining our relationship with God. Only we individually can manage our relationships by doing whatever is necessary to make it successful by approaching God with the awareness of who He is.

Sin is a plague and it is sneaky and bold. You may not even know you are living in sin, because you haven’t been taught about its destruction and your moral compass is out-of-order. You may not have even heard the full gospel and its finished works. You may not have attended Sunday school or Church. God’s plans and program for your life may have never crossed your mind. Thoughts about God may be foreign to you. Whatever your scenario is, all of these devices are tools in the hands of the crafty enemy who comes to kill, steal and destroy as he roams the earth as a roaring lion seeking who he may devour, who you can only resist by steadfast faith in God.

Jesus came to seek and save the lost. Sin houses everything that offends God, it is a closet full of transgressions against Him in word, deeds, actions, decisions, and merely living day by day void of His plans and what is on His program. These transgressions make it impossible to get into your closet to pray. Sin teaches all humanity how to walk in offense. God hates sin but loves sinners; He despises what sin has done in every life. He sent Jesus Christ, His only begotten Son to redeem us out of sin and reconcile us to Himself. God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself. Not just for this life we live in time, but the life to come He changed our eternal destinies as well. A life with Him in eternity, free from sin. Eternity is sin free through Christ. Eternal life is a gift of God through Jesus Christ only.

Jesus shared His Father with us. Of course, He had no sin. Not having sin makes it easier to approach God and dwell in His presence. Jesus gave us a taste of what it is like to always desire to be in constant communication with the Heavenly Father. Isn’t it a sweet communion when we take care of our clean up first? I don’t believe there is one member of the Body of Christ who would forego a daily shower or bath before putting on clean garments. This is applicable in the spirit realm also. It has to be transferable spiritually. We should go through a cleansing process daily spiritually and put on our royal array purchased in and through the blood of Jesus. We are ready to proceed to the throne of grace. Have our heart to heart with the Father and receive our daily portion. We may spend too much time on tomorrow and not receive all that we need today. May grace and mercy lead us daily to the throne of the Father and that we behold His holiness and that it helps, heals and changes our countenance daily.