The Gestation of Sin
James 1:12-18
So, how far along are you? I know, that’s not really the kind of question you would expect to hear a pastor utter at the beginning of his sermon. It’s really the kind of question that one pregnant lady would ask another as they wait to see the doctor. How far along are you?
I’ve not taken leave my senses, as you might expect. I’m merely following the illustration that James gives us in the text. He compares the process by which a single sin can enter a person and grow to the process of human gestation. In a manner of speaking, James gives us an ultrasound picture of the conception, maturation, and then finally the birth of sin in our lives.
Of course, comparing the maturation and growth of sin to that of a human child is what you’d call a negative comparison. Bringing children into the world is an overwhelmingly positive thing after all. Children change your life in ways that you would never think possible. Since I became a Father, I’m less self-centered, more self-disciplined, more patient, more understanding. More concerned about other people in the world and the like. You who are parents have probably had a similar experience, I’m sure. Raising children can be one of the toughest things you’ve ever done, but God uses it to knock the rough edges off us and to show us what’s important and what is not.
This stands in stark contrast to being a “parent” to sin as James describes it. When sin is conceived within us, it has a way of changing us that is overwhelmingly negative. We become more self-centered, less concerned about other people in the world, and we actually lose the ability to understand what is important and what is not.
So James is not talking about just any sins, he’s talking about those sins that have the potential to take control of us and influence the way we think and act. Since these sins are nurtured deep within us, they are not so easy to detect at first. But eventually, as we move towards “full term” and “delivery”, most everyone can see that something is going on.
All of us have known people, or perhaps have had friends who suddenly and without explanation radically change the course of their lives without any concern of how it might affect others. A good friend of my family, who had a good husband, great children, and great life just up and left them all one day. She just said “I have to do this.” without any explanation as to why. The sin of self-centeredness she had been carrying inside herself had reached full term. Her sinful spawn was born and began to walk among the people who loved her, bringing sorrow, misery, and destruction in its wake.
So what kind of sins are capable of leading to this kind of damage? Any kind actually. Each person is different, and may be found to have certain weaknesses for different things. But as James points out, they always start with a DESIRE. That’s the tricky part, because not all desires are bad. For example, the desire for sexual intimacy is a good desire and a great blessing within the context of marriage....but once the sinful nature gets hold of this desire, it can twist it so that it is no longer a constructive blessing but a destructive curse. How many lives in this generation have been ruined by sex?
Another example, the desire to provide for your family, again a good desire, a worthy desire, an altogether proper desire. But once the sinful nature that resides within the human soul gets hold of it, it can lead to a father or mother who is so wrapped up in their work and their career that they never even see their family anymore. The original desire, and for that matter the original goal has been warped or twisted to the point where it does the exact opposite of what was intended: in “supporting” the family, they have actually withdrawn their support.
There are a number of other examples I could give, but let it suffice to say that you could take any good desire that is common to man, add that twist of the sinful nature and a potentially life-changing sin will be conceived within. What follows is the whole gestation period, when the sin is kept inside and nurtured until it is finally “born”.
When a woman becomes pregnant, she begins to think about her baby a lot. That’s good. She begins to make changes in her life to accommodate the little one that grows inside her. That’s also good. She will also read books on the subject and find herself attracted to others who are pregnant like she is. Same thing happens when anyone allows a sin to be implanted within them. They begin to think about it a lot. They begin to make changes in their life to accommodate the sin. They will resonate with books and other media that support what they are now thinking and feeling, they will find themselves attracted to others who have the same condition as they wait for it to go full term. But unlike the birth of a baby that brings new life to a household and to the world. The birth of sin, as James says, brings death.
Let’s be clear as to what’s at stake here. Death is the end point of all this. God created. God gave us life. God made everything good. Sin is an act of un-creation. Sin takes what is good and turns it inside out. Every sin is something good that has been turned inside out. That’s really what’s going on here. All around us, we see this happening. Marriage is being turned inside out. Family is being turned inside out. The meaning of love is being turned inside out. The concepts of good and bad are being turned inside out: In the minds of many, “good” means “bad” and “bad” means “good.” You see? This is what Satan and sin are doing to the world. Will they do it to you?
Perhaps my initial question was not so funny after all... Remember I asked “How far along are you?” In other words, “has sin implanted itself in you?” Are you going to be part of this great un-creation that is taking place all around us? Or are you going to fight it? Obviously, You must fight it! If not already, you must learn to examine your own heart and question your own motives. You must learn to peel back the shroud that often covers your own inner desires and motivations. Are they good and right and true, or do they have an added, destructive twist to them? You must be sober and vigilant, awake and on guard.
And the good news is God has already given you all that you need to do this. James who was writing to people like you and me, offers these words of encouragement: “Don’t be deceived my dear brothers, Every good and perfect gift is from the Father of heavenly lights....He chose to give us birth through the word of truth.” Even though, you might have the potential to give birth to sin, A truly wonderful thing has already been born in you through the word of truth. You have heard that wonderful message of truth, that God forgives for the sake of his Son Jesus; you have received it and believed it. You have faith in a Lord who has sworn to protect you from the evil one. You have faith in a Savior who was tempted in every way, just as we are, but did not sin. Since you are connected to him by faith, His victory can become your victory in the battle against your desires that would otherwise grow and take over your life.
But in addition to God the Son, you also have God the Holy Spirit who has made you his temple. When unholy desires seek to make a home in you, you’ll hear about it from him. He is the Holy Spirit and you are his house, and he doesn’t want anything that is unholy moving in with him. He’s like the watchdog, who will alert you when evil is working its way in. He does this Through the Word of God which has the ability to judge the thoughts and attitudes of the heart with great precision. He does this through the urging of your conscience. A lot of times, when you are starting to make a moral compromise or when that twist of a desire is added to a pure desire, you’ll hear about it from him in various ways.
You see, God wants something better to Grow in you. Indeed, you have the potential to give birth to evil, but he wants you to give birth to good. He wants things like Love and Joy and Peace and Patience and Kindness and Gentleness and Self-control to come from you. These things, released on the world, bring nothing but blessing to the world; a blessing to your family; a blessing to your neighbors; to your coworkers and so on. You have been chosen, called, set aside and redeemed to be a vessel for God’s goodness. So, I might ask: How far along are you in that?
Knowing about all that God has implanted us, I think we should start acting like pregnant ladies. We should begin to make changes in our lives to accommodate the good that God hs placed within us. We should probably spend a lot of time reading, reading God’s word, so that we can know more about what is growing inside us. And I’m guessing also, that we are probably attracted to those who have the same condition, our fellow Christians, the holy Christian Church. We should make use of all the things that God has given us to nurture and bring the goodness to full term. Thereby, we will “overcome evil with good” . Thereby, we will take our stand against our enemy. AMEN
