Sin comes about by breaking one of God’s Laws. For example, we have committed a sinful act when:
1. we worship something or someone other than God
2. we worship images representing God
3. we take the name of the LORD in vain
4. we break the Sabbath
5. we dishonor our father and/or mother
6. we commit murder
7. we commit adultery
8. we steal
9. we give false testimony
10. we covet or take possession of something that is not ours
How many of you have never broken one of these Laws? I cannot tell a lie, I am guilty. I venture to say that there is not a person in the whole world who has never broken one of the Laws. Each of us was born with a sinful nature and that sinful nature has gotten us into trouble more than once. That sinful nature is inside of us.
The late Rev. Seth Joshua tells how he met a man who said that he could not swallow what the preachers called “original sin.” “My good fellow,” said Rev. Joshua, “there’s no occasion for you to swallow it – it’s inside you already. (Christian Herald)
Man was given a chance to make choices. Adam and Eve were given freedom to make choices and obviously, they made a wrong choice. Once they made the wrong choice, life for them changed. Things would not be the same. Now life would become difficult for them. They would have to work to provide the necessities of life such as food, clothing, and shelter. There was no question as whether God still loved them. The issue was new and it was called disobedience, transgression, or sin.
Satan works the same today as he did in the days of Adam and Eve. Remember what the serpent or devil said to Eve. He said to Eve, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” (Genesis 3:1). What was the devil doing to Eve at this time? He was making Eve question the Word of God. He was planting doubt in Eve’s mind concerning what God really said. The devil went on to say, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:4).
What happened after disobedience or sin took place? Scripture says, “Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves” (Genesis 3:7). When the devil said, “your eyes will be opened,” he was certainly right.
Their eyes were opened and they “realized they were naked”. Their sin had found them out.
We, too, have the freedom to choose and we often make choices that are not in line with God’s Laws and/or morals. When we deviate from the standard, we sin or transgress the Law. Furthermore, we cannot hide our sins from God or from other people. Sooner or later our sin will find us out.
Three men in South Boston posed for a passing photographer. They then refused to pay for the picture, beat the traveling or wandering artist, and tried to smash his camera. Then they ran away, chuckling over their feat, and ridiculing the plight of their victim. But the photographer had one resource which the three rascals had forgotten – the undeveloped plate in his camera. This he developed and turned over to the police. By means of that telltale bit of paper, the three men were recognized immediately and arrested under a charge of assault and battery, and were soon secure in the grasp of the law. Sin manufactures its own condemnation. For witness against it, the Judge of all the earth does not need any outside testimony. --- Albert Thomas Howell.
We cannot hide our sin from God any more than Adam and Eve could. The sin of disobedience caused a change in the life of Adam and Eve and the sin of disobedience can cause a change in the life of each of us. Satan is working just as hard today as he did centuries ago to cause people to become disobedient. He likes to plant doubt in the minds of people.
Satan likes to make people think negative instead of positive. He likes to play with the minds of people so people will believe they are in control of their life instead of God being in control. He likes people to take the wide and crooked road in life instead of the straight and narrow road. Satan likes people to delay doing the important things in life.
Adam and Eve must have doubted God’s word of instruction concerning the fruit of the tree in the midst of the garden. God said, “You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die” (Genesis 3:3). We, too, are guilty of doubting God’s Word much of the time. Think of the pens, pencils, notepads, or other office supplies you have picked up over the years without even thinking you were stealing. God’s Word says, “Thou shall not steal” (Exodus 20:15).
Maybe we even rationalized and said to, “I deserve taking this or these things because the company owes me.” We know in our hearts this is not right, but we have a choice and Satan likes to intervene and plant a seed of doubt just like he did in the minds of Adam and Eve. Satan says, “It’s okay, don’t worry about it, God doesn’t really mean what He said.” I am just as guilty as anyone else concerning this Law. There is no little sin. Sin is sin. Taking a pencil or some other small item is as sinful as robbing a bank.
Rev. John McNeil told the following story:
A ship once wrecked on the Irish coast. The captain was a careful one. Nor had the weather been of so severe a kind to explain the wide distance the ship had swerved from her course. The ship went down, but so much interest was attached to the disaster that a diver was sent down.
Among other portions of the vessel that were examined was the compass. Inside the compass box was detected a bit of steel which appeared to be the small point of a pocket knife blade. It appeared that the day before the wreck a sailor had been sent to clean the compass, and used his pocket knife in the process, and had unconsciously broken off the point and left it remaining in the box.
The bit of knife blade exerted its influence on the compass, and to a degree that deflected the needle from its proper bent, and spoiled it as an index of the ship’s direction. That piece of knife blade wrecked the vessel.
Thus one trifling sin, as small as a broken knife point, as it were, is able to rob the conscience of peace and happiness. A sin is a sin and is very destructive.
Our Scripture Reading talks about two brothers, sons of Adam and Eve, who were probably like any two brothers of today. In their early years, they played with each other and supported each other. As they matured, Abel became a shepherd and Cain became a farmer.
At some period in time, Cain brought an offering of the first fruit of the ground to the LORD. About this same time, Abel brought his offering to the LORD. His offering was the firstborn of his flock. For some reason, and the Bible does not say, but Cain’s offering was rejected by the LORD. Perhaps the attitude of Cain had something to do with the LORD rejecting the offering. Maybe the offering just did not meet God’s standard or criteria. We don’t know for sure, but I surmise that Satan had something to do with Cain’s thinking. A seed of doubt could have been planted in Cain’s mind concerning his relationship with God. Maybe Cain doubted God’s love for him and thought God loved Abel more.
Sometimes this happens to us and our relationship to other people. For example, one child in a family may not feel as important as another child. One child might feel that the parents are doing more for the brother or sister. The child may not feel as loved and turns to other avenues for support and understanding.
This same thing could happen to the husband or wife. Perhaps one of them doubts the love of the other (Satan enters the picture) and begins to look in another direction for attention. This is quite common and is probably one of the reasons for our divorce rate being so high.
Maybe an employee feels left out or overlooked for promotion. Satan steps in and plants a seed of doubt concerning the employee’s ability to do the job; consequently, the employee becomes discouraged and/or depressed.
We, too, become angry and upset during times like this. The same thing happened to Cain. Scripture states, “And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell” (Genesis 4:5). Instead of becoming angry and upset, we need to call upon God for assistance. We need to trust Him and follow His Word. “It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man” (Psalm 118:8).
Confidence and trust are very important. When we get into our cars, we have confidence in our driving ability and the car itself that it will get us to where we want to go. When we get on the Lynx bus, we trust the driver and have confidence in him and the bus that we will reach our destination. When we board an airliner, we trust the pilot and his crew and have confidence in them and the aircraft that we will land safely at the designated airport. We trust mechanical gadgets and people; we certainly can trust God and His Word. “It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man” (Psalm 118:8).
Satan also likes us to think negative thoughts. Cain became angry because his offering was rejected. People become angry because they are rejected. A person might apply for certain position or job and possess all the necessary qualifications, but still be rejected. Satan intercedes and causes the individual to think thoughts like: you are too young; you are the wrong color; you are the wrong sex; you are inexperienced; you are not management material, etc... Satan sits back and smiles because he has you where he wants you. He has accomplished his goal of having you take your eyes off Jesus, your Lord and Savior. Cain lost sight of the real issue of listening to and following God’s advice.
We, too, can lose sight if we forget that “He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world” (I John 4:4). God loved Cain just as much as he loves us and He is always willing to give us a second chance as he was willing to give Cain a second chance.
God said to Cain, “If you do well, will you not be accepted?” (Genesis 4:7). Cain had a chance to correct what he had done wrong. We, too, have the opportunity to correct our mistakes with God’s help. When we make a mistake or commit a sin, we need to ask forgiveness and ask God to help us make it right. Satan had already entered the mind of Cain and the seed of sin was planted in his heart. God told Cain that he could “rule over sin”, but Cain refused to listen.
Today, you and I have sin waiting at the door of our hearts. We have the option of letting sin rule our lives or we can let God rule our lives. We can be “victims” or we can be “victors”. We can try to master sin ourselves and lose or we can call upon God for faith and strength and win. Cain chose to master sin himself and proceeded to kill his brother Abel.
God asked Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” (Genesis 4:9). Cain responded with a lie: “I do not know” (Genesis 4:9). Satan continued to steer Cain’s mind down the wide and crooked way of life. His goal had been met. One lie leads to another. One sin leads to another. Your sin will find you out.
List to this article that appeared in the Moody Monthly-
An oyster fisherman on opening the shell of an oyster, discovered within a fish, three and a half inches long, alive and weakly struggling. The oyster, however, was not to be found, and the fisherman was quite convinced that the fish had entered the open shell, and had been trapped by its closing. Once inside, however, it proceeded to devour the oyster, but being unable to open the shell, would have died I it.
Sin enters the life through the door of a careless will. Once thus inside, their eviction is most difficult, and they speedily make themselves master of the premises, eventually destroying the whole life of the individual.
This can happen to us every day if we do not admit we have sinned, confess our sins, ask for forgiveness and accept Jesus Christ as our own Lord and Savior asking him to lead us down the path of righteousness. Jesus is in the heart of every believer in the form of the Holy Spirit. Jesus said, “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you…” (Acts 1:8)
The power of the Holy Spirit is beyond anything we can imagine. The Holy Spirit fills us with great confidence, gives us the courage and strength to witness, permits us to understand God’s will for us and gives us the power to carry on God’s work here on earth. The Holy Spirit is our Comforter each day of our life. Jesus said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5).
Conclusion:
Sin destroys:
1. trust
2. family relations
3. family lives
4. employer relations
5. relationship with God
6. confidence
7. inner peace
Sin leads to:
1. a life of misery
2. a life of crime
3. a life of feeling unworthy
4. a life of sadness
5. a life of hate
6. a life of loneliness
7. a life without Jesus
Sin is separation from God and can be curbed if we follow God’s plan of salvation. We are all born sinners because of Adam and Eve. But God’s plan was to bring us back into a right relationship with Him. His plan was to send His Son Jesus Christ into the world to die in our place to pay the sin penalty for us. He did just that. All we have to do is admit we have sinned, repent of our sins and invite the Lord Jesus into our hearts.
Jesus said, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me” (Revelation 3:20).
Jesus knocks at the door of every heart, but many are more interested in the worldly life of pleasure, money, fame, possessions, etc... Those who leave the door open and invite Him in will not have to worry about hearing his knock.
Jesus is your only hope for a full life here on earth and your eternal life in his kingdom.
Won’t you invite him into your heart today?
Amen.
