Sin is inviting.

The fruit offered to Eve was delectable. When she saw how delicious it smelled and how lovely it looked, she let herself be convinced by the snake that it must be good. Eve took the bait, took a bite and convinced Adam that he should too. So Adam bit the fruit. And for the first time, God’s creation experienced guilt, shame and unknowing deception.

Some of the deceptive characteristics of sin that can attract us to it are; immediate gratification, selfish pleasure, a false sense of security, a deluded sense of self, short term elation, the deception of satisfaction (which leads to obsession), worldly knowledge, and so on.

The simple fact is sin appears beautifully to us. It appeals to our senses in subtle loveliness. It appeals to our desires. It appeals to our intellect. It shows itself as the answer to prayer, at first. If it didn’t…we wouldn’t be tempted by it.

The illusion of perfection we believe we gain when we choose things that lead us into sin is subtle and diabolical. It invites us in with the promise of being like God, as it did with Adam and Eve. We are lulled into its beautiful arms believing we will have all that we desire.
We partake of the fruit of it, often unaware of its hidden darkness. We enjoy it’s offerings, without remorse or regret, when we first encounter it. It is as if we have exactly what we wanted. And we think, this is what we asked for.

As time moves on, we begin to notice that the thing we asked for has become all consuming. No longer time for sitting in the presence of God, our compromise to sin is the priority now. Our prayer time has diminished. We may still attend church, occasionally open our Bible app, and talk about the goodness of God, with an uncomfortable staleness. The sin we are engaged in has replaced our genuine fervor for the things of God for watered down prayers done by rote memorization and continued participation in the Christian activities we are used to, as we go through the motions, but no longer feel the power of the Holy Spirit in our everyday lives. Or worse yet, we are deceived into thinking we are still in right standing with God, and He is supporting our sin behavior. This is the true danger of compliance with temptation. It covers us with darkness and makes the light of God harder to see. We believe we are hearing His voice, but are only hearing our own sin, still tempting, still controlling us.

As Christians, we are called to “submit to God, and resist the devil” (James 4:7). And in these dark times, sin is running rampant in our culture, in many of our churches, and perhaps, even, in our personal lives. Of all sin, none is as prevalent as sexual sin. Sexual immorality is proving to be the downfall of many, known and not so known.

What is sexual sin? The Bible describes it as the only “sin against (our) own body.” It says:

“Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body.” 1 Corinthians 6:18 (NIV)

This sin comes in various forms and expressions with one end…spiritual compromise. Even as Christians, we have become too comfortable with sex in entertainment, whether in the content we watch or the sites we interact with. Christian couples are living together with increased frequency and with no marriage covenant, no true commitment. They are cohabitating with all of the benefits of marriage; living in relationship like the world does.

Sin has made its way into our churches as many people are more interested in the entertainment value of a ministry’s music and presentations, than the pure, convicting Word of God being preached from its pulpits.

Sin is a soul condition. No matter what form it takes, it is designed to pull us away from God.

But the beauty of sin is that it is not a permanent state, if we recognize and repent from it. The beauty of sin, once it is walked away from, allows us to reunite with God, our Redeemer and Lord, and be brought back into His loving presence once again. In the book of Isaiah, the requirements for turning away from sin starts with humility and searching out God. It says:

Isaiah 55:6-7
“Seek the LORD while he may be found;
call upon him while he is near;
let the wicked forsake his way,
and the unrighteous man his thoughts;
let him return to the LORD, that he may have compassion on him,
and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.

If we want to continue to walk with the presence of God, and be able to call on His Anointing to strengthen, teach and direct our steps, we must renounce our sin. We must seek God and repent from our wrong and return to Him. It is not complicated. It is often not easy. But it is truth. Sin cannot hold you back from the things of God without your permission. And it’s hold will be broken when we admit we are bound by it and want to be released. In James, the steps toward redemption can be the hope we need to let go of sin and be whole again.

James 4:8-10
Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.

Sin is not beautiful. It is not wholesome. It does not benefit the believer in any way…no matter how dressed up and presentable it may be made to appear. It is the thing that will separate us from God. It is the one thing that He cannot get us out of without our permission.

But here is the beautiful part…Jesus took on the sin of the world, including yours and mine and gave us an “out” from the sinister darkness that sin truly offers. He loves us enough to “give us a way of escape” (1 Cor. 10:13), if we will humble ourselves, seek His face and repent for our disobedience and be forgiven. There may still be consequences to pay as a result of our behaviors or actions, but we will be redeemed back into the arms of our Loving Savior and Lord, where we will experience true life and beauty.

1 Corinthians 10:13
The only temptation that has come to you is that which everyone has. But you can trust God, who will not permit you to be tempted more than you can stand. But when you are tempted, he will also give you a way to escape so that you will be able to stand it.

Until next post…be blessed. vw1.