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The payment for sin is death. But God gives us the free gift of life forever in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 6:23 (NCV)
Think about this. No matter where you are on the journey of life, there are certain things that are true for all of us. We were all created by God to be his pride and joy. God’s desire, from the beginning of time is to have a passionate relationship with each of us. A relationship like he had with Adam and Even at the beginning. To walk side by side, arm in arm, hand in hand. To laugh. To talk about the days events. To impart his wisdom, strength and joy to each of us.
Another thing that is true of all of us is that we all want to have our own way. We all seek to fill this void inside of us with things that are contrary to God’s desire for us. David did it when he decided to sleep with another man’s wife. Abraham did it when he took matters into his own hands. Moses did it when he murdered the Egyptian and struck the rock. And the list goes on and on. Your name is on that list.
We’ve all done it, we take matters into our own hands. Tried to fill the void on our own power. Call it sin. Call it poor choices or bad decisions. Call it whatever you want. The result is the same. When you live apart from God there’s an emptiness that can’t be satisfied.
Sin is sin. You can rationalize and say your ‘sin’ isn’t as bad. Really? Worry is just as ‘bad’ a sin as adultery because it breaks your trust in God’s ability to provide. Buying what you can’t afford is stealing from your future because debt ties us down. Legalistic attitudes steal the freedom God intended to give to others.
You can run from him, but that won’t remove the pain. You can ignore him but that doesn’t take away the anger. You can claim he doesn’t exist, but the void won’t go away. You can bury yourself in all sorts of religious activity or social advocacy to hide your pain. That usually only leads to guilt and self-destruction. There is nothing that beats the pain. There is nothing that pays the price…nothing except for Jesus.
Jesus paid the price for your worry. Jesus paid the price for your anger and frustration. Jesus paid the price for the guilt you harbor because of your past. He paid it in full so you can live free. He asks nothing from you except for you to confess (admit) your need for him, and ask forgiveness for your weakness. Nothing else will fill the void in your soul.
PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I confess to you that there are still many things in my life that I’m trying to control on my own. Thank you for the free gift of forgiveness you have given. Nothing is really free. Thank you for paying the price for my sin when you knew I would fail. Amen.
Tiger Woods. Bill Clinton. King David. Ted Kaczynski.
All these people have something in common. They were hiding something. Oh it’s a short list. There are many, many others. Some famous, some unknown. Some hid things in their lives that were major, heinous actions. Some were not. Some have been found out either by admitting their secret themselves, or getting caught red-handed. Some are still hiding.
King David gives us a glimpse into how it feels when we hide. He talks of even his very joints hurting, about loss of sleep, about the fear. Fear is a great motivator to sin. We fear being alone. We fear being caught. We fear being made ashamed. We fear so we do things we know are wrong.
When I was in second grade I took an extra package of crackers from the lunchroom at school. At that school, in that time, that was a no-no. But I slipped them into my pocket without being seen and snuck onto the playground. A strange thing happened on the playground though. That small little package of saltines began to burn. It seemed like everyone was watching me. My leg began to hurt. Finally, the pain was unbearable. As quickly as I left the lunchroom, I returned with the crackers. I announced (confessed) to the cooks my sin, put the crackers on the counter and left before the police arrived.
Now I look back and wonder how many years the cooks laughed over that one, but the lesson still remains planted in my mind. Sin hurts. It weighs us down. It haunts us to no end. We can ignore it. We can pretend it doesn’t exist. We can hide it. But deep inside it sits like a lump in our stomach.
I may be an idealist, but I don’t believe most people sin because they enjoy the sin. They sin either because of ignorance or because they do what they do to cover other pain.
I don’t think the person who goes out and gets drunk does it for the joy of a hangover the next morning, or waking up in jail or a hospital bed or with someone they don’t know. They turn to alcohol or drugs to hide the pain.
I don’t think the person who turns to pornography does so because they enjoy exploiting women. Deep down inside they are looking for love and acceptance. Even false love and acceptance (in their mind) is better than none.
I don’t think the person who involves themselves in an affair does so in order to destroy their families and kids. They are only seeking to relieve the loneliness.
Here’s the good news. You don’t need to hide anymore. You can come to Christ for complete forgiveness. You can get rid of the feeling of guilt and shame and remorse and fear once and for all.
He came to die so you can live. He gave his blood so you can be free.
PRAYER: Lord Jesus, thank you that I don’t need to hide anymore. Thank you for seeing through my sin and rebellion to know my pain. Forgive me for the hidden things in my life. In your name I pray, Amen.
In Christ we can come before God with freedom and without fear. We can do this through faith in Christ. Ephesians 3:12 (NCV)
I remember sitting in Bible Study. We were discussing the life of King David and, in particular, his affair with Bathsheba. I asked the question, why does sin have such power over us? Think of David. The man after God’s own heart. The man who had seen God move in miraculous ways. The man who defeated a lion, a bear, a giant and an angry King. All this because of his faith. What would make someone who was so close to God commit such a heinous crime? Why does sin have that kind of power over us?
A very dear, elderly sweet lady gave an embarrassed grin and answered, “Because. Sin is so much fun!”
I was taken back by her answer, as were the others. Mary (I’ll call her) was the kind of person you would expect to have been sinless her entire life. Sin being fun in her mind was the furthest thing from my mind.
She’s right of course. That’s the draw. We know the right way to think. We know what the right words to say and what words will spark an argument. For those of us who know Christ, we know the attitude to take. So why are we often so easily led astray?
Not only is sin ‘fun’ (at least at the beginning) but sin entraps us. That’s the catch. Sometimes it starts small, an attitude, a sarcastic comment or two, an off-color jest, a hug that takes just a little to long. Then, if we allow it to, sin creeps in, taking more liberty. Asking more questions. Causing more doubt. Like the serpent in the garden, the question is asked, “It God really fair taking this pleasure from me? Will it really hurt just once? Don’t I deserve this justice?
Then like a steel trap, the jaws slam shut. We’re trapped with no way out. Have you ever been in that situation? It’s like being handcuffed and being led down the hallway towards the courtroom. Waste of time? You bet. Your guilty, but…. (There will be no buts in this courtroom).
That’s sin. The longer you are in it the more the guilt weighs you down. You knew better. How did you think for a moment you wouldn’t get caught? The longer it has you enslaved the more resigned you come to it’s dominion over you. The more it attacks, the weaker your resolve to fight back. Finally you just give up. It doesn’t matter anymore.
There is only one way out of this trap. Only one way to rid yourself of the guilt once and for all. Only one way promise can return to our lives. The only way we can be free of the penalty and power of sin is Jesus. The penalty has to be paid. There is no escape from that. But Jesus paid the penalty! Because of that, regardless of what you have done. Regardless of how many times you’ve stumbled and fallen. The Grace of God through Jesus Christ allows you to have a perfect relationship with your Heavenly Father. Enjoy the freedom to fly once again. Enjoy the freedom of being afraid of God’s wrath.
PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I need to be reminded of your love and grace today. My thoughts, words and attitudes have entrapped me. I’m listening to the enemy’s lies. Please forgive me once again for my weakness. Thank you that because of you I am restored. Amen.
Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 