Sin is a Lie

We are all sinful beings.  It is a truth of our existence, a truth that will continue to follow us until the end of our earthly lives.  We fall to the allure of sin every day, and likely more than we even realize.  Sins come and go without us noticing, such as a quick impure thought, a condescending comment, or a little white lie.  Sin is crouching at the door, ready to pounce on us.  Sometimes, it doesn't even need to pounce.  We're so accustomed to it, that we willingly let it happen.  Other times, it waits for a moment of weakness.  Most of the time, especially when we reflect on our lives, we can see many of the sins we’ve committed.  We know they’re sins, and we know we shouldn’t do them.  And yet, we continue to sin, day after day.  Even those who have given their lives to Jesus and have tried to walk with him for years still struggle with sin.

Even after being justified by Christ, having our sins forgiven and our eternities secured, we’re still sinners.  We’re still broken people living broken lives in a broken world.  You’d think we’d be able to see how we are, see our own sinful ways, and simply decide that we’re going to be righteous.  We’re going to live sinless lives, not doing or saying anything bad.  And then an hour goes by, and we realize that we’ve already messed up. 

Why?  Why can’t we just live perfectly?  We have free will.  Why can’t we decide to follow Jesus in everything, every day, every single second, doing nothing even remotely unholy?

It’s because we're all gullible.

You see, sin is a lie.  It’s a lie that we all fall for, multiple times a day.  Sin stands there, whispering in our ears, egging us on, sounding like a talking snake in a garden.

Just one more drink.  You’ll be fine.

Nobody knows if you look at pornography.  You’re smart enough to cover your own tracks.  It doesn’t hurt anybody anyway.

Your spouse is out of town, and won’t know what you do when they’re gone.  Nobody will get hurt.

You deserve this.

It doesn’t matter what you say to this person.  They’re foolish and stupid and not worth your time anyway.

Do what you want.  You’re forgiven either way.

Sin is a voice in our heads, feeding us lies, and we believe it.  We might not say we do, but that’s what happens.  We give into sin’s push because we think we know better than God.  We think our actions won’t hurt anybody.  We make decisions based on what we can get away with as opposed to what is right. 

The unfortunate thing is that there’s nothing we can do to make this stop happening.  We’re going to sin, every day, for the rest of our earthly lives.  We repent of our sins and choose to follow God, and yet that voice is still there, and we still trip and fall.  That doesn’t mean we should give up and just give in, though.  It means that we must draw closer to God, lifting our lives to him in prayer every day.  The scriptures say that not one of us is righteous, not even one.  We are all unworthy of the love of God, and there is nothing we can do to make ourselves worthy.  However, the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross makes all that irrelevant.  It no longer matters that we’re not worthy, because God has forgiven each and every one of our sins, even the ones we haven’t committed yet.  The big ones, the small ones, the ones we don’t even know we do.  God has cleansed us of our sinfulness and made us right with God, and that justification doesn’t expire.  Ever.

Thank you Jesus for all you have done for us, none of which we deserve.  Please be present in our lives.  Be our shield and our stronghold from the allure of sin in our lives.  Help us follow you and not the world.  You are everything we need in this life and the next.  Amen.