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For the Wages of Sin is Death
Romans 6:23
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord. - Romans 6:23
Sin pays wicked dividends… Ravi Zaccharias once stated that “Sin will take you farther than you want to go, keep you longer than you want to stay, and cost you more than you want to pay. ” Sin will not only kill your relationship with God, it will also kill a relationship wife your family. Sin can even kill your financial status. And eventually sin will kill you physically important the ultimate penalty of sin is eternal separation from God. From the beginning sin (disobedience to God) has resulted in spiritual death and this can be clearly seen at the Garden of Eden, “but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” Genesis 2:17 Adam and Eve did not die physically but their spiritual relationship with God was no longer the same. The Apostle Paul makes reference to this in Romans 5:12 “When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned”.
This separation from God leads to Spiritual and physical sorrows to many individuals as a void develops in one’s soul that can never be filled no matter how much you have… it’s never enough. After his death 1662, Blaise Pascal in his book Pensées VII(425) stated… “ What else does this craving, and this helplessness, proclaim but that there was once in man a true happiness, of which all that now remains is the empty print and trace? This he tries in vain to fill with everything around him, seeking in things that are not there the help he cannot find in those that are, though none can help, since this infinite abyss can be filled only with an infinite and immutable object; in other words by God himself.”
Eventually the endless desire of more, more and more leads to unimaginable sins that fills our news each day. Crimes of passion are at an all-time high, as this fantasy of the mind is so universal in all forms of media presenting an unavoidable temptation in our society.
Sin does not necessarily result in physical death right away, but if it goes unchecked it will reap physical devastation in all forms as families are torn apart and unimaginable evil prevails at an alarming rate. Shakespeare the 16th century English poet stated it best… He who sups with the devil should have a long spoon! Living a sinful life brings temporary pleasure but it comes with a painful price. John Owens was an English theologian and a Puritan preacher in the 1600’s stated: “Be killing sin or [sin] will be killing you” based on Romans 8:13. The Apostle Paul encouraged the Christian in Rome by stating. “So you also should consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus. Do not let sin control the way you live do not give in to sinful desires. Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God. Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace." Romans 6:11-14
The ability to overcome sin is through the power of God’s Holy Spirit and a desire to stop. King David lived a life that was in close communion with God. Even though his sin was great, he confessed it before God and expressed a desire for God to create within him a clean heart. It was said of him that he was a man after God’s own heart because of his willingness to repent and be cleansed of the sin in his life in order to do God’s will as seen in Psalm 51:10-12 “Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a right spirit within me. Do not banish me from your presence, and don’t take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me again the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you.”
If we do not abide in prayer… we will abide in temptation! That is why Jesus made mention of it in the Lord’s prayer… “ and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.'" Matthew 6:13 Let this be one aspect of our daily intercession: God, preserve my soul, and keep my heart and all its ways so that I will not be entangled.' When this is true in our lives, a passing temptation will not overcome us so easily.
James the brother of Jesus Christ who became the head of the Jerusalem church and is mentioned first as a pillar of the church (Galatians 2:9) gives the saints a threefold remedy in overcoming sin by stating… humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. James 4:7
Yes, it requires effort in prayer to overcome sin in our lives. If we choose to rebel against God’s rule in our lives and rebel against the best life God intended; therefore experience brokenness resulting in pain as the wages of sin wreaks havoc on our lives.
Who will you choose today?
Peace,