Sin. 

 The very first mention of this word is found in Genesis 4:7 and reveals a very insightful characteristic regarding it. We read about it in the exchange God had with Cain, Eve’s firstborn son. 

 It begins first with a question though. God asked Cain: “Why are you angry?” 

 He then gives this warning to Cain saying “sin is lurking/crouching at your door...and it desires to control you...but you should rule over it.” 

 Yeah...let’s sit on that one a moment and ponder it. 

 Paul would write much later on...”Give no place...to the devil.” (Eph. 4:27). Do you know ‘how’...we give place to the devil? It’s through sin. Sin...opens that door. 

 Peter would write as well of the need to “be vigilant...be sober and alert...because your adversary, the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour...Resist him!” (1 Pet. 5:8-9) 

 Sounds like those warnings from Paul and Peter might be good words to heed? 

 I could be wrong, but the words Jesus spoke might be good to pay note to as well. “Go, and sin no more lest something worse happen to you.” (John 5:14) Sin...opens the door...to the thief. (Matt. 24:43) 

 So, just how serious is all this kind of talk? Well...again, all I can do is point you back to the word, let you examine for yourself and then you come to your own conclusion. 

 Jesus taught that “unless you repent you will all likewise perish.” (Luke 13:5) 

 Peter has some pretty sobering thoughts to share when he quoted Moses there in Acts 3:22-23 where it was foretold that God would raise up a Prophet (Jesus) and every soul who will not hear Him in all things will be utterly destroyed from among the people.” 

 Have you ever just looked around the world today...and seen so much suffering...and heartache and pain and destruction and darkness? This is not about seeing the glass a ‘half empty vs. half full’ kind of thing. Ignoring the pain and darkness does not make it go away. And God made a rather profound observation stating that His people...are destroyed for a lack of knowledge. (Hosea 4:6) 

 Would it not be a tragedy to discover all the needless suffering people experienced was simply due to a ‘lack of knowledge’...like God said? What if...the lack of this this ‘knowledge’ had to do with our understanding (or lack thereof) of sin...what it is and what it does? And if sin indeed was/is the problem which is the source of all man’s problems...is there a solution or ‘fix’ out there? Well...yes...I believe there is and the church was ‘supposed’ to be making it quite known. 

 Sin has been the problem and Jesus came to set us free from it along with its control and power and influence over us so that we might truly have abundant life. (Luke 4:18; John 10:10; 8:34-36) 

 How...have we drifted or fallen to such a place where we actually get mad at anyone who might suggest we can do what Jesus commands us to do and ‘go and sin no more’? What is it that rises up in you that wants to denounce such heresy when all you do is read what the bible says? 

 “Whoever abides in Him no longer sins. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him.” (1 John 3:6) 

 “Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin because he has been born of God.” (1 John 3:9) 

 Man....those verses can rub us the wrong way. I hear many sincere, yet struggling believers lament how ‘hard it can be’ at times...to ‘live right’ and ‘obey God’. They do okay for a while...but then fall back in to old ruts and such. “It’s hard...to serve God” they say...but they sure are going to try their best, by golly’. And then they thank God He is loving and forgiving and understands our human weakness. I mean, nobody is perfect, right?! 

 I understand where that comes from and what they are saying. The only problem with buying in to that line of thinking...is doesn’t line up with the word. 

 Do you know what is ‘hard’? “The way of the transgressor/sinner is hard.” (Proverbs 13:15) 

 Jesus said: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matt. 11:28-30). Has it ever occurred to you in all of your struggling that maybe you ‘fell short of His rest’? (Heb. 4:1-10) 

 Jesus said following Him was easy. Did you see that? But you have to ‘come to Him’. He said nothing about it being ‘O, so hard’. 

 John would write this: “For this is love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.” (1 John 5:3) Imagine that... 

 So why do we think it is so hard to ‘please God’ and ‘obey/follow’ Him? Well, the answer is pretty easy to see...it’s hard on the flesh. It’s hard on this ‘old man’. It’s quite challenging when we have a divided heart and don’t want to surrender to Jesus as our Lord. We keep thinking we can serve two masters. Now THAT...is hard. In fact, it’s impossible. It cannot be done. Which takes me back to the point that the reason we have been struggling and suffering is because of sin...which everyone admits they continue to do. And I will submit to you that so much of this is needless because we have believed the lie that we can’t overcome sin in this life. “Everybody sins!”, we tell ourselves. 

 When we find ourselves getting mad at some message (straight out of God’s word) that we can walk free of sin...then that should tell us something right there. Why are you mad at what God says? Do you recall what Paul said God was going to do because people in this day did not have a love for the truth? God was going to send a delusion so people would believe a lie which would lead them to their perishing. (2 Thess. 2:9-12). Yeah...go read that again in Your bible. 

 I left off yesterday suggesting we might see some significant turnaround in our lives if we would just stop making excuses and agree with God for a change. If the word declares that whoever abides in Him will no longer sin....and we continue to sin...then maybe we have not been abiding in Him? Maybe what we have done is walk in a ‘form of godliness but denied the power’ that Paul warned about in 2 Tim. 3:5. 

 If we are warned repeatedly in scripture to ‘be not deceived’ or ‘let no one deceive you with empty words’...is it possible that maybe...we were deceived? I know I was...and for a very long time. I can assure you....I have plenty of scars to prove how long I struggled to do this on my own and on my own terms. They are not pretty. I never fully understood what it meant to ‘abide in Him’. But I sure am getting a good taste of it now, and it is good. Very good. I could spend a lot of time feeling sorry for myself that it took so long to get here...but God reminds me that is in the past...and as Paul advised...’forgetting those things that are behind, I press on to the mark of the high calling in Christ’. (Phil. 3:13). I just want everyone to experience what I have tasted of. 

 So what’s been the turnaround ‘key’ for me, personally? It’s all in ‘abiding’. And I will make this as simple as I can. - 

 You have to come to Jesus. I mean...with your WHOLE heart. He has to become Lord. And here’s a test or illustration to see if you are anywhere close to being ready to do this... 

 I don’t know what your house is like, but over the years, we’ve collected a lot of ...’stuff’. And my wife and I are at that stage where we ‘say’...we want to downsize and declutter our home. We just are not sure where or how to start. I believe there are people and services who actually come in to your home and advise how to do this, for a living. 

 Let’s say you are in this same position...and hired a professional to come in and declutter your home; but there was one condition you had to agree upon first and then sign off before they came in to your home. 

 You had to forsake any and all ‘veto’ power regarding things that are going to be removed from the home. In other words, once they begin, you would not be allowed to hold on to anything they said needed to go. Once they tossed it...it was gone. No negotiating. Would you do this? Could you do this? If not, then you are not ready, nor are you serious about wanting to downsize and declutter. 

 Guess what? Coming to Jesus with your whole heart is no different. When He becomes Master...or Lord ...that is exactly what He begins to do. And the first place He will target is where all your real ‘treasures’ are...your heart. (Matt. 6:21). And those things that you treasured and held on to for so long and so tightly...you will soon discover they were not ‘treasures’ at all. (Mark. 7:21-23). 

 I will say this as gently and as meekly as I can...until...you are ready to come to this place...you will never experience the freedom and peace and the rest...that you have been longing for. 

 You will not be able to ‘abide in Him’ which means you will continue to struggle and sin and ‘fall short’ of all that He has for you. At least the rich young ruler in Matt. 19 was honest enough to admit he was not at the place...when he turned and walked away...grieved and sorrowful. What is terribly sad is ...we have failed to adequately explain...in love and gentleness...the alternative that awaits us if we don’t surrender all. 

And I’m not talking about in ‘the life to come’ either.