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BY TONY HOSS
Satan’s goal is to lead Christians away from God, and one way he accomplishes this is by convincing people to do things that are harmful to their souls. Satan understands that if he can persuade mankind that sin isn’t as harmful as it might appear, if he can cause mankind to minimize the result of sins in his own mind; he can accomplish his goal of human destruction.
The earliest example of this is seen in the Garden of Eden. Despite God’s warning, Satan told man “Ye shall not surely die” (Genesis 3:4-5 KJV). Satan changed just one word, telling the first couple that if they ate of the fruit of the tree in the midst of the garden they would not die.
Ever since that day, Satan repeatedly returns to his bag of deceit and mankind continues to fall for his message of destruction. He tells many that drugs won’t hurt you, that just one sip of alcohol will not harm you. He blinds the eyes of others when it comes to the physical and spiritual diseases that are associated with sin, convincing them to remember the fun they can have. When people doubt their actions they often say things like “I know it is wrong, but . . .” It’s as if they think the excuse will somehow turn a wrong into a right. We must not be convinced that our wrongs can become right. Sin is always wrong, even wrong if we do not know better. One prime example in the scriptures was seen when the Jewish people murdered the Son of God. We know that many were just following the crowd. They didn’t realize what they were doing was wrong (Acts 3:17-19). According to Acts 17:23-30, God will not overlook mankind’s ignorance concerning His laws. Some find this appalling but we have the same standards written within our laws that we find totally acceptable. One example is seen in the laws regarding speed of vehicles on our roadways. Even if one is not aware of a speed on a certain road they are still amenable to the law and subject to punishment when violating that law.
Some claim that sin is not sin if they thought it was the right thing to do. This is no excuse; the apostle Paul was able to say that he always felt he did the right thing. He stated that his conscious was clear in Acts 23:1. He led the Jewish assault on Christians, those whom he saw as traitors to the Law of Moses. In Acts 8:3, 22:4-5, we learn that he dragged many Christian individuals and families to prisons and consented to their deaths. When Stephen was stoned (Acts 7:58-59), Paul stood by them in all self-righteousness. However, Paul’s view of righteousness did not excuse him. This same man would eventually realize his true state, that he was a sinner (1 Timothy 1:15).
Some rely on their own reasoning, claiming if a sin is legal then it is no sin at all. While many sins receive the blessing of our government, God is the source of all authority and no government by its decrees can change right into wrong (Isaiah 5:20-23). In Acts 5:29, we learn, “We ought to obey God rather than man.” The Greek word translated “ought to” carries with it the idea that there is a need to do something. Though some respected individual in our government, family, or religion approves of a sin it is still sin. Satan does his best to disguise sin according to (2 Cor. 11:14). Knowing the ability of Satan we must put forth every effort to test for the truth (1 John 4:1).
Some say if their sin does not hurt anyone then its OK. This is oftentimes used to excuse sexual sins. Many say their actions were consensual. Paul teaches in 1 Corinthians 6:13-20, that even if no else is harmed in a sinful act that the soul of the perpetrator was harmed. Many believe if they are not caught by someone in a sin, that it will be OK. We should remember that God sees everything, there is nothing that can be hidden from Him, even our supposed secret sins (Hebrews 4:13, Psalms 139:11-12; 90:7-8). Some judge their sinful actions by the acts of others but God approves of no sin. To be honest we cannot judge ourselves by the standard of others when it is the standard that God has given by which we will be judged. Romans 1:28-32.
In the end many will say they cannot help themselves. This is often the excuse given by the fornicator, the adulterer and the alcoholic (1 Peter 4:1-5). In all honesty, people can’t stop thinking about sin because they allow it to be a part of their lives. We cannot allow sin to dominate our minds and bodies because sin is sin, wrong does not miraculously become a right. While sin cannot change what it is, you and I can be what we are. You can leave sin and its filth behind you and ever look to God having your sins washed away by the blood of Christ.
(Tony Hoss is minister at the Centerview Church of Christ, Elizabethton.)