Psalm 51:4 “Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight; so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge.”
I heard an interesting thought recently regarding sin. A teacher recently summarized that sin can be categorized into three subtypes as demonstrated in 1 John.
1 John 2:16 “For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world.”
Any teaching, irrespective of the teacher must conform to scripture for it to remain true. I’m writing this entry as I explore the verdict of scripture with regard to sin, I hope to understand how human failure toward God can help prepare the faithful pilgrim in avoiding the pitfalls of life.
As we explore a synopsis of sin, we can both determine its origin and establish the right course of righteousness. Ultimately, a good course correction can keep the believer from proceeding too far down a path of destruction.
Psalm 27:11 “Teach me your way, O LORD, and lead me on a level path because of my enemies.”
The good path of righteousness is the pathway of life. To be found righteous is to be found obedient toward God’s law. The law of the Lord is perfect says the Psalmist, and to walk in God’s perfection requires guidance. Without guidance, the pilgrim is left seeking out the path of life without a roadmap.
Human vision is limited in scope and perspective. We can only see as far as our line of vision allows us. We can ascend the mountain and gain more perspective but even that is limited, once back on the path the journey continues and the way isn’t always easy, matter of fact the easy part is the exception, not the rule.
Spiritually, the mountain perspective is given by God. There are times when He takes us up and transfigures our perspective from a human point of view into witnessing the glory of God’s perspective. For the unbeliever, the divine perspective is meant to draw them into a surrender of their will. For the faithful pilgrim, the perspective brings a reminder of the hope of God’s eternal purpose and reinforces a faith that was born in absolute trust.
Trusting in the will of man leads to death, trusting in God’s will leads to life.
The pathway of life is fraught with trouble and difficulty. The enemy of our souls would like nothing more than to see the pilgrim who desires to be pleasing to the Lord, fail. Recognizing the traps that lay ahead can help navigate the path of life and keep the faithful from falling into despair.
Lust of the Eyes
Do we have a choice as to what we allow ourselves to see?
The world lures people into purchasing products, accepting images by which they want to be defined, or presenting a self-image that seems impossible to attain. Men are particularly susceptible to lust of the eyes since much of what they take in can affect them personally.
Matthew 6:22-23 “The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!”
When Jesus reflected on the quality of a person’s eye, He was speaking to their heart. What the eye chooses to see illumines the body with those thoughts. When the heart is full of lust, it affects all of the person.
Lust can take many forms, besides lusting after another person, people will lust after their neighbors things…also known as covetousness.
The commandment was quite clear..
Exodus 20:17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.”
The 10th commandment strikes at the heart of man’s pride, selfishness, ego, and ultimately the flesh. The desire for that which has not been given is a heart of discontent, lacking trust, and seeking after its own.
Romans 7:7-8 “What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.” But sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness. For apart from the law, sin lies dead.”
We must guard ourselves against what we choose to see. Being honest with ourselves about the lust of the eyes brings a strength that quietly produces righteousness. The Lord sees your faithfulness when you choose to honor Him with your eyes.
Lust of the Flesh
All that is of the flesh is all that is material. The flesh can be summarized by human nature and it is a nature that has been corrupted. When a person sins in the flesh, they move from looking with sinful intention to acting on the sin.
Matthew 26:41 “Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
The enemy knows our weaknesses and exploits them to the fullest extent possible. In a world of smart phones, cable television, and the internet, there is no shortage of enticements. The more a person is given over to these sins, the darker their life transcends into hopelessness, despair, and isolation.
When a man and woman choose to enter into the covenant of marriage, their flesh individually is conjoined with the other. When sin enters into one of their lives, it affects the other. There is no quicker way to damage a marriage than to allow sin to progress without hinderance.
James 5:16 “Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.”
When the Spirit of God brings conviction of sin, don’t hesitate to address it. Confess the sin to God and to one another, allow the healing to take place and growth to occur by strengthening one another.
Pride of Life
The exaltation of man is at the core of nearly every failure in history. From Adam and Eve to King David, the act of rebelling against God’s commands was formed through foolish ambition and vain conceit.
Proverbs 16:18-19 “Pride goes before destruction,
and a haughty spirit before a fall.
It is better to be of a lowly spirit with the poor
than to divide the spoil with the proud.”
Name an action that offends God’s nature and you’ll see mankind elevating the desire to please oneself over obedience to God. Mankind at the very core is self gravitating, filled with every evil intent to exalt the flesh over all else. History has proven this to be true.
The sweet little grandma may not seem to have an evil thread to her person but examine the whole of her life and you’ll see a different story. Some people do better at subduing this nature, but what we witness with our eyes doesn’t always reveal the heart.
Jeremiah 17:9 “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?”
Since pride dominates the unrepentant heart, lust is paraded like an exhibition of shame, and the flesh continually craves to be satisfied…what can be done for those who wish to escape its grip?
The Heart of Righteousness
Galatians 5:16-17 “So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh craves what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are opposed to each other, so that you do not do what you want.”
At the heart of righteousness is the Spirit of God. The only way to escape the throngs of sin and death is to be washed white by the sanctifying blood of Christ. For those who have given their lives to Jesus, He redeems them from death to life and the Spirit of God inhabits their being.
Once a person has been transformed by the power of God, the nature of God leads on toward righteousness. Righteousness is practiced through obedience, faithfully adhering to the moral law, faithfully responding to the Spirits guidance in Truth.
As long as the body exists, there will be a sinful nature waiting to fulfill its lusts. For believers in Christ, there is a great hope.
Revelation 21:5-7 “And the One seated on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” Then He said, “Write this down, for these words are faithful and true.” And He told me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give freely from the spring of the water of life. The one who overcomes will inherit all things, and I will be his God, and he will be My son.”
The sins of the flesh will pass away, yet these bodies of sin will be made new. For those who commit their lives unto Jesus, He will reign with them and they will walk in holiness because of what He has done.
There is great hope for the redeemed, for those who walk in Truth and Righteousness life will soon take a dramatic turn for the better.
Wait…God’s people will see their salvation and the world will know its shame…wait on the Lord, He is faithful to keep His promises.
U.T. 