A cheat, a deceiver, and a destroyer!
Sin is an obvious fact of experience, of observation, and of Scripture revelation.
I feel it in my own heart - and I see in others, even in my best friends and loved ones.
The policeman pursues it,
the physician prescribes for it,
the law reveals it,
conscience condemns it,
God surely punishes it,
and yet nobody likes to own it!As a matter of fact - sin is all that anyone really owns; he is merely a steward of everything else he may possess. As obvious as sin is, there is a proneness to treat it like some folks treat their trashy relatives - it is ignored and even denied.
Sin may be defined - but it cannot be fully explained. How sin got started in the universe, is a profound mystery. It had no place in the original creation, which God pronounced good. Sin is a parasite, an interloper in the moral system, and a terrible monstrosity. Sin made its appearance on earth in a garden of delights - and then it turned this fair earth into a wilderness of woe! In the original creation we read only of Heaven and earth - but after sin entered, we are told of everlasting fire prepared for the Devil, his demons, and all the unrepentant.
Sin is a cheat, a deceiver, and a destroyer!
It promises pleasure - and pays off in pain!
It promises life - and pays off in death and damnation!
It promises profit - and pays off in poverty, and the loss of all good!
Every sin is committed for profit or pleasure. Nobody would sin if he did not think that it would profit in some form or other. There is some profit in sin - but it is short-lived.
Moses took a long look and made the wise choice. He chose to suffer affliction with the people of God - rather than enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season. He esteemed the reproach of Christ to be greater riches than the treasures of Egypt. He chose in view of the day of judgment.
Sin is dangerous beyond expression and description. Sin is violation of the moral law of God - and violated divine law cries out for just retribution. Sin is against God, the Judge of all the earth - and must be accounted for before God.
Human society may and often does punish crime - but only God can punish sin. At times, human society may fail to punish the criminal - but God will not fail to punish the sinner who is without a Savior.
All crime against men - is also sin against God.
But not all sin against God - is a crime against men.Human society punishes men for what they do - but God also punishes men for what they are.
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We have published C.D. Cole's excellent theological book, "The Doctrine of God".