Romans 6:20-23 “For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. What fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Last Sunday, Pastor Herk asked the congregation of Little Church in the Pines to hypothetically think about how it would be if they had discovered a cure for cancer and no longer feel the distress of the fatal outcome of that disease in our world. Would you broadcast this cure to everyone you know or met so that they could also be cured of this terminal disease, sharing it with the world to save lives? The Bible teaches us that we all have a deadly spiritual cancer called “sin”. Sin is a dreadful disease, destroying us (our relationships and well-being) from within a little at a time. Not only does the cancerous sin cripple us right now (both morally and spiritually), but destroys us in the future, keeping us from the many blessings that god has in store for us.
Ephesians 2:1,4-5,13 “And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins. But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved). Now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.”
There was a time when all of us were far off because of sin. Ecclesiastes 7:20 says, “For there is not a just man on earth who does good and does not sin.” Romans 3:10, 23 confirms, “There is none righteous, no, not one; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” We were far away from Jesus and didn’t have the priority to get close. For those who are in Christ, all that has changed. We were without Christ, but now Believers are in Christ and the barriers that separated us from God have been removed; not by any of our efforts or merits, but by the atoning blood of Christ shed on the Cross for our sins.
John 8:31-35 Jesus said to the people who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” “But we are descendants of Abraham,” they said. “We have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean, ‘You will be set free’?” Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave of sin. A slave is not a permanent member of the family, but a son is part of the family forever.”
For those of us who know Christ as Savior and Lord, we have found the miracle cure for spiritual cancer. Colossians 1:20 tells us, “by Him [Jesus] to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross.” As disciples of Jesus Christ, we are called to share tis miracle cure for the spiritual cancer for sin. We need to take this spiritual cancer seriously because it is permeating our culture and destroying our society. Sin is devastating individuals and ruining humanity. Proverbs 14:34 states, “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.” Sin is as deadly poisonous as any assassin, cancer or contagion we know.
Proverbs 21:3-4 “To do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice [for wrongs repeatedly committed]. Haughty and arrogant eyes and a proud heart, the lamp of the wicked [their self-centered pride], is sin [in the eyes of God].” The late Christian Theologian C.S. Lewis wrote: The sin of pride is a disease that eats the very possibility of love, contentment and common sense. Cannot we seriously say that any form of sin is a disease that eats away at our love, contentment and common sense, like a cancer?
Ephesians 5:8-17 says. “for you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), as you try to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. Do not participate in the useless deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them; for it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret. But all things become visible when they are exposed by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light. For this reason, it says, “Awake, sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” So then, be careful how you walk, not as unwise people but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil. Therefore, do not be foolish, but
understand what the will of the Lord is.
Let's continue Pastor Herk's message on the spiritual cancer of Sin in our lives on the next post. In Christ, Brian
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