So you’ve heard it all before, the whole spiel about sin. You went through confirmation. You know that God loves you and forgives you because Jesus died for your sin. You hear it every time in church. It’s called the gospel. It’s called good news. But sometimes we just see it as old hat. We’ve heard it so many times that we take it for granted. We don’t dare say it. We don’t dare think it. But when the moment of temptation comes along we don’t really fight it, either, because… well… God will forgive me, right?
But today’s post is about the seriousness of sin. We are in the midst of 30 days of prayer and purpose. But how can we have any Christian purpose if we don’t take sin seriously?
So what do we do about sin?
… well …
First we gotta stomp it out!
We have to avoid it whenever we can. David should have stomped out the temptation the moment he laid eyes on Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11). Achan should have stomped it out when he saw that beautiful cloak from Shinar and the 200 shekels of silver and the bar of gold (Joshua 7). Cain should have stomped it out when the green-eyed monster put a club in his hand (Genesis 4). Jacob should have stomped it out when Isaac questioned the sound of Jacob’s voice and smelled his clothes (Genesis 27). Moses should have stomped it out before he struck the rock in anger (Numbers 20). Judas should have stomped it out before kissing our Lord’s cheek (Matthew 26). Peter should have stomped it out before the rooster crowed the second time (Mark 14).
I could go on and on.. and on.
What about you?
You gotta stomp it out, too!
We have got to treat sin like a cockroach. What does that mean?
…Well…
Is there anybody who can honestly say they appreciate cockroaches? Of course not! You better believe that if I walk into my kitchen in the middle of the night and flip on the light and see a cockroach, it’s going to be a dead cockroach! The only good cockroach is a dead one. If you are a cockroach in my house you’re gonna die.
And I don’t mean I am going squeal like my wife does and just swat at it. No! I get passionate about killing cockroaches. If you’re a cockroach, I am going to run you down. I am going show no mercy. If you are a cockroach in my house, I am going to call the exterminator and we’re gonna kill your momma, your daddy, and your cousins. We’re gonna find you at your family reunion and we’re gonna kill your whole clan! Because roaches must die! They cannot be allowed to take over. And they will, if given a chance.
Nobody wants roaches in their house.
And folks, sin is like a cockroach. There isn’t any room for it in God’s household, either. If you know where a cockroach is residing in your house, stomp it out! Don’t let it live there because it is only going to multiply. Jesus said, “If your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off” (Matthew 5:30). The Apostle Paul said, “put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, and evil desires” (Colossians 3:5).
Put it to death! Stomp it out!
Thoughts to Ponder
- Do you ever find that you use the Gospel as an excuse to keep sinning? Maybe this doesn’t even register in your mind. It can be so easy for us to just assume God will always forgive us and so we stop caring what His will is in our everyday living.
- What two or three sinful behaviors do you need to stomp today?
- Where is sin at work in your family? What things are you being permissive of in the lives of your family when you should be seeking to hold them accountable?
Prayer Starter
O HEAVENLY FATHER, I, a miserable and wretched sinner, come before You with nothing but my sins, and so I dare not even lift up mine eyes to Your most holy majesty on high. I feel terrible for having so often offended You and disobeyed Your voice. I feel terrible for sometimes not even caring that my sinful choices offend You. Alas, there is in me no good thing. Your holy Word declares that I have been conceived and born in sin. From my youth, I have lived in sin, and do so to this day. Help me, Lord! Help me stomp it. Help me to find comfort and strength in Your boundless, unsearchable, infinite, and unspeakable grace and mercy, which You have promised in Your word to all sinners like me. For the sake of Jesus receive me again into grace, and do not let His bitter sufferings and death and His perfect, precious ransom, which He has paid for my sins, be lost upon me. Let today be better than yesterday. But even if it is worse, give me faith to cling to the cross. Give my Your holy purpose in the way that I live, today. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
O Lord, open my lips... 