Discovering Freedom from Sin's Grip Through Christ's Sacrifice
Josh. 7:13b
…thou canst not stand before thine enemies, until ye take away the accursed thing from among you.
How often do we forfeit power with God by harboring unconfessed and unrepentant sin? Any time we reach out and take what God has forbidden, we sin and therefore bring the curse of sin with us. Sin is like a cancer that can only be stopped when it is completely removed. There is truly only one remedy for this today; the blood of Jesus Christ! But before we focus on the remedy, let us first understand the gravity of our condition without it. Let’s start here; James 1:14-15 says, “But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin; and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.” You see, sin is brought forth as a child of lust. One can describe lust in this context as a longing or desire for what is forbidden. Truthfully, any incident where man takes what God has not given is sin. In fact, after careful observation, I believe all sin is in some way related and connected with taking what God has not given.
Think about it. Adam and Eve committed the very first sin by taking that which was not given. Lucifer, while even in Heaven, sought after a glory and a praise which did not belong to him; it only belonged to God. Therefore, just as Lucifer suffered the consequences of his sin and was cast out of Heaven, and just as Adam and Eve were banished from the Garden, so when we take what is forbidden, we are also faced with the cursed consequences of our actions. The ultimate consequence of sin is death. This is an ultimate and fatal consequence. This means that when we take what has not rightfully been given us, we ultimately get taken from us all that was rightfully ours to start with. As the old adage goes, sin will cost you far more than you ever want to pay.
Now then, this tells us that the only pursuits we should be interested in are those which God allows, and those things which God GIVES us. Let us then consider Gal. 3:13-14, which says, “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.” Did you catch that? Christ took the curse of sin on our behalf, so that we could enjoy the fullness of God’s blessings that come when sin is eradicated. The best part? It is a GIFT! When you take Christ, you are taking what God permits, which then cures the curse of sin. Glory!
~ Pastor Gary Caudill
…thou canst not stand before thine enemies, until ye take away the accursed thing from among you.
How often do we forfeit power with God by harboring unconfessed and unrepentant sin? Any time we reach out and take what God has forbidden, we sin and therefore bring the curse of sin with us. Sin is like a cancer that can only be stopped when it is completely removed. There is truly only one remedy for this today; the blood of Jesus Christ! But before we focus on the remedy, let us first understand the gravity of our condition without it. Let’s start here; James 1:14-15 says, “But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin; and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.” You see, sin is brought forth as a child of lust. One can describe lust in this context as a longing or desire for what is forbidden. Truthfully, any incident where man takes what God has not given is sin. In fact, after careful observation, I believe all sin is in some way related and connected with taking what God has not given.
Think about it. Adam and Eve committed the very first sin by taking that which was not given. Lucifer, while even in Heaven, sought after a glory and a praise which did not belong to him; it only belonged to God. Therefore, just as Lucifer suffered the consequences of his sin and was cast out of Heaven, and just as Adam and Eve were banished from the Garden, so when we take what is forbidden, we are also faced with the cursed consequences of our actions. The ultimate consequence of sin is death. This is an ultimate and fatal consequence. This means that when we take what has not rightfully been given us, we ultimately get taken from us all that was rightfully ours to start with. As the old adage goes, sin will cost you far more than you ever want to pay.
Now then, this tells us that the only pursuits we should be interested in are those which God allows, and those things which God GIVES us. Let us then consider Gal. 3:13-14, which says, “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.” Did you catch that? Christ took the curse of sin on our behalf, so that we could enjoy the fullness of God’s blessings that come when sin is eradicated. The best part? It is a GIFT! When you take Christ, you are taking what God permits, which then cures the curse of sin. Glory!
~ Pastor Gary Caudill