Title: The Deception and Plan of Sin
Contents
“When lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death” (James 1:15).
I. The Adversary of the Sanctified Life: Sin
There is only one direction in life that the saved children of God can live. It is to give up all the lusts and lusts of the world before salvation, and to live in honor and obedience to God. It is the duty of a child of God to realize God's plan of creation and the deep meaning of salvation, and to strive to live in obedience to God's commands. A Christian can glorify God only while living that way, and only then can he be happy.
But we still have a corrupt nature and sin within us. So we are sanctified through the sanctification of the Holy Spirit, who constantly purifies us. The greatest enemy in this path of sanctification is sin. Although we are saved, sin lives in the corruption that remains within us, preventing us from living a life of sanctification. This sin works on us in two ways.
II. the work of indwelling sin
1. Force - Requires force
When sin grows in us, it has a powerful force that pushes away our weakness and compels us to live according to our lusts, sin and live against God. Paul experienced this wonderful power of sin. He expressed it as ‘one law’ in Romans 7, and confessed that the law took hold of him. The captive is stronger than the captive. This power of sin, to varying degrees, is at work in every believer. And when we are corrupted from grace, we live according to our greed, and when the grace of the Word and prayer disappears, we develop powerful power and take over our personality and our entire life with our own power. The only power that can overcome the coercive power of sin is the power of grace. Although the power of sin is powerful, the power of grace is far more powerful than that, and can effectively suppress and suppress the power of sin. When a believer is constantly receiving grace, that grace forms a powerful force. So, all of our inner man is filled with the power of grace. Then, even if there is a sin in us, that sin does not have much of an effect on us.
2. deceit - requires intelligence
Another action of sin is deception. Sin deceives unbelievers and deceives believers. Sin works by deception, distracting our thoughts and causing them to stray from the way they should go.
III. The darkness of the soul and the deception of sin
The best circumstance for sin to deceive is when the soul is dark. There are two kinds of darkness of the soul.
1. Darkness of the Soul
1) objective darkness
This is the darkness that disappears quickly when the bright light of the Word shines on it. To overcome the objective darkness, the poet prays in Psalm 119, “Lord, open my eyes, that I may see marvelous things in your law.” We need true knowledge to defeat objective darkness. Therefore, believers should always be those who seek knowledge and wisdom. However, there are people who live in an environment that cannot escape the objective darkness no matter how hard they try. So, those who are in darkness will receive little reproof before God, but those who are in an environment where they can gain the knowledge and wisdom to know the truth if they work hard will receive much reproof before God. The darkness is all gone, and no one can say that they know it all.
2) Subjective Darkness
This is a bigger problem. This is because objective darkness recedes when light shines on it, but subjective darkness is darkness that comes from insisting on being in darkness. What sin hates the most is that believers live in the light. Because when the light shines on it, its identity is revealed. In the darkness of the soul, sin works deceitfully.
2. Deception: The Works of Sin
1) Evidence of the Bible
2) The efficacy of deception
The reason sin deceives the believer is because the deception is very effective. If we are told to sin, we do not do it because sin will give us such joy.
IV. the grim progression of sin
1. Has a clear goal: death
As a man leads an ox to the slaughterhouse, so sin leads men to where they want to go. Its ultimate goal is death. Then the person speaking here applies to both believers and unbelievers. In the case of unbelievers, this is how they live their lives. And while you live on this earth, you will pay the price and pay the remaining price on the day of the Last Judgment. As for the believer, there is no such thing as throwing the soul into hell. But while they are alive, they are disciplined by God. Without such discipline, he is an illegitimate and illegitimate child.
2. The deception of sin: 5 steps
1) “attracted by greed” - mind
First, it is driven by greed. This is not a state of harboring sin in the heart, but a state of deviance of thought. The mind is the unifying headquarters that governs the whole body and soul.
2) “Be deceived” - affect
Second, be deceived. When the state of the soul is very close to sin, it becomes friendly with sin. Even if they cannot grasp the sin with their own hands, they have a desire to get closer to the sin. When the serpent tempts her to eat the forbidden fruit, Eve replies, "May I eat it?" This shows that she already has feelings of sin. The opposite is the case with Joseph. Joseph's heart toward a woman who demanded to be with her was not at all drawn to sin.
3) “With conception”: the conception of sin - will
Third, get pregnant. This depicts how a baby is implanted in a woman's womb. The will plays a decisive role in embracing and conceiving floating thoughts. If the will rejects it, sinful thoughts float around and cannot be conceived. But the will conceives it in its heart, and conceives it, because it brings wonderful pleasure. After such conception, lust grows in the believer.
4) “begets sin”: the birth of sin - will
Fourth, it brings about sin. When the sins conceived in the heart grow sufficiently, they want to put the sins in their hearts into practice. When an environment conducive to crime is created at the time of a special test, the child is born with the help of the will and all organs.
5) “Sin matures”: dominion of sin
Fifth, sin matures and brings forth death. Once born, sin grows and roams around, leading the believer into the dominion of sin. In the end, even though he was saved, he lives a life that has nothing to do with God and lives in the state of death of the soul, who has lost his close relationship with God. 2004-08-08