Having spoken at relative length on the destructive and pernicious nature of sin, it would be unwise to end there; for in many ways that would only inspire fear. Sin is deadly; and it is because of 1 sin alone, the eating of the wrong tree that there is death, sickness, poverty and all the chaos that reigns in the world system and as Paul says, it “crouches at the door ready to consume us” because flagrant, unrepentant sin is a sure highway for the devil to gain access to our lives.
Having realised this, it should then be fairly obvious that the reason sin has a penalty or wages of death is that it strongly comes and works against the operation and fulfilment of the love of God in our lives. However as deadly as sin is, we are not without hope in our lives and neither are we doomed to live lives of sin. If any thinks otherwise, I would recommend reading up on Joseph and Daniel’s lives. In many ways they were victorious and led pure and upright lives; the bible records no sin to my knowledge of either of these two. Even the apostle Paul in the time his new birth and the apostle John are worthy of mention here. You see, none of these individuals were superman; none was made of what is not flesh and common to man but it is all about their chose to trust and walk in the ways of an extra-ordinary God. God is not a respecter of persons, and because he loves you and hates sin He will give you a way out.
The word says resist the devil and He will flee from you; and it also says if you are a believer, you will not be tempted beyond what you are able to bear and even though you may be tempted, there will be a way out provided by God. This is not a suggestion, nor some performance reward but rather just the reality of how things will be in your life and you need to believe this, no matter how strongly bound to sin you may feel. You see, feelings happen but they change like the wind and are no good to base life on. If you are born again, the bible says you are dead to sin and therefore how can you live any longer to it? Because this death is directly juxtaposed to the death of Christ, it is a death to the imputation of sin to our account, we will never suffer the consequences of punishment to sin and out of this knowledge. And out of this knowledge, we are to move out of the presence of sin as well. You see, the work that Jesus has done is not merely the price, the power and the consequences of sin; no, even the very presence of sin in your life, Jesus came to destroy.
Destroying only the consequences would be like a doctor who stops the weight loss and the flu, but allows the virus to remain in your body wherein you can still transmit it to another to suffer. Jesus Christ on the cross paid the penalty for sin, that we would not suffer the consequences thereof and that we would be made his righteousness; and also has paved a way for us to live lives like Daniel, like Joseph and Paul that become known for their purity and devotion to the way of He who gives life.
This is possible because God loves you, and He is with you always. The Holy Spirit is your comforter, your friend, your guide and a dear protector who will never cease from helping you when you need Him. Your only part is to believe and trust Him. For today I am done. On another day, I will talk about the difference between a sin and a weight; but that is a story for another day.