“Satan trains
sinners to cover sin with approved nicknames-- superstition may become
devotion; covetousness, thrift; pride, self-respect; carelessness, freedom.
God has never made
a mistake. If something is sweet He will not say it is bitter; if it is good,
He will not call it evil. Do not ever expect to find honey in the pot if God
has written, "poison" on its lid. Instead, let us say of sin what
Abigail said about her husband-- whatever Scripture names it, so it is.
But Satan trains
sinners to cover sin with approved nicknames-- superstitions may become
devotion; covetousness, thrift; pride, self-respect; carelessness, freedom; and
idle word, cleverness. Sinners have to do this of course; a horsemeat sandwich
would make them sick immediately if they knew what it was. Persecutors used to
wrap Christians in animal skins so that the wild beasts would devour them
quickly; and Satan sharpens our appetites by sins garnished with appealing
temptations which conscience cannot easily recognize and reject.
Are you willing to
be cheated like that? Your hand will be just as much charred if you reach out
and take a log out of fire after a hateful fool promises the fire will not burn
you. Hear what the God of truth names sin-- vomit of dogs; venom of serpents;
stench of rotten tombs and sewers; sores, gangrene, and plague. Because even
the horrors of hell struggle to find a name repulsive enough for it, the worst
expression of its putrid nature is to call it by its own name-- "Did
that which is good then prove fatal [bringing death] to me? Certainly not! It
was sin, working death in me by using this good thing [as a weapon], in order
that through the commandment sin might be shown up clearly to be sin, that the
extreme malignity and immeasurable sinfulness of sin might plainly appear, Romans
7:13. Now what should we do to the thing that the great God loathes so much;
and loads with names of dishonor? We must pursue it with the sword He left us
until we have executed the judgment written upon it-- utter destruction!
The
nature of sin is clearly laid out in the Word. God's Word defines it: "John 3:4
AMP Everyone who commits
(practices) sin is guilty of lawlessness; for [that is what] sin is,
lawlessness (the breaking, violating of God’s law by transgression or
neglect—being unrestrained and unregulated by His commands and His will).
In these few words is enough weight to press the sinning soul into hell for
eternity, or to press sin itself to death in the saint's heart, if he seriously
considers truths concerning the nature of sin.”
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