How Much Do You Hate Sin?
It's easy to excuse sin as trivial, but Proverbs calls us to a much higher standard.
The temptation to sin is always a constant struggle.
Sin is presented to us in various forms and is, by definition, alluring. It tugs at us, gnaws at our minds, and invites us to a life outside the one God has designed. This past Sunday, I preached on Ephesians 5 at my church and the importance of guarding our hearts against sexual immorality.
One of the points I emphasized was that sin, especially in the form of sexual temptation, often sneaks up on us after years of following Christ. It wears down our senses, our boundaries, our willpower, and confronts our very motivation for living.
The reality is that God created you to glorify and enjoy him forever, and the easiest way to break your satisfying relationship with God is to sin. When you sin, it is a stab to the very heart of God and the number one way we create barriers in our relationship with him.
Two Ways to Sin
There are two chief ways to define sin, one from a broad perspective and the other from a narrower perspective.
Broad Definition – In its most general sense, to sin is to “miss the mark.” Picture an archery range. Just as a shooter can miss his or her target, sin in a person’s life is missing God’s intended goal. It is any violation of any law put forth by God (1 John 3:4). This includes what we know and do not know.
Narrow Definition – From a narrower point of view, sin is intentionally violating God's known will for our lives. We know what God has said about this act or decision, and we still choose to go against what he has commanded.
Everyone has sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23). You were born with a desire to sin. Sin originated with Satan and came into this world as a result of one man’s choice. Romans 5:12 says sin and death entered into the world because of Adam, the first man ever created. Sin is serious because it separates us from God.
King Solomon writes about this struggle to sin in Proverbs 1:8-19,
8 Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction,
and don’t reject your mother’s teaching,
9 for they will be a garland of favor on your head
and pendants around your neck.
10 My son, if sinners entice you,
don’t be persuaded.
11 If they say—“Come with us!
Let’s set an ambush and kill someone.
Let’s attack some innocent person just for fun!
12 Let’s swallow them alive, like Sheol,
whole, like those who go down to the Pit.
13 We’ll find all kinds of valuable property
and fill our houses with plunder.
14 Throw in your lot with us,
and we’ll all share the loot”—
15 my son, don’t travel that road with them
or set foot on their path,
16 because their feet run toward evil
and they hurry to shed blood.
17 It is useless to spread a net
where any bird can see it,
18 but they set an ambush to kill themselves;
they attack their own lives.
19 Such are the paths of all who make profit dishonestly;
it takes the lives of those who receive it.
The Real Test
To sin is to miss the mark of God’s intended desire for your life. And the test of your hatred for sin is your readiness to exterminate it from your life. Do you hate sin? Do you hate it enough that you will clear out those gray areas of your life? Areas that only God knows about?
This is where being part of a local church is especially important. As Ray Ortlund notes, “We grow not in isolation but in community.”[1] And Proverbs 1 teaches us just how harmful sinful company can be. When we surround ourselves with people who love and enjoy sin, we’ll likely assume many of their ideas.
But when we surround ourselves in community with those who love and serve Jesus, we position ourselves to be conformed to the image of Christ.
*Unless you specify otherwise, comments and questions you ask may be featured in upcoming podcast episodes.
[1] ESV Gospel Transformation Bible
