The Sad Fruits of Sin
By John Fast
As we have seen from our previous studies, God intervenes to prevent the actual commission of much of the sin which people have conceived in their wills. He does so by either neutralizing their power to sin or by changing a person’s will to sin. We have also seen that the most severe and horrible judgment which God can inflict on any people is to give them over to their own wills to do those things that are not proper (Rm 1:28), and to leave them judicially and irretrievably blinded by their own false hopes and security (Jn 9:39-41). Jesus Himself declared, “For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see; and that those who see may become blind” (Jn 9:39). The Laodiceans could not have been more blind and self-deceived to their true spiritual condition (Rv 3:17), and we are no less susceptible to deception than they.
It now remains to demonstrate the power and efficacy which the law of indwelling sin has had in all generations, even in true believers, as evidenced by its bad and tragic fruit. It is self-evident that sin and evil have risen to exorbitant heights, and exalted itself against God, Jesus Christ, and His true church. As wise Solomon once wrote, “Is there anything of which one might say, ‘See this, it is new’? Already it has existed for ages which were before us” (Eccl 1:10). The heart of man does not change. The sins which have always plagued mankind are all still with us. No person, no generation is immune from sin’s power and deceptions, but some generations surpass others in their degree of sin and evil.
God described the generation which came out of Egypt as “this evil generation”, and as such they were not allowed to “see the good land which I swore to give to your fathers” (Dt 1:35). Even after forty-years in the wilderness, Moses declared the generation which did enter the land of Canaan to be “a perverse and crooked generation” (Dt 32:5). During the time of the Judges “there arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord…Then the sons of Israel did evil in the sight of God and served the Baals” (Jg 2:10, 11). This led to further evil and idolatry so that another generation not only served the Baals, but also “the Ashtaroth, the gods of Aram, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the sons of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines; thus they forsook the Lord and did not serve Him” (Jg 10:6). Jesus characterized His own generation as sinful, adulterous, and unbelieving (Mk 8:38; 9:19). The Apostle Paul told the Christians in Philippi that they lived “in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation” (Phil 2:15). Wherever the true gospel of Jesus Christ has been known and believed, the generation that corrupts, forsakes, and rejects it cannot help but surpass previous generations in sin and evil. The worst thing any people can lose is not their prosperity, their military might, or even their freedom, but the true knowledge of God and the gospel of Jesus Christ. There is much talk about making America great, but not a hint or sign of any desire, even on the part of the mass of professing Christians, of turning from our evil ways. The universal and woeful effects of sin are unmistakable evidence of sin’s power and presence in the world.
Sin’s Power Aggravated by Satan
Sin’s corrupting power is further aggravated by a busy devil. Satan is vastly superior in his natural intelligence, power, and abilities than mankind. He and his legions are infinitely more cunning and clever than us. When Satan fell from his highly exalted position he lost his place, but not his power; “the whole world lies in the power of the evil one” (1 Jn 5:19). His knowledge has been corrupted, not lost. He has turned all his power and cunning to evil ends. Satan is not only evil, but he is maliciously evil. He kills for the sake of killing. He destroys for the sake of destroying.
As evil spirits, demons are invisible, as are all their activities. Many people imagine there is a devil lurking behind every bush, yet remain totally unaware of the sin and evil they carry around with them in their hearts and minds which Satan uses to his advantage. He knows human nature, not omnisciently like God, but by observation. He cannot read our thoughts, but he does hear what we say and see what we do. He knows how to fashion his enticements to a person’s own unique lusts, desires, and weaknesses. Satan subtly works according to the inclinations of our own nature so that people think he had nothing to do with their sin. He does not put evil into us, but only promotes the sin and evil he finds in us. Satan and his minions have power and cunning, first, to set objects before us; secondly, to poison the imagination and entice a person to reason with him; then he will work on your affections to entangle them; and in so doing to incline the will to sin, because he cannot force it. He has had millennia of experience and observation.
As a spiritual being Satan is immortal; our enemy never dies, he never grows tired, and he never gives up. He has the leisure of time to subtly multiply and refine his deceptions over several generations. He may retire in order to lull us into a false security, but he returns at a more opportune time (Lk 4:13). By his subtle temptations and deceits he has plunged most of the world into spiritual darkness, blindness, idolatry, and most dangerous of all, a false, Laodicean-like spiritual security (Rv 3:17). A godly American preacher of the early 19th century spoke truly when he said,
“It is easy to alarm the humble, who know the deceitfulness of their own hearts; but to demolish a false hope, deeply embedded in selfishness and ignorance, and sworn to by the grand deceiver, this the labor, this the task is. I would rather undertake to convert ten infidels, than to demolish one false hope, especially if pampered by the sacramental elements.” (The Life and Sermons of Edward D. Griffin, Banner of Truth, vol.1, 386)
This describes the great majority of what passes for Christianity today, especially in the Western world, and even more especially here in the so-called “Bible-belt” of America. The bulk of professing Christians today are chained to a false hope; they are depending on a form of godliness without its power; they put their hope in religion and subjective emotional experiences, not in Jesus Christ and Him crucified. We live in a time that is not conducive for discovering and demolishing false hopes, but one that is feverishly engaged in instilling, flattering, and affirming them. A false hope once rooted and indulged is rarely ever destroyed until death rips it away.
Satan has infested professing Christianity with a multitude of heresies, false gospels, false Christs, false securities, false hopes, false reasonings, false practices, and false forms of worship, and greatly promoted and exalted humanistic principles and atheistic philosophies. The primary target of all of Satan’s malicious power and cunning are true believers. His aim is to cause them to stumble, to dishearten them, to cause them to doubt God, His word, and His promises; to devour their faith and render them useless for the cause of Christ. He cannot touch Christ, so Satan goes after those who are His. He knows how to play on our fears, exaggerate perceived offenses and problems, and will tell us all our hopes are in vain. He does everything in his power to call into question the love and faithfulness of God. Satan will maliciously suggest, “You never used to have such trials as you do now. You cannot be in the right way or God would be helping and blessing you more, and you would not be experiencing such opposition, setbacks, and discouragements. Is all this trouble and self-denial really worth it? Why not live like everyone else? Others who claim to be Christians accommodate the world to their beliefs, and they do not have the troubles you have. Is it really necessary to take the Bible so literally? Why toil and suffer your life away for some religious ideal? If God’s promises are really true then why are you not experiencing His blessings?” Tragically Satan has often succeeded in deceiving some of God’s most eminent saints, thereby bringing reproach on the cause of Christ and robbing them, not of their salvation, but of their peace, assurance, and usefulness.
In this time of easygoing, comfortable, respectable, and complacent Christianity we need to be reminded, and to remind ourselves, that it really does cost to be a man or woman whom God can use. The price of discipleship is never cheap. No one can pursue and attain a Christlike character for nothing; no one can do a Christlike work except at a great price. It is easy to pray a little; to give a little; to work a little; to help a little; to trust a little; to obey a little; to sacrifice a little; to deny self a little; to suffer a little for a little while; to love a little; to believe a little of the Bible; to have a little Christianity. But here and there will be found those who have been in Christ’s own training school, who have been humbled by their own sin, unbelief, and weaknesses, taught to distrust their own understanding, and to feel their own nothingness. Unexceptional and weak perhaps, unknown and insignificant, yet willing to go anywhere, to be anything or nothing, to do anything, to go to great lengths to carry out God’s purposes, and ready, through and by His grace, to submit to His conditions, count the cost, and pay the price.
Sin’s power has prevailed still further by the exaltation of Satan’s instruments to positions of great power, wealth, and influence in the world. The spirit of antichrist now permeates essentially every institution – government, education, business, science, media, and religion – so that virtually all has been subdued by them. In addition to this, many other instruments of the devil, many heretics, false teachers, and infidels, have come to dominate the literature, music, radio, television, internet, and pulpits of professing Christendom, exalting themselves against Christ and His church with great pride and contempt. Satan’s servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. They come under the pretense of godliness. Satan can preach amazingly through his instruments. He can quote Scripture flawlessly. The evil fruit of sin’s power is to be seen everywhere, even sadly in the lives of true believers.
However, the power of sin in a believer has God-imposed limits. God will permit Satan to sift His own like wheat. It wasn’t simply Peter who Satan demanded to sift like wheat, but all the disciples, “Satan has demanded permission to sift you” (second person plural, “all of you”) “like wheat” (Lk 21:31). But God’s sovereign power and grace turns our temptations and sin into triumph. God sanctifies our failures for good and holy ends. They make a true believer pray more. They expose our frailty and weaknesses. They humble us and make us distrustful and suspicious of our own hearts and understanding. They convince us by experience that apart from Christ and His grace we are nothing and can do nothing. It is one thing to confess this truth and quite another to truly know and feel it in our own experience. The more I see of myself and the more I learn of Christ, the more I am amazed that He could ever love such a one as I and give me a place among His children. If ever there was one who deserved eternal torment in hell away from His presence it is I, and I am astonished at His grace toward one so lukewarm, unfaithful, and unbelieving as me. We learn the necessity of always wearing the full armor of God and never setting aside any piece of it even for a moment (Eph 6:11). We see the preciousness of Christ’s blood to cleanse us from our sin and the necessity of a Mediator and Great High Priest (Hb 9:11-14). When you have fallen into sin there is a cry within you. This cry is not from yourself, your old nature, but the Spirit of God within you cries out, then God forgives and says, “Go and sin no more”, and then you are humbled by the grace of God. When we have been through Satan’s wringer and have experienced his strategy, we can pity, have patience with, and with gentleness help those who are weak and tempted.
The Fruit of Sin’s Power
The tragic fruit of sin’s power in the life of believers are of two general sorts:
- The actual outbreaks and occurrences of sin in their lives
- The habitual deterioration, weakening, and corrosion of obedience, faith, love, holiness, grace, and communion with God from the level which they once enjoyed
Both of these, according to the principle found in James 1:14 are to be attributed to the law of indwelling sin. They comprise the fourth step in sin’s progress; that of giving birth to sin. Both of these are convincing evidences of sin’s power and efficacy in the life of true believers.
The Actual Outbreaks of Sin
The Bible is full of the accounts of great outbursts of actual sin erupting in the lives of true believers. We could mention Abraham’s failure in twice passing Sarah off as his sister and not his wife, or Moses, out of anger and frustration, dishonoring God (Num 20:7-13). There is David’s adultery and murder, Solomon’s heart being turned away from God by his pagan wives (1 Kg 11:3), and Peter’s denial of Jesus and his misrepresenting the gospel of Jesus Christ (Gal 2:11-15). It is not necessary to mention all of the scandalous examples and the circumstances which bred them in order to make our point. However, a few observations about these accounts will be helpful in making our point all the more clear.
First, most of these eruptions of actual sin were in the lives of those who had a reputation for being eminent saints in their generation. They were not your ordinary and average churchgoer, but those whom we are told walked more closely with God in their time; people such as Noah, Job, Lot, David, Solomon, Hezekiah, and others who were head and shoulders above their contemporaries in real faith and holiness. That which could provoke such outbursts of sin, even some of the most horrible sins, in the likes of spiritual giants such as these must be of great power and efficacy. No ordinary power could have diverted such saints from their habitual course of obedience. It is a power that not even those whom the Bible holds up as examples of faith, not even the most spiritually strong and healthy persons, could withstand.
Secondly, these giants of the faith did not fall into their great sins when they were but mere babes in the faith. It was not at a time when they had yet to experience very little of the works and power of God, or seen and known very little of His goodness, faithfulness, compassion, and forgiveness, or experienced the joys and rewards of obedience. It was not when they were ignorant of sin’s power, craftiness, deceit, temptations, and solicitations. Rather it was after a long history of walking with God and after a repeated experiential acquaintance with all these things, as well as after many warnings and admonitions to guard their own hearts. For sin to prevail upon people such as these; people who were well acquainted with sin’s power and deceit, who knew and loved the will and word of God, and who had for many years consistently resisted sin’s solicitations and walked in obedience, this is compelling evidence for a power and efficacy that is too strong for anything but the grace and power of Almighty God to resist. It necessitates being “strong in the Lord, and in the strength of His might” (Eph 6:10). It requires putting on the full, not partial, armor of God to “be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil”, and to “be able to resist in the evil day” (Eph 6:11, 13). Who today can claim to have a greater inherent strength than these people had? Who can say they possess a greater experiential faith, have seen and known more of God’s power, felt more of His love, seen more of His glory, and experienced more communion and sweet fellowship with God than these people did? Yet despite all their spiritual greatness, privileges, and maturity, see how even they were overcome by the power of sin.
Thirdly, notice that many of these great saints whom we now admire fell into sin not long after experiencing some extraordinary work and mercy of God. Immediately after hearing the promise of God, that by the next year she herself would bear a son, instead of praising and trusting God’s promise, Sarah laughed at, and then lied about laughing at the prospect of her having a child in her old age (Gn 18:11-15). Soon after God delivered Hezekiah from his mortal illness he fell into the sin of pride and boasting (Is 39:1-6). Early on in his reign Asa trusted solely in God to give Israel a great victory over a vastly superior Ethiopian army, “Then Asa called to the Lord his God, and said, ‘Lord, there is no one besides You to help in the battle between the powerful and those who have no strength;’ ” (2 Chron 14:11). But later on in his reign Asa fell into the sin of placing his trust in man, not God, and “relied on the king of Aram and have not relied on the Lord your God” (2 Chron 16:7-10). Even at the end of his life when, “Asa became diseased in his feet…yet even in his disease he did not seek the Lord, but the physicians” (2 Chron 16:12). David was enjoying a time of peace and the subjection of all his enemies, and he used this time of peace to plot and commit adultery and murder. Immediately after Peter confessed Jesus to be the Son of God the devil attempted to use Peter to prevent Jesus from carrying out His divine mission (Mt 16:23), and thereby rendering “powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil” (Hb 2:14). This tendency to fall into sin after great mercies seems to be have been permitted by God to serve as a warning, and to instruct us in the truth of sin’s power, so that no one at any time should deceive themselves into a false security and think they are immune from sin’s power, deceit, and efficacy, and from flattering themselves that they can be safe from its power by any other means than a total and constant dependence on the strength of His might to resist sin’s power and efficacy.
With Blessings Come Dangers
These special times of God’s mercy and blessing are often one of the most dangerous times in the life of a Christian. Satan is a constant enemy to Christians, but there are two times when he exerts extra malice; when the believer is at their worst and lowest, and when they are at their best. Of these two, seasons of blessing are oftentimes the most dangerous. If Satan was so bold and impudent to tempt Jesus, he can have no hesitancy in tempting a weak believer. Like weeds that spring up with the first warmth of spring, so there are certain sins that remain in our corrupt natures which are prone to grow under times of blessing.
One of these sins is spiritual pride. Even the Apostle Paul required “a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan” to keep him from exalting himself (2 Cor 12:7). The greatness of Paul’s blessing came with the risk of an equally great danger. If Paul’s danger was not so real and great, the means for preventing it would not have been so necessary, severe, humbling, and perpetual. The most dangerous time to be tempted to sin is when we think we have conquered our sin. We are most susceptible to deception when we think we are too cleaver to be deceived, which is itself a deception. “Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall” is no idle warning (1 Cor 10:12). It was when they were the most self-confident that Satan sifted the disciples like wheat (Mk 14:27-31).
The blessings of prosperity and accommodation present their own dangers. Such times breed a lazy contentment with present conditions, and blindness to spiritual dangers. The Laodiceans thought themselves rich and in need of nothing (Rv 3:17). When Israel prospered they rejected God and His prophets (Neh 9:25, 26). It is hard for people to truly set their minds on things above and be desirous of heaven when they are so preoccupied with trying to have heaven on earth. Sadly, the mass of professing Christians today seem determined not to be burdened with any more religion than will allow them to take the world with them to heaven and keep them out of hell. Prosperity has weakened the church, and firmly bound us to the world and its wisdom. Simply walk into most any “Christian” bookstore to observe this truth on full display.
The blessing of religious freedom (and it is a divine blessing, not a human right) poses great spiritual dangers. No one would deny the horrific acts of evil that have been perpetrated under religious tyranny, nor would anyone ever advocate the abolition of religious freedom. However, we ignore the spiritual dangers that come with this blessing to our peril. There is nothing more common than to make and serve idols with God’s blessings (Ezk 16:17-21). The danger comes from all religions being regarded as equally salvific, or equally capable of restraining indwelling sin, and in the process losing the knowledge of the only true God and gospel of Jesus Christ, and substituting a form for its power (2 Tm 3:5). Today this blessing has become an idol of the first magnitude. Just because we enjoy the blessing of religious freedom do we think we are free from the power and deceit of sin and the malice of Satan? Are we better than Noah? Are we more holy, wise, and watchful than David? Do we enjoy greater spiritual privileges, better promises, and have more severe warnings than the Apostle Peter? Are we better than the Apostle Paul who required a thorn in his flesh? Are we immune from the same deceptions and sins which plunged professing Christendom into spiritual darkness for a thousand years until the Reformation? Are we freer from the love of the world than was Demos? Do we think there is no devil that can lead people around by the nose in the midst of their counterfeit religion and blind them to the true gospel of Jesus Christ, and in the name of religion incite them to perpetrate all sorts of evil?
O, how often has the power of sin prevailed in the lives of the most eminent saints! There is no end to the examples. The Bible does not hide or gloss over the sins of the most outstanding believers. Their sins are not displayed for us to imitate, or to justify our own sin, but to be avoided. They are set up as buoys to mark the rocks, shoals, and sandbars on which others have suffered spiritual shipwreck, and would have even ruined themselves had not God in His faithfulness graciously intervened to prevent it, rescue them, and use their sin to greatly humble them and make them more watchful over their own hearts. Should this not make us more watchful and suspicious over our own hearts? Should it not make us more cautious to be good Bereans? Should it not make us more patient and forbearing with other’s weaknesses? Do you dare rest your hope of heaven and eternal life on your own good opinion of yourself? Better people than you or I have been deceived by the power of sin. By this the desperate pride and madness of our human nature is evidenced, that in all things we resent and shun being cheated and deceived in the things pertaining to our life in this world, but in the greatest and most important things of all we are willfully ignorant and misled. Most people would rather be under the guidance of their own lusts, wills, false hopes, and opinions, and consequently of Satan himself, than place their neck under the yoke of Jesus Christ. Yes, the evidence for sin’s power and efficacy can be clearly seen by the eruption of actual sin in the lives of believers, even the most renowned believers.
In Habitual Declines
Sin exhibits its power in the habitual deterioration, weakening, and corrosion of zeal, obedience, faith, love, holiness, grace, and communion with God from the level which a believer, a church, and a nation had at one time attained and enjoyed. Precious and plentiful are the resolutions and promises we make to read our Bibles more, to pray more, to study more, to do more, to spiritual growth, perseverance, reform, and improvement. The spiritual benefits we hope to attain are admirable and inexpressible. Yet how often is it among professing Christians that the outcome is decays, sluggishness, and reversals instead of growth and improvement. What else is this to be attributed to but to the power and efficacy of indwelling sin? It requires more power to effect a spiritual deterioration in a true believer than it does to deceive, blind, and overcome a false professor. The wind that will topple a dead tree will hardly move a tree that is alive and well-rooted, but even a healthy mature tree can be infected with a corrupting disease. The Bible is full of examples of people and churches who did not finish as well as they began. There are very few Job’s whose latter days are more blessed than their beginning (Job 42:12).
The Lord was with Jehoshaphat “because he followed the example of his father David’s earlier days” (2 Chr 17:3), because David’s latter days were tainted by the power of indwelling sin. In David’s younger days, when he was full of zeal, love, humility, faith, and love for God, we see no hint of those sins which in his latter days brought such shame and harm to himself, his family, and to Israel. As long as the priest Jehoiada was alive, Joash walked with God, but after Jehoiada’s death, “they abandoned the house of the Lord…and served…the idols” (2 Chr 24:17, 18). At the beginning of his reign Hezekiah “trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel, so that after him there was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor among those who were before him” (2 Kgs 18:5). But near the end of his reign, when the prophet Isaiah predicts the nation’s future destruction by Babylon, Hezekiah’s selfish response was, “there will be peace and truth in my days” (Is 39:8). Through the prophet Jeremiah, God laments the fact that Israel had lost “the devotion of your youth, the love of your betrothals, your following after Me in the wilderness, through a land not sown” (Jer 2:2).
What more pregnant example can we have of this tendency to spiritual decay than in the churches to which the Apostle John wrote Revelation? Jesus charges five of the seven churches with spiritual decay, the most notable being the church of Ephesus and the church of Sardis. Ephesus had left its first love (Rv 2:4). Sardis was living off of its past reputation for being alive, even though it was actually dead (Rv 3:1). To go from being spiritually alive to spiritually dead speaks of a great decay. The Apostle John warns the readers of his second epistle to “Watch yourselves, that you might not lose what we have accomplished,” (2 Jn 8). The recipients of the letter to the Hebrews needed to be encouraged to “hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end;” (Hb 3:14). Paul admonished the Colossians to “continue in the faith firmly established and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel” (Col 1:23), and he warned Timothy of a time when the mass of professing Christians “will turn away their ears from the truth, and will turn aside to myths” (2 Tm 4:4). To turn away from the truth implies they had at one time turned to it.
It is painfully obvious that a habitual decay and deterioration from the first love for Jesus Christ, from the first joys and sweetness of obedience and communion with God, from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ, is all too common and widespread among professors of Christianity, even among some of the most outstanding believers. How many there have been, and it is to be feared still are, who in the first flush of newborn faith and love receive the gospel with joy and the Bible as the one and only rule of life, but then have either withered away under the demands, difficulties, and tests of discipleship or have gradually drifted under the influence of conventional wisdom taught and practiced around them. History and experience shows that nothing is easier and more common than, as the prophet Isaiah wrote, for the “drink to be diluted with water” (Is 1:22); that is, for the essential doctrines and demands of Christianity taught by Christ and the Apostles concerning sin, salvation, righteousness, and discipleship to be toned down and adulterated by human ideas, opinions, philosophies, and wisdom which are not only foreign, but repugnant to true Christianity.
The critical moments in life usually come with little or no warning. If people have drifted and decayed from their biblical moorings no wonder they are swept away in a torrent of counterfeits and apostasy. We need look no further than this wretched and perverse generation in which we live to see the awful truth of this observation. We exist today only to dishonor our profession of faith, shame the cause of Christ, pervert His word and worship, promote our own agenda, pursue and gratify our own selfish interests, gain the world, disparage our forefathers, and corrupt our children. The lament of the holy Rev. Samuel Rutherford may well be repeated today, “My heart is woe indeed for my mother Church that has played the harlot with many lovers; her Husband has a mind to sell her for her horrible transgressions; and heavy will the hand of the Lord be upon this backsliding nation.” May God grant us repentance before it is too late, if it is not too late already! I fear it is today with our nation and the professing church as it was with Israel when the prophet Hosea proclaimed, “Their deeds will not allow them to return to their God. For a spirit of harlotry is within them, and they do not know the Lord” (Hos 5:4). God’s judgement always begins with the household of God (1 Pt 4:17). In a day when most of professing Christendom has gone after her many lovers and played the harlot with the world, and then, like the adulterous woman, says, “I have done no wrong” (Pv 30:20); has made idols out of her blessings, holds to an inflated opinion of herself, and is chained to a false security and false hope, may all who read this be diligent to make their calling and election sure (2 Pt 1:5-10).
If there is one lesson which church history teaches us over and over again more than any other it is that prosperity and accommodation always have a corrupting and corrosive effect on vital Christianity. Popularity and numerical superiority has never been the realm of the faithful. Nothing succeeds like success, or so we are told, and people naturally gravitate to all that has the appearance of success and shy away from all that has the faintest odor and appearance of failure; “that which is highly esteemed among men is detestable in the sight of God” (Lk 17:15), and vice-versa. There are very few Moses’ who choose “to endure ill-treatment with the people of God, than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin” (Hb 11:25). The faithful are always a small minority which is scorned by the compromising and corrupted majority. All these decays and corruptions, all this weakening and corrosion which is to be found in many professing Christians, all are rooted in, spring from, and are the product of indwelling sin, and all are evidence of its power and efficacy, even in true believers. Indwelling sin, as the Apostle James declares, is the cause of all actual sin and all spiritual decay in believers. How much easier it is to decay under prosperity, ease, and accommodation than, like Abraham, who “did not waver in unbelief, but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God” (Rm 4:20).
With the goal of awakening believers to a renewed appreciation for sin’s power and efficacy, and encouraging them to avoid and oppose it, let us consider two more things concerning this corrosive effect of indwelling sin:
- These decays are evidence of a great power and efficacy in sin
- Some ways by which indwelling sin produces this terrible effect
So as not to weary the reader too much, we will consider the first of these two observations in this study and save the second observation for the next study.
Decays Evidence of Sin’s Power and Efficacy
God has not left us as orphans to strive against sin on our own or by our own strength and power. He has supplied every believer with great and sufficient provisions for not only the prevention of decaying and “shrinking back to destruction” (Hb 10:39), but also for overcoming sin’s power and for progress in sanctification and holiness. The fact that sin often has and does prevail over these provisions of God’s grace, even in some of the most uncommon believers, is evidence of a great power and efficacy in sin. These gracious provisions of God include:
First, the word of God itself, “For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, in order that by them you might become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust” (2 Pt 1:4). The faithful and unadulterated preaching and teaching of His word is the means appointed by God “for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ” (Eph 4:11, 12). Building up the body of Christ for what purpose? “until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ” (Eph 4:13). God has appointed the preaching and teaching of His word to be the means whereby believers are brought “to a mature man”; that is, for producing spiritual growth and maturity in grace, faith, and holiness. But what about the opposition believers will face from the world, the flesh, the devil and his instruments, all which work with great deceit and subtly? All of these and their assaults are precisely what a true experiential knowledge and understanding of God’s word is designed to protect and guard against, “As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves, and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness and deceitful scheming” (Eph 4:14). The word of God is both milk and solid food for nourishing and strengthening all kinds and all levels of believers, from babes, to the young, to the mature. It is “profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be equipped for every good work” (2 Tm 3:16, 17). The communion of saints is for the edifying of believers in faith, love, holiness, and obedience; for “building yourselves up on your most holy faith” (Jude 20); not a social gathering, a motivational and self-affirming therapy session, a community center, a children’s play group, or an entertainment venue. Nothing will effectively quench the work of the Spirit through the word preached (assuming it actually is preached) more than the practice of what is so common today, and that is as soon as the worship service is over all our thoughts and mutual conversations immediately turn to worldly, selfish, and carnal subjects. By this all too common practice Satan comes and snatches away the word sown. This is from indwelling sin.
Secondly, God, throughout His word, constantly reminds believers of the assistance He has provided in His word, and warns of neglecting the means He has so graciously provided. If the danger of decay was not so real and commonplace, there would not be so many warnings to guard ourselves against it. “For this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it” (Hb 2:1). Anyone who has gone swimming in the ocean has experienced the phenomenon of imperceptibly drifting from the place they originally entered the water, and coming out of the water far down the beach from where they first started out. In the same way people easily and imperceptibly drift away from God’s word and its true meaning and teachings into all sorts of error, heresy, and false practices; all the while never realizing or admitting that over time they have drifted a long way from biblical Christianity. The author of Hebrews warns of “the sin which so easily entangles us” (Hb 12:1). The Apostle Paul was amazed by how quickly the Christians in Galatia had deserted the true Christ-centered gospel of grace for a different man-centered gospel of works (Gal 1:6).
God’s indictment of Israel’s shepherds in Ezekiel 34:1-5, and a corresponding analogy by the Puritan genius John Owen are both very applicable to the bulk of professing Christians today. When we see a lamb wander from its pasture into the wilderness, we should not be surprised when it is mauled and eaten by wild animals. If we see a lamb wander from its lush green pastures and springs of pure water into trampled, barren, and dry ground it is no wonder if we find it weak, starved, and ready to die. But if we see sheep in a lush pasture that are weak, stunted, and not growing, we suspect they are infected with some sort of disease. Likewise, when we see people remaining in a weak or false church, or leaving a church which teaches sound and true doctrine for one where the teaching is flabby, shallow, worldly, and corrupted, it should come as no surprise that they are torn and mauled by various lusts and errors, and are spiritually weak and emaciated. In a day when the mass of professing Christians will not endure sound doctrine, and “turn away their ears from the truth, and…turn aside to myths” (2 Tim 4:3, 4), we should not wonder at the deplorable condition and level of depravity in which we find ourselves today. But to see people who live under and enjoy the means for spiritually thriving, yet who remain underdeveloped, weak, and are decaying, this is evidence of a powerful and debilitating disease that renders useless all the benefits they enjoy. This disease is indwelling sin. It is a terrible thing to see people who have access to spiritually nutritious food and drink growing every day colder, worldlier, more selfish, idolatrous, self-satisfied, prideful, and secure, despite all of God’s admonitions and warnings to be watchful against these pernicious decays.
Thirdly, in addition to God’s provision of His word and all the helps and encouragements it contains, there are the constant supplies of grace which Christ promises to bestow on all who belong to Him. In fact, He promises that His grace is sufficient for any and all tests and trials in this life which He allows and sends, not to hurt us, but to refine us (2 Cor 12:9, 10). “But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen and protect you from the evil one” (1 Th 3:3). Because Jesus is a living Savior, He communicates a living faith and spiritual life to all who are His. This is something which Buddha, Confucius, Allah, idols, religion, self-effort, Mary, dead saints, and false Christs cannot do. “…it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me;” (Gal 2:20); that is, the spiritual life which I now have is not my own. I did not produce it, I did nothing to acquire it, I do not maintain it, I do not strengthen it, but it is completely and solely the gracious work of Jesus Christ, so that it is not I who live, but Christ who lives in me; all of my life being from Him and Him alone. The life which Christ gives becomes in us “a well of water springing up to eternal life” (Jn 4:14). It is a living spring, not a well from which this life must be drawn up in our own bucket by our own effort. Its source is inexhaustible, its worth is incalculable, its flow is immeasurable, the life it imparts is eternal, and it is free for the asking, “Ho! Every one who thirsts, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat. Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost” (Is 55:1).
There can be no doubt that Jesus Christ communicates rich supplies of His grace, particularly the grace of suffering for His sake (Phil 1:29), for the increase of faith, humility, love, perseverance, usefulness, dependence, obedience, and growth in Christlikeness in all His own children. How else are we to know the joy of fellowship with Christ’s sufferings (Phil 3:10) if we are never placed in situations where we are humbled by what He Himself suffered, and placed in circumstances where we are divested of all our own resources and forced to be totally dependent on His strength alone to endure, and to patiently trust and await His power and promises to deliver and bless us?
Why then do not all believers thrive, flourish, and grow according to the grace given to them? True, believer’s gifts “differ according to the grace given to us” (Rm 12:6), but all believers have the same fountain and same thrown of grace to which we can draw near, “that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hb 4:16). So, why this habitual and all too common tendency toward spiritual decay? It cannot be for a lack of supply of grace, or from a lack of willingness or ability on Christ’s part to give what He has promised to provide. The answer must lie in the power and efficacy of indwelling sin’s opposition to and hostility toward grace. The flesh dies hard. The world is unrelenting. Satan is cunning and malicious. The grace which should be imparting life and communicating an increase in holiness is spent in subduing and contending against the assaults of the flesh, the world, and the devil. The church to whom the Epistle of Hebrews was written had been professing Christians long enough to where, “by this time you ought to be teachers”, but instead they had “need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food” (Hb 5:12). Rather than growing they were decaying. This is a notable evidence of the power of indwelling sin, that it is effective in retarding, checking, and corroding a believer’s growth in grace so that their last ways do not measure up to their first. It is increasing grace, not decaying grace that “render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Pt 1:8).
Finally, not only does the believer have the promise of perpetual and sufficient supplies of grace for every need, test, and trial, but also Jesus has promised His continual readiness to give His grace to His own as their particular circumstances require. Some occasions require more grace than others to sustain, guard, and cause the weary soul to persevere and prevail, and Jesus is ever ready to give His grace to all who call on Him and Him alone in faith, and who humble themselves “under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your cares upon Him, because He cares for you” (1 Pt 5:6, 7). “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord and whose trust is the Lord”, not partly the Lord and partly ourselves or others, “For he”, and only he, “will be like a tree planted by the water that extends its roots by a stream and will not fear when the heat comes; but its leaves will be green, and it will not be anxious in a year of drought nor cease to yield fruit” (Jer 17:7, 8). Christ’s grace and His readiness to give it exceed our every temptation, our every trial, and our every unworthiness. He stands ready to supply all we need for every circumstance. We have a merciful High Priest who “is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted” (Hb 2:18).
However, notwithstanding these great promises and provisions, the reality is that so many for whom these promises and provisions are made still decline and decay in their love, trust, obedience, and devotion to Christ. Such is the power and efficacy of indwelling sin; so great is sin’s deceptions, impatience, and anxieties; and so many are its temptations, strategies, and subterfuges. If not diligently watched against this indwelling sin will burst the bonds of all that is made to bind it, even in those who should know better, “I will go to the great and will speak to them, for they know the way of the Lord and the ordinance of their God. But they too, with one accord, have broken the yoke and burst the bonds” (Jer 5:5). Indwelling sin resists the means and instruments God has appointed to root it out. As God told Ezekiel, so it is today among the mass of professing Christians, “But I have sent you to them who should listen to you; yet the house of Israel will not be willing to listen to you, since they are not willing to listen to Me” (Ezk 3:6, 7).
Believers not only have abundant promises, provisions, and means provided for us to grow in grace, love, faith, holiness, and to pursue “the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord” (Hb 12:14), but we have abundant obligations placed on us from the love, patience, mercy, gentleness, examples, and commands of Christ. “So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh” (Rm 8:12); not to indwelling sin, “but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live” (Rm 8:13). This is the great grief, sorrow, and burden of the soul of every true believer, that they do not do so to the degree they long for; that they do not love God as they long to; they are not as holy as they desire to be; they are not as fruitful and useful as they yearn to be. They know it is their obligation to watch against this enemy, oppose this enemy; hate this enemy; pray against this enemy, and so they do. They desire to see, feel, and experience more of its destruction, and to grow in grace, holiness, and usefulness more than all of the pleasures which this world can afford. And yet, such is the power, craft, subtlety, deceit, impatience, urgency, persistence, and violence of this enemy that it oftentimes succeeds in bring a believer into this woeful condition of spiritual decay, which simply serves as ample evidence for the power and presence of indwelling sin, even in the life of believers.
The purpose of emphasizing the power and efficacy of sin in believers is so we may be more careful, and take more seriously the command to “Watch over your heart with all diligence” (Pv 4:23), so as to prevent and oppose this enemy of our souls, as well as avoid all the terrible effects it produces, and which we are now witnessing. Among these effects none are more dangerous and deadly than this spiritual degeneration, and the false hopes and securities which always attend it. In our next study we will consider the various ways, means, and enablements by which indwelling sin usually succeeds in producing this effect, so that we might be better informed to diligently watch against it.