Don't Think You Can Get Away With It!

"The world and its desires pass away, but the one who does the will of God lives forever."

- 1 John 2:17

Sin is a lot of fun in the moment. Scripture itself teaches sin is pleasurable while one actually commits the sin (Hebrews 11:25). However, sin and the pleasure it brings, quickly pass from the scene leaving long lasting consequences. Sin separates from God and leads to spiritual death. As the old adage goes, "Sin will take you farther than you want to go, cost you more than you want to pay and keep you longer than you want to stay." The cost of sin is high.

Often our enemy will tempt us to sin by shielding our eyes from the consequences of our sin. When Satan tempted Eve in the Garden of Eden he told her she would become like God if she ate of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil not die as God had told her she would. Satan held up the pleasure of the sin before Eve's eyes while denying the consequences of her indulgence. In our passage John reminds us the consequences of sin and the reward of obedience to God. There really is accountability for how we live our life and if we come to think otherwise we have fallen prey to the same tactics the enemy used on Eve. Those who obey God (and obedience can only happen through a faith relationship with Christ) live while those who disobey pass away into hell.

Salvation comes to those who place faith in Christ but even those who have such faith should carefully consider the words of John. There are consequences to sin, the greatest of which for the believer in Christ, is the loss of intimacy with God. Don't allow the enemy to fool you into believing you can enjoy the passing pleasures of sin without the consequences soon to follow!

James