Paul AremoOluwa
SIN AND SINFULNESS
As you might have guessed, the third reason why
Christians are under curses is as a result of sin. Sin attracts terrible
consequences. This trick is really one of the most successful out of the
devil’s three tactics. His first two tactics discussed earlier is to get you to
sin. The devil tempt Christians with this kind of argument, “You can do it
(sin) and afterwards ask God for forgiveness, grace is available to you.” The
problem with this line of thought is that many never pause to ask what the
devil stands to gain in that temporal moment you sin before you ask God’s
forgiveness.
THE ULTIMATE
PURPOSE WHY THE DEVIL LURES YOU INTO SIN
For all have sinned and fall
short of the glory of God. Romans 3:23 NIV
Remember,
I had earlier told you that as long as you remain under the New Covenant, you are
untouchable to the devil. The devil being aware of that reality, tries a back
door approach to get you out from under the covenant of God’s protection, even
if it is for few seconds. How can the devil achieve that? Yes, you are smart,
he gets you to sin. When that happens, you are fallen from God’s glory,
protection and covenant temporarily. This open window, no matter how brief it
is, is enough for the devil to rob and deal with a Christian. By experience you
should be aware by now that after falling into a sin, you never return the same
way. Certain virtues and strength has been stolen and lost to the devil. In such
that after asking for God’s forgiveness such believer does not recover what has
been stolen or lost to the enemy. God’s forgiveness wipe’s your slate clean but
the believer ought to exercise his authority in Christ to demand the thief
(devil) restore what’s stolen. Often times believers allow Satan get away with
stolen virtues because they are not aware that what is stolen by him could be
recovered. Even under the dispensation of the Law the thief restores double of
what he stole. How much more instructive it is under the New covenant.
If a man gives his
neighbor silver or goods for safekeeping and they are stolen from the
neighbor's house, the thief, if he is caught, must pay back double. Exodus 22:7-8 NIV
I
will encourage that after receiving God’s forgiveness, believers demand the
devil restore what has been stolen during that brief moment of sin.
But the point remains that when a believer sins, he has
temporarily gone out of God’s protective custody. You are behind enemy lines. It’s
the same logic of Balaam and Balak I made mention of in my first writing on this
topic.
Behold, these caused the
Israelites by the counsel of Balaam to trespass and act treacherously
against the Lord in the matter of Peor, and so a [smiting] plague came among
the congregation of the Lord. Numbers 31:16
AMPLIFIED
PUNISHMENT
FOR SIN IS EXCLUDED UNDER THE NEW COVENANT
I also want you to understand that under grace,
under this New Covenant which we stand there are no provisions in it for God to
condemn Christians for sins committed. It looks too good to be true, right? I
consider your shock… just. Let’s reflect on five scriptures:
For while the Law was given through Moses, grace ( unearned,
undeserved favor and spiritual blessing) and truth came through Jesus Christ.
John 1:17 AMPLIFIED
And when his disciples
James and John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to
come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did? But he turned, and
rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of. For the
Son of man is not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them. And they went
to another village. Luke 9:54-56 KJV
The thief comes only in
order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy
life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows). John 10:10 AMPLIFIED
When the scribes and
Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery. They made her stand
in the middle of the court and put the case before Him. Teacher, they said,
This woman has been caught in the very act of adultery. Now Moses in the Law
commanded us that such [women — offenders] shall be stoned to death. But
what do You say [to do with her — what is Your sentence]? This they said to try
(test) Him, hoping they might find a charge on which to accuse Him. But
Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger. However, when they
persisted with their question, He raised Himself up and said, Let him who is
without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her. Then He bent down
and went on writing on the ground with His finger. They listened to Him, and
then they began going out, conscience-stricken, one by one, from the oldest
down to the last one of them, till Jesus was left alone, with the woman
standing there before Him in the center of the court. When Jesus raised Himself
up, He said to her, Woman, where are your accusers? Has no man condemned you?
She answered, No one, Lord! And Jesus said, I do not condemn you either.
Go on your way and from now on sin no more. John 8:3-11
AMPLIFIED
For God did not send the
Son into the world in order to judge (to reject, to condemn, to pass sentence
on) the world, but that the world might find salvation and be made safe and
sound through Him. John 3:17 AMPLIFIED
The current ministry of Jesus Christ does not accommodate
any verdict that condemns a sinner or any believer who sins. We know that when
Jesus shall come again he shall judge the world and separate the chaff from the wheat. At that time there shall be punishment, we shall all stand before the judgement seat
of Christ on that day. But until then, the New Covenant doesn’t have any
provision to condemn anyone but rather it seeks to justify them.
The throne of
grace and mercy is what’s available currently under the New Covenant and
not the Judgement Seat (Hebrews 4:16). Therefore, this New
Covenant does not penalise for sins committed but gives the free gift of grace
and righteousness for sins committed when we ask. The new Covenant is called Good News because we are saved from punishment
deserved to receive gifts undeserved. Grace will be a mockery if we are
punished for sins committed under this Better
Covenant. It is true that the Lord chastises us but He doesn’t condemn us. It
is just too good to be true, but you best believe.
The only logical question, why do terrible things
happen to Christians when they sin? Is it God’s punishment? No, it is because
they are no longer under the protective arms of the New Covenant at that moment of sin. The
devil has lured them away from the covering of God’s glory. It is the same old
trick with the first Adam in Genesis chapter three. Therefore, when terrible
things happen to such believers it is the devil working behind the scene, using
the unconfessed sin as his alibi. When you sin the Devil uses the opportunity
to be at work in your life.
The spirit who is now at work
in those who are disobedient. Ephesians 2:2b NIV
It wasn’t until God took away the wall of protection
from Job before the devil could afflict him (Job 1:10-12). Which made Job wonder what sin he was being punished
of by God, but it was really the devil at work. When a believer is afflicted it
is not a punishment from God, it is the devil’s attack against him through a
crack in the wall. Sin creates a crack in the wall of our lives. Where there is
a crack it is written:
He who digs a pit [for
others] will fall into it, and whoever breaks through a fence or a [stone]
wall, a serpent will bite him. Ecclesiastes 10:8
AMPLIFIED
The devil being subtle could make you have dreams
and give you scriptural references that make it seem your predicament is
orchestrated by God. It is not God who is punishing you for your sins; else he ceases
to be the saviour of men. This is the whole bulk of the ministry of Jesus:
You know the contents of
the message which He sent to Israel, announcing the good news (Gospel) of peace
by Jesus Christ, Who is Lord of all —
The [same] message which was proclaimed throughout all Judea, starting from
Galilee after the baptism preached by John —
How God anointed and consecrated Jesus of Nazareth with the [Holy]
Spirit and with strength and ability and power; how He went about doing good
and, in particular, curing all who were harassed and oppressed by [the power
of] the devil, for God was with Him. Acts 10:36-38 AMPLIFIED
The reason the Son of God
was made manifest (visible) was to undo (destroy, loosen, and dissolve) the
works the devil [has done]. 1 John 3:8 AMPLIFIED
SIN ENFORCES
THE LAW OVER YOU
It is a reality that there is no vacuum in the realm
of the spirit. Through sin a believer steps out of God’s covenant of grace and
automatically reverts to the law. There can be no vacuum.
But if you show partiality,
you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors. James 2:9 NKJV
Whosoever committeth sin
transgresseth also the law: for sin is the
transgression of the law. 1 John 3:4 KJV
When your sins were forgiven you entered into the
New Covenant, when you sin you go out of the covering of it. But not just that,
you come under the power of the Law. It is under the Law that provisions for
the punishment of sin are available. Also bear in mind that we cannot partake
of Grace and Law at a time. In that brief moment of sin you are treading on a
landmine. When you sin you transgress the Law, you become bound by it, and open
to all manner of curses. If sin makes you a transgressor of the Law, it means
you are under a curse, because those who transgress the law are accursed as it
is written:
Behold, I set before you
this day a blessing and a curse; A blessing, if ye obey the commandments of the
Lord your God, which I command you this day: And a curse, if ye will not
obey the commandments of the Lord your God, but turn aside out of the way
which I command you this day. Deuteronomy 11:26-28 KJV
Believers need to be cautious of the temptation of
trifling with sin. We must be wise to see that sin leads to terrible
consequences. Consequences not of God exacting a pound of flesh for sins but
the spiritual principles evoked. Paul speaks:
For sin shall not be your
master, because you are not under law, but under grace. Romans 6:14 NIV
What would the implication of the above scripture
be? It would simply infer also that when you are dominated by sin you are under
the Law and not of grace, and if you are under the law as a transgressor, you
are accursed. What terrible price we pay for sin. It was on this note Paul made
a comment that seem contradictory but it actually isn’t in the context of this
issue.
O wretched man that I am! who
shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus
Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but
with the flesh the law of sin. Romans 7:24-25 KJV
Paul
made mention here that he serves the Law of God with His mind, this law is the
Law of the Spirit of life written by the Holy Spirit upon our minds as it is
written: “This is
the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I
will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them.” Hebrews 10:16 KJV.
But he made mention of another law,
the law of sin which he serves with
his body. If you read Romans chapter seven carefully you’ll discover the Law of sin mentioned by Paul is actually
the Law of Moses. The Law of Moses reveals sin punishable by death and that is
why it is described as the Law of Sin
or the Law of sin and death.
What the Holy Ghost is really saying through Paul in
Romans 7:25 is that when we are led by the Spirit of God and he takes hold of
our minds, our body also is guiltless to the Law of Moses (not bound to it).
But if sin has dominion over our bodies we become transgressors of the Law of sin (Moses). A man walking in the
Spirit has fulfilled the Law of Moses and there is no condemnation (or curses)
against him (Paul made this point afterwards in Romans 8:1-2). But when you
allow sin possess your body; you are a transgressor of the Old Covenant,
because sin is the transgression of the Law. For by the law is the knowledge of sin. Romans
3:20b KJV.
Let not sin therefore reign
in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in
the lusts thereof. Neither yield ye your members (body parts) as instruments of
unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are
alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.
For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but
under grace. Romans 6:12-14 KJV
Therefore because of the Spirit of God Paul could
serve the Law of God with his mind and keep his body from sinning to avoid
being bound by the Law of sin and its curses (condemnation). When you commit
sin you are bound by the Law of Sin,
this is clearly what the apostles (Paul, John and James) taught. Of course, if
you sin and ask the Lord to forgive you, he surely will, but the focus is the
ungodly schemes of the devil between the timeframe of sin and forgiveness. That
believer is not judged under grace because he is now under the law. Under the
law sins are punishable by all manner of evil consequences, the capital
punishment being death. That is why Paul earnestly warned believers that, to be carnally minded and be led by the
flesh is DEATH. Please note, he didn’t specifically say it’s a
spiritual death, it could lead to death in the spirit, soul and of the body.
Well, that might alter your theology but the scripture is clear. How often
believers die untimely deaths, because they trifled with sin? An incident that dumbfounds
us greatly when we consider that such individuals has a walk with God. When you
sin (wilfully) you are out of grace and prone to all manner of havoc. Yet, it
is imperative to understand we are dead to sin that we may abide in grace.
What shall we say, then?
Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin;
how can we live in it any longer? Romans 6:1-2 NIV
It is therefore safe to admit that sin attracts
curses to our lives. The devil is aware of the leverage he has over believers through
sin. This is the reason he lures Christians with sin, even if it is for a brief
moment, to bring them under curses and condemnation. Ananias and Sapphira were believers
who learnt this lesson in a hard way. They were under God’s covenant of protection
until they sinned.
Then Peter said, "Ananias,
how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy
Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the
land? Didn't it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn't
the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You
have not lied to men but to God." When Ananias heard this, he fell
down and died. And great fear seized all who heard what had happened. Then
the young men came forward, wrapped up his body, and carried him out and buried
him. About three hours later his wife came in, not knowing what had happened.
Peter asked her, "Tell me, is this the price you and Ananias got for the
land?" "Yes," she said, "that is the price." Peter
said to her, "How could you agree to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look! The
feet of the men who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry
you out also." At that moment she fell down at his feet and died. Then
the young men came in and, finding her dead, carried her out and buried her
beside her husband. Acts 5:3-10
NIV
They died not as partakers of grace but as
transgressors of the law. Note that Peter didn’t pronounce death upon them. He
merely spoke by the word of knowledge. Also note that we were not told it was
God who struck them down dead. That is a very important observation. In Acts
chapter twelve an angel of God struck down Herod but in the case of Ananias and
Sapphira it was only recorded that they fell down dead. Anyone that goes out
from God’s covenant as is open to all manner of attack. Remain in the ark of
God’s grace dear brother and sister. And if you sin, do not linger in sin, it
is a trespassing zone.
SINFULNESS
AND FEAR
Sinfulness is the power behind sin which makes believers
afraid of falling into sin. That state of mind that makes a believer really
afraid of committing sin before the day ends. This explains why many believers
address themselves as sinners and deny they are saints. It leads to unbelief
which robs them of the victory of Christ over sin and death. Though, they are
afraid of sin yet they fall right back into it, and are brought under
condemnation of the Law. The believer has the power through faith to resist the
devil and sin but as long as doubts exist he is already defeated by sin. We
cannot win any battle against the devil through unbelief. If you believe you
are vulnerable to certain pattern of sin, it’s only a matter of time and chance
before it becomes your reality.
Just as there is absolutely nothing impossible for
God when we believe, also, there is nothing absolutely impossible for the devil
when unbelief dwells in our heart. Christ had ensured our victory over sin; this is the
whole point of Romans chapters six, seven and eight. The believer is dead to
sin and
can no longer live in it because he being crucified with Christ, Christ now
lives through him every day. But when the devil injects fear of falling into
sin in the heart of a Christian, torment and affliction are unleashed.
There is no fear in love;
but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth
is not made perfect in love. 1 John 4:18 KJV
Last time I checked, torment is of the devil and not
of God. I believe this sin consciousness is what the devil uses to manipulate
many believers and bring them into unbelief and bondage. When a believer keep
falling into a sin, it is obvious if he’ll readily admit it, he is scared of
that particular sin. Fear is not of faith. Fear is the realm of the devil.
But the fearful, and
unbelieving, and the abominable, and
murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall
have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the
second death. Revelations 21:8 KJV
Ultimately what keeps believers under the yoke of
sin, curses or lead them to hell is fear and unbelief. We must watch what we
allow in our hearts. Sin is of the law and as long as we have a mind defeated
by the consciousness of sin we are under the Law, for sin is of the Law but
sound mind and righteousness is of faith by grace.
Finally, we need to stop giving the devil undue
position to manipulate our lives. The devil will always seek whom to devour and
exploit. The only way to outsmart the devil is by uncovering His tricks through
the word of God. God is equipping His church with the truth and washing her by
the Word. Let’s pay attention to the things God had spoken and given us under
the New Covenant. No matter how unbelievable they are, let’s believe them and
apply them to our lives. The simple faith of the saints is enough to defeat the
devil. Hold up your shield of faith and may the Lord bless you.
But rather what we are
setting forth is a wisdom of God once hidden [from the human understanding] and
now revealed to us by God — [that wisdom] which God devised and decreed before
the ages for our glorification [to lift us into the glory of His presence]. None
of the rulers of this age or world perceived and recognized and understood
this, for if they had, they would never have crucified the Lord of glory. But,
on the contrary, as the Scripture says, What eye has not seen and ear has not
heard and has not entered into the heart of man, [all that] God has prepared
(made and keeps ready) for those who love Him [who hold Him in affectionate
reverence, promptly obeying Him and gratefully recognizing the benefits He has
bestowed]. Yet to us God has unveiled and revealed them by and through His
Spirit, for the [Holy] Spirit searches diligently, exploring and examining
everything, even sounding the profound and bottomless things of God [the divine
counsels and things hidden and beyond man's scrutiny]. For what person
perceives (knows and understands) what passes through a man's thoughts except
the man's own spirit within him? Just so no one discerns (comes to know and
comprehend) the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have not
received the spirit [that belongs to] the world, but the [Holy] Spirit Who is
from God, [given to us] that we might realize and comprehend and appreciate the
gifts [of divine favor and blessing so freely and lavishly] bestowed on us by God. 1 Corinthians 2:7-12 AMPLIFIED
THE END
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