James 1:14-15 “But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. (15) Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.”
We have seen thus far that it is entirely possible for believers to turn away from following Christ and go back into the world. The question is then asked, how is it possible that Christians can reach the point where they wilfully deny Jesus as their Lord and Saviour? As we will see in this section, the decision to fall away from following Christ never occurs on the spur of the moment, but rather it is a culmination of steps that believers take over time which ultimately brings them to the place where they are quite comfortable in their decision to turn their backs on Christ. And so in this section we will discuss the numerous paths that believers can walk on, which will lead them to the point where they will eventually commit the sin to death. The first such pathway which we will discuss is the pathway of progressive sin. In the above quoted passage of scripture the apostle James teaches on the concept of progressive sin leading to the sin to death. This passage refers to believers and not unbelievers, for James addresses his letter to the brethren (James 1:2). I want you to notice in this passage that the Holy Spirit does not teach us that sin brings forth death, but rather that full-grown sin brings forth death. The death that James is referring to in this passage is spiritual death. And so we can see from this passage that sin that is allowed to reach maturity in the life of a believer will eventually bring forth spiritual death in that believer. In other words if believers continue down the path of sin unchecked they will eventually reach the point where they will commit the sin to death.
1 Corinthians 5:1-6 “It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and such sexual immorality as is not even named among the Gentiles--that a man has his father's wife! (2) And you are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he who has done this deed might be taken away from among you. (3) For I indeed, as absent in body but present in spirit, have already judged (as though I were present) him who has so done this deed. (4) In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when you are gathered together, along with my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, (5) deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. (6) Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump?”
In the above quoted passage of scripture the apostle Paul uses the analogy of leaven to warn the church about the effects of sin when it is left unchecked, for he tells us in this passage that a little leaven leavens the whole lump. In other words Paul is teaching us that if believers continue in sin that eventually they will be overcome by sin. In context Paul is speaking about the contagion effect of sin in the church. But nevertheless that same analogy is also applicable to sin in the life of an individual believer, for as we have already discussed from this passage, Paul intervened in the life this believer by judging him with early death. So why did Paul do that? Paul did that so that the leaven of sin could not reach the point where it eventually consumed this believer, or as James described, become “full-grown”. For Paul recognized that once that happened the spirit of this believer would no longer be saved, for he would have reached the point where he would commit the sin to death.
Romans 6:15-16 “What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not! (16) Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one's slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?”
Sadly many Christians abuse the grace of God in Christ Jesus, for they say that it is alright to commit sin because we are under grace and not under law and Jesus forgives us our sins. However, while it is true that Jesus does forgive our sins if we confess and repent of those sins, it was never God’s intention that as believers we should use the grace of God as a cloak for vice (1 Peter 2:16). In other words grace is not given to the saints so that they can indulge themselves in sinful practices. Sin is extremely dangerous, for the Lord Jesus Himself plainly taught us that the one who commits sin becomes enslaved to sin (John 8:34). And so in the above quoted passage of scripture the Holy Spirit through the apostle Paul confirms that same truth to us, for He teaches us in this passage that believers who continue in sin eventually become slaves of sin and that sin ultimately leads the believer to spiritual death. In other words those believers will eventually commit the sin to death.
Michael E.B. Maher
Comments