Foundations of Faith
SIN (IV)
4. Sin resulting from trials and “natural” circumstances. All of us experience trials and tribulations at one time or another. We all have had to take tests and exams in school to show the teachers what progress we are making in the different subjects. Just so, God may test us with different kinds of problems or difficulties to help us see what progress we are making in our Christian walk.
After bringing Abram safely to the land of Canaan, the LORD tested him by allowing “a famine in the land” (Gen. 12:10). Abram failed to continue to trust in God and let God direct him. He went down to Egypt, and there, to secure his personal safety, asked his wife to lie and tell the Egyptians that she was his sister. Abram sinned by going to Egypt, and sinned again once he was there. The end result was trouble for the Egyptians and shame to himself (12:11-20). Doesn’t this often happen in our own lives? We allow one small sin in our life and that leads to more and bigger sins.
The LORD promised to give Abram a large number of descendants (Gen. 12:2; 15:5). Then He tested Abram and his wife Sarai by not giving them any children (16:1). Again, Abram failed the test, taking matters into his own hands by having a child by Sarai’s maid, Hagar (16:2-5). This sin of impatience by Abram led to problems between Sarai and Hagar, Isaac and Ishmael later on, and the nation of Israel and the Arab nations up to the present time.
The Lord Jesus tested Simon Peter’s faith by asking him to do something that was humanly impossible-walk on water. In obedience and faith, Peter did it! for a while at least. But then he took his eyes off Christ and began worrying about the wind and the waves-and began to sink (Matt. 14:22-31). Peter began with great faith and ended up with little faith and a reprimand from the Lord. Peter made a valiant attempt but “missed the mark.” (Do you recall the definition of “sin” from the May96 issue?)
The last example shows the high standards God has for His children. But what blessings He has for those who pass His tests! Job illustrates this very well. In a very short period of time his children, his possessions, and his health were taken away from him. Yet “in all this Job did not sin with his lips” (Job 1,2). Later we read, “The LORD blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning” (42:12).
5. Sin resulting from the bad behavior of others. As long as we live in this sin-filled world, we are going to meet up with other people’s sinful and offensive behavior. God may sometimes use this as a means of testing His children. All too often, we respond to the sin of others by sinning ourselves.
God does not excuse us if we believe another person’s lie that contradicts His Word. The prophet of Judah disobeyed God through believing another prophet’s lie, and was killed by a lion as a result (1 Ki. 13:1-26; see also Gen. 3:1-6). When the Gibeonites lied to Joshua, he believed them without asking counsel of the LORD. As a result, Joshua made a peace treaty with the Gibeonites, contrary to God’s will (Joshua 9).
Moses responded wonderfully to the frequent complaints of the children of Israel (Exod. 14:10-14; 15-23-27; 16:2-8; 17:1-6; Num. 12:1-15; 14:1-5). Yet on a rare occasion when Moses responded with impatience and anger, he was severely punished by the LORD (Num. 20:1-12). This reminds us that we must not be content with doing the right thing most of the time.
Many of God’s servants met with acts of aggression and hostility. King Saul, in a jealous rage, pursued David for several years. At times, David responded to this in a mature, God-honoring way; he even spared the king’s life on two occasions (1 Sam. 23:10-12; 24; 26). But at times, David seemed to forget all about God and behaved very sinfully and shamefully in response to Saul’s threats (1 Sam. 21; 27). King Asa of Judah took matters into his own hands when threatened by the king of Israel. Instead of crying out to God, he turned to the king of Syria for help. When the LORD sent a prophet to reprove him, King Asa added to his sin by throwing the prophet in prison (2 Chron. 16:1-10; compare 14:9-14).
In order to avoid getting herself and the Israelite spies in trouble with the authorities, Rahab told a lie (Josh. 2:1-6). Some might argue that she had no other choice. However, had she known more about the God of Israel, she might have trusted Him instead of resorting to lying. The One who had put a cloud of protection between the Israelites and the pursuing Egyptian army, and the One who had blinded the Syrian army, was well able to protect both Rahab and the two spies (Exod. 14:19,20; 2 Ki. 6:18).
In summary, in these examples we find the following sins in response to problems:(a) taking one’s eyes off the Lord; (b) seeking help from others instead of the Lord; (c) trying to escape from the problems; and (d) trying to lie one’s way out.
We shall continue with a few further issues related to sin in the next issue.
Running the Race
SO WHAT IF I SIN?
I believe that Jesus Christ died for my sins and, on the basis of John 3:16, I have eternal life. I am one of Christ’s sheep, and John 10:28 says that no one is able to pluck His sheep out of His hand. So what does it matter if I sin occasionally?
Consider the following illustration: Your house catches on fire and you are trapped in the second story. Your neighbor, hearing your cries, rushes over with a ladder and-at great risk to himself-helps you to safety. Initially you are grateful to your neighbor, but in time you forget what he did for you. You carelessly throw trash on his lawn; you tease his dog; when he asks you to help him, you find excuses. How would your neighbor feel about such behavior? How does the Lord feel about your careless, selfish, sinful behavior after all that He suffered for your sins?
Furthermore, our sins are often accompanied by consequences. Breaking the law may result in a prison sentence, sexual sin in AIDS, alcohol consumption in a traffic accident. Unconfessed sin leads to loss of communion with the Lord and of His help in our daily lives.
Assignment 10: Write out verses in Psalms 32 and 66 and Galatians 6 that speak of the consequences of sin.