Article: SAY NO TO SIN | Sis. Tesnia Grace George

“Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
– Genesis 1:28
Can you imagine such a situation where we were in control of not just one or two but everything in this world? God had given us this authority once. And let us remember that the entire earth was made by God. It was His creation, the work of His own hands. Whom would we trust to put in charge of something precious we have made after spending time and effort on it? We would only select someone we trust completely and know well. In the same way God had so much trust and faith in man, the man he made in His own image (Genesis 1:27) that He left everything He made over to Him. You can only imagine the feeling of betrayal God felt when man disobeyed Him. When you think of it, Adam and Eve had the perfect life- lived in the Garden of Eden, didn’t have to toil or work, were surrounded by lush greenery, they could talk and commune with God, they didn’t have to be afraid of the present wild animals or any of that sort. How foolish of man to give it all up over a single piece of forbidden fruit? (Genesis 3:6).

It is very easy for us to blame Eve and think that if she hadn’t sinned the world would be a better place. We always look at Eve as the mother of sin, the bad one, the black sheep. But have you ever wondered in these lines? If you were in Eve’s place, can you say with confidence now that you would have been able to resist the serpent? This is not a case of defending or justifying her actions, but would our reaction have been any different from hers? What about in our daily lives? How many times have we put our faith and all that is written in the Bible to one side and gone in the ways of the world? God had instructed Eve to do something but she didn’t listen. In the same way God has instructed us on how to live in this world through His Word. So anything we do against the word is equal to doing the same sin Eve committed. How many times have we given into our urges to get angry or say a discouraging word, been stubborn or disobedient to our parents? Do we harbour grudges in our hearts? Are we jealous or lustful over something we don’t have?
Galatians 5:19-21. “Now the works of the flesh …… adultery, fornication, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries …”
We often think of adultery, idolatry, sorcery etc, as the major sins and think of all the rest as the minor and okay sins. But in front of God anything you do against the Bible is a sin and God tolerates no such thing. What about the fruits of the spirit in Galatians 5:22? Are we happy and joyful? Or do we complain always? Do we have love and patience? Are we humble or do we try in small indirect ways to show our fellow friends/believers that we are well to do and prosperous? The Bible clearly states that the Holy Spirit can only enter a heart which is pure from all filth. We can’t define a pure heart according to our own standards or our own ideologies of right and wrong. We have to weigh our hearts against the Bible and its teachings. Many a time we take advantage of God’s kindness. We think we can do certain wrong things for the time-being because God will forgive us anyway. Remember, God has heard these thoughts of yours even before they entered your mind. It is true that we will be forgiven but sometimes we have to pay and suffer consequences for our sins. If we keep doing wrong and keep getting away with it we would never learn. We should remember the example of David. Even though he was forgiven for his sin against Uriah he was punished. A punishment that cost him the life of his son. Remember Eve. A single bite of the fruit cost her the happy and luxurious life she and Adam enjoyed. It cost her the relationship she shared with God and ultimately it led to the fall of mankind as we read in (Rom 5:12) “….through One man sin entered the world and death through sin…..” But by the eternal mercy of God, we have a Saviour who died for our sins. (Rom 5:21) But never take this grace for granted and as a means to do whatever you want, thinking that you will be forgiven anyway. God only forgives you when you truly feel guilty for your sins and repent from your heart and ask him to help you turn away form your sins. We must always remember temptation comes before everyone. It’s not that only those who are strong in the Word are not tempted and the others are. The only difference is that if we are strong rooted in the Word and if we have the Holy Spirit in our hearts, we can overcome the temptation compared to those who don’t. Remember the justification of our sins cost Jesus every drop of his blood. So my dear brothers and sisters, let us evaluate ourselves. Our reaction to the diverse temptations we face everyday. While in school we may have that urge to join in with the crowd and enjoy what they indulge in. Do we act upon and give into those temptations or do we with the help of the Spirit stick to our faith? What about in our work places? Do we sometimes get fed up with the pressure around us that we find wrong means and easy ways to get to our deadline? When we are angry with someone, do we find it easy to just blurt out everything that is in our minds or do we have the mind of Jesus to forgive seventy times seven? What about our tithes? Do we give what is due to God or do we think of how much more we could have brought with that money? And lastly our devotional time. We are so tired sometime after work or school that we think one day without reading the Bible or praying will do no harm. We say there is always a tomorrow so God will understand. There are so many things likewise which we overlook as small and trivial but which make a difference to God. No sin is Big and no sin is Small. No sin is very wrong and no sin is just a little wrong. No sin is the worst and no sin is better than the other sin. Sin is sin. Sin is wrong. Let us ask God these coming days to bring to remembrance all the small things in our lives which may be OK to us but which may hurt God. Let us ask Him to help the Holy spirit to dwell in our lives so we can lead a life pleasing to Him and attain the holiness God has planned for us. And lastly let us thank God for forgiving us. You might be perfect in your eyes and in the eyes of others.

You may be doing everything according to the Bible. But just like the rich man in Mark 10:21 who claimed he was doing everything but faltered when Jesus asked him to give his possessions to the poor, you too may have that small sin in your life which seems okay but negates the effect of your other good doings. No matter how difficult it is for you to stay away from some sins, we must realize that we are putting our eternal life at stake. Jesus died for you my friend. The drops of blood shed from His body, the insults, the cries of anguish, they were all for you. Do not make the eternal sacrifice of Jesus as just a story you learn in Sunday school. Honor it. Respect it. He wouldn’t have done it if He didn’t really want you to spend eternity with Him.
And then one day when all the earth and everything in it passes away and when we live with Jesus in our rightful and heavenly home we will realize that even if now we have to undergo some hard times for turning away from our sins like losing a friend or being made fun of, we will realize then that it was worth it all.
May God Bless you with these words.

Sis. Tesnia Grace George

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