Sin offers what it can never give, that is, satisfaction. Sin never satisfies; it never has done, it never will do; it cannot because it is wrong, it is foul. It never satisfies, although it is always offering satisfaction. Indeed, sin working through lusts never really gives anything at all, but simply takes away. . . . Sin robs us, takes from us, exhausts us mentally, physically, morally, in every respect, and at the end leaves us on the scrap heap, unwanted! It is entirely destructive. It takes away and robs us of character, chastity, purity, honesty, morality, uprightness, delicacy, balance, sensitivity, and everything that is most noble in man. Is it surprising that the Apostle says, “Put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts”? Avoid sin, I say, as the very plague, get as far away from it as you can, do all you can to destroy it and to mortify it. The New Testament is full of this teaching. Sin is so horrible, so foul, so deceitful!
D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, “Darkness and Light: An Exposition of Ephesians 4:17-5:17,” pg. 139
Hi Glenn,
ReplyDeleteHeb 11:25, speaking of Moses, says of him: choosing rather to endure ill-treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin...
We often hear that sin is foul, and it is, but what we seldom hear is that sin has a genuine attractiveness and provides pleasure, as said in that verse from Hebrews. BUT THEN, we must be immediately warned (again, as found in that Hebrews verse) that any pleasures we gain from sin are passing, fleeting, and furthermore, the sting you endure in the end is monumentally worse than the temporary pleasure received (i.e., you reap what you sow, Gal 6:7).
Going on, v26 of Heb 11 goes on to say that Moses chose the reproach of Christ instead, and looked forward to his reward. As we, too, should, only possible through the power of the Holy Spirit.
-Carolyn