“Therefore what benefit were you then deriving from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the outcome of those things is death.” (Romans 6:21)
God hates all sin and disobedience (Hebrews 2:2). Hell itself is an example of God’s hatred for sin and the ultimate consequences of it. For the Christian whose sins are graciously forgiven, the cross and our Savior’s pain and humiliation should serve as a constant reminder of God’s wrath toward sin. We must take each and every sin very seriously and remember how terrible God’s judgments are against them. We can recall examples of how we or others we know have sinned in the past and have suffered the consequences for that sin. In addition, we have many examples and warnings in scripture of the pain, loss, and destruction that an individual or an individual’s family or nation suffered as a result of failing to obey God’s commandments.
In addition to giving us examples of those who have sinned (1 Corinthians 10:11), the scriptures graphically compare sin to repulsive things, including a dog eating its own vomit (Proverbs 20:17). One effective technique is to replace in our minds the thing that is tempting to us with graphic images of repulsive things, such as licking up our own vomit, or seeing the nails begin driven into our Savior’s hands and feet, or chewing a mouth full of gravel, or flies and maggots crawling on a dead corpse. It may sound extreme, but part of our problem is that we don’t understand how heinous sin really is; we minimize the offense it is to God and the horrible effect it can have on others. It’s like firemen taking an hour lunch break while people they could easily rescue perish in the flames. How much of a part do you want to have in people’s rejection of the Savior and their eternal punishment in the lake of fire? To the extent we can remember these negative consequences and repulsive images when we are tempted, the allure of temptation will be diminished. Temptation is a very serious issue, and our problem is that we think of it fondly when it ought to repulse and anger us. If Satan is attacking us in our minds and our imaginations, then let us use the power of our imaginations to see temptation as God sees it. When tempted, remember and visualize the true consequences. Sin is not worth it.
· Remember the hatred with which God hates sin; remember the cross of Christ; remember that God’s judgment and wrath, and hell itself, will come as a result of sin.
Matthew 26:57-27:54, Romans 1:18, 2:1-10, Ephesians 5:6, Colossians 3:5-6, 1 Peter 2:8, Revelation 20:11-15, 21:8, 22:15
· Remember the “benefits” of sin: embarrassment, loss, pain, guilt, destruction, and death.
Job 31:9-12, Proverbs 5:7-14, 6:26-35, 7:22-23, Romans 2:5-9, 6:21-23, 8:6-8,
James 1:15
· Remember that every sin will be brought to light and judged; God hears and sees all words and deeds.
2 Samuel 12:11-12, Job 31:4, Psalm 44:20-21, 90:8, 119:168, 139:1-6, Ecclesiastes 12:13-14, Jeremiah 16:17-18, Matthew 10:26, 12:36, Romans 2:1-11, 1 Corinthians 3:12-15, Hebrews 4:13
· Remember the pain of God’s discipline; know that He will certainly discipline us for disobedience in order to make us holy.
Psalm 7:12, 39:11, Jeremiah 17:10, Hebrews 2:2, 12:5-11
· Remember that the pleasure of sin is fleeting, the pain is long-lived, and the consequences may very well be permanent.
2 Samuel 12:10-12, Proverbs 7:23-27, Hebrews 11:25
· Remember the hurt and embarrassment that your family and other Christians will suffer because of your sin.
Psalm 69:6, 1 Corinthians 12:26
· Remember that when you choose sin, you take yourself out of the battle against forces of darkness, out of a position of influence with God, thereby giving Satan an opportunity to advance his evil cause.
1 john 3:19-22
· Remember Biblical examples of those who succumbed to temptation, given for our instruction.
Genesis 3:1-21(adam & eve), 4:1-15 (cain), 19:1-38 (sodom & lot), Exodus 15:22-17:7, 32:1-33:7, Numbers 11:1-14:45, 16:1-17:13, 25:1-18, Judges 1-21, 1 Corinthians 10:1-13 (Nation of Israel), 1 samuel 2:12-4:22 (Eli & sons), 1 Samuel 13-16, 22, 28 (Saul), 2 Samuel 11-12 (David), 1 Kings 11 (solomon), 1 Kings 12 – 2 chronicles (the Kings of Israel & Judah), Matthew 16:21-23, 26:69-75, Galatians 2:11-14 (Peter), Acts 5:1-11 (Ananias & Sapphira), Revelation 2-3 (Seven churches)
· Remember Biblical illustrations of sin, e.g. “bitter as wormwood,” “sharp as a two-edged sword,” “mouth filled with gravel,” “fire in the bosom,” and “a dog that returns to its vomit,” and replace the temptation with these and other graphic and repulsive images.
Proverbs 5:4, 6:27, 20:17, 25:14, 18, 19, 26, 28, 26:11, 13-14, 17-21, 2 Peter 2:22