May 29
“Nevertheless, with most of them God was not well-pleased; for they were laid low in the wilderness. Now these things happened as examples for us, that we should not crave evil things, as they also craved.” (1 Corinthians 10:5-6)
Yesterday we used the example of pornography to illustrate how we can replace appealing images of evil with more realistic images, images of the true consequences and end of sin, images reminding us of the very frail and temporal nature of the flesh, images of the fate that awaits the unbeliever and of what will take place in the future as a result of disobedience to God. Replacing unrealistic, manufactured fantasies about sin with reality is our goal. Replacing a foolish, naïve, and simpleton way of looking at our sin with a true picture of what is taking place or will take place is the first step in seeing sin the way God sees it.
Our problem is that we crave evil just like the Israelites craved evil in the wilderness. The scriptures detail their immoral behaviors and the consequences God dealt them as a result. “Nor let us act immorally, as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in one day. Nor let us try the Lord, as some of them did, and were destroyed by the serpents. Nor grumble, as some of them did, and were destroyed by the destroyer.” (1 Corinthians 10:8-10) We tend to focus on the immorality aspect of their behavior as being detestable to the Lord, but let’s not forget that putting the Lord to the test and grumbling brought about God’s wrath also. How many times do we do that?
This is what we need to be able to do when we are tempted, we need to realize how God views our sin and how He detests it. We need to see it as He sees it and remember how He judges these sins and the consequences He gives out as a result of these sins. The problem is that we get comfortable with our sin, and just because God doesn’t strike us down immediately we think its “okay.” It’s anything but okay.
If we do nothing but remember God’s wrath and judgment toward unbelievers, we will remember the consequences of sin. Eternal hell is the consequence for sin and the soul that sins whose sin is not covered by the blood of Christ. We have become so complacent in God’s love, emphasizing His mercy and grace, which is much needed and so very true, that we have forgotten about His hatred of sin.
If we truly have become grateful for the blood and forgiveness of Christ, it will not lead to more sin or complacency toward sin, it will produce a hatred of sin in us. We will see Jesus’ gruesome death as God’s ultimate view of sin, a hatred so great that it would incite Him to allow His Beloved Son to undergo such torture and humiliation. The torture of Jesus on the cross is God’s view of sin, and if we care think hard on that, it will serve to quench our desire and love for sin. The next time you are tempted, try replacing the image or idea of the things that tempt you with the image of Jesus being mocked, beaten, scourged, and crucified. This must be our goal, to see sin as God sees it, to hate it as He hates it, and to see the consequences that directly result from it.