There is No Excuse for Sin

FROM AUGUST 15 @ 21, 2017

Topic: "There is No Excuse for Sin" I Corinthians 15:33-34 “Do not be deceived: ‘Bad company ruins good morals’. Wake up from your drunken stupor, as is right, and do not go on sinning. For some have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame.” We can’t make excuses or deny the existence of sin. Things will not go well for those who try to disguise their sin. You cannot blame others for your sin. Your own conscience will accuse you (Psalm 32:3-5, “For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,’ and you forgave the iniquity of my sin.”) Sin is such an awful death! It’s a pestilential disease! It’s like a fire within the bones! Regardless of how we try to cover our sin, it burns within. Like an infected wound, it horribly swells and causes great pain. “Through my groaning all day long.” The psalmist says this out of a guilty conscience, burning inside the heart. It is better to suffer from all the diseases that can afflict the flesh, than to die because of the overwhelming feeling of the wrath of God Almighty! Nothing in this world compares to the suffering of having a guilty conscience work within the heart! "For day and night your hand was heavy upon me ..." God’s finger can crush us. With a single thought, He can make us disappear. When men’s conscience is filled with terror, day and night, they have little rest. The sad and shameful thoughts of an entire day haunt them in their bedrooms, chasing after them in their dreams, or leaving them awake in a cold sweat of fear. It is better to carry the world upon your shoulder than the hand of God upon your heart! Let us be careful. If our offenses have been like a camel, instead of a mosquito, our grief will be like an ocean, instead of a single drop. Sins that are like crimson require tears of blood. Like when Peter shamefully sinned, and had to weep bitterly. Those who confess and stay away from sin can have God’s mercies. But here on earth, sometimes they will lose everything! In I Corinthians 15:33-34 we have A WARNING, followed by AN EXHORTATION, and A REPRIMAND. First, let us heed the warning: Bad companies (with their conversations) ruin good morals. Paul, the apostle, knew about bad conversations. This is why he warned us: "Do not be deceived ..." As if telling us: Do not be fooled! There is so much danger in keeping bad companies! Be careful though, when you have several types of friends everyone talks. One conversation will lead to the other, and as time passes, you will feel that everything is permissible, and that nothing bad happens. The ear becomes accustomed to what you should have never heard! Those who deceive, speak so sweetly! They sow a seed that in time blossoms into a plant, and then the fruit! These are the dangers, and risks taken when you do not avoid bad company, and conversation with those who sow the opposite of the gospel! Error and addiction are contagious! The exhortation is to finally end with sin; enter into reason as one who wakes up after getting drunk. Because those who become intoxicated lose their inhibitions, and do things they would never have done. "Be vigilant correctly..." Paul exhorts us to stay vigilant, to not fall into spiritual sleep. "As is right" refers to the way something is supposed to be, or be done properly! We must return to sanity, as it is our duty, and not continue to sin! If you have been sinning, DEFINE WHAT YOU ARE GOING TO DO. Return to sound judgment (to the faculty, the understanding by virtue of which man can distinguish good from evil, and true from false). If we want to be forever with the one we say is the Lord, we must shake off bad habits, and not listen to the siren calls of those with addictions!

Some clearly deserve this reproach. For there are some who continue in their ignorance of God (who do not know God), "... I say this to your shame." Ignorance of the true character of God is always at the root of all sin. People sin when they do not know God. The severe fault of not knowing God! When you do not believe, you do not know Him! This is the basis of Christian life, we know Him when we believe Him. There is definitely no excuse for sin! Amen.