Sin is Serious

SIN IS SERIOUS

(I have been in ministry for 50 years and in spiritual warfare ministry for almost 35 years.  God has used both to teach me and make me more like Jesus.  I’d like to share some of the lessons I have learned through studying, writing, teaching, counseling and praying spiritual warfare.)

While we are quick to state that sin is terrible and must be avoided, too often we as Christians have a very casual attitude to sin.  We call it a ‘weakness’ or ‘mistake.’  We know we can confess it and be forgiven (1 John 1:9), so it doesn’t seem so dangerous.  Allowing some sin in our life and then confessing it when we get too guilty can become our pattern.  We know we are safe in Jesus.  We have our salvation and are assured of heaven when we die, so being holy doesn’t always seem important to us.  We know we shouldn’t sin, but if we do we confess it and move on.

My involvement with spiritual warfare and demonizing, though, has shown me just how serious the matter of sin is.  Sin, especially those which open a door for demons to work in a person’s life, is nothing to be taken lightly.  Involvement in the occult, worshipping or giving power to something other than God, doing anything that opens us to outside control (alcohol, drugs, ungodly emotional experiences, abuse, trauma, etc.) or sex outside marriage – any of these can open a person to demonic presence in their life.  Sin in a family can affect others in that family, even several generations later.  Often children who have been adopted struggle as they grow up because of demonic work in them as a result of sin in the lives of their birth parents.  Contact with objects or locations that have been claimed by demons can also open the person to their control.

That’s why it is important to live a holy life and keep from sin.  When we do sin we must sincerely confess the sin (recognize it is our fault and take the blame for it) and turn from it.  Then we must fill that space with God’s Spirit or the demons will return and bring more with them (Matthew 12:45; Luke 11:26).

In our world pornography has become a big problem and temptation.  Involvement in pornography can open a person to demonic influence.  Alcohol and drugs can do the same thing.  So can greed, fear, anger or any number of sins.

Sin is deadly.  Thank God for His victory over sin so it doesn’t have control over us (1 Corinthians 15:57).

Romans 6:5-7, 9-11  For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with,[a] that we should no longer be slaves to sin— because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.  Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. 10 The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.  …  11 In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. 12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires.

When are you most tempted to play around with sin?  Which sin is hardest for you to resist?  Do you sometimes have a casual attitude to your sin? What should you do to overcome that?

(For more information on the subject of spiritual warfare go to SW.ChristianTrainingOrganization.org  or email me at jerry@schmoyer.net and I’ll send you a free copy of my Spiritual Warfare Handbook).

C t O Rev. Dr. JERRY SCHMOYER
Christian Training Organization
jerry@ChristianTrainingOrganization.org
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