Dangerous Effects of Sin in the Life of a Believer

This article is a follow up to the article I previously posted on the believer's eternal security in Christ. I mentioned in that article that some people have confused the grace of God for a license or permission by God to sin. This is absolutely incorrect. Christ will not save us from sin and still permit us by "grace" to sin. Sin is what His grace took away; why will the same grace condone sin? It's a crazy thought.

Grace does not also promote complacency in our Christian lives. Apostle Paul, who preached extensively about God's grace, did not take God's grace for granted and did not indulge in or promote sin. Several scriptures in the Bible emphasize that a believer should not sin.

• Romans 6:2 – “... How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?”

• Romans 6:6 – “Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should no longer serve sin."

• Romans 6:7 – “For he that is dead is freed from sin”

• Romans 6:12 – “Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.”

• Romans 6:14 – “For sin shall not have dominion over you: FOR YE ARE NOT UNDER THE LAW BUT UNDER GRACE.”

• Romans 6:23 – “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

• 1 Thessalonians 4:7 – “For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness.”

• 2 Timothy 2:19 – “… And, Let everyone that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.”

• 1 John 3:8 – “He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.”

There is nothing about grace (God’s gift in Christ) that supports or condones sin. NOTHING! In fact, if you’re a person who understands your place in Christ – based on what Christ did for you, you’ll know that sin doesn't align with your new nature and you'll feel like a mess if you sinned. A believer in Christ, who understands grace, avoids sin not primarily because he wants to make it to heaven (although, he will) or because people say it is bad or because it might cost him a position in church; rather, he doesn’t dabble with sin because he loves the God who has called him out of darkness into His marvelous light, for God loved Him first; because he knows that He is freed from sin and cannot keep on living in what he is dead to; because he knows that he is not under the law but under grace. But does such a believer sin? Yes, sometimes he does – when he chooses to usurp the steering wheels of His life and Christian race from the grip of His Master. When he does, do things go wrong? Of course!

Let’s see a few dangers of sin in the life of a believer. We’ll look at only four in this post. There are several more.

1. Sin steals from the believer. Sin tampers with what we have freely in Christ. For example, peace and joy. Imagine that you had a simple beautiful Honda SUV you recently purchased for a good sum of money and you parked nicely in your garage. But then you happen to have a set of very energetic twin boys who are eight years old and who like to experiment with everything. And so, they scratch the body of your car today with metals; tomorrow, they throw a stone and break windshield. Then they got a hold of the keys one evening when you weren’t watching and decided to take turns at testing their car-moving skills. Your Honda in a week has become nothing but a wreck. First thing we note in this illustration is that your Honda is still YOUR Honda. You didn’t lose the Honda; but it has been seriously tampered with that you cannot use it for the intended purpose anymore. This is kind of the same way sin messes with us. A believer who has joy, peace, love, righteousness, etc. in the Holy Ghost realizes that because of sin, he is unable to express them the way God wants Him to.
   
   

2. Sin gives Satan access to mess with your life. John 10:10 – “The thief cometh not but for to steal to kill and to destroy…” Many times, Satan has access to the believer’s life, not mainly because he sins; but because the believer dwells on the attachments that comes with sin and refuse to move on. Attachments such as shame, guilt, depression, self-unforgiveness, fear, etc. Satan capitalizes on these and cause more pain to the believer. Any believer who falls into sin should remember that God is faithful and has forgiven you. So pick yourself up and move on. Do not give place to the devil (Ephesians 4:27). 1 John 1:1b – “And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.”
   
   

3. Sin in the life of a believer steals from the Body of Christ. (Yes, and I mean “one” believer). This may seem too extreme, but I realized recently through my own life that it is very true. As believers, God has given us a mission to the world. We are to preach the gospel (Acts 1:8), teach the word (2 Timothy 4:2), pray for the sick (Mark 16:17-18), pray for the unsaved (1 Timothy 2:1-6), pray for saints and ministers/spiritual leaders (Ephesians 6:18-19), pray that the gospel will gain entrance in difficult terrains (Colossians 4:3), yield to the Spirit so that we can be used of Him for the edifying of the Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12), etc. Now imagine if as a believer who is meant to be doing all this, you’re dealing with one sin and rather than making prayers for the entrance of the word in places like North Korea, you are crying that you’ve “done it again”. Sometimes, God places a burden in our hearts to pray for someone somewhere we know nothing about; perhaps someone in danger, and as we pray in the Holy Ghost, such person is being delivered from trouble wherever he is. Imagine how many people your prayers could have helped that it didn’t because when you knelt or laid down or walked to pray, your mind strayed off to the sin you just committed “again”, and of course, you’re beating yourself up rather than praying. You’re a couple and you know the Bible says when two agrees concerning a thing, it shall be established. But you two don’t agree, you argue and fight. Imagine the number of younger couples who would have learned from you that didn’t, because you couldn’t even get your own relationship together. You see that your one or recurrent sin actually steals from Christ’s Body. And there’s no way that is God’s plan.
   
   

4. In addition to the above three, sin also messes with the believer’s relationship with God. Sin doesn’t destroy the believer’s position – he is still God’s child and God’s arms are ever open to receive him; but sin messes with his fellowship with the Father. He’s too afraid to come to Him because he knows he’s messed up again. All he needs do though is, like the prodigal son in Luke 15, shake off the dirt and pigs’ food from off himself and run into Dad’s open arms for restored fellowship.
   

In Galatians 5:16, Paul advises that for us to do the will of the Father and not sin against God, we have constantly yield to the Spirit of God. How careful or complacent you are as a believer on this Christian race is dependent upon the one you select to steer the wheels of your salvation. I choose my Master. Who do you choose?

Nourish Your Spirit