A Greater Sickness VI: Against Your Soul

Sin is against God, it is against your body, and it is against your own soul.

Sin is the ultimate false advertiser. God alone gives what He promises—good and perfect gifts. “Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow” (James 1:16-17).

When you accept the lie of sin, whatever it’s promising, it shifts. Sin never gives you what it promises. Sin is a deceiver.

Sin affects the mind, the heart, and the will. Today we’ll focus on how sin affects the mind.

Sin penetrates even our minds. We read in Jeremiah 4:22, “For My people are foolish, They know Me not; They are stupid children and have no understanding. They are shrewd to do evil, but to do good they do not know.”

“Being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart; and they, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness.” (Ephesians 4:18-19)

It is not just an intellectual problem, but a spiritual one. Our memories are a gift from God. But when sin rules our mind, our memories are full of grief, regret, and foulness. Where does your mind go when you can think about anything? Outside of Christ, our minds are only evil continually.

Sin affects our relationships. We put great hope in friendships, relationships, marriages, families. Sin destroys them all. Ultimately, sin destroys the most important relationship we could have with our Creator. His is the one relationship we need, the only one we can’t live without.

“For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness; No evil dwells with You. The boastful shall not stand before Your eyes; You hate all who do iniquity.”(Psalm 5:4-5)

Sin destroys our relationship with God, with others, and even within the church.

“Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” (Ephesians 4:1-3)

There’s an astonishing call from the offended King, who, at a terrible cost to Himself, has become your friend. And you’ve been called by this holy King to walk with Him and for Him. So let your life begin to match your call.

Sin promises infinite happiness and whispers, ‘You deserve it.’ But when we obey the call of sin and self, it betrays and enslaves us. How does it repay us for our devotion? With death.

Sin is worse than anything we could ever say, no matter how many episodes we spend on this topic. Sin spreads, infects, and ravages all it touches.

“And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, slanderers, and haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.” (Rom 1:28)

Instead of this most deadly virus shutting the world down, it is actually encouraged and spread by the world, the government, family, friends, us.

There is no hope for a cure—unless we are treated by the right Doctor. Henry Law writes, “Sin is a monster, which has many forms. Each form has many hands. Each hand deals wounds. Each wound is death. It touches to destroy. But for each wound help is prepared. Jesus appears ... all powerful... to heal.”

O Eternal God, our reconciled Father in Christ Jesus, reject us not, vile and miserable sinners, who, constrained by our necessities, and invited by Your goodness, cast down ourselves in humble confession of our sins, and thankful acknowledgement of Your mercies, and earnestly beg Your farther grace.

O Merciful Father of Spirits, have mercy upon us--forgive our great and manifold sins. Woe to us that ever we were born, if you deal with us as we deserve.

But we appeal to the blood and merits of Jesus, our Redeemer; for His propitiation that freely pardons all penitent believers. We are sinners, but He is righteous and has satisfied for our sins. Amen.

(Richard Baxter, Practical Works of Richard Baxter)