SIN PERSONIFIED
There is one more aspect of sin that is very important here as well. Sin is not only an identity statement, a choice we make or an action we perform and it is even more than merely missing the mark or not measuring up; sin can also be a powerful force, as powerful as any addiction or habit; The Apostle Paul says, Romans 7:15, ‘I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate [to do] I do’. I don’t know if any of us can relate to that. I don’t know if any of us have ever struggled with wanting to do one thing and winding up doing another.
I like the way the writer of Genesis speaks about sin in Genesis 4. He writes about sin as if it were a kitten, a cat or some other predator. Does anyone here have a cat? Have you ever seen them hunting? They watch their prey for a long time and then they slowly move closer and then they crouch, ready to pounce on their target, and then they strike, capturing the one they were hunting in their claws or in their mouth. Genesis 4:7b: ‘But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it.’
Genesis 4 contains the story of Cain and Abel. We all know the story of Cain and Abel, right? Cain is sad. Cain is angry that God accepted his brother’s gift but not his offering. Genesis 4:6-7, “‘Then the Lord said to Cain, ‘Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it.’”
God loves Cain. God is warning Cain before he ever kills his brother; God gives Cain every opportunity to do what is right and He is warning him that there will be natural and logical consequences if he does not do what is right – sin is crouching at his door. God is warning Cain that sin desires to have him, it wants to devour him and, of course we know, in this story that Sin does pounce on Cain as he gives in and murders his brother.
Sin crouching at the door. This is true in our own life too; it desires to have us but we must master it and this is some of what John is speaking about in 1 John when he writes, 2:1-5a:
My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.
We know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands. Whoever says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person. But if anyone obeys his word, love for God is truly made complete in them.
There is one more aspect of sin that is very important here as well. Sin is not only an identity statement, a choice we make or an action we perform and it is even more than merely missing the mark or not measuring up; sin can also be a powerful force, as powerful as any addiction or habit; The Apostle Paul says, Romans 7:15, ‘I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate [to do] I do’. I don’t know if any of us can relate to that. I don’t know if any of us have ever struggled with wanting to do one thing and winding up doing another.
I like the way the writer of Genesis speaks about sin in Genesis 4. He writes about sin as if it were a kitten, a cat or some other predator. Does anyone here have a cat? Have you ever seen them hunting? They watch their prey for a long time and then they slowly move closer and then they crouch, ready to pounce on their target, and then they strike, capturing the one they were hunting in their claws or in their mouth. Genesis 4:7b: ‘But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it.’
Genesis 4 contains the story of Cain and Abel. We all know the story of Cain and Abel, right? Cain is sad. Cain is angry that God accepted his brother’s gift but not his offering. Genesis 4:6-7, “‘Then the Lord said to Cain, ‘Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it.’”
God loves Cain. God is warning Cain before he ever kills his brother; God gives Cain every opportunity to do what is right and He is warning him that there will be natural and logical consequences if he does not do what is right – sin is crouching at his door. God is warning Cain that sin desires to have him, it wants to devour him and, of course we know, in this story that Sin does pounce on Cain as he gives in and murders his brother.
Sin crouching at the door. This is true in our own life too; it desires to have us but we must master it and this is some of what John is speaking about in 1 John when he writes, 2:1-5a:
My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.
We know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands. Whoever says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person. But if anyone obeys his word, love for God is truly made complete in them.
Be careful, Sin is crouching at your door. 1 John 2:1, again: “my dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.” Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God;” however, Galatians 3:24 and Romans 6:1-6, we can be free from the power of sin. Since Christ is sinless, we can sin less.
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