INTRODUCTION
THE DECEITFULNESS OF SIN
By
Phil Scovell
Copyright (C) 2003/2007
All rights Reserved
Hebrews 3:13
But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of
you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.
INTRODUCTION
If we are born again, we know what sin is. So, in some respects,
sin, I suppose, ought to be considered the worst? After all, sin
renders a person to eternal condemnation without God and sentences
them to an eternal hell. Right? "For the wages of sin is death,"
(Romans 3:23). Fortunately for us, the book of Hebrews was written
to those who are Born Again. For the Christian, therefore, 1 John 1:9
is applicable to our sins and not the wages of sin mentioned in
Romans. "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive
us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
Have you ever noticed that 1 John 1:9 refers to the sin of a
Christian as "unrighteousness?" This is because the sin of a
Christian is different than the sin of the lost sinner. A lost
person, that one without Jesus Christ as the Lord and Savior of their
life, commits sin because he is a sinner. That is, he is born with a
sin nature and therefore, he sins. A Christian no longer is of that
same sin nature because he has been born again and the Spirit of
Christ dwells within him. In other words, our spirit, at the moment
of conversion, was recreated so the Holy Spirit could come and dwell
within us at that moment, (See 2 Corinthians 5:17 and Ephesians
1:13). So when a Christian sins, it is not a sin which will condemn
them to hell because the Bible clearly teaches we are no longer
condemned. Thus, the Christian, who sins, can quickly restore a
perfect relationship with Christ by confessing that committed sin.
We are then cleansed from all unrighteousness and made right with God
in all respects to that sin.
Righteousness is the character and nature of God. We become Born
Again and His righteousness, His character, becomes our nature. That
nature is the new man and is sinless. As a Christian, sin distorts
the true nature and character of God, therefore, Christian sin is an
act of unrighteousness not an act of eternal condemnation. A lost
sinner must first confess Jesus Christ as the Lord of His life in
order to secure the righteousness of God. A Christian, on the other
hand, already has the righteousness of God. So I repeat, the sin of
the born again believer is an act of unrighteousness and not the sin
of condemnation.
We can look at it this way. The lost person cannot just confess
His individual acts of sin and be born again; He has to admit that he
is a sinner, cannot save himself, and makes Jesus Christ the Lord of
His life. In other words, 1 John 1:9 is only applicable to Born Again
Christians; the unsaved, or lost person, cannot claim its spiritual
efficacy for his sins. When We, as Christians, on the other hand,
commit a sinful act, it is a distortion of the nature and character
(righteousness) of God. To clear up this garbled picture of God's
righteousness flowing from our newly recreated spirit, all we need to
do is to confess a committed sin and we are instantly cleansed from
all unrighteousness. This is literally the putting off of the old
man. (See Ephesians 4:22 and Colossians 3:9). Our spirits have been
recreated in order to provide a place of holiness for the Holy Spirit
to dwell. Our physical bodies will not be regenerated, or redeemed,
until Christ returns. Likewise, our minds are not born again and must
be renewed and refreshed by the Word of God continually. (See Romans
12:1-3, Ephesians 4:22-25, and James 1:21).
In Hebrews 3:13, Christians are told to exhort each other daily.
The Greek word for "exhort" comes from two Greek words which
literally means to call someone by name and to come along side of
them to instruct or comfort them. The Greek word is very similar to
the word used to refer to the ministry of the Holy Spirit as the
Comforter.
The terminology, "while it is called today," means to be
consistent about your encouragement, that is, continue to encourage
them until victory comes. What is the purpose of this exhortation or
encouragement? It is Christian accountability and responsibility to
serve other Christians in need. If they are troubled, attempt to
encourage them until they are restored to a right relationship with
God. If they are grieving, seek to comfort them. If they are sick,
draw along side of them and minister to them in their illness. If
they are suffering from a broken heart, identify with them. If they
are spiritually wounded, help them rebuild strength. If they are
afraid, lead them to truth. If they are living a sinful life, pray
for them and attempt to show them the way. If they have a financial
need, give what you can and agree with them in prayer if you can't.
Galatians 6:2 says we are to bear each others burdens. It does not
say to wait until all of your own burdens are eliminated before you
begin to bear the burdens of others.
I could go on but by now you get the picture. All of that, and
much more, is exhortation. This is why, on my website, I post the
motto on my front page which says, "Be nice to everybody because
everybody is having a tough time." Why should we, as Christians,
maintain this type of an attitude? "Lest any of you be harden through
the deceitfulness of sin." The Greek word for "harden" means to make
hard, obstinate, or stubborn. The word for "deceitfulness" in this
verse is a Greek word from which we obtain our word for apathy or
apathetic. My dictionary defines apathetic as, (Without emotion or
interest, impassive, indifferent, insensible, lethargic, listless,
phlegmatic, stolid, unconcerned, uninterested, and unresponsive).
I have already defined sin in context of this passage but again,
it is important to note that it is not the sin of condemnation but the
sin of unrighteousness. The nature of sin is total destruction. In
the life of the lost, they are condemned forever. In the life of the
Christian, sin, when allowed to go unconfessed, hardens a person's
ability to walk with God in harmony. We become stubborn, inflexible,
and obstinate. Indifference and unconcern creeps in and we continue
to walk further away from God. If this is done long enough,
eventually the sin, which is separating you from a right relationship
with God, doesn't seem so bad any longer. Compound the problem with
drugs, alcohol, sexual immorality, the choice of wrong friends,
spiritual isolation, worldly reasoning, unnecessary secular education
for the wrong reasons, intellectual justification, legalism, a
cultivated mundane attitude, and our hearts become hardened even more
by the deceitfulness of sin.
The only real tool the devil has to use against us as Christians
is deceit. Why? Because the devil knows that the Christian can
confess committed sin to the Lord, according to 1 John 1:9, and be
instantly cleansed from all unrighteousness once again and walk in the
righteousness of God. So what might the devil do instead in the life
of a Christian? He simply deceives us over and over again. Let's
consider some examples of how the devil works in the life of a
Christian by deceitful means and, in most cases, even without sin.
End Of Introduction
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