Four Times We Entertained Sin
For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin
Romans 6:6 NIV
In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.
Romans 6:11-14 NIV
The day I said yes to Jesus was beautiful. It really was. In a second, sin was rendered powerless over me and my old nature was stripped away. In the next second, the Holy Spirit came upon me and I was empowered to fight against sin. But since that glorious day, I’ve realized that there are times where I wasn’t walking in my empowerment to fight sin. I was actually entertaining it as opposed to really rebuking it out of my life . I can’t be alone, right? Can you relate?
Here are four times we have entertained sin
1. When You Drank
Yes, technically, biblically, there aren’t any scriptures that clearly states that Believers can’t take a little sippy sip. Believe me, I looked. You probably thought,
“So I am free to drink.”
No.
Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.
Ephesians 5:18
The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Galatians 5:19-21
So what’s the issue?
If getting drunk leads to a sin, why would it be okay to even drink in the first place? This is where you’ve entertained the sin. You engaged in drinking, but not enough for it to manifest into drunkenness. You participated in drinking, however, you stopped before you reaped the consequence of sin: drunkenness.
Even when you drank Martinelli, you could have possible entertained sin. Many believers treat Martinelli, aka overpriced apple cider, as the “Christian alternative” to the turn up. Tell me I’m lying. In reality, this is a non alcoholic beverage, but in our hearts, we react to it the same way we would if we were engaging in drinking alcohol. That’s when we have turned ordinary apple cider into an idol, and it has become a sin. Remember sin is conceived in the heart, before it is birthed in the physical.
It is not for kings, Lemuel—
it is not for kings to drink wine,
not for rulers to crave beer,
lest they drink and forget what has been decreed,
and deprive all the oppressed of their rights.
Let beer be for those who are perishing,
wine for those who are in anguish!
Let them drink and forget their poverty
and remember their misery no more.
Proverbs 31:4-7
Wine is a mocker and beer a brawler;
whoever is led astray by them is not wise.
Proverbs 20:1
2. When You Kissed
Yes, I know, again, there is no scriptures stating you can’t kiss. Once again, I’ve checked. I kid.
We can agree that kissing is a sexual act. Right? I mean, you don’t go around kissing anybody and I’m sure you wouldn’t want your significant other to be thinking they can kiss anybody else. Let’s go to the scriptures for biblical reference on this matter.
You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery. But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
Matthew 5:27-28
Jesus, you know the guy we all aim to be like, was telling the crowd, that although the law states you shouldn’t commit adultery, adultery starts from within the heart. He was saying that adultery can happen in the physical, as well as the spiritual.
Let’s apply this to a real life situation. Let’s say two individuals (1 man and 1 woman) engaged in kissing. Question: Did lust come before or after the kiss? Lust came before, therefore, kissing was the manifestation of the lust. Kissing was the fruit bore from the seeds of lust. You see before you act, you must first conceive the thought in your heart to give birth to the act. Thinking precedes acting.
And we all know kissing leads to other things :)
3. When You Used Replacement Words
Believers are known for speaking a language unknown to others. Besides tongues, we speak Christianese. We have nice, encouraging phrases that sound pleasing to the ear, but when used in a rude manner with intent to harm, can be considered equal to a curse word.
Take for instance, a brother or sister in Christ rubbed you the wrong way. Naturally, you would be upset or taken back by their actions. Boiling with emotions, you wouldn’t curse them out. No, that’s not Christ-like. So what do you do? You respond back with “I’ll pray for you,” “You’re blessed,” “Praise God for your life,” or any Christianese saying that you can conjure up. Although it sounds nice and caring, we all know your intent when saying it. You planned to harm the person in your heart. As oppose to harboring bitterness in your heart, be mature and address the issue then and there or as soon as possible, in a godly manner. No need to suppress the emotions and disguise them for what they aren’t. Let your yes be yes and your no be no.
4. When You Watched An Inappropriate Movie & Show
We don’t partake in sexual intercourse outside the covenant of marriage. Simple fact that everyone is aware of, not really a secret. However, that doesn’t stop most of us from thinking about it. You see, sometimes, in the battle for our purity, we don’t fight. We enable the enemy to plant seeds of lust and sexual immorality in our minds. The number one way they plant seeds: what we let our eyes see. The eyes are gateways to the body.
The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light.
Matthew 6:22 NIV
Now, if you are feeding your eyes things that aren’t holy and pure, don’t be surprised when it starts to bear fruits in your life. This is where you entertained sin. Yes, you aren’t partaking in sex, but watching entertainment that offers sex scenes, allows you to see sexual acts take place, without you engaging in them. Does that sound familiar? It sort of sounds like porn. Soft porn, but porn nonetheless. Don’t entertain this. Fight this and fight for your purity.
So in the battle with sin, remember Jesus won the battle when He rendered sin powerless on the cross. But also remember not to entertain it. Give sin no leeway in your life and discern all appearances of evil.
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 rule over it.
Genesis 4:7 (NIV)
Therefore,
“Come out from them
and be separate,
says the Lord.
Touch no unclean thing,
and I will receive you.”
2 Corinthians 6:17
