THE CHARACTER OF SIN (PART FIVE)

Bob Myhan

n the last four issues of Faith Builder we have dealt with the deceptiveness, degeneracy, destructiveness and divisiveness of sin. Another of its chief traits is deadliness. As we shall see, it is deadly precisely because it is divisive.

eparation is the essence of death, “For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also” (James 2:26). The prodigal son “’was dead’” because he was separated from his father and his brother (Luke 15:32).

piritual death is the inevitable consequence of sin because sin separates, or divides, the sinner from God—the only source of spiritual life (Isaiah 59:1,2; Romans 6:23). God told Adam he would die if he ate of the forbidden fruit (Genesis 2:17). Adam ate of the fruit and he died. “Therefore…through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin” (Romans 5:12). One who lives in sin is dead spiritually though alive physically (1 Tim. 5:5,6).

hose who die in their sins will experience the second death, which will be eternal (John 8:21-24; Rev. 20:11-14; 21:8). They will go into everlasting fire, where there will be eternal punishment and eternal torment (Rev. 20:10; Matthew 25:41-46), implying eternal consciousness; for apart from consciousness there can be neither punishment nor torment.

hus, those who are presently “dead in sin” (Eph. 2:1-5) must become “dead to sin” in order to escape the second death (Romans 5:20-6:7,23).

t is easy to see, therefore, why it is the case that “evil company corrupts good habits” (1 Cor. 15:33). Those who are deceived by sin, to the point of being enslaved thereby, “grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived” (2 Tim. 3:13). Sin has the capacity for being not merely epidemic but pandemic, affecting every one either directly or indirectly. It is, indeed, the worst contagion the world has ever seen. &

WHAT IS A CHRISTIAN? (Part 3)

Bob Myhan

ast week we noticed, in the second of the three passages where the word, “Christian,” is used, that a Christian is one who has been fully persuaded of the basic facts of the gospel, of the possibility of living a faithful life of service, of a reward that will make all suffering for righteousness’ sake worthwhile and of the spiritual security, purpose in life, happiness and peace that being a Christian will provide.

n the third of those passages we have the inspired admonition, “Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter” (1 Peter 4:16). From this scripture we learn that a Christian is one who is unashamed to suffer as such.

hile life is difficult for everyone, Christians have their own particular set of problems. “Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution” (2 Tim. 3:12).

hy is it the case that Christians suffer so? Jesus explained, “’If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you’” (John 15:18,19).

hus, inasmuch as the Christian has turned his back on the world, he is hated and mistreated by the world. And he or she “will suffer persecution.” And he or she will face it unashamedly.

erhaps the most common form of persecution is unjust criticism. Peter writes, “For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men…. For we have spent enough of our past lifetime in doing the will of the Gentiles—when we walked in lewdness, lusts, drunkenness, revelries, drinking parties, and abominable idolatries. In regard to these, they think it strange that you do not run with them in the same flood of dissipation, speaking evil of you” (1 Peter 2:15; 4:3,4).

ess common, but tougher to endure, is physical affliction. However, it should be much easier for us than it was for Christians in the first century, since we will probably never be called upon to suffer to the extent that they did. Consider the suffering of Paul.

   “In labors more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequently, in deaths often. From the Jews five times I received forty stripes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a say I have been in the deep; in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness” (2 Cor. 11:23-27).

s the reader can see, persecution for righteousness’ sake [in the form of physical affliction] will not always take the same form, will not always have the same intensity, will not always have the same duration, and will not always come from the same direction. Nor will it come with the same frequency to all.

ut it will come for “all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus.” And they will either face it unashamedly or, for all practical purposes, they will cease to be Christians.

he late Marshall Patton observed, in his comments on 2 Timothy 3:12, “While we may not suffer today the physical persecution endured by early Christians, other forms of persecution prevail: peer pressure, invitations and promotions denied, ridicule, ostracism, false accusations, etc. Christians today have to make their way in a wicked, sensual, hostile, atheistic world. Why should those who are living for Christ expect anything but persecution from their foes?” (Truth Commentaries: 1 & 2 Timothy, Titus and Philemon, page 215).

hristians are also unashamed of the words of Christ (Mark 8:38; 2 Tim. 1:8), of the gospel (Romans 1:16) and of being in the religious and moral minority (John 6:66-69).

ut it is not easy to be unashamed. Diligence is required. “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Tim. 2:15).

ear reader, are you ashamed or unashamed of the words of Christ? Are you ashamed or unashamed of the gospel? Do you “desire to live godly in Christ Jesus”? Are you being “diligent to present yourself approved to God”? Are you “a worker who does not need to be ashamed”? If you are not, why are you not? &

SENTENCE SERMONS FROM THE BOOK OF PROVERBS

“The proverbs of Solomon:

“A wise son makes a glad father,

“But a foolish son is the grief of his mother” (10:1).

“The wise in heart will receive commands,

“But a prating fool will fall.

“He who walks with integrity walks securely,

”But he who perverts his ways will become known” (10:8-9).