“If you do well, won’t you be accepted? But if you don’t do well, sin is lying outside your door ready to attack. It wants to control you, but you must master it” (Genesis 4:7 God’s Word).
John Bunyan describes what backsliding is and how it happens. I took the liberty of quoting the whole section from “The Pilgrim’s Progress” in the first two articles of this trilogy (see related articles below).
Greek Icon – Jesus Knocking at the Door
One last word needs speaking on this, and that word comes from Scripture. In this often neglected passage in Genesis 4 God describes how sin works.
1. Doing well (the right things) keeps a person in an acceptable place. An athlete who keeps up a training regimen keeps ready for the tournament. Fill a bottle with fresh water and there’s no room for vinegar.
2. Sin doesn’t cause a person to do bad things! When a person chooses to act wrongly sin waits on the outside for the opportunity and invitation to attack and kill. “A thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy” (John 10:10a God’s Word).
3. Sin wants to control us, but we choose whether that happens or not. But such a choice involves much more than mere words, wishful thinking or relying on a system. To control sin means active, persistent “doing well”. No race was ever won by a dreaming couch potato. No tournament was ever won by the spectators since only the players can score!
“When an evil spirit comes out of a person, it goes through dry places looking for a place to rest. But it doesn’t find any. Then it says, ‘I’ll go back to the home I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean, and in order. Then it goes and brings along seven other spirits more evil than itself. They enter and take up permanent residence there. In the end the condition of that person is worse than it was before. That is what will happen to the evil people of this day” (Matthew 12:43-45 God’s Word).
So, do your actions invite the Saviour or the Destroyer into your life?
What are you full of?
Related Articles
February 21, 2013
nopew
viewoutsidethepew 