The Propensity to Sin

"So if your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. Better to enter heaven crippled than to be in hell with both of your hands and feet."  Matthew 18:8 

Recently, I had a conversation with someone I have known for some time. This person was trying to convince me that homosexual people are born as homosexuals.

“You’re right,” I said. “We are all born into sin.” 

"What?" she said.

We went on to talk about our own personal sin struggles.  We all have them, though you may struggle with different sins than I do.  We all struggle.  But, as Christians, we must resist the temptation to sin.

Romans 5:12 tells us, “When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned."

When ruled by our own selfish desires, we each have a propensity to commit certain sins, such as gluttony, drunkenness, lying, adultery, homosexuality, covetousness, or greed. The list could go on and on. 

What we must be clear about is the fact that it's not okay.  We can't just say, "Oh, well, that's too tough a temptation for me, so I'll just give in."  That's the non-Christian's way of thinking.

We can't give it an important-sounding psychological name to excuse it, either.  The answer is a real personal relationship with Jesus Christ, God’s Son. He is the answer. He is the Great Physician. We must choose to be ruled by God’s Spirit rather than our flesh . . . every day.  It is an act of the will.  It is a daily choice to do what God wants us to do.  It is a moment-by-moment choice to do what God wants us to do.  And, we are empowered by the Holy Spirit to do just that.

1 John 3:9 tells us, “Those who have been born into God’s family do not make a practice of sinning, because God’s life is in them. So they can’t keep on sinning, because they are children of God."  Why is this so?  It is because our new, softened heart and God-given conscience will bother us so much that we are not able to continue in this way for very long without severe consequence.

May your propensity to sin be replaced with a propensity toward love, faith, and obedience to Jesus Christ.

Goodnight, Runners.