Lies Women Believe About Sin, Part 3

Series: Lies Women Believe About Sin

Leslie Basham: You see a beautiful piece of clothing at a department store and think that you'll get it, but then you look at the price tag. We would be wise to look at the price tags on sins before we commit them. It's May 1, and you're listening the Revive Our Hearts with Nancy DeMoss.

Sin wouldn't be so appealing if it didn't seemingly offer so much pleasure. Let's face it, we wouldn't set our sights on another piece of cake or jump into that illicit relationship if we knew beforehand the price it would cost us in guilt, shame, and heartache. Let's listen now as Nancy talks about some of the sins that so easily ensnare us.

Nancy DeMoss: Did you ever stop to think that sin brings pleasure?--that there are some delights of sin? What are some of the pleasures that you can think of? When you think of sinful choices, what are some of the pleasures that we might experience as a result of making a sinful choice?

Speaker: A feeling of power.

Nancy DeMoss: A feeling of power? Sometimes when we make a choice we know is a sinful choice, but it brings the delight, the pleasure of being in charge.

Speaker: Shopping.

Nancy DeMoss: Shopping can be very sinful. Not inherently, but it brings pleasure to see new things, have new things, buy new things. But if I buy things I can't afford, then the pleasure is not going to last for very long, is it? What are some of the other kinds of pleasures or delights?

Speaker: Gossip.

Nancy DeMoss: Gossip. Does that bring pleasure? Gossip can bring a momentary pleasure of saying something that someone else doesn't know that I do know, but then you said afterward it brings misery that we've shared something that we shouldn't have shared. Okay, there's a pleasure there, there's a delight. It doesn't last for long, but it is there. What other kinds of pleasures can sin bring?

Mary Jane: A feeling of justice.

Nancy DeMoss: Mary Jane says, "If I speak an unkind word to my husband when he's hurt my feelings, I have this feeling of justice." That is a delight, isn't it, for a moment, a feeling of pleasure. Ever feel that when you're saying that critical or harsh or unkind word, it's just to get it off your chest? It makes you feel a little bit better for a moment. Are there any other pleasures of sin that you can think of? I started to say that these are good, but it's not good. Dinah...

Dinah: Acceptance.

Nancy DeMoss: Okay, we can sometimes lie to people, wanting to be accepted, to make a good impression of ourselves, to have them be our friend. And for a moment, for a period of time, there's a pleasure, there's a delight that comes from that sinful choice. The Scripture tells us in Hebrews 11 that sin has pleasure. But it says, "The pleasure of sin is just for a season. It doesn't last." Ultimately, sin always exacts a devastating toll. And you know what? There are no exceptions.

We're looking this week at some of the lies that we believe about sin, and I think perhaps the most fundamental one is the one that we've been looking at over the past few days. And that is that we can sin and get away with it.

You remember how the serpent came to Eve in the Garden and he said, "You can disobey God and you can avoid negative consequences. You will not die." But then he also said that there are definite benefits that you will experience--not only will you avoid death, but you will experience some definite benefits and pleasures if you eat.

Genesis 3:5 says, "God knows that when you eat of it, your eyes will be opened." Well, who doesn't want opened eyes? "And you will be like God." In effect you can be your own god, and you will know good and evil. In other words, he's saying there's a whole realm of experience and knowledge available to you if you will just eat. He's saying, "Whatever consequences you may reap are worth the pleasure that you will receive from having it your way."

You know, if we didn't think there was some joy to be had from sinning, why would we do it in the first place? Why would we tell that lie? Why would we get into that emotional attachment with another woman's husband? Why would we procrastinate on our responsibilities? Why would we spend money we don't have at the mall if we didn't think there was some joy to be had--and there is, for the moment.

I have a friend who keeps in his billfold a list of some of the consequences of sin. He shared with me that when he is tempted to sin, he will sometimes pull that list out of his billfold and just begin to remind himself of some of the consequences that Satan, for sure, is not reminding him of at that moment. Here are some of the things on his list: sin steals joy; sin brings guilt; sin gives Satan the upper hand; sin quenches God's Spirit; sin causes ache in the soul; sin breaks God's heart; sin opens the door to other sins; sin produces fear; sin makes me its slave; and the list goes on.

Now I wonder if we would stop to think, when we're tempted to sin, that these are some of the consequences we're signing up for, if we might not make different choices. You see, when my friend pulls that list out of his billfold, what he's really asking himself is, "Is this a price I really want to pay? Is this a price I can afford to pay?"

 When I go into a store and I see a beautiful piece of jewelry or a lovely outfit that I think I would love to have, the first thing I do is look at the price tag; and if it's out of my budget, if it's something I know I can't or shouldn't afford, that helps make my choice a lot easier. That doesn't mean that I wouldn't like to have that item; but it's going to help my choice to realize, I can't afford that piece of jewelry or that outfit in my budget. And given the priorities that God has given me at this moment, I can't afford that. Wouldn't it help if we would stop to think, Can I afford what this may end up costing me when I make this choice?

One of the problems is that the consequences of sin are not always seen immediately. And when I buy something in that store I can't afford, it's going to come to me on my bankcard statement within 30 days. But it doesn't always happen that way when we sin. Sometimes it does. You remember how Ananias and Sapphira sinned, lied to the Holy Spirit about their giving habits and--bam--they were just dead. God struck them dead immediately. And, needless to say, that brought some fear of the Lord on the church and the other believers around them.

But God generally doesn't deal with us that way. If He did, I think we would not be so quick to be deceived by this lie if we could see the consequences immediately. But sometimes the consequences of our sins are not seen until months or even years down the road. Sometimes they don't show up until the next generation. And some of the consequences and costs of our sin, I think, will be delayed until we stand before God at the judgment seat. And then we look back and say, "This is a heavy toll. This is a high cost to pay."

I believe God often delays punishing our offenses or working out the consequences in our lives partially to give us time to repent--to give us room to repent. But the day of reckoning will come, and there will be that day when I will wish and you will wish that we had chosen the pathway of obedience. Don't let it be when you're seeing things in your grandchildren that you say, "O Lord, if only I had made different choices 30, 40, 50 years ago."

King Solomon knew a lot about the pleasures and the consequences of sin, and for years he toyed with sin. He enjoyed its pleasures, and finally--and I think too late--came to this conclusion. He says it in the Book of Ecclesiastes. He says, "Although a wicked man commits a hundred crimes and still lives a long time, I know that it will go better with God-fearing men who are reverent before God." He says, "There are lots of people who sin. They seem to get away with it. They do lots of wicked things, and you can't tell that they're reaping any consequences in their lives. But," he said, "I've come to believe, to know in my heart that ultimately it will go better with the man who fears God and obeys Him."

And he says in Ecclesiastes 12, "Here's the conclusion of the matter. When it's all said and done, here's the bottom line. Fear God and keep His commandments. Obey Him." And what is it that motivates him to fear God and to keep His commandments? He says, "For God will bring every deed into judgment including every hidden or secret thing." God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, every secret thing, every sin that I've nursed or cherished or clung to in my heart that you will never know. God sees. God knows. And there will be consequences.

Leslie Basham: That's Nancy DeMoss warning us not to run so readily to our sin but to consider first the damage it will do to our lives and the lives of those around us. We'll hear from Nancy again in a moment.

You know, Satan lies to women about many things, including God, priorities and marriage, just to name a few. Nancy exposes these deceptions in her book, Lies Women Believe. This book was written so that women might be delivered from bondage and set free to live in the joy of God's truth. We have this book available in our Resource Center for a suggested donation of $17. To order, call 1-800-569-5959 or visit our Web site, ReviveOurHearts.com. When you call or log-on, would you consider making a donation to Revive Our Hearts? We're a listener-supported ministry, and your donation of any amount will help us reach more women with the life-changing message found in the Bible. You can mail a contribution to Revive Our Hearts.

You know, for most of us, it isn't the big sins that trip us up; but more the unassuming sins that seem harmless. Nancy will talk about that in more detail on tomorrow's broadcast. You don't want to miss it. But now, here's Nancy with one last thought.

Nancy DeMoss: Let me just ask us. Is there a sin or a set of sins, a particular kind of sin that you have found yourself holding onto? You may not think of it as a great big thing, and we're going to talk in the days ahead about how we weigh sins--some of them don't seem so big to us. But you've been thinking that you can hold onto that unforgiving spirit, that laziness, that lack of discipline, that self-indulgence, that self-pity, that lying tongue. You've been thinking you could continue to persist in that sin and have not been thinking about the consequences, the cost. What is the sin?

Take just a moment now to think, What could be some of the consequences in my life down the road? Yes, I know it has pleasure. Yes it has some benefits, for now, for the moment. But are those benefits, are those pleasures that I'm getting from that sin, from that habit in my life, from that indulging my flesh, are those pleasures, those benefits worth the price that I will have to pay when I come to the judgment seat of Christ?

When He brings to light every hidden thing, when I stand before Him, when I look into the eyes of my children, my grandchildren; and I see some of these consequences lived out in their lives and multiplied, will it have been worth the momentary, temporary benefits, the pleasures, that I got from sin? Will it? Not at all. "Though a man may commit a hundred crimes and persist in going on in his own way," Solomon says, "I know it will be better with the man who fears and reverences the Lord." That may be the tougher choice now--to say "no" to my flesh, to say, "yes" to the Spirit of God. But the blessings, the benefits are lasting ones. They're enduring ones. They go on from generation to generation, and then we can stand unashamed before God. 

Revive Our Hearts with Nancy DeMoss is a ministry partnership of Life Action Ministries.

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