Being Struck for Our Sins

 One of the worst things that we can do is to take our sins lightly. I am afraid this is a very big problem for people today. Many people tend to rationalize that their sins are not really so bad. They think they are just doing what everyone else is doing, so it must not be very serious. This can be deadly thinking, as we see in the Bible, because God takes all sins seriously.

The men of Beth-shemesh found out this reality when the ark of the Lord was returned by the Philistines, and it ended up in their area. (I Samuel 6:19) The Lord fatally struck some of the men of Beth-shemesh because they had looked into the ark of the Lord. He struck 50,070 men among the people, and the people mourned because the Lord had struck them with a great slaughter. 

Sometimes we sin by doing what we know is wrong. At other times we sin by missing God's will, even though we were not aware that what we were doing was wrong. However, in both cases we have sinned, and there are consequences for both kinds of sins. As Christians, all of our sins are forgiven by the blood of Christ, but that is why I John 1:9 calls us to confess our sins after salvation, so God can cleanse us and restore us to a right relationship and fellowship with Him.

Just remember, God killed Ananias and Saphira for lying about their offering. He killed believers in Corinth for taking the Lord's Supper in vain. The consequences of our sins can be very severe, so we must take them seriously and follow the Spirit, so we stay away from sin by keeping God's commands and doing what pleases Him. Remember, if sin wasn't so serious, Jesus would not have had to die on the cross for the sins of the whole world.

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Tomorrow, I intend to read I Samuel 7-10.