A Deterrent from Sinning

 Many of us, as Christians, are trying to live lives that are as free from sin as possible. After all, we are commanded to be holy like God is holy. So how are we doing? Have we been able to eliminate the sins of commission and the sins of omission? Are we not doing the wrong things, and are we doing the right things consistently? If we are struggling with this, God has a solution. It doesn't make it easy, but it makes it very possible.

The Hebrew people received the 10 Commandments at Mt Sinai. God came down upon the mountain in glory and power with lightening, thunder, thick darkness, and shaking the earth. (Exodus 20:20) Then Moses told them, "Don't be afraid, for God has come in this way to test you, and so that your fear of Him will keep you from sinning." So, God intends for us to have a healthy fear of Him and for that to be a strong deterrent from sinning. Let's spend a moment reflecting on this.

We all tend to stay away from what could harm us. That is why when we are tempted to do something dangerous, most of the time we stop, and we don't do it. Those of us who go ahead and do it anyway think we can do it without getting hurt. We may be wrong, but we think they can get away with it. I am afraid that is how many Christians look at sin. We know it is wrong, and we could get hurt, but we think God won't do anything. We have no fear of God, at that point.

The truth is that God shows us His power and glory from time to time in various ways, so we will know that He sees everything, and He is holy. He shows us that He hates sin, and any time we sin we face His anger against that sin. Therefore, if we keep that in mind, we will never think that we can get away with sinning. We will do what is right, because we are afraid of how our Father will punish us. At the same time, we know He will bless us for doing well. When you put those two factors together, we have a strong deterrent from sinning.

#NHBaptistdotorg

Tomorrow, I intend to read Exodus 23-25.