Sensitive to Sin not Sensitized by Sin

 Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. 1 Timothy 1:15… If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 1 John 1:8  

My propensity to sin is directly related to my perspective of how sinful I am. For example, if I lose my sensitivity to the dangers of an emotional attraction to another woman—other than my wife, I become sensitized by the sin of pride. I lower my moral guard and I become vulnerable to the foolish actions of following my sinful desires, justifying all along the way—that I can handle a little zest in my life. If on the other hand—I cling to Christ in my daily devotion and recognize my need for His cleansing power over my soiled soul—I will be on high alert of my inability to handle temptation alone—and by faith will crucify sin’s arresting influence. But, alone I’m done.    

Yes, the man who wrote much of the New Testament described himself as the worst of sinners—not just for an exaggerated shock affect, but to illustrate the need of our desperate dependence on Jesus. Familiarity with the faith is a precarious place where pride incubates and begins to deceive a believer into thinking they are okay when nursing small compromises, only to soon develop the chronic spiritual sickness of not dealing with sin. Paul’s religious resume was a liability to him forgetting to engage in the need of the Spirit’s conviction, thus he stayed sensitive to sin—to overcome sin.     “Do not conform to the pattern of this world” (Romans 12:2). “Do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires” (Romans 6:12).    

Be careful that your convictions do not conform to the world’s way, instead of transforming the world by living out the way of Christ. Similar to a developing photo, as it gradually sensitizes to the darkroom dynamics, so our mind and heart can grow accustomed to sin’s darkened influence. The bright light of the Lord’s righteous expectations overexpose sin’s picture of false hope and brings the truth out into the open on captivating display. An attractive life walks in God’s light.    

A community of loving accountability is necessary to keep our standards for living aligned with the Lord. We finish well in the faith—together, not by ourselves. Our private prayers deepen our intimacy with Jesus, when complemented by our public prayers with fellow followers of Jesus.

Our individual confession of sin to God grows in honesty, when we are open toconfess our sins to one another and be healed. Our temptation to sin is tempered when we give permission to other God fearing friends to call us out if we dismiss God’s word and drift toward foolishness. Sensitivity to sin is the Spirit’s anti-venom serum to not be sensitized by sin’s poisonous bite.  

  “Do not gaze at wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup, when it goes down smoothly! In the end it bites like a snake and poisons like a viper. Your eyes will see strange sights, and your mind will imagine confusing things” (Proverbs 23:31-33).    

Prayer: Heavenly Father, keep me sensitive to hate what You hate and love what You love.  

by Boyd Bailey