What happens when we flirt with sin?
For whatever reason, our society has divided sin into many different levels and categories. Though Jesus taught that a sin in the heart is equal to a sin carried out, we continue to “rank” them today. As Jerry Bridges writes in his book Respectable Sins, “We often live in unconscious denial of our ‘acceptable sins.’”
During the time of Jeremiah, the people’s current state was viciously affected by a denial of acceptable sin. Though it’s true that all sin is evil, it’s also true that sin grows and grows taking over every aspect of our lives. Even worse, it has the capacity to take over the lives of others. In that same book, Respectable Sins, Jerry Bridges also writes this…
“Sin is a spiritual and moral malignancy. Left unchecked, it can spread throughout our entire inner being and contaminate every area of our lives. Even worse, it often will “metastasize” from us into the lives of other believers around us.”
Jeremiah 19 speaks to the growth of sin among the people. They had fallen so low as to engage in child sacrifice to false gods – something they fell into many times during their history. This act was repulsive to God. From the beginning, He was clear that such an act was completely sickening (Gen 22).
“and have built the high places of Baal to burn their sons in the fire as burnt offerings to Baal, a thing which I never commanded or spoke of, nor did it ever enter My mind;”
Jeremiah 19:5 NASB
For the people of Jeremiah’s time and for us today, we cannot compromise in our fight against sin. Through Jesus, we are given power and authority to resist temptation. Through grace, we can face sin and confess it to others. If there were no grace, we would never come forward, because the shame would be too great. But Praise God this is not the case! He has given us new life through His Son so we can walk in confidence and authority while resisting the enemy and his schemes.