Ps 7:14
14 He who is pregnant with evil and conceives trouble gives birth to disillusionment. NIV
(My paraphrase) He who became intimate with sin, and is nurturing, feeding and dwelling on evil soon will give birth to disillusionment.
- This verse is showing us that those who get close to sin, feed and grow a lie. The devil paints a picture that just isn’t true. They press forward, expecting a rewarding end. When they get there, they find disappointment and emptiness, not the happiness and fulfillment they expected. It is the end of the illusion; it is disillusionment. Prov 17:19 Are you flirting with sin? The more you flirt, the better it looks. The reality never changes. It is still sin; it still produces sin and death in your life. Prov 5:8; 7:25 Do not go near; flirting with sin is the process of swallowing the hook. Isa 59:4;
Judg 10:15-16
15 And the people of Israel said to the Lord, “We have sinned; do to us whatever seems good to you. Only please deliver us this day.” 16 So they put away the foreign gods from among them and served the Lord, and he became impatient over the misery of Israel. ESV
- There is a difference between admitting and repenting. They were seeking deliverance by confessing that they had done wrong but it wasn’t until verse 16 that we saw a change in their behavior. Once they began to change their actions God began to do a work in their lives. It is those who confess and forsake their sin that find mercy Prov 28:13. Lord, am I confessing, repenting, and changing or just admitting to what I can no longer deny. Lord, help me to both recognize my sin and to change, to turn from my old ways 2 Chron 7:14.
- 1 Sam 15:24-25 Saul wanted to blame the people. Even when he went to admit his sin he said “I sinned… please pardon… . Yet there was not a change in heart.
Gen 13:13
13 But the men of Sodom were exceedingly wicked and sinful against the LORD. (NKJV)
- We, or I, tend to think of my sin as wrong, selfish, and sometimes against other people, but here, it says their sin was against the Lord. Prov 28:4; Rom 3:23; I am in a war, regardless of whether I want to be or not 1 Peter 5:8. My choices are for or against you. Lord, help me to honor you in the choices that I make.
John 8:12
Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness , but will have the light of life.” ESV
- Rom 3:23; The closer to God we walk, the less room there is for sin. To make room for sin, to give it a place to hide means you have to walk further from the light. Sin brings separation. From the very first sin, those who sin want to hide it. Adam and Eve ran when they sinned, because they were ashamed. Sin brings shame, and secrets that destroy intimacy.
- We are meant to live in the light as the light of the world. Matt 5:14;
2 Cor 7:1
1 Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. (NKJV)
- God help me to cleanse myself and to walk in the fear of you. Prov 8:13; I want to walk closely with you. Remove any sin or selfishness that separates us.
Gal 2:4
…except for some so-called Christians there—false ones, really …. NLT
- There are false Christians. What Marks a false Christian? Does a false Christian know that they are a false Christian?
- A false Christian must be marked by his or her fruit, or the lack there of. (Matt 7:16) John 10:25 says that they (his works) bear witness. What do your works bear witness of?
- God, please fill me with love like yours and a desire to please you. I don’t possess in myself what it takes.
- We all make mistakes. In Gal 2:11, Paul begins by telling how he had to confront Peter for his hypocrisy, yet he is not in any way calling him a false brother.
- We are human, and we will make mistakes. The righteous get back up Prov 24:16. Don’t let condemnation rob you of your confidence in Christ. Go let your fruit declare your love for the Lord. Matt 12:33; John 14:15; 2 John 6
1 Cor 15:33
33 Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.” NIV
- Ex 23:33; judges 16:16; 2 Sam 13:3; Ps 78:6-7; 101:6; Prov 1:10; 14:7; Haggai 2:11-13; Acts 4:19-20; 1 Cor 5:11
1 Cor 15:34
34 Wake up from your drunken stupor, as is right, and do not go on sinning. For some have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame. ESV
- They had been so caught by the culture and its way of thinking, that he calls it a stupor. They were in a daze, unaware of the affect that the people around them were having on them. What is pouring into our hearts? Are we aware of what is influencing us? God help us to meditate on Your Word. Prov 4:23;
Rom 11:22 “Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God’s kindness to you, provided you continue in His kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off.” ESV
Rom 11:22 “Make sure you stay alert to these qualities of gentle kindness and ruthless severity that exist side by side in God-ruthless with the deadwood, gentle with the grafted shoot. But don’t presume on this gentleness. The moment you become deadwood, you’re out of there.” MSG
- God who loves is cut off with sin. We need to walk in the love that He has for us. If we try to use it as a license for sin; we are in for a surprise. He will punish sin. It is not how you start, but how you finish, that counts. Rom 11:6; Rev 3:5; Even those who have received grace can choose sin over grace and make themselves again slaves to sin and the punishment that comes with it. Rom 6:15; Heb 10:29; Jude 4; God, I want to live the new life in Christ that you have for me. John 15:4-5.
Rom 11:6
6 But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace. ESV
- Grace Ps 5:7; Zech 3:3-4; Rom 2:4-5; 3:23; 4:4-5; 5:1,8; 6:1, 15-16; 8:1-2; 1 Cor 5:2; Eph 2:8-9; Phil 2:12; Heb 10:29;
- No one earns it. No one can, by definition, it is unearned. Some how by nature we want to earn it, but we can’t (PS103:12). But God did, for us, what we never could do on our own.
- Heb 10:29 Speaks of those who outrage the spirit of Grace, by intentionally continuing on in their sin. Rom 2:4-5 says they are storing up wrath by continuing in their sin. Rom; 6:1 & 15; Tells us not to use grace as a license for sin, making us slaves again to sin. Rom 11:22 warns that though we have been forgiven, if we are grafted into sin God will let us and then we will receive what comes to those who live in sin. Jude vs4 Grace is not a license to sin.
Rom 2:12
12 For as many as have sinned without law will also perish without law, and as many as have sinned in the law will be judged by the law. NKJV
- It is not the law but our own hearts that condemn us. “As many as have sinned without the law are judged without the law.” Vs 15 tells us their own thoughts accuse them. Rom 3:23 tells us all have sinned. Rom 2:1 tells that when we judge another, we condemn ourselves by showing we know it is wrong. The law is not to condemn us, but to show us that we were already condemned. Only when we recognize our sinful condition will we look for God’s forgiveness. The law is not an act of judgment, but of mercy. It is a map; it shows us that we are lost. I am not lost because of it, instead it helps me recognize my state so I can get back on course. Rom 3:19; Rev 20:12-15;
