Breaking the Mechanism of Action of Sin

But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death (James 1:14–15, KJV)

James describes for us in very vivid terms how sin operates or its “mechanism of action.” He carefully enlists all the steps that sin walks us through. The Lord wants us to know our adversaries and how they operate, so we do not fall into the snare they set up for us.

He starts with the mother of sin, which he calls lust. It will tell you shortly why lust is the “mother” here. He says we are drawn away by our own lust and enticed. Lust is simply a strong desire from our flesh for the things that are contrary to God’s will. The subtlety of lust is that it is us. It is our desire. We then move on to the next step, which is  enticement. We are drawn by the promises of all the wonders that desire promises to give us.  We  see the benefits, the pleasures, happiness,  wealth, the power etc. and become drawn away. A classic example is when a man sees a woman and his entire brain gets twisted by the glamors of having that woman in bed with him. He does not think for a moment, any consequences. He is enticed. He sees nothing but roses fallen off from her. Lust is powerful and deceitful.

James moves further and says lust then conceives, that is, becomes pregnant! You remember I mentioned above that lust is the mother. How does lust conceive? When we give in to the desire and do what it wants us to do, we are causing lust to conceive! And when lust conceives, it brings forth a baby called sin! That baby then grows us and kills us! It says above that when sin is finished, it brings forth death. Sin always kills. It will kill our joy. It has killed some families leading to divorce and bitter children. It has killed careers and businesses. It has also killed ministries ordained from God. For some, sin killed their health, leaving them with diseases that erode their bodies. Sadly, sin has literally caused the physical death of many. Worst of it all, sin leads to eternal death. If we ask Adam, he will tearfully warn us with the words “all that glitters is not gold.”

The greatest power of sin is its enticement. It does not force us. It knows how to entice us through our own desires. The only way for us, believers, to escape the practical grip of sin is to yield to the Holy Spirit. Obey and follow the Holy Spirit for your own good. It takes His power to break the mechanisms of action of sin in our daily lives. Make up your mind to do the Word always so that that sin will not carry out its mischievous processes in your life.

MEDITATE

Are our desires always evil? Can we have godly desires? Can you think of a scripture that tells us God will give us the desires of our heart? 

APPLY THE WORD

Is sin currently having a grip on your life in any area? The way out is to follow the Holy Spirit’s leadership rather than that lust. That is what it means to deny ourself. It is something you want so badly, but the Spirit says “no.” You yield and follow Him rather than “yourself.” Later, you will thank Him He did not allow you to follow you!

PRAY

Pray that the Lord to empower us to break every grip of sin in any area in our lives. 

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