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                         Shall We Continue in Sin?

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By David Wilkerson
March 20, 2000
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          How can anyone who calls himself a lover of Jesus
          knowingly continue in sin? As followers of Christ, we
          claim to be delivered from sin's power. We testify that
          the cross has fully redeemed us from the bondage of
          iniquity. Yet multitudes of believers today continue to
          cling to lusts, habits, grudges, bitterness.

          Where are these Christians, you ask? They're all around
          you. You find them worshipping in churches every
          Sunday. They raise their hands in praise to God for
          delivering them. They witness to others of Christ's
          power to break all bondages. But they won't let go of
          their bosom sin.

          Sadly, many such Christians believe nothing can break
          sin's grip on them. They try every known method to get
          free of their bondage, but no amount of prayer,
          counseling or convicting sermons seems to help. Their
          sin just keeps entwining itself around their heart like
          a serpent, until it has full control of their life. And
          they end up carrying an agonizing burden of guilt and
          condemnation.

          Paul asks, "What shall we say then? Shall we continue
          in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall
          we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?"
          (Romans 6:1-2). Paul wonders, "We have received such
          incredible blessings in Christ. We have been baptized
          in him, buried and resurrected with him, conformed to
          the likeness of his death. So, how can we continue to
          sin?"

          The fact is, the longer we indulge our besetting sin,
          the stronger its hold on us becomes. It's a cancer that
          spreads throughout our entire being, defiling all our
          thoughts and actions. Its decaying power wreaks
          destruction in every area of our lives - from our walk
          with Christ, to our relationships, to everything we
          touch.

          Furthermore, sin never dies of itself. If it isn't
          uprooted and destroyed, it takes over the very throne
          of your life. First it affects your conscience, causing
          you to lose all discernment. The difference between
          right and wrong becomes clouded and fuzzy. Then, sin's
          voice gains your ear. Slowly, it begins to justify your
          lust to you - even giving you scriptural arguments to
          support it. Finally, you become "sermon proof" -
          meaning, you no longer respond to Holy Ghost
          conviction.

          You may know Christians in this horrible condition.
          They get defensive whenever they're confronted about
          their bosom lust. They claim, "What I'm doing isn't
          wrong. I've prayed about it, and the Holy Spirit has
          told me I'm not sinning." Yet you know very well that
          person's behavior contradicts God's word.

          According to God's covenant provision, the Holy Spirit
          empowers us to live victoriously over the devil. He
          gives us all the resources we need to overthrow his
          dominion in our lives. He even causes us to "will to
          obey" the Lord's commands.

          Yet God's New Covenant promise to break every bondage
          and set every captive free is meant only for those who
          are sick of their sin. Why would the Holy Ghost release
          his power in anyone who doesn't see his sin as a
          serious matter?

          If you think the Holy Spirit is going to free you from
          sin's grip without your full cooperation, you're
          mistaken. God forbid that any Christian should sit back
          and indulge his lust while waiting for the Holy Ghost
          to pluck it out of him. Such teaching not only comforts
          Christians in their sin - it misrepresents God's New
          Covenant.

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                         Why Do Believers Continue
                      Clinging to a Sinful Practice?

                      -------------------------------

          To answer this question, I need only to look in my own
          heart. More and more, as the day approaches, I imagine
          standing before the judgment seat of my Lord, when his
          loving eyes fall on me. In that moment, I'll have to
          give an account of my every deed and thought. And, as a
          minister of the gospel, I'll also have to account for
          the messages I preached to others but didn't live up to
          myself. As Paul wrote, "...lest when I have preached to
          others, I myself should be a castaway"(1 Corinthians
          9:27).

          The very thought of this scene brings a holy fear to my
          heart. I cry out every day, "Lord, if there is any sin
          in me, please - deal with it. I don't want to hear the
          trumpet sound, and then find myself standing before you
          with a lust entwined around my heart."

          What will you say to Jesus when you stand before him?
          What excuse will you give him for clinging to a root of
          bitterness, a grudge, a lust, a sinful habit? Will you
          say, "Lord, I didn't know you would take this one sin
          so seriously. I thought you'd be patient with me, that
          your grace would abound toward me in it. I've always
          believed your New Covenant promise. I just kept waiting
          for your Spirit to remove the sin from me."

          Beloved, our Lord is coming soon, and this is no time
          to trifle with your sin. I know many upright believers
          who at one point in their lives grew careless and were
          overcome by their lust. So, don't think it can't happen
          to you. "For all have sinned, and come short of the
          glory of God" (Romans 3:23). You need to ask yourself:
          "Why do I continue in my sin? Why does this evil
          bondage still hold me? Why am I not free?"

          I believe the Holy Spirit has revealed to me several
          things on this subject:

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                       We Continue in Sin Because We
                       Do Not Have the Fear of God.

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          Many Christians today haven't had the fear of God
          planted in their hearts by the Holy Ghost. The writer
          of Proverbs declares, "By mercy and truth iniquity is
          purged: and by the fear of the Lord men depart from
          evil" (Proverbs 16:6). "Be not wise in thine own eyes:
          fear the Lord, and depart from evil" (3:7). "The fear
          of the Lord is a fountain of life, to depart from the
          snares of death" (14:27).

          The "fear of God" referred to here indicates much more
          than reverential awe and respect. The Psalmist tells us
          we can't receive the full revelation of God's covenant
          until his fear is deeply rooted in us: "The secret of
          the Lord is with them that fear him; and he will show
          them his covenant" (Psalm 25:14). This verse connects
          an understanding of the covenant with the fear of God.
          In short, all revelation is tied to his holy fear.

          I'm convinced that without the fear of God, we cannot
          experience lasting deliverance from sin. Yet, in many
          churches the fear of the Lord has become a taboo
          subject. When was the last time you heard a sermon
          preached on the fear of God?

          One reason for this is that society's permissiveness
          has invaded God's house. In recent years, the term
          "grace" has come to mean a cover for sin. As the
          Psalmist writes, "There is no fear of God before
          (their) eyes" (36:1). Moreover, corrupt ministers avoid
          certain passages on the fear of God. They usually
          preach only from the following verses: "God hath not
          given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love,
          and of a sound mind" (2 Timothy 1:7). "There is no fear
          in love; but perfect love casteth out fear" (1 John
          4:18). "Ye have not received the spirit of bondage
          again to fear" (Romans 8:15).

          These are all wonderful passages - yet they refer to
          fearing man or Satan, not fearing God. The same word
          used for "fear" in these verses is also used in this
          one from Hebrews: "So that we may boldly say, The Lord
          is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do
          unto me" (Hebrews 13:6).

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                      The New Covenant Contains What I
                     Call a "Precedent Work of Grace."

                      -------------------------------

          I believe God has to accomplish a certain work in us
          before we can lay claim to any covenant promise. What
          is this "precedent work," upon which all others depend?
          Jeremiah tells us: "...I will put my fear in their
          hearts, that they shall not depart from me" (Jeremiah
          32:40). God's precedent work of the covenant is to put
          his fear in our hearts.

          Jeremiah is speaking of the provisions of God's New
          Covenant, not the Old. And God tells us here how this
          first work of the covenant will be performed: "I will
          put my fear in their hearts." He's letting us know we
          can't work up a holy fear by ourselves. We can't obtain
          it by having people lay hands on us or by manipulating
          our flesh. The only way this holy work can be
          accomplished in us is if God's Spirit performs it.

          God is telling us, in essence, "I'm going to do
          marvelous things in you. I'll send my very own Spirit
          to you, who will abide in you and give you a new heart.
          He'll empower you to mortify all deeds of the flesh.
          And he'll guide you into total freedom from sin's
          power. Finally, he'll cause you to will and do my good
          pleasure.

          "But there is one work my Spirit must perform in you
          before any of these others. He'll put in you a holy
          fear concerning sin. Then you won't depart from my
          commands. Unless you have my fear in you, your sin will
          always lead you away from me."

          Very simply, the Holy Spirit changes the way we look at
          our sin. He knows that as long as we continue to take
          our lust lightly, we'll never be set free. So heshows
          us how deeply sin grieves him and provokes God's wrath.
          How does the Holy Ghost do this? He uses the convicting
          word of God - the piercing arrows of holy truth.

          If you're sick of your sin, and you hunger to walk in
          righteousness, then be prepared: God is going to shoot
          "gospel arrows" of conviction into your heart. These
          arrows will seek out every hidden area of your heart,
          exposing every lust. And once they hit their mark,
          you'll feel their flames of truth burning deep into
          your conscience.

          Many flesh-driven Christians try to shake off the guilt
          that God's convicting arrows produce. They constantly
          claim the verse, "There is therefore now no
          condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus.."
          (Romans 8:1). But they neglect to read the last part of
          this verse: "...who walk not after the flesh, but after
          the Spirit." If you continue in sin, you're walking in
          the flesh - and you have no claim on God's promise of
          "no condemnation."

          The guilt we feel under Holy Ghost conviction is
          actually a work of God's grace. It is meant to expose
          the deceitfulness of sin in us. Therefore, we should
          ask God's Spirit to continually load up our conscience
          with the guilt, fear and condemnation of sin - until
          its exceeding sinfulness is completely exposed.

                      -------------------------------

                      The Fear of God Includes a Full
                        Understanding of the Danger
                         and Consequences of Sin.

                      -------------------------------

          Many Christians are not aware of the terrible danger
          they're in when they continue in sin. Only the Holy
          Spirit's flaming arrows of truth can awaken their souls
          to the godly fear they need to shake off sin. Let me
          share with you a few of the flaming arrows of reality
          the Lord has used to pierce my soul:

          1. God considers hidden lusts and sins in Christians to
          be more wicked, dangerous and hateful to him than the
          most vile, evil, open sins committed by the unsaved.

          Most believers think their hidden sin isn't serious
          simply because they don't act on it. But God sees the
          heart - and the sin he sees within us far outweighs
          that of wicked sinners. Let me explain.

          Try to think of the vilest act ever committed by an
          evil, unsaved man or woman. Immediately, my mind turns
          to an article in one of New York's newspapers from last
          year. A man married a woman who had always longed to
          have a baby. He allowed her to get pregnant right away,
          and when the woman finally had the baby, she spent the
          first few weeks bonding with the child. But suddenly,
          out of nowhere, the man took the baby from his wife and
          killed it. Why? It was an act of revenge. Apparently,
          he was angry with the woman because she hadn't attended
          his father's funeral before they were married. He
          reasoned, "She didn't comfort me when I needed it. So
          I'm going to make her suffer." This has to be one of
          the most cruel, wicked, horrible acts ever perpetrated.

          Humankind today has seen more murders, genocides and
          flaunted acts of sin than any previous generation. Yet,
          here is God's perspective on it all: nothing compares
          to the clinging lusts in our hearts. Our evil habits,
          hatreds and bosomsins are more vile in his sight than
          anything humankind has ever perpetrated.

          We see an example of God's perspective in Revelation.
          He tells the Laodicean church, "I know thy works, that
          thou art neither cold nor hot" (Revelation 3:15). He's
          saying, "You're not what you profess to be. You tell
          yourself, 'I'm in need of nothing.' But I say you're
          getting lukewarm. Everyone else sees you as upright and
          prosperous. But I see your heart - and I know that the
          zeal you once had for me has dried up."

          Proverbs tells us, "Out of (the heart) are the issues
          of life" (Proverbs 4:23). Likewise, "As (a man)
          thinketh in his heart, so is he" (23:7). These verses
          are sharp arrows of the Holy Ghost. They pierce our
          hearts, telling us, "You can't hide from God's sight.
          Everything you've secretly hidden in your soul is going
          to be brought into the open. It doesn't matter if you
          act on it or not. God won't excuse your secret lust."

          2. The longer you continue in sin, the more you're in
          danger of hardening your heart.

          "Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an
          evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living
          God. But exhort one another daily, while it is called
          today; lest any of you be hardened through the
          deceitfulness of sin" (Hebrews 3:12-13).

          Perhaps at one time you trembled at hearing God's word.
          You melted whenever you heard a fiery-hot sermon you
          knew was meant especially for you. You had an ear to
          hear the Spirit's voice. But for some time now, you've
          been flirting with a bosom sin - toying with it,
          rolling it around in your mind. And now, because sin
          has worked its deceit in you, you can sit unmoved
          through any sermon, no matter how anointed it is.

          If you had godly fear, it would quickly reveal to you
          that your heart is slowly growing hard. You'd realize
          that every day you continue indulging in sin, you get
          closer to searing your conscience. But instead, day by
          day, your sin becomes less and less obvious to you.
          Soon you'll end up totally blind, with a false peace.
          And, finally, your sin will spill over the boundaries
          you set for it, flowing wildly into every kind of evil
          act.

          I've seen firsthand the horrors of a man of God who
          allowed his heart to grow hard. He was a minister
          friend of mine who pastored a large church. God blessed
          this man mightily, anointing his sermons with Holy
          Ghost fire and power. But the minister harbored a
          secret sexual lust. Over time he began to indulge it -
          and eventually he was caught in the act of adultery.

          God was merciful to my friend. Godly elders and church
          leaders disciplined the pastor, and in time he was
          restored to the ministry. Whenever lust arose in his
          heart, the Holy Spirit was faithful to deal with him
          about it. But this man never took his sin seriously. He
          never inclined his heart to hear the Spirit's voice.

          I was there the night he was exposed again. Five women
          came forward and confessed to having an affair with
          him. Some said they even had sexual relations with him
          just moments before he stepped into the pulpit to
          preach.

          A friend of mine later asked this pastor, "How could
          your conscience allow you to do that? How could you
          conduct an affair with a woman and then purport to
          preach from God's holy word?" The pastor answered with
          a laugh, "You have to be a good actor."

          That is a hard heart. Nothing moved this man. He had
          become so hardened, he could indulge in adultery, open
          his Bible and preach the gospel without a trace of
          guilt.

          3. If you continue in sin, you'll face the rod of God.

          The Psalmist writes the following about one of God's
          prime covenant promises: "If his children forsake my
          law, and walk not in my judgments; if they break my
          statutes, and keep not my commandments; then will I
          visit their transgression with the rod, and their
          iniquity with stripes. Nevertheless my loving-kindness
          will I not utterly take from him, nor suffer my
          faithfulness to fail. My covenant will I not break, nor
          alter the thing that is gone out of my lips" (Psalm
          89:30-34).

          We rejoice as we read this wonderful New Covenant word.
          God promises never to remove his loving kindness from
          us, no matter how badly we may fall. Yet many believers
          skip lightly over the heavy warning in this verse: If
          we forsake God's law and refuse to keep his commands,
          he'll visit our transgressions with his divine rod.

          There simply isn't any way to soften this word. God is
          telling us plainly, "If you continue in sin, I'm going
          to deal with it severely. I'll pardon you and forgive
          you. But I'm going to take vengeance on your sin. And
          you'll feel my stripes on your back."

          The Bible tells us that whomever the Lord loves, he
          chastens. We see this truth illustrated vividly in
          David's life. Consider how the Lord dealt with this
          man, a faithful servant who enjoyed God's favor. At one
          point in his life, David sinned awfully - justifying it
          and keeping it hidden for months on end. Finally, God
          said, "Enough" - and he sent a prophet to expose
          David's sin. Nathan used an analogy to tear apart every
          excuse David had, until finally the king admitted,
          "I've sinned - I'm guilty."

          But simply admitting sin isn't enough. God not only
          exposed David - he also laid his divine rod across his
          servant's back. Of course, we know the Lord always
          applies his rod in love. But David's life clearly shows
          us that feeling God's rod of correction is no light
          thing. The stripes it causes are painful and agonizing.
          And often the rod falls not only on us, but on our
          loved ones and those near us as well.

          Consider the direct results of David's sin on those
          around him: The illegitimate baby he sired with
          Bathsheba died. Thousands of Israelite soldiers were
          killed in battle. He brought scandal to his country,
          making Israel a laughing stock in the eyes of its
          enemies. And as if that weren't enough agony, David
          endured endless personal pain because of his sin: He
          lost the throne of Israel to his rebellious son,
          Absalom. He was hunted down by Absalom's army like a
          wild animal. He had to flee into the wilderness from
          the son he loved so much. And he wept uncontrollably
          when Absalom was killed.

          David knew all of this could have been avoided. Every
          painful event was an agonizing reminder of the
          consequences of his sin. He expressed his unending pain
          in the Psalms, writing that his soul was in constant
          torment, that he was cast down in confusion, that his
          couch was a bed of tears. He cried out in agony, "God,
          why have you forsaken me?" And he wept in fear, "Holy
          Spirit, don't depart from me."

          God's rod of conviction brought David to the very brink
          of his sanity. And, as you'll see next, it also brought
          him to the very brink of the grave.

          4. If you continue in sin, you'll experience a constant
          drain of peace and strength.

          David wrote, "My strength faileth because of mine
          iniquity, and my bones are consumed" (Psalm 31:10).
          Like a hole in the oil tank of a car, your sin will
          slowly drain you of all resources. Your peace, joy and
          strength will literally drip away until they're gone
          completely.

          David confessed, "Neither is there any rest in my bones
          because of my sin" (38:3). He was saying, "All my
          strength is gone because of my sin. My body has become
          weak because of what I've done. My iniquity simply
          won't allow me to rest."

          David was experiencing God's piercing arrows. He wrote,
          "Thine arrows stick fast in me, and thy hand presseth
          me sore" (38:2). Yet this beloved servant was being
          taught the fear of God. And part of his painful lesson
          was that he had lost the peace of the Lord. Now he
          cried out, "He weakened my strength" (102:23).

          I know Christians who lead lives of utter confusion
          because they continue to indulge in sin. These hollow
          souls are always downcast, weak, forever struggling but
          getting nowhere. I also know ministers who can't sit
          still because of their sin. They're constantly busy,
          working, never entering into the Lord's rest.

          It doesn't matter who you are - if you harbor a secret
          sin, you'll experience continual disturbances in your
          life, your home, your family, your work. Everything you
          touch will be out of kilter. You'll become increasingly
          restless, confused, tossed about by endless worries and
          fears. And all your peace and strength will be drained
          from you.

          5. If you continue in sin, you'll lose your usefulness
          to God's kingdom.

          I have seen men mightily used of the Spirit who were
          later put on the shelf by God. The Lord simply told
          them, "I'm sorry, son. I love you, I forgive you, and
          my mercy will come through for you. But I can't use
          you."

          To me, this is one of the most awful things imaginable.
          Yet it happened to King Saul. The Bible tells us,
          "Samuel said to Saul, Thou hast done foolishly: thou
          hast not kept the commands of the Lord thy God, which
          he commanded thee: for now would the Lord have
          established thy kingdom upon Israel for ever. But now
          thy kingdom shall not continue" (1 Samuel 13:13-14).

          What awful words. God told the king, "Saul, you could
          have had my blessing in your life continually. I was on
          the verge of establishing your kingdom in Israel
          forever. I had great plans for you, plans to use you
          mightily. But you wouldn't deal with your sin. Instead,
          you became even more bitter and hardhearted. So, now
          I'm through with you." Immediately, God's Spirit left
          the king - and in that moment, Saul was no longer of
          use to the kingdom. From that point forward, everything
          Saul did was in the flesh.

          In the past several years, we have seen God's Spirit
          blow grievously on the ministries of fleshly pastors,
          evangelists and TV preachers. God removed his blessing
          from them overnight, causing their work to wither
          before the world's eyes. And right now, God is on the
          verge of telling others in the church they no longer
          have a place of usefulness in his kingdom. I think of
          professors in Christian colleges who delight in robbing
          students of any faith they possess. These teachers'
          spirits have withered, becoming hollow, empty and
          fruitless. Now their only goal is to escape hell.

          That is where it all ends when you continue in sin: you
          become absolutely barren and fruitless, of no more use
          to God's kingdom.

                      -------------------------------

                        There Is Good News for Us.

                      -------------------------------

          Is the Lord dealing with your sin right now? Has he
          shot arrows of conviction into your heart, causing you
          to feel guilt over your sin? Don't fear - that is the
          gift of God. He is planting his divine power in you,
          teaching you, "Only through my holy fear will you
          depart from your sin."

          Once you're convinced of the exceeding sinfulness of
          your sin, you'll be ready for the comfort of the Holy
          Spirit. Acts tells us, "Then had the churches rest
          throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria, and were
          edified; and walking in the fear of the Lord, and in
          the comfort of the Holy Ghost, were multiplied" (Acts
          9:31). As these first-century Christians walked in the
          fear of God, they received the comfort of the Holy
          Spirit.

          So, what exactly does it mean to walk in the fear of
          the Lord? It means reminding yourself of his warnings.
          And it means allowing the Spirit to load up conviction
          in your heart, bring your sins out into the open, and
          cast them far away from you. In doing this, he's laying
          the foundation to fulfill every one of God's covenant
          promises to you.

          Then, when the fear of God has fully laid hold of you,
          you'll dread the danger and consequences of sin. And
          you'll walk every day in this holy fear. Finally,
          you'll see that all along God has been mercifully at
          work in you, doing what he promised - delivering you
          from the dominion and slavery of sin.

          ---
          Used with permission granted by World Challenge, P. O.
          Box 260, Lindale, Texas 75771, USA.

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