Bible Passage: “Therefore, put to death what belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desire, and greed, which is idolatry.” (Colossians 3:5 CSB)
Scripture Reading: Colossians 3:1-11
Imagine driving down the highway alone.
Out of the corner of your eye, you spot movement in the passenger seat. You glance over, and there it is:
A viper, coiled and hissing, ready to strike.
What do you do?
Check your blind spot? Signal for the next exit?
Not a chance. You’d slam on the brakes and get out as quickly as humanly possible. You wouldn’t wait around for that snake to attack.
We need to treat sin the same way.
Your chances of encountering a deadly viper in your car are slim, but your chances of facing sin today are 100%.
Yet somehow, we’ve learned to tolerate it.
We downplay its danger, make excuses for it, or tell ourselves it’s not that serious.
But make no mistake: sin will destroy your life if you let it.
John Owen put it starkly: “Be killing sin, or it will be killing you.”[1] We must put our sinful desires to death, or these sins will destroy us spiritually. This isn’t optional. It’s a daily necessity.
As we’ve seen this week, building godly character means cultivating certain practices. But here’s the other side of the coin: it also means stopping certain things. We’ll never be completely free from sin in this life, but we must declare war on the remaining sin we find in ourselves. Refuse to make peace with it. Confess it to a trusted brother. Flee from temptation the moment it appears. Cry out for God’s help daily.
The battle may last your entire life, but never stop fighting.
Becoming a godly man requires that we kill sin before it kills us. Never treat it casually. See it for the deadly threat it is, and take ruthless action against it.
Prayer: Lord, forgive me for treating sin casually. Help me to never make peace with sin. Amen.
Reflection: What sins have you begun to tolerate in your life?
[1] John Owen, Of the Mortification of Sin in Believers, in The Works of John Owen, ed. William H. Goold, vol. 6 (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1862), 9.
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