Slave Of Sin

An evil man is held captive by his own sins;they are ropes that catch and hold him.He will die for lack of self-control;he will be lost because of his incredible folly.

Proverbs 5:22-23

The clear moral of this proverb is never to underestimate the power of sin to make you a slave. It can hold you hostage. Listen to this powerful description: “Sin will take you farther than you ever wanted to go. It will leave you longer than you ever wanted to stay, and it will cost you more than you ever wanted to pay.”

But lest we get a mental picture of someone else we know whose sin is obvious and we shake our heads and say, “Yep, that poor person is ruining her life,” we need to be conscious of our own sin. Sin is subtle. You may not be wasting your life at the bar, but maybe you are harboring pride and resentment. Don’t kid yourself. That kind of sin can tie us in knots too.

When evangelist Billy Sunday was preparing for a crusade in a large city, he wrote a letter asking the mayor of that city for the names of individuals who had spiritual problems and needed help and prayer. How surprised Billy was when the mayor sent him the entire city telephone directory.

“All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23, NKJV), but “if we confess our sin, he is faithful to forgive and to cleanse” (1 John 1:9, paraphrase). Now, that’s freedom.

Make It Personal . . . Live It Out!

Can you visualize the grip sins can have? They are “ropes that catch and hold.” Let’s take a moment and be honest and specific. The sin of bitterness and resentment, for instance, can captivate your thought life. You find yourself reliving a hurt over and over and over. Do you see how driven and enslaved it has made you? Cut those ropes! By the power of God’s grace, cut those ropes! Today, every time those thoughts come to your mind, will you ask God to help you forgive and forget—and set you free? Ask, and you shall receive.

One Year Bible Reading

Exodus 5:22–7:25; Matthew 18:21–19:12; Psalm 23:1-6; Proverbs 5:22-23