Run from Sin Every Day

“Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted.” GALATIANS 6:1

 

PONDER THIS

Some years ago, I read that each morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up and says to himself, “If I cannot outrun the fastest lion on these plains, I will be devoured.” And somewhere that same morning, a lion wakes up, and that lion says, “If I cannot outrun the slowest gazelle, I will starve.” So, both the gazelle and the lion wake up running.

Every morning, you and I need to wake up running because we are running from sin, and Satan is running for us. And sometimes we’re overtaken. Sometimes we stumble and fall. When you get saved, that doesn’t mean you won’t sin anymore. Sometimes we’re overtaken in a fault. Do you know the difference between my life before I was saved and after I was saved? Before I got saved, I was running to sin, now I’m running from sin. In today’s verse, Paul was talking about brothers. He said, “Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass”—that is, run down by Satan, trapped and snared by a fault—then we are to restore him.

How have you experienced the reality of running from sin and being run after by Satan?

What are some ways we actively “run” in this sense?

PRACTICE THIS

Write out a list of ways to run from sin and Satan. Put one or more of these into practice today.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Does God Hate Anyone?

PRAY OVER THIS

As it is written, “Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated.” Romans 9:13

 

PONDER THIS

In Luke 14:26, Jesus was talking about those who would follow Him, and He said this, “‘If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple.’” Do you think that Jesus was teaching us to despise our fathers and mothers, our brothers and sisters? Do you think that Jesus was telling us to despise our little children in order to be His disciples? No! Listen. I love my wife more than I could ever love her naturally because I love Jesus. I love my wife with a love I could not love her with if I did not love Jesus. The word hate, as it is used in the Bible, simply means preference. God had a preference—a sovereign choice—for this man Jacob, and He did not have a preference for Esau.

How does today’s devotion help you understand this difficult-to-understand verse?

How does the image of a husband’s love for his wife compared with his love for others help you understand God’s preference toward His people?

PRACTICE THIS

Take time today to reflect on the truth that God has a sovereign preference and affection for you, greater than even a husband or wife has for a spouse.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

You Grieved by Sin?

PRAY OVER THIS

“And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” Ephesians 4:30

 

PONDER THIS

The word grieve is a love word. Did you know that you can only grieve someone who loves you? Think about it. When the neighbor’s kids do wrong, that bothers you. But when your kids do wrong, that grieves you. There’s a difference. A person is only grieved if they love the person who’s doing wrong.

Somebody told me a while back about a preacher who’d fallen into immorality. I’m not ashamed to tell you, when I heard it, I fell to my knees, and I wept like a baby. I could not stop crying. When I heard about what this man had done, I was grieved because I loved him and admired him. Even more so, the Holy Spirit of God loves us so much that when we have sin in our hearts and in our lives—sin that has not been confessed or repented of—that grieves the Spirit of God.

Is there anything right now you are being convicted of that is grieving the Holy Spirit?

Do you need to confess sin and repent so that you can stop grieving the Holy Spirit?

PRACTICE THIS

Take time to confess to God any sin in your life; determine to turn from that sin and stay clean.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Do You Hate Sin?

PRAY OVER THIS

“Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.”

(Colossians 3:5)

 

PONDER THIS

God’s people are to live like Christ is all, and in all. Paul told the Colossians to put to death the sin in their lives. Why would you put something to death? Because you hate it. Did you know that Christians need to learn to hate? You cannot have love without hate any more than you can have high without low, or hot without cold, or in without out. If you love justice, you hate crime. If you love health, you hate disease. If you love purity, you hate pornography. If you love flowers, you hate weeds.

We are to hate any sin in our lives. It needs to be put to death. Why? Because Christ is all, and in all. What is the center of the Christian life? It is not your church. It is not prayer. It is not doing good. It is Jesus Christ. Christ is our life! He is all and in all.

What does your life say is at the center? Is it Jesus or something else?

Have you learned to hate sin in your life?

PRACTICE THIS

Make a list of sins that you desire to hate in your life. Make a corresponding list of how hating that sin leads you to love Christ more.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

Is God practical? Or is His head in the clouds?

BIBLE MEDITATION:

But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for a helmet, the hope of salvation. 1 Thessalonians 5:8

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

A preacher friend was walking away from another friend when this friend called out to him, “Well, so long! Love God. Hate sin. And watch out for trucks!” Now, that’s good advice. Trucks will hurt you if they hit you. It doesn’t matter whether you’re saved or lost.

We all need to love God. We all need to hate sin. But I want to tell you, we’re also human and we need to watch out for the things in life that may hurt us. God has given us the mind of Christ and we need to use that mind (see 1 Corinthians 2:16).

ACTION POINT:

God is very practical. He may dwell in heavenly realms, but His head is not in the clouds. Is your head in the clouds today? Are you alert to the things of this world that could harm you? Be sober. Be alert. And watch out for trucks!

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers