When God created the first man, Adam, He placed him in the Garden of Eden and gave him one rule: “You may freely eat the fruit of every tree in the garden—except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat its fruit, you are sure to die” (verses 16-17). Adam and Eve soon found these words to be true when they chose to disobey God’s command and eat from that tree. Death was introduced into the world that day, and life on earth would never be the same for Adam, Eve, and every single person who would ever live.
The apostle Paul begins Ephesians 2 with the devastating reminder that sin leads to death. He wrote, "Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins" (verse 1). This truth is sobering. We were, at one time, dead in our sins. Every sin, whether seemingly big or small, takes us on the path towards death. Paul says it this way in Romans 6:23, "The wages of sin is death." The payment that we have earned for our sins is death. Knowing this truth, we must take all of our sins seriously. There is no need to classify sins or judge sins from "not so bad" to "truly horrendous" because all sin has dire consequences. Every sin results in death.
Make no mistake: sin leads us straight to death every single time. Because of this truth, we must view our sin the way God views it: devastating. Yes, our sin is heartbreaking, but we are not left alone in our sin. You see, Scripture teaches that the Holy Spirit comes and helps Christ followers in the fight against sin. Look at what Paul wrote in Galatians 5:16: "The Spirit gives us desires that are opposite of what the sinful nature desires." When we follow the Holy Spirit's leading, the Spirit gives us new desires that are greater than our sinful nature. If we want to take our sins seriously, we have to lean into the Holy Spirit's guidance in our lives instead of our sinful nature. Praise God for the gift of the Holy Spirit, who helps us battle against sin every step of the way!
While some may be tempted to minimize their sins and view them as insignificant, all sins are, indeed, significant. Take a few moments to answer the question: What would it look like if you took your sins seriously? Would you ask for accountability when you experience temptation? Would you spend more time in prayer, asking God for help to fight temptation? Would you memorize Scripture related to the temptations that you are struggling with? Answer the question for yourself, and then start taking steps to take your sin very seriously, knowing that sin always leads to death.
16 So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. 17 The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. 18 But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses.
19 When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, 21 envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.
22 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!
24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. 25 Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives. 26 Let us not become conceited, or provoke one another, or be jealous of one another.
