Independence Baptist Church

The Weariness Of Sin

By Wayne Reynolds, Pastor

Sin wears people down. Sin makes people tired. Listen to II Peter 2:7,8 "And delivered just {holy or righteous} Lot, vexed {wore down} with the filthy conversation {life style} of the wicked: (For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed {tormented} his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;)

Lot was a saved man, but he did a very foolish thing. He moved his family into the exceeding wicked cities of Sodom and Gomorrah so he could make a living. There, the extraordinarily wicked sinners caused Lot and his family to forsake the worship of God, and to suffer the consequences of that sinful lifestyle.

Lot and his family seemed to be doing okay spiritually and materially as long as they stayed with Abraham and his family. But when there was a dispute over grazing land for their cattle, Lot and Abraham separated, Lot choosing the well-watered plains of Sodom.

Day by day passed, as Lot moved his family closer and closer to the wicked cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, until finally he moved his precious family (his wife, and little children) into the heart of the city. Lot was active in the government of the city for Genesis 19:1 records that when the two angels came to Sodom at the close of day, Lot was sitting in the gate of the city, indicating that Lot was a part of the governing body of the city.

Lot knew better, but he didn’t do better. Lot paid a terribly high price for associating with and finally giving in to sin. All Lot’s children, except two daughters, and all his in-laws, were killed when God destroyed the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah with fire and brimstone from heaven. Lot’s wife turned into a pillar of salt because she disobeyed the clear command of God not to look at the destruction of the cities. Lot got drunk on two different occasions and committed incest with the daughters that weren’t killed in Sodom.

Lot began well. He traveled with Abraham, probably hearing Abraham pray and speak of God’s goodness and blessings. But somewhere along the line, Lot started to go the wrong way. Where was it?

The answer is simple. All of Lot’s difficulties began when Abraham and Lot separated. Lot went away from righteous Abraham and began to make his own decisions; decisions that eventually destroyed his entire family, and made him a bad example.

But what has all this got to do with me, you might ask? Take a look around you. Look at all the sin that is in this world, and how sin is accepted. Are you accepting sins that you formerly rejected? Are you laughing at jokes you previously scorned? Has your lifestyle changed to include wickedness you once rejected?

To really get to the heart of the matter, are you watching television programs that laugh at sin? Do you sit and stare at perverse television programs, while the laugh tracks show their approval? Have you been numbed to sin? To find out if what happened to Lot is happening to you, answer these few questions about what is taught on many television programs.

1. Is premarital sex right or wrong?

2. Does God, in His Bible, approve or disapprove of homosexuality?

3. Is cursing and swearing acceptable under certain conditions, such as times of high stress and difficulty?

4. Is sin funny?

I ask these few questions, not to be offensive, but to arouse curiosity about what is being accepted.

The lesson is that we need fellowship and companionship with other children of God. Believers have always needed Christian fellowship, and we are no different.

Listen as Genesis 2:18 declares, "And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him." God knew it was good for Adam to have a Godly companion, and God knows it is good for us to have Godly companions. When a husband and wife work together for the good of the family, the family will survive and prosper. When the husband and wife go their own separate ways, the family will be slowly and systematically destroyed.

One of the reasons Christ started His kind of church during His personal ministry was to give his disciples companionship with other believers. God knows we need it.

Deuteronomy 32:30 states, "How should one chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight, except their Rock had sold them, and the LORD had shut them up?" It is plainly stated in this verse that one person, by the power of God, is able to chase a thousand, but two people, by the power of God, will be able to chase ten thousand! There is strength in numbers, especially when God is present.

It is a grand thing to meet together with the people of God to worship Him and receive the strength He offers. I know you can worship at home. I know you can read your Bible at home. I know you can learn at home. Actually, if you don’t worship God at home, if you don’t read your Bible at home, if you don’t learn at home, you won’t be ready to worship or learn when you attend church services. Meeting together with the people of God gives additional strength to fight the battles of life and stay true to the teachings of God’s Holy Word.

If you want and need additional strength, read the Bible, which states in Hebrews 10:24 and 25, "And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching."

If you have questions about how to get along in this wicked world, read the Bible, which declares in II Timothy 2:16, "But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase to more ungodliness."

If you want to know how to raise your children, or how to treat an employer that is treating you wrong, read the Bible.

If you are tired of sin, of seeing and hearing all the wickedness in this world, you are invited to do something about it. You may not be able to erase all the dirty talk on television, but you don’t have to watch those programs. You may not be able to stop crime waves, but you don’t have to commit crimes. You may not be able to stop the downward spiral of our society into the depths of filth and depravity, but you can stay away from that filth, and declare to others that such activity is wrong and will lead them to sin and the suffering that accompanies sin.

Are you looking for a place of refreshment, a place of refuge from the filth of this world? You are invited to attend the services of Independence Baptist Church. We are an old fashioned Baptist church. We are in touch with God, and we want you to come see for yourself. We are a friendly church because of God’s grace upon us. We will make you welcome. We are against wickedness in whatever form it takes. We are for holiness, righteousness, joy and happiness that comes from living a life pleasing to God.

Independence Baptist Church is a happy church, a friendly church, which has a great desire to share God’s happiness, God’s joy and God’s friendship with you.