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All unrighteousness is sin. Whatever is not right is wrong. Sin brings reproach. It erodes. It terminates dignity. It cuts down and brings low. At the root of every evil is sin. At the root of every frustrate is sin. Sin is a spiritual heart disease. The wages of sin is death. It kills joy, finances, the family, peace in the home, the business, etc. when sin stings, it results in death, especially when not treated in time (1 Cor 15:56). Sin is DECEPTIVE (Heb 3:13). Sin offers TEMPORAL PLEASURE (Heb 11:25). Sin is DESTRUCTIVE (Prov 11:3). Sin is not a friend of anybody, but a hideous enemy. Sin is out to disappoint your destiny. Stop it before it stops you! Kill it before it kills you. Sin is sin, no matter who commits it. Every unrighteousness is SIN. Whatever the Bible marks wrong is sin. Sin is not a friend - It is an enemy. Sin is not a lifter, it is a destroyer. Sin is not a promoter, it is a demoter! Sin does not give people beauty, it makes men ugly. Sin does not require any definition! Whatever is not right is wrong. Sin is a reproach to any people (Prov 14:34).
WHAT ARE THE HORRORS OF SIN? A. SHAME Sin is a barrier to honor in anybody's life. No matter who you are, sin will never allow you to see honor. Where sin reigns, shame reigns. Wherever sin reigns, reproach reigns, and men have no future. Sin will strip any man naked of all honor, dignity and glory. Sin must die for your glory to rise - Prov 28:13. No one will see glory nor experience honor as long as he celebrates sin. The payday of sin is sure - Prov 5:7-11; Isa 59:8. Crookedness is a barrier to honor. Let it go! If you don't destroy corruption, you will see corruption. When sin is enthroned, shame is inevitable.when sin has its way, honor is lost. At the root of every shame is sin. Sin has never clothed anybody; rather it strips the gorgeously dressed naked. Adam was clothed in the glory of God until sin stripped him naked and shame took over. He said, "....because I was naked; and I hid myself". Sin is the father of shame. B. DESTRUCTION Behind every trouble of man, at the root of every calamity, is sin - Prov 11:3. Before sin came, there was no all amity, no sickness, no accidents. Man was absolutely secure, and divine presence was his covering. It was sin that robbed him of all glory, and he started wearing leaves for clothing. As soon as sin came, all manner of calamities followed, because - whoso despiseth the word shall be destroyed - Prov 13:13. If there is a BUT now in your life, it must go, otherwise it will send you parking, just like it sent Adam parking from Eden - Gen 3:21. C. SICKNESS, DISEASE, AFFLICTION Every disease has its root in sin. There was no disease until sin came. By one man, sin came and brought death, and everything that leads to death - AIDS, leukemia, cancer, etc. Every disease is a curse - Deut 28:15-68. Any sickness, call it fever, chest pain, bad sight, deafness, whatever, the Bible calls them curses. Sin is at the root of every disease, and until righteousness takes over, sickness continues.
SPIRITUAL GROWTH
Everyone is responsible for his habits. The devil is not responsible for your habits - James 4:7. Any habit is stoppable, and any new one is formable. Physical growth demands proper nourishment, environment, nurture, exercise, education, training, and a purpose-filled life. How do we grow in Christ and mature as Christians? What are the hallmarks of spiritual growth? A. The death of Christ makes possible our new life - free from Satan's dominion - Rom 8:1; Col 1:13-14 B. The death of self makes it possible for us to take up the life that Christ offers (Gal 2:20-21; Rom 6:6-11). The grain must fall into the ground and die (John 12:24). Christian life does not begin with life. It begins with death. Until self dies, until self is crucified, there is no beginning at all. There must be a radical, deliberate, total surgery of self - 2 Cor 5:17. The Christian's life is not a modification or improvement of the old, but a transformation of nature. SomethIng happens to a person who accepts Jesus as Savior and Master. Simon the waverer becomes Peter the courageous. Saul the persecutor becomes Paul the proclaimer. Thomas the doubter becomes the missionary of the frontier. Cowardice gives place to courage. Unbelief gives way to a torch of faith. Jealousy is swallowed up by love. Selfinterest vanishes into brotherly concern. Sin has no room in the heart. Self stands crucified - Col 3:9,10. Follow Jesus - Matt 16:24. HALLMARKS of GROWING IN CHRIST 1. A LIFE OF SPIRIT - John 3:5. Without the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit, the Christian life cannot even begin (pg 156...When the Spirit of God...., and par 3 - Paul describes this Spirit-empowered life.... 2. A LIFE OF LOVE and UNITY. Christian life is a life of unity, a life reconciled to God and fellow man. There is no Christian growth without love and unity. Love and unity break the wall that divides the people. Barriers of race, national origin, gender, caste, color, and other divisive factors stand abolished in the life of the person who has experienced the new creation, a new humanity - Eph 2:11-16. We do not select whom we love; we are called upon to love all. 3. A LIFE of STUDY (pg 158-par 1). Let us say with the psalmist, "Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You" - Psa 119:12. + par 3 (All scriptures.....). 4. A LIFE of PRAYER - pg 158 - all. 5. A LIFE of FRUIT BEARING - Matt 7:20. Every Christian must bear fruit. Jesus obeyed the Father in all things. We are saved by grace, and so we have nothing of which to boast ourselves - Eph 2:7-8. Jesus kept all of His Father's commandments anD abode in His love - John 15:10. 6. A LIFE of SPIRITUAL WARFARE - pg 160-all 7. A LIFE of WORSHIP, WITNESS & HOPE - pg 161- all.