May 4, 2009 How to Avoid Sin

May 4th, 2009 · No Comments · Dan's Quiet Time, Uncategorized

Proverbs 4: 14-15: “Do not enter the path of the wicked, and do not walk in the way of evil. Avoid it, do not travel on it, turn away from it and pass on.”

Sometimes I get caught up in how good I am. I’m trying to live a life that is pleasing to God. Bro. Hollie has reminded us that we are all one step away from committing the worse sin we can imagine. In these verses God has told me to make a plan on how to avoid sin.

1. Avoid it. I should be purposeful in avoiding situations that are “ripe” for causing me to sin. An event that happened to me a few years ago came to mind as I thought about this idea. Faith and I stopped by a record shop in Knoxville, really just to check it out. We had been in this store probably 5 to 8 years before. They sold recycled music which I’ve always thought was a bargain. When I walked in the store, immediately the smell of incense overwhelmed me. We separated to look at different things; truly “browsing”. Within seconds (or at the most minutes) I started feeling really weird. It was kind of like something hanging in the air. There was something about the space itself that didn’t feel good to me. Lots of “mysticism” type displays were around. I can’t remember specifics, but my spirit was troubled. I went and found Faith and said, “Let’s go.” When we got to the car, I started it and began to pull out. I said, “Something really bad is going on in there. I could feel it.” Faith looked at me, surprised little, and replied, “I felt it too. I couldn’t tell what it was but we really didn’t need to be in there.”

I need to simply plan to avoid any place that might cause me to sin. If I struggle with gluttony, I don’t need to go to the Golden Corral Buffet. If I struggle with over-indulgent spending, I need to stay away from the mall.

2. Do not travel on it. As a matter of practice, I don’t need to become accustomed to walking the path where sin takes place. This necessarily includes the associations that I have. I don’t need to be hanging around consistently with guys that I know are committing adultery. Traveling along a sinful path just desensitizes me to the “sting” of the knowledge that this path is filled with sin. This is true for example when you spend a lot of time with guys that take God’s name in vain as a matter of speech. The first time, I cringed. The next time, I cringed, but not so much. Then soon, it wasn’t such a big deal.

3. Turn away from it. If I find myself in a sinful situation, or doing things I know to be sin, then I’ve got to stop and just turn away. Turn my back on it. Reject the value in whatever I was doing in or getting from the activity, even if some of it was good. I can’t live a life God wants me to live if I tolerate sin or sinful influences in my life. It’s just that simple. I can’t ever think to myself, “well, I’m already here, I’ll just stay” as a way to avoid dealing with the revelation that I’m in a sinful place or engaging in a sinful activity.

4. Pass on. When I come across a sinful place, or sinful situation, I can’t allow myself to be drawn in. I was thinking about the flashing lights in Los Vegas, about the flashing neon signs in the French Quarter in New Orleans. The reason that they have flashing lights is to draw my attention; to pull me in. I’ve heard it said that “Sin is fun”………for a season. It’s hard for me to disagree. That’s why I just need to pass on, pass by, not be drawn in or enticed by the sparkling goodies or the flashing lights.

If I’m going to avoid sin in my life, I need to have a plan on how to do it. These 4 steps will go a long way.

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