The Progression to Sin - June 10, 2009

Good Wednesday morning! Touch, beck, caress, clasp, grab, clamp, and trap - a list that seems to start friendly and move to a less desirable condition. How is it that so many fall prey to this progression? You may be thinking of several different things that could fit this series, but what I wanted to address this morning is sin.

Touch - temptation starts with a touch on the mind. You see a temptation through that whisper in your mental ear; "look at that woman over there", "check out that guy in the stands..." Through all forms of media we are shown all manner of delights. Some we might need, such as food, others might not be harmful in small amounts, such as candy, but then we are tempted to get too much. We are assaulted in this way every day.

Beck - a beck is a come hither motion. When someone beckons to you, they want you to come over to them. A beck is what sin brings after that first touch of temptation. "Come here, you want to try this..." is what sin says to us.

Caress - At first the touch of sin seems sweet, nice, comforting. It promises satisfaction and delight. You might call this step seduction. The first constant touch of sin is the caress.

Clasp - The person falling to temptation initiates the clasp. "I want it" is in the mind and reaching out is the result.

Grasp - Sin has its victim and reaches out to grasp the hand coming toward it. Addictions begin as the mind finds pleasure and ignores the penalty of sin. While to the sinner the exchange seems to be a simple hand clasp, the "I can quit anytime I want to" stage, the exchange is actually a...

Clamp - Sin has you right where it wants you and it clamps the shackles on tight. At this point a Christian, another believer, or your pastor, might be telling you to repent as it becomes obvious to all but the sinner that a sin has began and an addiction might occur.

Trap - With the shackles clamped on sin throws the sinner into its trap. Strangely, it is often at this stage where we can finally see that we need help. Whereas with the clamp we are facing the sin and cannot see the rescuer, in the trap we have the opportunity to look around and see just how bad the problem has become. We have sinned and now the decision comes. Do we continue to stay in the trap of sin or do we repent and accept the hand of Jesus reaching through those iron bars? Many refuse to look outside the trap of their sin. The trap seems to have a comfortable chair and they think that happiness has been achieved. Others see their true situation and reach out to the life-saving hand of Jesus. People have recovered from the most awful addictions, chemical or psychological, and found healing in the arms of Christ.

Sin is a trap, but a trap that Jesus can easily break. Trust in Him and give your life to Him for healing!

Bucky