In a recent sermon I posed this question: “Why can’t we Christians kick ungodly habits?” Wouldn’t you think that we would, over time, be able to see victory over those demons that haunt us?
I said then and I repeat now that the problem is theological. By that I mean that we have forgotten things about God or ignored things God has said to us.
I, in my sermon, asked this, “Have we forgotten the holiness of God?” Well, have we? If so, sin becomes more “doable.” We toy with things that should frighten us.
This morning, in my time with God, I ran up against a statement that Isaiah made that stopped me in my tracks:
“Who gave up Jacob to the looter, and Israel to the plunderers? Was it not the Lord, against whom we have sinned, in whose ways they would not walk, and whose law they would not obey?” (Isaiah 42:24)
Does that sting? I think it ought to, because what it says is that our heavenly Father is willing to turn us over to the plunderers when we refuse to obey. That little fact needs to be remembered. When we forget, we toy with sin, and end up in the hands of the plunderers… we get plundered.
I can’t speak for you, but I would rather avoid that. I am not suggesting that He boots us out of the family. But that verse states rather clearly that God is actively engaged in administering the consequences of our sin.
Guys, the advice I would give is this: we all need daily reminders of who God is and what He said. Without that, our memories fade, and the outcome is often disastrous. This is not fear-mongering. It is trying to explain why we can’t kick bad habits. We cannot, we must not forget the holiness of God.
