The Progression of Sin

Most of us think we understand the progress of sin because we have read James, and yes that Epistle gives us some details about sin, but to be honest, that is before sin, and up to sin. What we don't realize are the steps of sin, that is once sin has been performed, the characteristics of it. James 1:14-15 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. James does show that sin comes from the agreement of our flesh with the temptation, then the deed is consummated, and the results of the deed is death, again spiritual death. We will look at the progression of sin that James omits.

We know that sin does deceive, and it does have strength to perform that deception, and we see that the flesh that contains lust which the temptation latches onto for agreement. Once this happens then the deed is produced, and left their to fester in unrepentance will produce more sin. A clear and real case in point is that of King David. II Samuel 11:1 ¶ And it came to pass, after the year was expired, at the time when kings go forth to battle, that David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the children of Ammon, and besieged Rabbah. But David tarried still at Jerusalem. David is in sin here, but for some it isn't clear. David is in a place that is not God's will, for it is the time for the king of Israel to be on the battle field with his men, but he remained in Jerusalem. David is disobeying God, and this disobedience will allow more sin to be added. David is deceived by his disobedience and takes it with far too casual an attitude.

Deceived and disobedient, David finds himself again in the wrong place and at the wrong time. Being out of the will of God, the power of God is not present with David as at other times when he was in obedience and anointed to write many Psalms. David's sin blocks the flow of God's power, and when this is combined with sin's deception, the results are horrendous. II Samuel 11:2 And it came to pass in an eveningtide, that David arose from off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king’s house: and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself; and the woman was very beautiful to look upon. David's sin negates the Spirit's discernment, and his age old passion for women that has not been properly addressed that began with Abigail, now becomes a major crisis, but not just for David, but eventually all Israel. The houses around the king's palace are for his mighty men, his advisors, his comrades in arms, but at this point David has forgotten these things, and his lusts left unchecked by the blood of Yashua allow for a lingering stare of this woman. If David had obeyed God, he would be on the battle field and this event would never be here, but given the stages of sin, and this issue reveals the progress of David's sin, and sin in general.

The next events are so well known that we need merely paraphrase them. David fulfills his lusts for this beautiful woman, sends for her, she becomes pregnant, and to cover this up he tries to get the husband who happened to be a respected member of David's army to procreate with his wife. This fails so he tries to get him drunk, this fails, and he has the man murdered. Then the child is born to David who had taken Bathsheba to be his wife after the mourning period ended for Uriah. Sin progressed, and sin led to more sin, and more sin. Sin had certainly taken the discernment from David, the power of God from David, even common sense as he had Uriah killed and in doing so allowed Joab who was a very political person to have knowledge of this event.

What we can see in David's life, the involvement of sin, and all the power in it, should send shutters down our spine. We should be concerned that we have taken sin so casually. We should repent and fall on our knees before the Lord for what sin has done to our thoughts, our love for Him, our doctrine, and our families. My favorite prophet shows the details of sin's progression in Israel that adds more insight into sin's progress.

Ezekiel deals with the physical aspect of sin as well as the spiritual aspect of sin. There is a progression of sin as it affects a person's heart, and the end results from the Father. Sin will bring forth spiritual death if left unrepented, but it also has earthly progression. Ezekiel 23:17-21 And the Babylonians came to her into the bed of love, and they defiled her with their whoredom, and she was polluted with them, and her mind was alienated from them. So she discovered her whoredoms, and discovered her nakedness: then my mind was alienated from her, like as my mind was alienated from her sister. Yet she multiplied her whoredoms, in calling to remembrance the days of her youth, wherein she had played the harlot in the land of Egypt. For she doted upon their paramours, whose flesh is as the flesh of asses, and whose issue is like the issue of horses. Thus thou calledst to remembrance the lewdness of thy youth, in bruising thy teats by the Egyptians for the paps of thy youth. We see sin defiles a person, then it grows into a person being polluted, then alienated, and the results are that God honors the person's choices, and becomes alienated, then follows a multiplication of sin because the Lord's hand of protection has been removed.

We have absolutely no mysteries with sin, yet we act as if sin is a mystery and we know nothing about it. We know sin is from our own lusts, yet we make no effort to bring our lusts under subjection of God and His Word. We know that sin brings defilement and separates us from that relationship with our Lord, yet we make no effort to repent of the sin, but rather we justify sin, and make it easier to live with in our lives. We know that sin will pollute a person's life, yet we reject God's power to deliver us from sin. We know that sin will produce alienation from that very thing we lusted after and had to have, yet after we have it, we toss it aside in dissatisfaction, but accepting the liberating Word of God through those He has ordained to be vessels to set us free is beyond us. We know that God will alienate Himself from the person who sins, yet we make doctrines that allow us to remain in our sin. We know that God removes His protection from His people who choose to sin, and we become prolific in our sin life, yet we reject the truth because we want the lie that lets us have our cake and eat it too.

Since the Father saw that sin needed divine intervention, desperate measures that called for the Son to be sacrificed for all sin, then we ought to be far more serious in our doctrinal stand on sin and the Remedy provided for it. Again, Yashua died for sin, and to take this lightly or casually may just be blasphemy.