Genesis 19:16
“And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters; the LORD being merciful unto him: and they brought him forth, and set him without the city.”
Make no mistake, sin always leads to death. Romans 6:23 is still true when it says, “The wages of sin is death:…” Galatians 6:7 is still relevant when it says, “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” You can play with sin and think you can get away with it, but sin always has a due date, and you must pay the bill when it’s due. Sadly, when it comes to sin, I find there are some deadly responses to sin that many people make.
The first response to sin is lingering in it. The verse above said about Lot, “And while he lingered,…” Lot had already been told to get out of the city, but he wanted to linger in the city. Lingering is not jumping whole heartedly into sin, but it is simply loitering around sin. Many people don’t want to commit sin, but they don’t want to leave the presence of it. You can linger around sin, but it’s influences will eventually take you and cause you to sin. Lot lingered in sin, and eventually the sin he lingered around influenced him to get drunk and impregnate his daughters. You can’t linger in sin without it changing you.
The second response to sin is looking back. When Lot and his family left the city of Sodom, Lot’s wife looked back because she was going to miss the sin. You can’t look back to sin without going back to it. Too many people keep on looking back to sin wondering what they’re missing. Let me make it clear, you are not missing anything with sin. You must be careful that you don’t look back to sin and think you’re missing out on something. The only thing you are missing out on is the heartache and pain that sin brings.
The third response to sin is wanting to do it one more time. In Exodus 8:10, Pharaoh wanted to keep the frogs for one more night because he wanted to enjoy his sin one more time. One more time always leads to another time. Often people say they will do it one more time and quit, but they end up doing it more than just one more time. The best thing you can do with sin is to simply forsake it. Always remember that if you don’t do sin one more time, there will never be a second time.
The fourth response to sin is saying, “It’s not my fault.” Adam and Eve fell into this deadly response in Genesis 3:12. Adam blamed it on Eve, and Eve blamed it on the serpent. There is no excuse for sin. Nobody made you choose sin. You chose to do it yourself. Nobody put a gun to your head and caused you to sin, you made the choice to sin. As long as you blame others for your sin, you will never overcome it.
The fifth response to sin is thinking it won’t happen to you. Samson made that mistake in Judges 16:20. He thought he was smarter than everyone else, and that he would never face sin’s judgment. Friend, you are not smarter than sin. You may think it won’t happen to you, but it will. You may think your spiritual actions will keep God from judging you for your sin, but you are wrong. Sin has a price that must be paid.
The sixth response to sin is to say, “I didn’t do it.” Acts 5:8 shows us that Ananias and Sapphira thought they could cover their sin, and they were wrong. You can cover sin for a while, but eventually it will be exposed. You are not smarter than God, and you can’t hide your sin from God.
Let me ask you, what is your response to sin? The best response to sin is found in 2 Samuel 12:13 when David said, “I have sinned.” Stop ignoring your sin and acknowledge it. According to Proverbs 28:13, God’s mercy will only be applied when you truly face your sin and get it right with Him.