Sin pays

This Sunday, we were privileged at CDC to have Pastor Isaac Yim preach the message on “Sin pays” from Joshua Chapter 7.

After the great victory at Jericho, the Israelites were overjoyed, but they quickly became complacent and overconfident. Looking over to Ai, they reasoned that only a few of them was sufficient to defeat the city and they did not even consult God. Hence, to their amazing surprise, they were soundly beaten by the few men of Ai, and Joshua had to come before the Lord again in grief.

The lesson for us is not to be deceived by our eyes. True victory doesn’t come from how few or how great the numbers. It depends on whether the Lord is with us. Hence, in everything we do, we would do well to seek the Lord and depend on his guidance. Especially in the world today, we begin to see financial giants crumble everywhere, in ways that no one imagined possible.

In any case, the root cause of the sin was gradually narrowed down to the man Achan, who disobeyed the Lord’s command by taking a beautiful robe for himself among the spoils of war. And his sin affected the whole nation of Israelite, and ultimately caused the demise of him and his family. In the New Testament book of Acts, we see a similar terrible judgment on Ananias and Sapphira because of their sin.

Are we truly any better than Achan or Ananias or Sapphira? All of us sin, but these judgments show us an example of our need to value and respect God’s righteous requirements in our lives.

Examining the case of Achan, we see a progression of how he sinned, and it is so similar to the way Eve first sinned in the garden of Eden. Firstly, Achan saw the robe. The eye is the first gateway to sin. Then, Achan coveted it. He wanted it for himself. Then he took it, perhaps thinking of excuses to justify it and finally, he concealed it, hiding it where others would not know.

Pastor Isaac also shared with us 7 important observations concerning sin. Firstly, God knows about our sins, every single one. Secondly, God hates sin. Thirdly, God has a plan for our sin – to forgive us when we repent. Fourthly, God will punish sin – and the wages of sin is death. Only in Christ can we find salvation from our sins. Fifthly, sin affects those around us. Sixth, sin hinders the work of God and finally, sin must be dealt with, however painfully.

In closing, Pastor Isaac drew our attention to the term: the Valley of Achor (Trouble) which was given after this incident took place. In Hosea 2:15, the Lord speaks of turning the Valley of Achor to a door of hope. We see again and again in Scripture, the heart of the Lord, who is loving and compassionate, forgiving sin and rebellion, gently calling His people to him. No matter how terrible our sin, we must turn to God and ask for His forgiveness. He has provided a way, for He has provided His own Son as the sacrifice for our sins. It is not the healthy who need a doctor but the sick. Jesus did not come to call the righteous, but sinners. If we think we are standing firm, we need to be alert, lest we fall, and if we have sinned, we must come back to our Father, like the prodigal son and humbly seek his forgiveness. We need to choose the way of life, pressing on, forgetting what is behind and pressing on towards God’s way. Achan, Ananias, Lot’s wife, all serve as examples for us to leave the desires of the world behind, but seek rather the things of true eternal value, the things that please God.

May the Lord forgive our sins, as we turn to Him, and lead us forever in the way everlasting. In Jesus name, Amen

God bless,Jason