Fighting Sin

Puritan Edmund Calamy insightfully observed:  “What is the reason why men go on in their sins without repentance?  It is for want of meditation.”  

Part of being steadfast in fighting sin is knowing the nature and result of sin, and meditating on the personal implications of ongoing, unrepentant sin in our lives. 

A familiar psalm is particularly helpful for understanding what happens to sin and sinners:  Psalm 1.

In that short psalm there is one verse on the rebellion actions of the sinner against God (v. 1).  There is one verse on the wise actions of the godly man towards God (and His Word).  There is one verse of consequence for the obedient man; there are three verses of consequence for the rebellious man.

There appears to be a simple chiastic structure in the psalm that points to the author’s emphasis:

The actions of the wicked (v. 1)

The actions of the righteous (v. 2)
The blessings for the righteous (v. 3)

The judgment for the wicked (vv. 4-6)

Verse three is the hinge — the blessed consequences for the righteous man.  Though the weight of the psalm is on the judgment experienced by the wicked, pointing out to the worshippers the folly of following sin, the psalmist wants us to see the goodness and blessedness of obedience for the righteous.  Nothing good will ever come from unrepentant sin.  Sin is not good and it does not do good (contrast Ps. 119:68).  But righteous living in submission to God will always yield blessing and joy for the person of God.

The psalmist uses three terms to indicate the rebellion of the sinner:  he is wicked (4x), a sinner (2x), and a scoffer.  Those terms combine to reveal the nature of the ungodly man — he engages in wicked and rebellious actions; he willingly embraces sin which intentionally avoids God’s standard, and he mocks God and His Word.  Those characteristics should always give us pause for reflection whenever we see unrighteousness flaunted:  sin is wickedness (not goodness and freedom), it is avoidance of God’s good gifts, and it is an affront to God. 

Nothing good will ever come from unrepentant sin.  Sin is not good and it does not do good.

Unrepentant sin always destroys the sinner in that it always leads to judgment.  There is no sinner that can stand before God in His judgment.  There is not even a standing for sinners in the context of God’s people now!  The sinner loses everything in eternity and he loses now as well.  The goodness that sin promises is an illusion.  Sin may taste sweet on the tongue but it will produce only a bitter ache in the stomach.  Unrepentant sin ultimately only pays out evil, suffering, sorrow, discipline, and judgment. 

Commenting on this psalm, George Whitfield wrote, “I never knew a person in my life that diligently used the word and other means but as they improved in grace saw more and more the necessity of depending upon a better righteousness than their own.” [Daily Readings:  George Whitfield, Feb. 4.]

Unrepentant sin is not good nor does it do good; but repentant sin leads to the cross and Christ and the blessing of fruitfulness and goodness.  Meditating on both the sorrowful results of sin and the blessed results of obedience will help us remain steadfast with Christ in our fight against sin.

“Tree planted by streams of water” by Agnes Leung is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.