Sin is a Predator, Not a Pet [Mike Kelsey]
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I was reading Genesis 4 this morning and God’s description of sin really stood out to me. He was warning Cain and said:
“…sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you…”“Why would it be crouching at my door?” you may ask. Multiple choice:
(a) To give me a hug
(b) To say “boo!” and see if I’ll get scared
(c) Because it’s a surprise birthday party and other people are crouching at my door too
(d) none of the above
You answered correctly (i.e. “D”). Its crouching because “its desire is for you”, like a predator waiting and desiring its prey. Sin desires us much more than we desire it.
NIV says “it desires to have you.” And Satan’s deception is to make us think of sin in terms of what it could give us (satisfaction, money, status). The reality is that sin only gives bait so that, in the end, it can have us.
How do you see the sin in your life? Are you playing around with it and letting it hang around your house like a pet? Or are you treating it like the predator it is?
When you sense sin lurking and luring, get away from it!
3 comments:
I recently made a decision to not engage in "hugging" the opposite sex when greeting them or saying bye to them. To me this is a way for me to keep the thoughts that may creep into my head and continue thinking thoughts I'm not supposed to...if that makes sense.
After I received Christ into my heart, which was a couple of months ago, I wanted a clean break, a complete clean break, and I've erased many phone numbers from my cell phone and told the guy I was seeing to lose my phone number, email address and get the heck out of my life. It's so refreshing to know that Jesus is what completes me...that Jesus is the one and only being that could ever satisfy my needs.
I am tempted, believe me, but I'd have to flee from the temptation before that temptation leads to sin.
Thanks for your comment, Kelsey. I don't like having animals in the house anyway, so this is a great metaphor!
This is just bad theology and a bad exegetical interpretation of this verse. The text of the verse is confusing to the reformed/evangelical because it appears to say that we can avoid sin by "doing well". The Bible is clear that we all fall short and we cannot please God. If we could do so on our own merit, then we wouldn't need Christ who is the great sin offering.
The verse basically says this: If you don't do well (i.e. sin, fall short, miss the mark, etc) you may avail yourself of the sin offering that lies at the door: CHRIST. See Rev 3:20 for a New Testament context regarding Christ standing at the door and offering Himself as a substitute and propitiation for our sins.
Remember, there were two types of offerings, grain and flesh. Grain was the tithe and flesh was for sins. Abel's sacrifice was pleaseing to God because Abel recognized that he was sinful; Cain refused to offer a sin offering and only "tithed" thinking himself without need of atonement. My own supposition is that Abel also offered a grain offering in addition to his animal offering.
This is a tough verse and while we don't want to encourage sin by any means, we should know that Christ is there when we fail.
W said:
"The text of the verse is confusing to the reformed/evangelical...."
So exactly what does that make you?
And that question is regardless to the fact that the root word for sin in Gen 4:7 can also represent a “sin offering”, and is interpreted as such in some translations and commentaries.
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