Sin Lies at the Door for All of Us

As the Sabbath begins, we can rejoice in the peace, purpose, and hope that God gives to us. Sadly, remembering our Creator and being reminded of the plan of God does not block out everything from a week that has come to an end.

This week a young man went into a Florida school and opened fire killing and wounding students and faculty.

One of the sad things about the event is that people had noticed and reported warning signs about the nineteen-year old shooter. The young man had been expelled from school, and surely the faculty of the school had issued warnings about the destructive path the young man had been on.

It is a strange quirk of human nature that human beings all too often fail to heed warnings of danger. The failure to listen to wise counsel leads all too often to serious consequences.

To me this coincides with the biblical example found in the story of Cain and Abel.

The two sons of Adam and Eve came to God with offerings. God recognized Abel’s offering because it met the criteria that God had apparently established. Cain’s offering did not meet the standard God had established. Note Genesis 4:5, “He (God) did not respect Cain and his offering.” Not only did God not respect Cain’s offering but He did not respect Cain because of his wrong attitude.

Did Cain have a wrong attitude? We only have to look at the end of Genesis 4:5 where we find Cain filled with anger and “his countenance fell” over God’s rejection of his offering. If you had been on the scene of this event, Cain’s wrong attitude would have been clearly visible.

Did God recognize the problem? We only have to look at Genesis 4:6-7 where God addresses Cain’s wrong attitude, “So the Lord said to Cain, "Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it."”

God pointed out that Cain was being ruled by sin and if he did not change his line of thinking there would be a terrible outcome. God counseled Cain to recognize his wrong mindset and rule over it. God knew the potential that could unfold if Cain did not reverse his course. Sadly, Cain did not heed God’s counsel. He allowed anger to rule and explode into the murder of his brother.

As we look at the all too common atrocities in our world, we are not going to end their occurrence until we recognize that “sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you and you should rule over it.” Until men and women recognize sin lurking at the door and take measures to reject the sinful mindset, evil of all kinds will continue.

Unfortunately, how many people are self-aware enough to reject sin? Even if the majority of the world’s population are oblivious to the need to rule over sin, we in the church know this to be a crucial aspect of the Christian life.

As the Passover draws close, we need to recognize that “sin lies at the door” for all of us. Do we recognize the pulls and pressures of sin? Do we seek to repent of those sins that still plague us? Do we beseech God for His help to rule over sin?

As we ready ourselves to come before God at Passover, is our attitude like that of Abel: humble, faithful, obedient, offering the first and best? Or is our attitude like Cain: prideful, disobedient, offering that which is blemished?

Where we stand in regard to the Passover is a most worthwhile consideration for the Sabbath.

Have a pleasant and profitable Sabbath,

Gary Smith

Reason and Individual Freedom of Thought Sounds So Reasonable

This week an article about the rise of Satan worship caught my eye. The article pointed out:

• Satanists are not merely mystical eccentrics wearing black Gothic garb, sacrificing animals and operating in shady and secret societies.
• They are now ordinary people who call themselves ‘secular’ and praise reason and the individual freedom of thought.
• Just this month, a member of the so-called Satanic Temple was allowed to make an opening prayer to Lucifer at a local council meeting in Alaska.
• The Satanic Temple (TST) is a fairly new organization. Founded in 2013, it fights for political change by pointing out the ostensibly preferential treatment Christianity enjoys in politics. TST has seven chapters in the USA and Europe, and claims a membership of 100,000.
• The article can be accessed at: https://www.rt.com/op-edge/357523-what-hell-satan-worship-america/

If you were to do an internet search on the topic of Satan worship, you will get a surprising number of hits. As the author of the noted article stated: “They are now ordinary people.” In other words, the worship of the “Prince of the power of the air” (Ephesians 2:2) is becoming more widely accepted.

For me it is interesting to note the perspective this movement promotes. The worshipers of Satan promote “reason and individual freedom of thought.” Should this approach be a surprise? It sounds so reasonable. However, we only have to go back to the Garden of Eden where Satan offered the first couple the very same options. Satan is always willing to promote human reason and freedom of thought.

As members of the body of Christ, God has opened our minds to recognize the futility of worshiping Satan.

Why is such worship futile? Let’s note some truths about Satan revealed in the Bible:

• He was a murderer from the beginning seeking to overthrow God and seeking to influence man to sin which would lead to his death (John 8:44)
• There is no truth in him (John 8:44)
• He is a liar (John 8:44)
• He is a predator seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8)
• His name is Satan which means adversary. He opposes God and His plan of salvation.
• He foists himself off as an angel of light when in fact he is a bringer of darkness (2 Corinthians 11:14).
• He promotes sin, rebellion, and evil of every sort.
• He is a created being with limited power—greater power than human beings—but limited in comparison to his Creator.
• He has deceived the whole world (Revelation 12:9)
• His ultimate goals are to topple God from his throne and to eradicate every vestige of God from existence.

The Bible reveals Satan for the evil creature that he is and as one considers what is revealed about him in the scriptures there is little upside in his worship.

Yes, there are many stories of people who have sold their souls to the devil in order to achieve some worldly purpose. It appears that some do yield themselves to the powers of darkness and they do get what they want, but at what price?

It seems that Satan and the demonic world are gaining influence at this time and we will see the devastating results as we come to the end of the age.

We as God’s people can avoid this whole negative trend as we seek God. Note what the Apostle James tells us, “Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” This is reassurance that as a result of our relationship with God and Jesus Christ, Satan has no power over us.

Enjoy the blessing of a Sabbath rest.

Gary Smith