Selling Sin
Are you a salesperson for sin? Do you sell sin to others? Big questions, right?
Well, hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada, and I got that question from reading Paul David Tripp’s devotional book called “New Morning Mercies.” And his entry the other morning started with that intriguing question. Are you a salesperson for sin? Now, my friend Paul David is not talking about causing others to stumble, although the Bible has harsh words for that. No, rather he means, are you able to persuade yourself of sin’s pleasure without ever mentioning its pain? I’ll admit it: sin does not always appear sinful to me. Sometimes I am skilled at seeing beauty in what God says is ugly. A brief moment of lust can look more attractive than the wholesome beauty of a pure heart. Being the center of attention can feel better than humbly pointing to God’s glory in everything I do. Do you experience the same?
Well, Paul David Tripp wrestles with these things as well, and this is what he says; he says: “God calls us to be people on guard, always warning ourselves that on the other side of [God’s] boundaries is danger, destruction, and death. The Word of God is full of warnings and case studies that hold before the reader the bitter harvest of rebellion. Hell is one of those reminders. It is an uncomfortable, terrifying, but necessary doctrine. Yes, the doom of hell awaits with unending torment and inhumanity, but the warning of hell is a beautiful display of mercy from a just and loving Judge.
“Hell reminds us that nothing in this present [age] is more important than a relationship with God. The dark side of eternity prompts us to please God more than ourselves. Eternal damnation spurs us on to pursue spiritual blessings more than physical pleasures. If hell is real and as full of torment as the Scriptures describe, then we must live with that same kind of seriousness in the here and now. [Prohibiting] ourselves from minimizing what God says is wrong, and we need to surround ourselves with people who encourage us to take God at his word.
Since one of the devil’s principal tricks is to present sin as significantly more harmless than it is, the commitment to name sin as nothing less than evil must stay with us as long as sin remains [in] us. Be sobered by the existence of hell. [’Cause] eternity reminds us that there is a Judge of all things who keeps perfectly accurate records. No [wickedness] escapes his eye. He will never be tricked into seeing evil as good or injustice as just. The day will come when he will say, ‘Enough is enough,’ and will proclaim just judgment on all that is evil. Until then, we should be thankful that his justice waits. For each day he gives every human being one more opportunity to confess, repent, and accept the gift of eternal life.”
Friend, that devotional reading in Paul David Tripp’s book, “New Morning Mercies,” struck me in a powerful way, and I hope his words have opened your eyes. All of us deserve the penalty of hell, but Jesus came to live the life we could not live and to die the death we deserved to die so we might know God’s forgiveness. And not just that – Jesus is the One who grants us eternal acceptance into heaven, as well as escape from the eternal doom of the dark side of forever. That’s the basis of our celebration in Christ. He has provided an escape from hell and a home in heaven. Man, that’s good news, and I encourage you to share it today with someone who’s heading in the wrong direction.
© Joni and Friends
A Place of Healing
“If God can heal me, why won’t He?” How do we navigate that agonizing distance between such a magnificent yes and such a heartbreaking no? Here, Joni takes you with her on an intimate journey through foundational questions about healing, suffering, pain, and hope.
