The LSD of sin

 

But veery man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. Do not err my beloved brethren – James 1.14-16

 

Does anybody remember the drug LSD? It was also called acid. It was an hallucinogenic drug popular in the 60s and 70s. It made a resurgence in the mid 2010s.

 

It came along with a handful of negative side effects and had a generally destructive impact.

 

Back in those days, or shortly after, I heard a message from this verse called the LSD of Sin and it has stuck with me ever since. The outline was pretty simple.

 

Sin begins with

Lust – if it is not dealt with here is leads to

Sin – and if is not dealt with here it leads to

Death.

 

It really is a pretty impressive lesson. The best place to deal with temptation is when we are distracted by our lusts. At that stage no damage has been done. Lusts are natural, but they don’t have to control us.

 

When sin comes things get a little tougher. Forsaking sin is a lot harder than fleeing lusts, but we can repent and ask forgiveness and be restored.

 

Eventually though, if we don’t deal with sin, it results in a kind of spiritual death. This can’t be the loss of salvation, but, as David put it in Psalm 51, we lose all the joy of our salvation. That is nearly as bad.

 

But let’s not go down that road. We all recognise when lusts cross our paths. That’s the moment to pray for strength and run way from the temptation as fast as we can. Don’t get caught in its trap.