"The Deceitfulness of Sin"

 

Hebrews 3:12-13 "Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living GOD. But exhort one another daily, while it is called today; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin."

     I am told, and it sounds reasonable, that if you were to puncture an insect with a fine pointed needle, the effect could not be clearly seen with the naked eye. However, if you were to examine the creature under a powerful microscope, then you would discover a large gash and blood flowing copiously from the wound. Sin seems to be a trifling thing until it is viewed through GOD's divine microscope -- the WORD of GOD -- wherein it is addressed, magnified, and clearly seen to be destructive.

     The writer of Hebrews gives this warning: "Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief . . . But exhort one another daily . . . lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin" (vv.12-13). Albert Barnes has some pertinent thoughts on "the deceitfulness of sin": "Sin is always deceitful. It promises more than it performs. It assures us of pleasure which it never imparts. It leads us beyond what was supposed when we began to indulge in it. The one who commits sin is always under a delusion; and sin, if he indulges it, will lead him on from one step to another, until the heart becomes entirely hardened. Sin puts on plausible appearances and pretenses . . . If sin was always seen in its true aspect when man is tempted to commit it, it would be so hateful that he would flee from it with the utmost abhorrence . . . Sin deceives, deludes, blinds. Men do not, or will not, see the fearful results of indulgence. They are deluded by the hope of happiness or of gain . . . drawn along by the fascinations and allurements of the pleasure, until the heart becomes hard, and the conscience seared." Yes, sin is a pernicious enemy that we must view through the lens of GOD's WORD. JED

Your servant in CHRIST,

Julie

Copyright, FEATURE: A Daily Bible Study Guide.

Used  with  permission.    www.featoday.org

https://fivestarchristianministries.com/salvation