Sin is All About Choices
Throughout history, men have used just about every conceivable excuse to justify
sin in their lives. Consider the time at the foot of Mount Sinai—in the midst of
Israel’s wicked idolatry—when Aaron tried to justify his poor choice. When
questioned about the calf he fashioned for the Israelites to worship at their
request, he told Moses, “And I said to them, ‘whoever has any gold, let them
break it off.’ So they gave it to me, and I cast it into the fire, and this calf
came out” (Exodus 32:24). Whether it is a one-time act, or a continually
repeated sin that besets one, statements such as, “The Devil made me do it,” “I
had no choice,” or “I could not help myself,” have often been heard.
Nevertheless, such thinking is foreign and contrary to the word of God.
The Bible teaches that sin is a matter of individual choice (cf. Ezekiel 18). It
begins with discerning good from evil (Hebrews 5:14) and then refusing the evil
and choosing the good (Isaiah 7:15). A sure and consistent pattern for such
thinking can be clearly established from the beginning of time.
In the garden, Adam and Eve were given free will, as well as some very specific
instructions. They could eat of the fruit of every tree except one, which God
declared off-limits. When tempted by Satan, Eve made the wrong choice—she
partook of the forbidden fruit, as did Adam (Genesis 3:1 ff). Though Eve blamed
Satan, and Adam blamed Eve, they each bore the consequences of their individual
sins, as each had made the choice to commit that sin. Pointing the finger
elsewhere never justifies sin, nor does it remove the consequences.
In like fashion, Moses committed a sin when—instead of glorifying God and
obeying His instructions—he glorified Aaron and himself, choosing not to follow
God’s command. This incident is found in Numbers 20:7-13. The Israelites needed
water and God specifically instructed Moses on how to provide that water (v. 8).
Moses did not head the instructions exactly (vs. 10-11), thus he suffered the
consequences of his wrong choice. Even when the choice to sin is made in the
heat of the moment, the consequences remain.
King David is another testimony to the fact that sin is a matter of individual
choice, and God will hold man accountable. David, walking on his roof one
evening, came upon an awkward situation. A woman (not his wife) was bathing
where she could be seen. David, now faced with a choice, subjected himself to
the temptation—instead of turning away from the compromising situation. In so
doing, one sin led to another—before long a great evil was done for which David
suffered grave consequences (2 Samuel 11-12). Even if we are faced with a
tempting situation, the choice to turn away and avoid its consequences is still
available—thus, rendering our actions inexcusable.
In truth, the examples are boundless. Sin is all about choices. James wrote,
“Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he
will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love
Him. Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am tempted of God’; for God cannot be
tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when
he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has
conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth
death” (James 1:12-15). From this passage, we can acknowledge some simple facts
about sin, temptation and choices.
God does not tempt man. God might allow man to be tempted (cf. Job’s temptation
by Satan), but He does not directly tempt man. As a matter of fact, with each
temptation man suffers, God is faithful, in that He, “will not allow you to be
tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way
of escape, that you may be able to bear it” (1 Corinthians 10:13). This verse is
bona fide proof that we, as individuals, must bear the burden of choice with
each and every sin!
We are tempted by our own desires. Often, we place ourselves in bad situations.
We considered the example of King David, who made the choice to be enticed, and
in turn, was enticed. In like fashion, people today do the same thing. For
example, men and women often allow themselves to be in compromising situations
with those of the opposite sex, who are not their spouses. Too often, the
outcome is fornication, infidelity, and broken homes. Likewise, when recovering
alcoholics frequent establishments that serve alcohol, they set themselves up to
sin. Consider the folly of recovering drug addicts choosing to befriend people
who abuse drugs (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:33). The list is unlimited. The fact is
that we choose our circumstances, be they our workplace, our companions, or our
environment. Why do we burden ourselves with situations that we are certain to
stumble in and commit sin?
Temptation is the birthplace of sin. We need to realize that we have not sinned
until we give in to our temptations. This does not mean we should push the
threshold of temptation to the maximum. Rather, we should know that even if we
are tempted, we do not have to give in! We can still turn it around! We can
still avoid sin! We need to simply say NO! This is why the Spirit teaches us to
“abstain from every form of evil” (1 Thessalonians 5:22). We are instructed to
“resist the devil and he will flee from us” (James 4:7). We are told to “flee
sexual immorality” (1 Corinthians 6:18). We are commanded to “abhor what is
evil, cleave to what is good” (Romans 12:9). We must acknowledge that even in
the heat of temptation, as Satan is turning up the thermostat, we choose to
avoid sin by not giving place to the devil (Ephesians 4:27)!
Indeed, sin is all about choices. We make choices between right and wrong, good
and evil, acceptable and unacceptable, pleasing and not pleasing, truth and
error every day of our lives. These choices will determine our eternity.
Ultimately, the choice is between life and death! It is important to understand:
it is one thing to know right from wrong and another thing altogether to choose
right over wrong. Ask yourself, “What kind of choices am I making?”
By Jonathan L. Perz
From Expository Files 16.3; March 2009
