Have you ever really considered the high cost of giving into temptation and sinning? While I will admit that sin can often be pleasurable to the flesh, it always comes with a very high cost. Richard Sibbes, the Puritan preacher, shared great insight on the whole issue of temptation and sin when he said: “Satan gives Adam an apple, and takes away Paradise. Therefore, in all temptations let us consider not what he offers, but what we shall lose.”1
The following list are just some of the things we lose and experience when we listen to Satan instead of God:
Loss of joy
Since joy depends on our obedience to God, when we sin Christian joy vanishes. For you see joy is a by-product of walking in the will of the Lord and when we choose to step outside of His will by sinning our joy is temporarily suspended. Joy is special because, it just isn’t a good feeling, but it generates a positive energy knowing that we are doing something that pleases the Creator of the universe – and what can be more wonderful than that.
Loss of peace
When you know the Lord and sin against Him that peace which He gives abundantly to His children is all but gone. Peace like joy is a function of obedience to the Word of God and when we give into temptation and follow Satan’s lies peace like joy is temporarily suspended. Sin is rebellion against God and when we fall into it we need to confess it to the Lord, repent, and then peace can once again begin to flow.
Tremendous guilt
For Christians that really love Jesus when they sin by giving into temptation guilt can hit them hard when they realize their sinning disappoints God. And if they continue to sin by giving into the same temptation even greater guilt can fill their hearts. Fortunately, when we confess and repent, we don’t need to carry guilt into the future. However, be aware that Satan will now try to use this guilt as a weapon to keep us in bondage to past guilt. But, thankfully, (1 John 1:9) tells us: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
Our prayers may not get answered
(Psalm 66:18) says: “If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.” Unconfessed sin is a sure-fire way to cause our prayers to not be answered. Prayer is one of the best ways to speak to God and move His heart. However, sin is also one of the fastest ways to cause our prayers to remain unanswered. Again, giving in to Satan’s temptations, does not have to cause our prayers to permanently remain unanswered. Confessed sin can cause God to remove the blockage to unanswered prayer that we sadly, erected.
Souls may not make it to heaven
You may disagree with me on this one but I believe that prayer is one of the most effective ways to ask the Holy Spirit to convict non-Christians of their sins and open their hearts to listen to the gospel message. And persistent believing prayer can be the key to bringing people to salvation. And while I don’t fully understand how this all works I firmly believe that persistent fervent prayer can move mountains and open hardened hearts to the gospel. Your prayers for a loved one may be crucial to their salvation and if we continue to sin, our prayers sadly, may fall on deaf ears!
So, Christian are a few moments of fleshly pleasure worth the loss of joy, the loss of peace, incurring great guilt, having our prayers go unanswered, and not seeing our loved ones make it to heaven? May I challenge you to not look at what you gain by yielding to temptation and sinning, but what you lose. My friends, the cost is just too great. So, the next time you face the temptation to sin, remember, I pray, to count the cost!