Growing a Sin Scar - Martin Wiles

These people are hypocrites and liars, and their consciences are dead. 1 Timothy 4:2 NLT

I wondered whether or not the doctor had gotten it all. The spot felt a little strange.

Having had skin cancer before, I worried about the red spot on my forearm that had been there for some time. I had asked the skin doctor about it. She dismissed my concern.

Then the spot began to grow and itch. On my next visit, I showed it to the doctor again. This time she decided to remove the growth. She still didn’t seem concerned, but when she finished cutting it off, I had a pencil eraser sized hole in my arm.

On my return visit for a checkup, I expressed my concern about how the spot looked and felt … or didn’t feel. She rubbed it with her finger, and said not to worry. I just had scar tissue.

Paul warned Timothy, his son in the faith, to look out for false teachers. They would come in the last times and attempt to lead believers and nonbelievers astray with their false teachings. And it wouldn’t bother them. Their consciences were seared. Didn’t feel.

I once asked my middle schoolers to define conscience. They defined it as the little voice in your head telling you what’s right and what’s wrong. I can’t think of a better answer.

But when I don’t listen to it, or God, I damage my conscience. When I sin, God immediately convicts me. Confessing it as soon as He brings it to my attention is the proper course of action. When I don’t, my conscience grows a sin scar. Sinning will still bother me … but not as much. If I continue down this path, the scar tissue gets harder. Before long, I’ll be able to sin without much feeling at all. I will have seared my conscience.

Growing a sin scar doesn’t mean I’ve lost my salvation. As a believer, God keeps me securely in His care, but it does have consequences. God will send His discipline. I’ll not enjoy the life He has planned for me, and I’ll miss out on His blessings. I won’t grow spiritually because persistent sin and spiritual growth are mutually exclusive. The worst thing about a sin scar is that we don’t hear from God. He speaks, but we can’t hear. The scar dulls our hearing. And when we don’t hear, we miss God’s best.

When you sin, confess it immediately so you don’t develop a sin callous.

Prayer: Father, take away those sin callouses so we can be sensitive to Your Spirit’s work through our consciences.

Tweetable: Have you grown a sin scar? 

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