What Sin Will Do - Martin Wiles

Series: Famous Quotes

But if you fail to keep your word, then you will have sinned against the Lord, and you may be sure that your sin will find you out. Numbers 32:23 NLT

“Sin will take you farther than you want to go, keep you longer than you want to stay, and cost you more than you want to pay.” – Charles Stanley

She thought she had her bases covered.

This ninth-grade student had been absent the day I gave the history test, so now she came into my room while I taught another class to take her test. Her manner of dress made me suspicious. She wore a large football jersey.

As I taught, I noticed her arm lifting from the desk and then returning to a resting position. And not the arm and the hand she wrote with. I continued teaching until I was certain she was cheating. When I saw the small cheat sheet, I knew.

I stopped, walked over to her, lifted her arm, and took the small piece of paper. On it were written the test answers in letters so small I could barely read them. I said, “In the time it took you to make this cheat sheet, you could have studied for the test.” Then I told her she would receive a zero and sent her on her merry way to ponder her actions. Her sin had found her out.

As Moses and the Israelites prepared to enter the Promised Land, three of the tribes decided they wanted to settle east of the Jordan. Initially, Moses viewed this as another act of rebellion against God—until they explained that they would first help the others conquer the land before they returned to this home. Moses granted their request but warned them that if they failed to keep their word, their sin would find them out.

Sin has a way of finding us out. God designed it that way. We may hide it for years, but eventually it—along with its consequences—comes out. Either we tire of God’s conviction and confess or someone exposes us. I’ve been the confessor, the exposer, and the exposed. None are enjoyable.

God knows we will sin. He merely wants us to confess immediately so our relationship with Him isn’t damaged. But when we don’t, sin will take us into areas we never imagined, keep us chained there longer than we ever anticipated, and cost us more than we ever expected to pay. Because while we are enjoying the sin, we rarely think about the consequences.

Don’t let your sin take you where God never intended for you to go. Confess it, and enjoy God’s forgiveness.

Prayer: Father, remind us what sin will do so we’ll be quick to confess when we fail You. 

Tweetable: Have you discovered what sin can do? 

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