Walking with the Wise #486: The Sick Nature of Sin

“Like a dog that returns to his vomit


is a fool who repeats his folly.”

—Proverbs 26:11

Returning to our sin is not just bad, it's gross and disgusting. As a kid, I remember watching my dog, go outside eat some grass, then come in and throw it all up. He would walk away and then he would proceed to come back and slowly lick up his vomit. It was disgusting, but that is the exact picture God wants us to have when we return to our sin. Returning to sin is just like that, but God wants us to realize that we have been freed from our sin and no longer have to obey its sinful desires.

The Bible teaches that if anyone sins, he is a slave to sin (Romans 6:16). But it is through Jesus’ death on the cross that the master/slave relationship was severed. We are now new creatures in the sight of God,  

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come”—2 Corinthians 5:17.

By receiving Jesus as Savior of our lives, we have been set free from our sin. As Jesus said, “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed”—John 8:36. We have been set free from our old sinful way of life, and no longer have to obey its sinful desires. Nevertheless, sin remains in us. While we do not have to obey it, we still dwell in a place where sin is very much alive.

Perhaps an illustration may help us. Imagine that you work for a certain company and the manager of that company is a real jerk. He treats you poorly, although he promises you a great deal of fun if you obey him, so you endure it. He gives you a lot of orders, and you have to do what he says. But each time you obey him, he fails in his promise.

Now, let’s say somebody else purchases the company. There’s a new boss, and he travels quite a bit. While the new boss is traveling, the old boss shows up and acts like he’s in charge. He makes more promises if you listen to him, and tries to convince you that he still owns the company. He then tries ordering you to do something; however, this time, you don’t have to do it anymore, because he’s no longer your boss. He may act like he’s in charge, he may even lie to make you think he’s in charge, but he’s not in charge. That’s a small look into salvation. Satan was your boss and you were blinded by sin and were God’s enemy. Then Jesus purchased the business by His blood. He’s the new boss and Satan is no longer in charge, although he may show up and try to make you think he is. The good news is that you don’t have to do what he says any longer. You have a new boss, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Returning to sin is like obeying your old boss—don’t do it! It’s not worth it! Jesus set you free and you don’t have to listen to him—no matter what he says or promises to you. Consider yourself dead to sin—don’t go back to it. It’s disgusting! Remember that Jesus gave His life to set you free. He paid the price for your sin so that you may be freed. Remember, if the Son has set you free, you are freed indeed! Amen.