Sin is a reality we all have come to know from our human experience. The Bible tells us that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). But what is sin? Sin is the breaking of God’s law, which is summarized in the greatest commandment to love God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength; and to love our neighbor as ourselves (Mark 12:30-31). Whenever we choose to do the opposite or decide not to do anything we could have done along this line, we miss the mark and we commit sin.
Sin is not a trivial matter. It is a serious thing. Why? First, because it acts as an obstacle in our relationship with God. Isaiah wrote, “Your iniquities have been barriers between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear” (Isaiah 59:2). Second, and this is the focus of our reflection today, because there is so much deception in sin.
There is deception in sin because it comes from the greatest deceiver of the whole world, the devil (Revelations 12:9). Jesus warned us that the devil is “the murderer from the beginning who does not stand in truth because there is no truth in him” (John 8:44).
So, in what ways is sin deceiving? First, in promising something that it cannot deliver. Sin promises what seems to be desirable, beneficial, or delightful, but in the end, delivers pain, punishment, emptiness, and suffering. While it may offer temporary pleasure, it robs men and women of their true happiness and joy, pulling them farther down from where they have started.
We see this in the very first sin ever committed by the human race. Our first parents, Adam and Eve, enjoyed the best of God’s provisions in the Garden of Eden. God gave them dominion over all living things that move upon the earth; every plant or animal, they can have for food. They were commanded only one thing – they shall not eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, for if they do so, they will die (Genesis 2:17).
Then came the serpent, the devil. He tempted the woman, saying that in eating the fruit that God forbade them to eat, they will not die. Rather, by eating it, their eyes will be opened, and they will be like God. knowing good and evil (Genesis 3:4-5). Adam and Eve believed the devil’s lie. They were deceived by the devil’s assurance that in disobeying God, they will not die, and they were baited by the promise that they will be like God. himself.
As a result, sin crept in. It was founded on falsehood and it stood on an empty promise that it failed to deliver. In choosing not to follow God, Adam and Eve got, not life, but death. God pronounced their punishment, “You are dust and to dust you shall return” (Genesis 3:19b), thereby establishing the fundamental principle that the wage of sin is death (Romans 6:23). As a fruit of their disobedience, God also banished Adam and Eve from the garden, signaling the beginning of life for them and for all generations that followed in a corrupted world, both physically and spiritually.
We see this pattern unfold in all other temptations that man faced, and sins committed after the Adam and Eve’s sin. For instance, the temptation of lust promises sensual pleasure, only to deliver emptiness, grief, broken families, tarnished reputations, poverty, disease, and even death. This was graphically presented in Proverbs 7, which was about the story of a young man who was lured by the seduction of a prostitute. In falling into the sin, the writer described the man as being “like an ox going to the slaughter, like a deer stepping into a noose, and like a bird darting into a snare” (v. 22-23).
Pride promises gratification derived from the praises and admiration of others, but only leads to humiliation and destruction. The Bible says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6).
Greed promises security in the accumulation of possessions, but only leads to the insecurity of not possessing as much as what one wanted. We were warned, “The lover of money will not be satisfied with money; nor the lover of wealth, with gain” (Ecclesiastes 5:10).
Envy promises losing the feeling of deprivation, but only delivers disgrace as it pushes the envious person to harm the person envied. James explains, “ You want something and do not have it, so you commit murder. And you covet something and cannot obtain it; so, you engage in disputes and conflicts” (Ch. 4, v. 2).
Anger promises getting even with the hurt inflicted by another person, but only leads to violence and more violence. “One given to anger stirs up strife, and the hothead causes much transgression” (Proverbs 29:22).
Sloth promises an easy life but only leads to lack of success and in poverty. “Laziness brings on deep sleep; an idle person will suffer hunger” (Proverbs 19:15).
Secondly, sin is deceiving because it rots on the false belief that it can never be avoided. The cycle of sinning, asking for forgiveness, and then sinning again sometimes makes one wonder when he could ever break off from the chains of sin, if at all. God has an answer. We were told, “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it” (1 Corinthians 10:13). Likewise, we were instructed, “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7). By ourselves, we are weak, but with God, we can do all this through him who gives us strength (Philippians 4:13).
Thirdly, sin is deceiving because it is fed with the thought that because of the gravity and/or repetitiveness of our trespasses, we can no longer be forgiven. God invites us, “Come now, let us settle the matter. Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool” (Isaiah 1:18). In Jesus, there is forgiveness for the truly repentant of heart. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).
There is so much deception in sin. Let us shake these dusts of lies from our shoulders and receive the grace of truth that comes only from God.
