The Process of Sin

by Dennis Strickland

We all have faced “iniquity” in our lives because the Bible clearly states it in Romans 3:23. The Spirit had Paul remind them: “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;” Iniquity and sin are one and the same, but many are confused as to how these occur. Not one of us “just wakes up” and decides to sin. A process occurs, and a decision must be made, when the wrong decision is made and followed, sin results.

This is because God created man with the ability to choose, as well as the responsibility of dealing with the ramifications of their choices. We can look way back to the first offspring of the beings created by God. Genesis 4:4 presents God asking Cain a crucial question. "If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted?" And after this, a declaration of what the wrong choice brings. "And if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door." Following this, we read of the first murder as Cain rose up against and killed his brother Abel.

Though many “claim” they “couldn’t help themselves” after they sinned, none can support such a claim. In 1Corinthians 10:13 the brethren of that congregation were told: “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.” This is God’s inspired formula for avoiding sin.

Again, we see that we have a choice. We can participate in the “process of sin”, or we can participate in “God’s process of avoiding sin.” Perhaps this was the motivation for the writing of the poem below, which also bears the name of this article. My wife's father, O. D. Wilson, wrote this poem many years ago. Which process are we going to follow? Will it be the one that leads us to eternity with God, or the process of sin that leads to the loss of our souls in eternal condemnation? The choice is ours.

The “Process” of Sin

by O.D. Wilson – deceased

Sin is not a “thought”; a “desire”; but an “act”,
No doubt it’s the “total” of these three, in fact.
But the infant, the idiot, or the mentally ill,
Are irresponsible in the doing of God’s Will.
And, there’s no such thing as “inherent” sin,
Or “total depravity” when earth’s life begins.
God forbade the eating of the fruit on one tree,
Of the others, yes, but let this one be.
And Adam and Eve understood the reasons why,
The “Death Penalty” would be theirs, and they’d have to die.
Nevertheless, Eve “listened” to what the “serpent” said,
Which is step number one in the “process” ahead.
Step number two in the “process” we’ll see,
Her eyes were opened to “good” food on the tree.
And, she now beheld what she’d never before,
She “desired”, or lusted for the fruit that it bore.
Her desire harmonized with what the serpent had said,
She’d be wise like God; There is more ahead.
Just here, may I say, it was not too late,
She could stop, go no further and “miss” her fate.
Like a “rousing” kiss and a gentle touch,
She had “built” a fire that led to too much.
Helpless now, her control was gone.
What’s the difference, anyway? So she just moved on.
Together, in disobedience they “ate”,
The final step had “pronounced” their fate.
Their eyes were “opened” and they saw their crime,
The “process of sin” was completed this time.
It was too late to change, and each other they blamed,
But God drove them forth from the “Garden” in shame.
6,000 years have since rolled by,
And all that have lived, or shall live, must die.
Because two people listened to the wrong “voice”,
“Looked” and “lusted” and made the wrong choice.
In a personal sense, you shall reap what you’ve sowed,
What shall be your reward at the “end of the road?”

If you are a child of God, don’t forfeit your reward by choosing to involve yourself in, or remain in, sin. If you haven’t obeyed the gospel, don’t choose to continue in sin. Choose God’s way of Salvation, and then faithfully follow His Word to the end. Remember, as the Word of God, and this poem declares, we are all going to “reap what we sow”. What are we sowing?