by Dennis Strickland<\/p>\n
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<\/em>;” 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.<\/p>\n 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?<\/em>” And after this, a declaration of what the wrong choice brings. “And if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door<\/em>.” Following this, we read of the first murder as Cain rose up against and killed his brother Abel.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n by O.D. Wilson – deceased<\/p>\nSin is not a “thought”; a “desire”; but an “act”, 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?<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 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.…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[179],"class_list":["post-87496","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-sin"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5184,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-was-the-serpent-cursed\/","url_meta":{"origin":87496,"position":0},"title":"Why was the serpent cursed?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 8, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: In Genesis 3:14 it states \"And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life\" Was\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":39047,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-can-god-kill-people-and-steal-their-stuff\/","url_meta":{"origin":87496,"position":1},"title":"How can God kill people and steal their stuff?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 28, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: As a new Christian, I'm now studying the Old Testament.\u00a0 I am struggling with all the killing and death that God either does himself or makes his people do. I find it extremely difficult to wrap my head around the fact that he sent Moses up the hill and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":93564,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/were-sins-rolled-forward\/","url_meta":{"origin":87496,"position":2},"title":"Were Sins “Rolled Forward”?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 28, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"by Ney Rieber via\u00a0Sentry Magazine, Vol. 20 No. 2, June 1994 Was there forgiveness of sins for those under the Old Testament? This question is frequently answered in the negative. It is stated that their sins were not forgiven, but were \"rolled forward\" year by year. The primary passage used\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":49719,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/non-participation-in-sin-is-not-enough\/","url_meta":{"origin":87496,"position":3},"title":"Non-Participation in Sin Is Not Enough","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 7, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"by Edward O. Bragwell \"And do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them\" (Ephesians 5:11). Christians and local churches, when questioned about their silence concerning various popular sins, often defend and console themselves by answering, \"But, I (or we) do not participate in such\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":7739,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-was-i-born-if-god-knew-i-would-fail\/","url_meta":{"origin":87496,"position":4},"title":"Why was I born if God knew I would fail?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 7, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: In the last couple of months, a question has come up at least three times. I am guessing that many others may be asking it as well. Perhaps you can help answer it. The question is essentially this, \"Why was I born, without choice in the matter, into a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":70295,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-happened-on-that-cross\/","url_meta":{"origin":87496,"position":5},"title":"What Happened on that Cross?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 12, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"by Perry Hall What happened on the cross? Did Jesus become a sinful creature? Classical Calvinism and its modern version of Reformed Theology teach that Jesus's righteousness is imputed to us. 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The “Process” of Sin<\/h2>\n
\nNo doubt it’s the “total” of these three, in fact.
\nBut the infant, the idiot, or the mentally ill,
\nAre irresponsible in the doing of God’s Will.
\nAnd, there’s no such thing as “inherent” sin,
\nOr “total depravity” when earth’s life begins.
\nGod forbade the eating of the fruit on one tree,
\nOf the others, yes, but let this one be.
\nAnd Adam and Eve understood the reasons why,
\nThe “Death Penalty” would be theirs, and they’d have to die.
\nNevertheless, Eve “listened” to what the “serpent” said,
\nWhich is step number one in the “process” ahead.
\nStep number two in the “process” we’ll see,
\nHer eyes were opened to “good” food on the tree.
\nAnd, she now beheld what she’d never before,
\nShe “desired”, or lusted for the fruit that it bore.
\nHer desire harmonized with what the serpent had said,
\nShe’d be wise like God; There is more ahead.
\nJust here, may I say, it was not too late,
\nShe could stop, go no further and “miss” her fate.
\nLike a “rousing” kiss and a gentle touch,
\nShe had “built” a fire that led to too much.
\nHelpless now, her control was gone.
\nWhat’s the difference, anyway? So she just moved on.
\nTogether, in disobedience they “ate”,
\nThe final step had “pronounced” their fate.
\nTheir eyes were “opened” and they saw their crime,
\nThe “process of sin” was completed this time.
\nIt was too late to change, and each other they blamed,
\nBut God drove them forth from the “Garden” in shame.
\n6,000 years have since rolled by,
\nAnd all that have lived, or shall live, must die.
\nBecause two people listened to the wrong “voice”,
\n“Looked” and “lusted” and made the wrong choice.
\nIn a personal sense, you shall reap what you’ve sowed,
\nWhat shall be your reward at the “end of the road?”<\/blockquote>\n