Sin is a lack of faith. It is short sightedness. It is an affront against the goodness of God. It is the choice to partake in the passing pleasures associated with this world above that which is eternal and infinitely more enjoyable in God. Consider what is said of Moses in Hebrews as he is praised for his faith in the God who is a rewarder of those who seek Him, “Moses when he became of age refused to be called the son of Pharoah’s daughter, choosing rather o suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward.”
In this description we notice 4 things, not in any particular order:
1) Sin is pleasurable. The alternative for Moses were the “treasures of Egypt.” What pleasures would have been available for the son of Pharoah’s daughter? It was not a small thing for Moses to simply choose not to partake in these things. They were treasures. They were glorious. He probably would have had any number of pleasurable things at his disposal. And so for us, in our “Egypt.” Though we are not sons of Pharoah’s daughter, we have so many “treasures” and “pleasures” available at our very finger tips. It does the believer no good to attempt to deny the desirability of sin. James says that temptation is temptation precisely because it caters to a desire within the person who is tempted. Sin is desirable, just as the fruit was desirable to the eyes of our first father and mother in the garden, such that they sinned against their God.
2) Sin must be deal with. Sin cannot be ignored. Temptation cannot be ignored. And it cannot be fought. A person cannot man-up and struggle their way through a temptation as to overcome it. We are told, in Timothy to “flee” from immorality. Peter told us to “abstain” from fleshly lusts because they wage war against our souls. Abstain – hold back from, keep away from anything that pertains to the lusts of the flesh. We must flee from it, we cannot simply ignore it. The problem is that most of the time, that which tempts us is not the wife of Potipher. In those situations, many of us who have the spirit of God would turn in run. But it is often not those situations in which we find ourselves. We find ourselves in situations where we have to make a thousand little choices every single day in order to flee. And every one of those thousand little choices can either bring us closer to sin or closer to the Lord. Perhaps you’ll never have to decide whether to stay in Egypt or not. But each day you must sit in front of your desk at work and decide to waste time or be productive. Each day you must sit at your computer and decide to spend time looking at worthless things or to spend you time wisely in the Lord. Each moment you must decide to complain and gripe about a situation that is difficult for you or to accept it as the Lord’s will for this season. Each moment you decide how to respond to an arrogant, ignorant, hostile or demanding person in your life, whether you will continue to pursue righteousness or respond to them in the flesh. The point is that fleeing is not often a one time event, but rather a conscious decision that must be made daily, yea even each moment of your day.
3) Often association with God brings affliction. This is clear and obvious from the text in Hebrews as well as it says plainly that Moses’ choice was to suffer affliction with the people of God. Paul said to Timothy that “all who desire to live godly will face persecution.” And that in the greater context of 2 Timothy where affliction and hardship is a major theme that Paul sought to convey to Timothy. The man of God will face persecution from those who are crooked and perverse in his generation. It must happen. This world is anti-God and anti-Christ. Those who are called by His name will receive just what He received. Turning from sin to serve God is not an easy thing. It is not a turning to “your best life now.” It is a turning from the pleasures of this world to the cross of Christ, and it is taking up our own cross and making that same journey of death with Him…though it is a death to eternal life. If it were not for the cross, the world would be flocking in droves to the call of Christ. But that is not the case because the call of Christ, a crucified and slain Christ, is foolishness to them.
4) That brings us to our last point. Pursuing holiness leads to the reward. Holiness is the opposite of sin. Sin seeks its own apart from God. Holiness seeks the pleasure of God in doing what is pleasing to Him. While sin’s reward of pleasure is indeed enjoyable for a moment it is in reality only an illusion. The one who is deluded may find great pleasure in his psychotic episode. He may run free with reckless abandon in a secluded wood. He may spend endless hours feasting upon his favorite meal. But when he awakens from his slumber his belly will still be empty. And if he were in his delusion for long, the hunger pains may well lead him to starve himself to death. There is no true reward with sin. Only the image of a reward and an empty belly. The reward of God is a reward indeed. It is the reward of a better country. Though a spiritual reality, a reality indeed. Though unseen, its substance is what yields eternal pleasure and everlasting joy. The reward of God is as real and eternal as God Himself, for He is the reward. And the Christ of God is the reward giver who gives to all who both believe God and believe that He does reward those who diligently seek Him.
Reckon the reward. Know that no matter how scintillating or how pleasurable the sin may be, beneath its surface lies a whirlpool which drags its captive down to the abyss of death. But beyond the treacherous roads of Holiness mountain lies greater reward. “In His face is the fullness of joy and in His right hand are pleasures forevermore!”
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