STOP GLAMORIZING SIN

WISDOM FOR LIVING DAILY DEVOTIONAL

DECEMBER 16, 2021

TOPIC: STOP GLAMORIZING SIN

BY T. O. BANSO

“Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!” (Isaiah 5:20 New King James Version).

It doesn’t matter in which cloth we dress up sins, what is bad is bad. Sin is evil, but nowadays human beings, in their depravity, try to present it as harmless thereby leading many, especially the youths, astray. How can sin be harmless? There is nothing glamorous about sin. Sin is ugly. It was the sin of the whole world that cost Jesus His life.

John 3:16  says God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved (verse 17). If sin is harmless, would God have sacrificed His son? Without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins (Hebrews 9:22b).

How can sin be harmless? Ezekiel 18:20 says, “The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not bear the guilt of the father, nor the father bear the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself” (New King James Version).

Why should anyone glamorize sin? How can it be harmless? Jesus said, “If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed, rather than having two hands, to go to hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched — where ‘Their worm does not die  and the fire is not quenched.’ And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame, rather than having two feet, to be cast into hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched —  where ‘Their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.’ And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire — where ‘Their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched’” (Mark 9:43-48 New King James Version).

Why did Jesus say that? Because sin is harmful and the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 6:23). Death for sinners means eternity in hellfire, which Jesus doesn’t want anyone to experience. He died on the cross so that humanity may escape hell.

Hell is such a very terrible place that Jesus said that we should take drastic actions to avoid finding ourselves there (Mark 9:43-48). Hell is a place where their worm (maggot) does not die and the fire is not quenched (Isaiah 66:24). Hell is a place of perpetual torment (Revelation 20:10). Hell is a place of darkness, wailing, weeping, and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 8:12, 13:41-42, 22:13, 24:51, 25:30; Luke 13:27-28).

Why should anyone try to glamorize sin that will result in people spending their eternity in hellfire? Why should anyone try to make what is bad look attractive? Why should sinners be presented as heroes and celebrities?  Why should anyone love what God hates, and hate what God loves?

The Rich man whose story is written in Luke 16:19-31 would disagree with anyone glamorizing sin or dignifying it.  He suffered unbearable torment in Hades after his death. He was denied a drop of ordinary water, not to talk of a cup of water. Luke 16:27-31 says, “Then he said, ‘I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father’s house, for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.’ Abraham said to him,’ They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.’  And he said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ But he said to him,’ If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead’” (New King James Version).

How has the world glamorized sin? Instead of calling prostitutes sexually immoral, adulterers or fornicators, the world has coined an attractive word for it – “sexual worker!” They say it’s a polite way to refer to prostitutes. But sin is sin. Why should prostitution be classified as work? Those who live in sin, engaging in this immorality, see themselves as doing legitimate work!

The world glamorizes sin when it calls sexual immorality “an affair.” The world is dignifying sin when the Bible says fornicators, adulterers, homosexuals, sodomites among others shall not inherit the Kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 6:9-10; Galatians 5:19-21). Revelation 21:8 says that the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone.

Nowadays, truth is no longer absolute. Everything is now relative. It is the situation that determines what is right or wrong! The world’s values are upside down. Wrong values are being celebrated instead in many places instead of being condemned.

The thief is the only dishonest person that is caught! The rest are not thieves once they’re not caught. They can even join them to blame the person caught for stealing. The unwritten law appears to be: “You can steal but make sure you’re not caught.”

Society is now so morally decadent that gay marriages and transgender practices are now commonplace and even being promoted and permitted by the government in the name of human rights. Is it not madness that there are gay pastors and pastors are joining gay couples together in marriage?

Even among those who are not gay, the sanctity of marriage is being eroded. Sinful relationships that produce so-called baby mamas, baby daddies are being celebrated as if it is right. Divorce, which used to be seen as abnormal in marriages and even victims previously feel sorry about, is now being pursued and embraced proudly on unbiblical grounds.

Many couples are not committed to their marriage. Many partners who never imagined they would ever experience divorce have ended as divorcees because of the lack of commitment of their partners to the marriage. They were unfaithful to their marriage vows. What can a spouse do when his or her partner callously walks out of the marriage or refuses to fulfill his or her marital responsibilities? Many husbands and wives have forced their partners to file for divorce. You can’t force someone to remain in a marriage.

In the world today, it is all about self, not about God. You’re free to do whatever will make you happy, not minding whether it makes God sick and angry! They say, “follow your passion,” not follow God. Whether the passion is evil or not is not important. The scripture says in the last days, men shall be, among other things, lovers of self (2 Timothy 3:2). In other words, they will love only themselves or be selfish. So many people seek to please themselves, and not to please God.

The Bible is not the manual of instruction for many people, including many in the church. They have one leg in the church, and one leg in the world. Their role models are some godless, hell-bound musicians, sports stars, movie actors, or simply put, some celebrities who glamorize sin.

The LORD says in Isaiah 5:20, “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!” (New King James Version). Does that describe you or the society you live in?  “Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!  Woe to men mighty at drinking wine, woe to men valiant for mixing intoxicating drink,  who justify the wicked for a bribe, and take away justice from the righteous man!” (Verses 21-23 New King James Version).

Beware of worldly values. Everybody wants to own a big house, ride a big car, have a fat bank account, travel around the world, etc. Those who own these are the focus of the mass media ­ and the social media; they celebrate them. These are the so-called marks of success! Many never bother how all this is acquired.

Some motivational speakers, and even preachers, keep driving the message of materialistic success down the throats of their audiences. This is the good life people must achieve! It is the rat race all must participate in – a fiercely competitive struggle for wealth and power.

Yes, God wants you to succeed, but material things are not the marks of true success. You should aspire to become the best you can, but not at the expense of your soul, eternity, health, family, or integrity. What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his soul? (Matthew 16:26).

People, especially Christians, must stop emulating those who see hellfire as a literary creation, a fiction, or a figment of some preachers’ imagination. We must not follow those who argue that the loving God can’t be so wicked to send to hellfire and destroy the human beings He created in His own image. But God doesn’t send anyone to hell; people go there by their choice.

Stop glamorizing sin. Stop glorifying sin as sinners do. Stop participating in sinful worldly activities and allowing your children to do so. Ephesians 5:11 says you should have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them.

TAKE ACTION!

 If you are not born again, you need to give your life to Jesus now. I urge you to take the following steps: *Admit that you are a sinner and you cannot save yourself and repent of your sins. *Confess Jesus as your Lord and Saviour. *Renounce your past way of life – your relationship with the devil and his works. *Invite Jesus into your life. *As a mark of seriousness to mature in the faith, start attending a Bible-believing and Bible-teaching church. There they will teach you how to grow in the Kingdom of God.

Kindly say this prayer now: O Lord God, I come unto You today. I know I am a sinner and I cannot save myself. I believe that Jesus is the Son of God who died on the cross to save me and resurrected the third day. I repent of my sins and confess Jesus as my Lord and Saviour. I surrender my life to Jesus now and invite Him into my heart. By this prayer, I know I am saved. Thank You, Jesus, for saving me and making me a child of God.

I believe you have said this prayer from your heart. Congratulations! You will need to join a Bible-believing and Bible-teaching church in your area where they will teach you how to live your new life in Christ Jesus. I pray that you flourish like the palm tree and grow like the cedar of Lebanon. May you grow into Christ in all things and become all God wants you to be. I will be glad to hear from you. The Lord be with you.

PRAYER POINTS: Father, I repent of glamorizing sin or praising those who do the same. Henceforth, I will regard as sin what the Bible calls sin and flee from it. I will not walk in the counsel of the ungodly, stand in the path of sinners, or sit in the seat of the scornful. I will not praise those who love what God hates or hate what God loves. Holy Spirit, convict all those glamorizing sins that they will repent and surrender their lives to Jesus.

(For over 800 in-depth and powerful messages by T. O. Banso, visit www.cedarministry.org).

T. O. Banso is the President, Cedar Ministry International, Abuja, Nigeria.
Phone No: +2348155744752, +2348033113523
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Email: cedarministryintl@yahoo.com,
cedarministryng@gmail.com
Website: www.cedarministry.org