David once said, “⁵ Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me Psalm 51:5.”  David was not saying that he was born a sinner as some suppose.  He was saying that he was born into a world dominated by sin.  The truth is, we could all say the same thing.  Sin has almost always filled the world.

This poses a problem for Christians.  It is like the Israelites of old sharing the land with Canaanites.  God wanted His people to drive the Canaanites out of the land that they would occupy because he knew they would have a negative influence upon them if they didn’t.  They failed to do that and what God knew would happen did indeed happen—the Jews fell into the evil ways of the Canaanites, including serving false gods.

For Christians, sin is our Canaanite, and it surrounds us.  The same danger that the Canaanites presented to the Israelites sin presents to us.  We are always tempted to give in to sin and allow it to occupy the territory of our hearts.  But the real problem with sin being so common among us is that we can get used to it.  The shock of it can begin to fade if we allow it to, and we will no longer be appalled by it.

We do not have to allow the prevalence of sin to have this effect on us.  Paul didn’t.  Sin was just as present in his world as it is in ours, none more so than idolatry, but he never got used to it.

Acts 17:16 (ESV)
¹⁶ Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of idols.

Is our spirit still provoked by sin?  We live in a day of same-sex marriage.  Hollywood and the liberal media are doing everything they can to normalize homosexuality and criminalize anyone who opposes it.  In this environment, more and more people, even some who used to oppose homosexuality, believing that it was sinful, or at least very strange behavior, now think it is perfectly okay.  This is what happens when sin becomes so prevalent.  People’s attitude toward it slowly begins to change and before you know it, what was once viewed as abnormal is now applauded.  As Christians, we must not allow this to happen.  Whether it is the sin of homosexuality or any other sin, our spirits must always be provoked by it.

Once we get used to sin, accepting it is just around the corner.  And once we accept it, we will no longer speak out against it.  Developing such a compromising attitude toward sin in general, or even any one sin, will never be pleasing to God.  We must be determined to hold on to a militant attitude toward sin.  We should hate sin in all its various forms.  Paul wrote about this.

Romans 12:9 (ESV)
⁹ Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good.

This should never change in us.  We must always abhor evil, and even that is not enough.

Ephesians 5:11 (ESV)
¹¹ Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.

Like Paul, sin should provoke our spirits, moving us to action.  It moved Paul to preach in the synagogues of the Jews and in the marketplaces frequented by Gentiles.   Paul wanted everyone to know that there is a true and living God in whom “we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28), and that idolatry of any kind is unacceptable.  Sin should move us to act as well, warning as many as we can about its destructive nature.  

As you wind down for the night, think about these things.