The Soul Who Sins Shall Die

"It is sin that is the cause of our damning in hell fire. The soul who sins - that soul shall die. The soul sins against God when it receives sin in the heart to entertain it there. It has chosen sin rather than God. At God's command the soul refuses to let sin go. Consider seven efforts of the sinner to hold on to sin. 

(1) If possible, the soul that entertains sin will hide it that it will not be discovered. 

(2) The soul that cannot hide its sin will excuse it and plead that it is not such a bad thing: 'Why make such a fuss about it?' 

(3) The soul that justifies its sin will seek to cover it with a good name: Note - Isaiah 5:20. *

(4) If his convictions cannot deny that it is sin and that God is offended by it, then that soul might give flattering promises to God that it will put the sin away before too very long, but actually maybe not at all. It is clear that this soul delights in its abominations. 

(5) If God yet pursues, and seeks to see if he has indeed put this sin away, this soul might put away the worst part, and keep the finest. It might put away the part that can best be spared, and keep the most profitable for help in a pinch. 

(6) Yes, if all sin must be abandoned or the soul will have not rest, why then, the soul that is entertaining it might let it part, but it will part with a sad heart since it hates to let it go. 

(7) If at any time they con, or shall meet with each other again, and nobody will be the wiser, O what a courting will be between sin and the soul! This is called doing things in the dark. 

By these things you might see that sin has a friend in the soul. This is a strong argument that God, His Word, His ways, and His graces are out of favor with your soul, and that sin and Satan are its only true pleasant companions."

-John Bunyan (Voices from the Past)

* "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!" Is. 5:20

What does it mean to truly repent of our sins? To fully let go. To turn from our sin and put it to death. Sin that is put to death will never be present in our lives again. How often do we make exceptions or excuses for the sin in our lives just as Bunyan said. We try to hide it, justify it, or only let part of it go. True repentance means completely shunning the sin in our life - hating it - turning away from Satan's temptations and seeking God in stead. Running away from death and embracing Life. 

It is not just the 'big' sins we must flea from, but from ALL sin. Even the seemingly insignificant or 'little' sins. Sin is sin.

The truth is we often love our sin and we have become comfortable with it. We don't want to part from it because it brings us gratification and pleasure. The pleasure is, however, only temporary. Sin does not produce the real joy or pleasure that comes from God. The end result is death, condemnation, and hell. It is so easy to try and justify our sin, and sometimes it's easy to hide it from others, but it is never hidden from God. He knows the heart and is not fooled by a false front.