Last week we allowed John 8:44 and Genesis 3 to establish that all sin begins with a well-crafted lie. This week we will look at Genesis 4 as well as passages from the book of Romans to show us that all sin ends in death. Jesus said that Satan was a “murderer from the beginning”, Peter told us to be aware and alert because Satan “prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” The purpose of sin has always been the same, to destroy us and separate us from God.
In Genesis 4 Cain and Abel offered gifts to God, Abel’s was respected by God but Cain’s was not. God, in His kindness sought out Cain and offered him an opportunity to be accepted and to overcome sin. Sadly, Cain rejected God’s appeal and allowed sin to master him, to control him and ultimately to destroy him. The good news is that we do not have to overcome our sin in our own strength but Jesus has overcome it for us. Jesus has died for our sins and by doing so He has taken away sins power and dominion over our lives. Today you and I can be free from sin, free from being controlled and manipulated and free from the death that sin exacts on all of its slaves. Jesus has taken the keys of hell and death, the power of sin and given us the freedom of love, the strength of grace and the power of His Holy Spirit. Sin still desires to have us, but Jesus has mastered it. I pray today that we will surrender to the grace of God and the work of Jesus and allow His death on the cross and resurrection from the dead to make us free. We no longer have to allow sin to reign in our mortal bodies, we are free!