Day 5: The Burden of Sin

In James 1:13-14, James says this:

"Let no one say when he is tempted, 'I am being tempted by God'; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust." (NASB)

James very carefully closes the door to our putting the blame upon God for the fact that we have done wrong. He says, "God is not to be tempted with evil, He does not tempt others with evil. But when we are tempted, it's our own lust, it's our own perverted desires that carry us away and entice us into sin." And then comes the prognosis in the 15th verse of that chapter. James goes on to say:

"Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death." (NASB)

There's a kind of progressive order. Lust (that's perverted desire), when we yield to it, produces sin; and when we continue in sin, that produces death. Death is not merely the cessation of physical life but the condition of alienation and separation from God forever. If we reach that point, there's no turning back. So that's the prognosis. Lust (that's perverted desire) produces sin; sin, if it's allowed to take its course, brings forth death.

The burden of sin is so vividly stated in the Psalms by David, a righteous man at heart who knew what it was to fall and to sin grievously but also to repent and return and to find God's mercy. This is what David says in Psalm 32:3-5:

"When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night Thy hand was heavy upon me; my vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer. I acknowledged my sin to Thee, and my iniquity I did not hide; I said, 'I will confess my transgressions to the LORD'; and Thou didst forgive the guilt of my sin." (NASB)

Thank God for that last statement, "Thou didst forgive the guilt of my sin." But notice what David went through before he confessed his sin. He said: "my body wasted away through my groaning all day long....my vitality was drained away...". Sin produced an impact on his whole being. David says this again in another psalm, Psalm 38:3-4:

"Because of your wrath [and he's speaking to God] there is no health in my body; my bones have no soundness because of my sin. My guilt has overwhelmed me like a burden too heavy to bear." (NIV)

Do you feel that way right now? That your sin, your guilt, is a burden too heavy to bear? I've got good news for you. There's a way that you can be delivered from that burden of guilt and be free from it forever, through the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross.