The Enslaving Power of Sin

Mike Johnson

People today often picture sin as a pleasant delight. Sin, according to many, is not something to be “avoided” but is something to be “pursued.” People view the moral teaching of God’s Word as “old-fashioned,” and those who try to adhere to the high standard of the Bible and stand upon their convictions as “judgmental” and “narrow-minded.”

In contrast, the Bible teaches that sin separates a person from God (Is. 59:1-2), and it will cause one to be lost eternally (Rom. 6:23, Ezek 18:20, Mt. 25:46). We must understand the seriousness of sin and not view it frivolously.  Proverbs 14:9 tells us that it is the fool who “makes a mock at sin.”

Sin also can have an “enslaving” power. In John 8:34, Jesus said, “… Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin.” In Romans 6:16, Paul said, “Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?”  It is easy to become a slave to sin!

There are many ways we see the enslaving power of sin on display. The alcoholic, for example, craves alcohol as a thirsty man craves water. The enslaving influence of alcohol can cause a person to lose his job, family, and reputation.  Drug addiction, like the use of alcohol, violates many Biblical principles. Many turn to crime for the sake of “recreational” drugs, even stealing from their own families, to support their “habit.” Cigarette smoking, although generally legal, is another enslaving sin. Others are addicted to gambling, which frequently has very devastating earthly consequences. Still, others are addicted to a “worldly” lifestyle despite the teaching in such passages as I John 2:15, which says, “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” Christians are to practice “self-control” (II Pet. 1:6), and Paul said that he would not be mastered by anything (I Cor. 6:12- NASB)

Consider this story about a blacksmith who, many years ago, was imprisoned. In the dark dungeon, a brief ray of light flickered in. The man glanced down at the chains on his feet and hands and saw his initials on the links of the chain. Years before, he had forged the links, not realizing that they would bind him one day. Like many people today, the man became a victim of his own devices.

Are we victims of our own devices? “Sin” is a terrible MASTER who pays a wage of spiritual death (Mt. 25:46). Do we allow sin to enslave us? We must not let it do so!