Anatomy of Sin

James 1: 13-15; I Cor. 10:13


In Teach Me Lord I describe the victory we have over Satan's fiery darts in a lesson called His Victory. I call it His Victory because there is nothing we can do to attain salvation and nothing we can do to maintain salvation except to turn our lives over to Christ. His mercy and grace saves us and provides any and all victory we will ever experience. He must live His life through us before we see change in our lives. That requires faith. (Here is my life, Lord...help.)

In church this week I heard the old familiar verse from I Cor 10:13. You know, the one that says all temptations are common to everyone. That God will in that temptation provide an escape so you can stand up under it. To me that means: when a temptation to sin comes God provides an escapee to avoid the sin and thus not sin. It also says that it will not seize you, that it will not be beyond your ability to resist or overcome for He will provide that escape.

Well.... obviously we all sin. We are not perfect and we all sin. It's okay you can admit it, I do. So that means we did not take the escape or did not find it or felt overpowered by sin or something...right?

I, in quiet that morning, remembered a sin that overpowered me. I remember saying, at that time, this verse is not true. I felt totally helpless and incapable of resistance to the sin. I knew the word, had walked with Him for years, led others in the way, taught classes, gave speeches. So.. I asked God... what happened?

Should have asked much sooner. The answer, obvious, yet overlooked. You see there is an anatomy to sin. It is found in James 1:13-15. I'd read that a thousand times but when the sin or temptation visits, you're not thinking about James.

The Anatomy of Sin

God does not tempt to sin
Each of us is tempted by our own desires
We are dragged away and enticed.
That desire is conceived
Once conceived sin is birthed
It grows
Then it is too late to escape.

So where is the escape? When does God provide the escape He promised? This is when. Sin happens in the mind. Remember when Jesus said lust in the heart was sin, that hate was the same as murder, (gossip and slander are also the same as murder). These and all other sins happen in the mind. Once the mind entertains those thoughts our own desires drag and entice us to give birth to sin in actions. But in actuality the sin already happened in the mind. Once again we must protect our minds.

What we allow our eyes to look upon and our minds to think about is important. Psalms encourages us to pray... let the thoughts of my mind and the meditations of my heart be acceptable to you Lord.

That's what happens. The escape is through our thoughts. We need to protect our mind. We've been warned often that the battlefield is in the mind 1 Cor 10: 4-5. Satan places lies and deceptions in our mind, but the victory is ours. God tells us what to think on and asks us to take the escape He provides.

What is your anatomy to sin? Where are you tempted? What is the process that leads to the enticement that drags you through desire? Why does it tempt you? What thought process takes place? We are all temped, that's not the sin. It is common to us all but when sin is birthed and placed in play the pain of death takes place. We, as Christians, can not get away with sin for that horrible pain called death is foreign to the life now in us. Sin is enjoyable for a time but there is a morning after.

Think about making a list of verses for your thoughts, truths to meditate on and say aloud when that deception comes your way. Maybe a journal of God's word that speaks to your heart. He may already be pointing to the escape route before the enemy tempts you to sin. A road map of verses that say: My son, My daughter come this way, avoid that obvious trap that drags you down, that entices you through your desires.