Greetings! This months entry of the Faith Baptist Blog comes from Church member Jeff McCall. Here are his thoughts in regards to “The Nature of Sin”.

The Bible points out many instances where we can learn lessons from
the world around us. For instance Proverbs 6:6-8 where it says “Go to the ant,
thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise: Which having no guide, overseer,
or ruler, provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest.”
Ants may not have our deep understanding of how the seasons change, but God
gave them an instinctual wisdom to prepare for the winter, which they always do,
unlike us humans which sometimes walk right into avoidable trouble. Or what
about Isaiah 1:3 which says “The ox knows its owner, and the donkey its master’s
manger, but Israel does not know; My people do not understand.” The ox is smart
enough to know the one that leads it and provides for it. But God led Israel through
the wilderness where they saw many miracles and they still were unsure who their
God was.
I think fungus can teach us a lesson about avoiding sin. You might notice that
sometimes after it rains certain mushrooms can grow up literally overnight, how is
this possible? It’s because unlike plants that put out leaves in order to make sugar
and store it in the roots, mushrooms are only the fruiting body that pops up in
order to release spores. Their mycelia has probably been growing and storing up
nutrients for months underground already before mushroom growth was triggered
by the ideal conditions. This is exactly how sin works; every outward sin starts as a
small thought like a spore, but if it begins to grow in the mind then a person will
commit a sin once he is in the right (or in this case wrong) condition; in other
words once there is an ideal opportunity. I believe this is the principal in James
1:14-15- “But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and
enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is
finished, bringeth forth death.” This verse is an encouragement to try and cut off
sin at the source, before it has a chance to grow in our minds and finally become
actions. Like the famous quote from Martin Luther “You can’t stop the birds from
flying over your head, but you can stop them from building a nest in your hair.”
“Keep thy heart with all diligence; For out of it are the issues of life.” (Proverbs
4:23) (By the way I should point out that the word “issues” here gives the picture of
flowing out, as well as our more common connotation of “situations”… It’s saying
that what’s in our heart is going to eventually come out in our lives and actions.
Maybe the NKJV translation gives the sense better. “Keep your heart with all
diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life.”)
The Bible describes someone who commits adultery as “ a bird that hasteth to
a snare and knowth not that is for his life.” This is a warning to be discerning, to
realize the danger of sin even if it seems appealing. I think another good metaphor
(although none are as good as the ones actually found in scripture) is the angler
fish. It’s one of the scariest looking fish in the ocean, at least for it’s size. But it’s
prey can’t see it. It only sees a beautiful glowing light from the lure that grows on
the top of it’s head. Bioluminecent bacteria gives the lure a blue glow. Satan and

his demons will always do there best to make sin look as attractive a possible.
Perhaps nowhere can this better be seen then in Hollywood. Two gay men,
Marshall Kirk and Hunter Madsen wrote in an article in 1987 titled “The
Overhauling of Straight America” -“So far, gay Hollywood has provided our best
covert weapon in the battle to desensitize the mainstream. Bit by bit over the past
ten years, gay characters and gay themes have been introduced into TV programs
and film… …If gays are presented, instead, as a strong and prideful tribe promoting
a rigidly nonconformist and deviant lifestyle, they are more likely to be seen as a
public menace… …This means that jaunty mustachioed musclemen would keep
very low profile in gay commercials and other public presentations, while
sympathetic figures of nice young people, old people, and attractive women would
be featured.” Whether or not specifically influenced by these authors, or as it
seems more likely, various other people who had the same worldly wisdom, we can
now see that this advice has been followed with great success. I predict the same
strategy has been used to promote many other sins in a very conscious effort to
change society. We need to remember Satan appears as an angel of light, and his
ministers as ministers of righteousness. (2nd Corinthians 11:14-15) Like the angler
fishes prey is attracted to it’s light, people are attracted to the light of Satan. And
like Satan blinds men to hell beneath the fish’s light only draws it’s prey towards
it’s jaws.
Another very interesting predator from the sea is the cuttlefish, which isn’t a
fish but a mollusc like a squid or octopus, that is able to change color incredibly
fast. In fact it will sometime change from bright to dark in waves of color to
hypnotize it’s prey. Once an unsuspecting crab is dazzled by it strobe effect it
suddenly snatched up by the cuttlefish’s tentacles. I think there is a lesson in this
as well. We need to be aware of our state of mind; sometimes temptation strikes
when we are most vulnerable. When we are tired. When we are overloaded with
many things happening at once. When we are lost in thought. When we are
watching a screen and in a more suggestive state. (Part of the reason media is
addictive) We need to be extra careful in these times. Remember the words of
Jesus “Watch and pray that you fall not into temptation, the spirit indeed is willing
but the flesh is weak.”
I’m sure there are thousands of examples of metaphors from nature that can
illustrate biblical truths, as well as many others used in the Bible whether the lilies,
the ravens or the grass of the field. These are just a few that came to mind
recently.