The Cycle of Sin-By Dr. Danny Purvis
The Cycle of Sin
-By Dr. Danny Purvis
In my experience, the more you understand something, the easier it will be to engage with it if it is good or avoid it if it is bad. The depth of our understanding has a direct correlation to our actions. Such is the case with sin. I have written before about our complicated relationship with sin so I will not cover the same ground again here. Instead, what I want us to do is to understand the depth of the process of sin. And there is a definite process. The more we understand the process associated with how sin manifests itself in our lives, the more we are aware of it. The more aware of it we are, the more we understand it. The more we understand it, the better we become at avoiding it. So, I want us to take a look at the life cycle of sin and how it manifests itself in our lives. For our purposes right now, it really doesn’t matter what the specific sin is…it only matters how sin originates and grows in our lives. This process is universal. No matter the specific sin, this process is always the same. The idea is…if we are aware of the process…we will become better at cutting it off before it blossoms into the act itself. Got it? Now worries…you will.
Probably the best example in all of Scripture of how this cycle of sin plays out in the lives of all peoples is found in the Book of Joshua. Before we get to the specific verses…let’s examine the backdrop. After Moses died, just before the Hebrews went into the Promised Land, God gave many instructions to the people. The first city they would conquer was, of course, Jericho. We know the story so we will not rehash it here. However, what is germane to our discussion is a detail that God commanded prior to the battle. While it was a common practice of that day for conquering armies to take valuables from the people they vanquished, God made it crystal clear to His people that they were not to do so. In fact, in Joshua 6:19, God specifically says that all of the gold and silver had been “consecrated to the Lord” and that it should all “come into the treasury of the Lord”. In other words, God was clearly saying that the gold and silver had already been consecrated and that it 100% belonged to Him. The message was: Do not take that stuff.
And, of course, you know the rest of the story related to the Battle of Jericho. The Hebrews won an amazing victory and defeated a much stronger and very fortified enemy. And it was all due to God. Now, we need to fast forward to the next city to be conquered. The next city was Ai. It is described as a much smaller city than Jericho and a much easier adversary. In fact, the spies that went out as advanced scouts advised only sending out 2-3 thousand soldiers expecting an easy victory. Especially since they had just defeated a more formidable enemy at Jericho. The result? A catastrophe. They lost the battle and 36 of them were killed in combat. To say the people were discouraged is an understatement of monumental proportions. In Joshua 7:5 we are told that “the hearts of the people melted and became like water”. To make a protracted story a bit shorter, it did not take long for the leadership to figure out that the reason for the defeat was that someone had taken valuables from Jericho in complete disobedience to God’s command. Here is where the story gets really interesting.
It is revealed that a man named Achan had taken the forbidden valuables from Jericho. To give credit where it is due, when confronted by Joshua, Achan confessed. He showed Joshua where he had the ill-gotten gain hidden. And then he does something amazing. He tells us very clearly the process of his sin. He said: “When I saw among the spoil a beautiful cloak from Shinar, and 200 shekels of silver, and a bar of gold weighing 50 shekels, then I coveted them and took them. And see, they are hidden in the earth inside my tent, with the silver underneath. (Joshua 7:21 italics mine).” This is it. Tucked away in this one verse in the 7th chapter of Joshua is not simply the story of one man’s sin, but the very process that infests all sin. Look at the operative words here. Achan stated: I saw; I coveted; I took; I hid. That, in a nutshell, is the very process that is present in every single sin we could ever commit.
Notice, just looking at the valuables was not, in and of itself, a sin. But the eyes are the entry point for sin. Next, he declares that he coveted. That is the heart aspect of sin. The heart of a human being is the seat of sin. Even Jesus Himself said that. He tells us that it is not just the act of adultery that constitutes sin, but that even lusting after a person means an individual has committed adultery “in his heart” (Matthew 5:28). The actual act is simply the obvious outcome from the sin emanating from the heart. Once that sin (covetousness) had taken place in Achan’s heart, the act of the theft was going to take place. And once the act took place, his natural desire was to then hide it. This is it. The life cycle of sin. Of every sin. They all follow the same pattern. Take David’s sin with Bathsheba, for example. It followed the exact same pattern. He saw Bathsheba bathing. He coveted her. He took her. And then he tried to hide his deed. God is so gracious to His children, that not only does He constantly warn us about sin, He shows us the very simple, consistent pattern that causes us so much pain and does so much damage.
And the simplicity of this pattern also means that if we are aware of it, there are concrete things we can do avoid these things. If we see, that does not mean we have to covet it. If we covet it, we have the opportunity to stop, repent and end it there before it causes more harm. If we then take it, we can confess it. Confess it to God and to the person that we may be harming as a result. This would then keep us from engaging in the last part of the process: Hiding it. Hiding sin is a burden. It will prey on our minds, our hearts, our souls and our relationships. The cool thing about knowing the process, means we have a better understanding of how to break that cycle at some point. Knowing the process…the cycle…gives us the ability to better fight the sin that rears its head in our lives. It gives us a better opportunity to be like Paul who told us that he had to “beat my body” (1 Cor. 9:27) in order not to succumb to sin.
I hope you’re seeing what an amazing God we have that not only warns us about the devastating effects of sin, but also shows us exactly how it works in our lives so that we can live the lives He has called us to live. How cool is that?
-Dr. Danny Purvis
-By Dr. Danny Purvis
In my experience, the more you understand something, the easier it will be to engage with it if it is good or avoid it if it is bad. The depth of our understanding has a direct correlation to our actions. Such is the case with sin. I have written before about our complicated relationship with sin so I will not cover the same ground again here. Instead, what I want us to do is to understand the depth of the process of sin. And there is a definite process. The more we understand the process associated with how sin manifests itself in our lives, the more we are aware of it. The more aware of it we are, the more we understand it. The more we understand it, the better we become at avoiding it. So, I want us to take a look at the life cycle of sin and how it manifests itself in our lives. For our purposes right now, it really doesn’t matter what the specific sin is…it only matters how sin originates and grows in our lives. This process is universal. No matter the specific sin, this process is always the same. The idea is…if we are aware of the process…we will become better at cutting it off before it blossoms into the act itself. Got it? Now worries…you will.
Probably the best example in all of Scripture of how this cycle of sin plays out in the lives of all peoples is found in the Book of Joshua. Before we get to the specific verses…let’s examine the backdrop. After Moses died, just before the Hebrews went into the Promised Land, God gave many instructions to the people. The first city they would conquer was, of course, Jericho. We know the story so we will not rehash it here. However, what is germane to our discussion is a detail that God commanded prior to the battle. While it was a common practice of that day for conquering armies to take valuables from the people they vanquished, God made it crystal clear to His people that they were not to do so. In fact, in Joshua 6:19, God specifically says that all of the gold and silver had been “consecrated to the Lord” and that it should all “come into the treasury of the Lord”. In other words, God was clearly saying that the gold and silver had already been consecrated and that it 100% belonged to Him. The message was: Do not take that stuff.
And, of course, you know the rest of the story related to the Battle of Jericho. The Hebrews won an amazing victory and defeated a much stronger and very fortified enemy. And it was all due to God. Now, we need to fast forward to the next city to be conquered. The next city was Ai. It is described as a much smaller city than Jericho and a much easier adversary. In fact, the spies that went out as advanced scouts advised only sending out 2-3 thousand soldiers expecting an easy victory. Especially since they had just defeated a more formidable enemy at Jericho. The result? A catastrophe. They lost the battle and 36 of them were killed in combat. To say the people were discouraged is an understatement of monumental proportions. In Joshua 7:5 we are told that “the hearts of the people melted and became like water”. To make a protracted story a bit shorter, it did not take long for the leadership to figure out that the reason for the defeat was that someone had taken valuables from Jericho in complete disobedience to God’s command. Here is where the story gets really interesting.
It is revealed that a man named Achan had taken the forbidden valuables from Jericho. To give credit where it is due, when confronted by Joshua, Achan confessed. He showed Joshua where he had the ill-gotten gain hidden. And then he does something amazing. He tells us very clearly the process of his sin. He said: “When I saw among the spoil a beautiful cloak from Shinar, and 200 shekels of silver, and a bar of gold weighing 50 shekels, then I coveted them and took them. And see, they are hidden in the earth inside my tent, with the silver underneath. (Joshua 7:21 italics mine).” This is it. Tucked away in this one verse in the 7th chapter of Joshua is not simply the story of one man’s sin, but the very process that infests all sin. Look at the operative words here. Achan stated: I saw; I coveted; I took; I hid. That, in a nutshell, is the very process that is present in every single sin we could ever commit.
Notice, just looking at the valuables was not, in and of itself, a sin. But the eyes are the entry point for sin. Next, he declares that he coveted. That is the heart aspect of sin. The heart of a human being is the seat of sin. Even Jesus Himself said that. He tells us that it is not just the act of adultery that constitutes sin, but that even lusting after a person means an individual has committed adultery “in his heart” (Matthew 5:28). The actual act is simply the obvious outcome from the sin emanating from the heart. Once that sin (covetousness) had taken place in Achan’s heart, the act of the theft was going to take place. And once the act took place, his natural desire was to then hide it. This is it. The life cycle of sin. Of every sin. They all follow the same pattern. Take David’s sin with Bathsheba, for example. It followed the exact same pattern. He saw Bathsheba bathing. He coveted her. He took her. And then he tried to hide his deed. God is so gracious to His children, that not only does He constantly warn us about sin, He shows us the very simple, consistent pattern that causes us so much pain and does so much damage.
And the simplicity of this pattern also means that if we are aware of it, there are concrete things we can do avoid these things. If we see, that does not mean we have to covet it. If we covet it, we have the opportunity to stop, repent and end it there before it causes more harm. If we then take it, we can confess it. Confess it to God and to the person that we may be harming as a result. This would then keep us from engaging in the last part of the process: Hiding it. Hiding sin is a burden. It will prey on our minds, our hearts, our souls and our relationships. The cool thing about knowing the process, means we have a better understanding of how to break that cycle at some point. Knowing the process…the cycle…gives us the ability to better fight the sin that rears its head in our lives. It gives us a better opportunity to be like Paul who told us that he had to “beat my body” (1 Cor. 9:27) in order not to succumb to sin.
I hope you’re seeing what an amazing God we have that not only warns us about the devastating effects of sin, but also shows us exactly how it works in our lives so that we can live the lives He has called us to live. How cool is that?
-Dr. Danny Purvis
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