Deal Quickly with Sin

A little leaven leavens the whole lump. - (Galatians 5:9)

Because we are human beings, born with a sin nature inherited from our first parents, Adam and Eve, from time to time we find ourselves committing transgressions. But let's face it, there are very few times that we do not know that we have broken one of God’s laws.

We cannot pretend that we’re totally unaware that we have committed sin. The Bible declares that if we say we have no sin, we lie and do not the truth. We know better, but we fall into sin anyway. The children of Israel were no different. They flagrantly broke the laws God laid out for them to follow. They were God’s chosen, covenant people, and they had seen his power demonstrated many times.

They saw the Red Sea parted as they passed through on dry land. They saw the waters close in on the fast-approaching Egyptian army. They saw manna come from the sky, provided by God for them every morning.

They saw God’s pillar of fire by night and His cloud by day to guide them as they journeyed in the wilderness. They saw miracle after miracle, but yet time and time again they disobeyed God. As one writer said, much had been given to Israel, and so much was expected.

So when they worshiped the golden calf that Aaron formed from their jewellery, it was a radical sin. Moses had gone up in the mountains to spend time with God and to receive the Ten Commandments from him, and they got into idolatry and nude dancing.

When Moses came down, he was angry with this disobedient group of people God asked him to lead. He threw down the commandments written on stone by God’s own hands, took their golden calf, grounded it into powder, put it into water and made them drink it. He also commanded that some of them be put to death for their sin.

It almost seems unfair that God would deal so harshly with these people. But God was demonstrating that sin will not be tolerated. It must be dealt with swiftly, lest it spreads and do even more harm.

The Bible compares sin to yeast that is put into bread to cause it to rise before baking. Some would dare say that sin is like cancer, it needs to be cut out before it spreads through someone’s system. That is why the Lord tells us to deal quickly with sin.

Hebrews 12:1 reminds us: Let us lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily besets us...