September 18, 2020

Proverbs 13:19 The desire accomplished is sweet to the soul: but it is abomination to fools to depart from evil.”
It’s easy to see why God hates the things He calls abominations. They cause harm and death to others. This passage tells us that it is an abomination to those who don’t believe God to depart from evil. Evil is entrenched in their way of life. Even the thought of leaving it make them upset. You may say I know some unsaved people who are not evil. From our viewpoint we categorize the levels of sin as some are evil and some not so bad. God sees all sin as evil. This is why the Holy Spirit is essential for salvation.
No person other than the Holy Spirit can change the heart of an unbeliever to hate sin. The Holy Spirit must do the work of softening someone’s heart for conversion. Salvation is not simply repeating a prayer or having an emotional experience. Salvation is when the Holy Spirit shows an individual the depravity of their sin, and that Jesus Christ will forgive their sin. When they trust Christ as their Savoir they become a new creature.
Does this mean that the moment we trust Christ we immediately hate sin? The Bible tells us when we trust Christ the Holy Spirit moves into us. We still have our flesh and sin nature. This leaves us with a battle. The Holy Spirit will lead us to hate sin, while our flesh loves it. This is where our choice comes into play. If we choose to draw close to our Savior and live for Him, our desires and abominations will align with His. If we trust Christ but never grow in our faith we will remain fond of our sin.
Our former pastor, Bro. Joe, often said the battle inside us was like two dogs representing the spirit and the flesh. The one who gets fed the most is the one who will win. I encourage you today to focus on “feeding” the Spirit of God in your life.

Jacb Jarriel