“The Patterns of Sin and Faith”

Tuesday, December 20, 2016

The Patterns of Sin and Faith

By Tristan Ganchero

Like most people, I follow set patterns of behavior almost every day. I wake up around the same time, eat the same thing for breakfast, and drive the same route to work. There might be some days where everything in between waking up and sitting down at my desk at work is a blur of activity. On those days I might stop and ask myself, “How did I get here?” After some thought I’d be able to explain how I arrived at work or school because it’s the same thing I do every day.

What about when I find myself in sin? My first response to the question, “How did I get here,” might be, “I don’t know.” But sure enough, if I gave it some more thought, there would be a pattern of behavior that resulted in this sinful situation.

One such pattern is: Seeing, Desiring, Taking, and Hiding.

Consider three examples from the Old Testament: Eve (Gen. 3:6-8), Achan (Josh. 7:20-21), and David (2 Sam. 11:1-5).

Genesis 3:6-8  God told Adam not to eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, but Eve saw that the tree was good for food. She desired to be wise, took the tree’s fruit, ate, and gave some to her husband to eat as well. Then, they both hid from the presence of the LORD.

Joshua 7:20-21  God had told Israel that everything in Jericho was devoted to destruction, but when Achan saw the spoil, he desired (coveted) the spoil for its value. He took the spoil for himself, even though it belonged to the LORD, and then he hid the spoil inside his tent.

2 Samuel 11:1-5  During the time of year when kings went out to battle, David stayed home and saw Bathsheba bathing. He desired her beauty (this is implied in his actions), had his servants take her to him, and then spent the rest of the chapter trying to hide his adultery.

The consequences of their sins were serious: suffering, death, and more importantly, a broken relationship with their Creator. We will face the same consequences when we keep our eyes fixed on what we shouldn’t be seeing, desiring what we shouldn’t be desiring, taking what we shouldn’t be taking, and hiding from the LORD.

What’s the solution? If we realize that we are hiding from the LORD because of this pattern sin, then we need to step out of the darkness and into the light by repenting and confessing our sins (1 Jn. 1:6-9). Then, rather than engaging in the pattern of sin, we need to busy ourselves with the “pattern of faith”: We need to fix our eyes on Jesus and see Him as our King (Heb. 12:1-2). We need to desire Jesus for His wisdom, value, and beauty (Col. 2:3; 1 Pet. 1:18-19; Is. 33:17). Finally, we need to take hold of the hope that we have in Him and hide (take refuge) in the shelter He provides (Heb. 6:17-18), never straying from the message of our great salvation, eagerly waiting until that Day when Jesus returns and reveals the glorious hope that the faithful have been longing for - eternal life with Him.

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