I Could Have Had a V8

Do you remember the old V8 commercial? A person drinks, or eats, something not quite as healthy as it should be and then bops himself on the head and exclaims, “I could have had a V8!” The original V8 was made mainly from tomatoes and the juices from seven vegetables, specifically: beets, celery, carrots, lettuce, parsley, watercress and spinach. In case you are tempted, they are still available on your grocery counter.

I am not trying to sell you V8 juice, but am using this as an illustration of making poor spiritual choices. I am also sure that each of us have given in to a temptation and later when confronted declared, “Well, I didn’t hurt anyone but myself.”

Recently, I had an opportunity to preach in a local church and found myself preaching something entirely different than I intended, and the sermon I preached was on this topic of the consequences of sin.

Have you ever made a poor choice and heard a little voice saying, “It’s OK. It was only a small mistake and so no one was hurt by it.” Well, that is not entirely true.

The Bible teaches us that we are tempted when we are drawn away and enticed by our own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death. (James 1:14-15)

The Apostle Paul gives us the progression of sin in Romans 1. He shows us that when we do not honor God (obey and choose sin) we become fools and exchange the truth of God for a lie. This can lead to being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; becoming gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving and unmerciful. What caused this tumble into depravity? A simple setting of our mind toward the flesh, or carnal state of mind.

In Galatians 5, the author tells us that a little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough, referring to the effect that a small sin can have on our entire lives, and that the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit and the Spirit against the flesh for they are in opposition to one another.

Back in Romans 8, Paul declares that the one who is according to the flesh and is giving in to the flesh sets his mind according to the things of the flesh, and the mind set on the flesh is death and is hostile toward God.

A thought comes, a little thought, a simple temptation, and it gets our attention. It is a fleeting thought and we think, “well, it won’t do any harm, no one will know. Surely, this small temptation will not lead to debauchery, wickedness or murder.”

Let me ask you this question. Will the first cigarette lead to another? Does the first Oreo lead to a whole sack? Does one porno picture lead to a video? Does listening to whispered gossip in the ladies room at church lead to a phone call later in the day? Leaven is leaven!

We must come to the realization that sin, no matter how small and seemingly insignificant, is very capable of opening a door to a path best not traveled. It will hurt you, and it will hurt others.

How does your sin hurt others when it is a private sin that no one knows about but you and God? In 1 John 1:9, we read, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” This cannot but cause us to consider that when we sin we become spiritually dirty. Is it no wonder that the Bible uses words like impure, unclean and filthy with regards to sin and sinners?

Ephesians 4 tells us that we are not to give the devil an opportunity. Every time that we yield to temptation, set our minds according to the flesh, we give Satan ground to attack us. Romans 6:16 informs us: Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness? When we sin, we are presenting ourselves to the devil, and he will continue to try and deceive us and draw us away from God and to himself. The end results of this are a hardening of the heart and further bondage. And it all began with one yielding to a temptation followed by further yielding. Soon, the leaven has ruined the entire lump of dough.

1 Corinthians 2 tells us that a natural man cannot know the thoughts of God and we can know the thoughts of God through the Spirit of God which dwells inside of us. It goes on to say that a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God for they are foolishness to him. It is through having the mind of God and hearing His voice that we are able to minister to others around us.

Returning to the flesh, to the carnal mind and worldly ways of thinking will hinder us greatly from hearing the voice of God and following His directions. Our prayers are hindered as well because He will not regard him whose heart is full of iniquity. We are surrounded by hurting, needful, lost and dying people who desperately need to hear God. God has chosen to declare His grace, mercy, forgiveness, healing, and wisdom through His servants. It is through us that others will hear and receive faith.

If we have set our minds according to the flesh, we have begun to become hardened to His voice and are no longer growing in the things of God. We are continuing to be exposed to needs but we have no answers. In this way, our “little, private sin that won’t hurt anyone else” has become a stumbling block to not only ourselves but to those around us. So, what do we do?

Praise God, we have been given the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit has been given to us so that we might know the conviction of sin. When we are convicted of sin, we should first confess and agree with God that we have sinned. Once we have done this, we should then repent of our sin, making a firm decision to turn from our sin with no intention of every returning there. We then ask God for forgiveness knowing that in doing so we have the promise that this is God’s will and that He will not only forgive us our sin but also will cleanse us of all unrighteousness. Finally, we receive his forgiveness having the confidence that this is His will and that not only does He hear us but He grants us our request.

Little sin or big sin, sin is sin and it has the power to separate us from God and from others. Even though the separation is our decision toward God, praise God He has declared that nothing can separate us from His love.