The Sinfulness Of Sin - Preach The Word

The Sinfulness Of SinRalph Venningand spreads to cover the whole hemisphere. The water that at first seemed littleand shallow, swells more and more from the ankles to the knees, from the knees tothe loins, from there to the head until it grows into such a great river that it cannotbe passed over. In this way grows sin; and it is a very monster for its growth. Letus notice how it increases in our own selves and then how in others:(a) How it increases in ourselves. Sometimes the same sin increases from little togreat, growing from an infant to a man. It is as a snowball that grows bigger byrolling it in the snow. The little grain of mustard grows to a great tree. A little seedof sin becomes a big tree. Adam's sin was only one but it was a breeding andpregnant sin, and the mother of all abominations. One sin transgresses the wholelaw (James 2.10). When lust has conceived it hastens to bring forth, and when ithas brought forth, it brings it up until it comes to its full stature (James 1.14,15). Itis at first only a lust, an appetite, inclination, or motion; from there it proceeds toenticement; by that to draw us aside; and then to tempt and impregnate us. Bythis temptation it conceives, and there is an embryo; this grows in the womb andwhen it is brought forth it is a sin; and this being finished or perfected provesdeadly. The tongue is a little member, but as a little spark of fire, but when kindledit becomes a world of iniquity and defiles the whole body and sets on fire the wholecourse of nature (James 3.5,6).Just as a little leaven leavens the whole lump, so sometimes one sin begets manymore sins, not only of the same kind, but others also. God had forbidden his peopleto take the accursed thing (Joshua 7.11), but when they had taken, theydisassembled also and put it among their own stuff. You may see how one sin ledto another when Achan confesses his sin (verses 19-21): he says 'When I saw, Icoveted, and when I coveted, I took, and when I had taken, I hid them'; thus onesin begat another.This thing grows into a greatness and multiplies itself. If we do not abhor thegarment we may be spotted with the flesh. If we do not withdraw from occasions ofevil we may by the occasions be drawn to evil; and not abstaining fromappearances of evil, be brought to apparent evil. There is one chapter in Scripturethat gives us two sad examples of this, Genesis 34. Dinah, out of curiosity, mustmake a visit to the daughters of the land and while going to see the daughters theson saw her; and having seen her, he took her; having taken her, he lay with her;and by lying with her defiled her. When the report of this came to Jacob's sons theywere grieved, and being grieved, were wroth, and being wroth they mediatedrevenge; meditating revenge they spoke deceitfully; having deceived, they slew,and having slain they fell upon the spoil. How hard it is then to sin once, and onlyonce. Sin grows upon us.(b) How sin increases in others and infects them. It went from one man to everyman. How soon the world got the name of un-godly world or the world of the ungodly(2 Peter 2. 5)! And after the Flood, how soon the world became overspreadwith sin from seven or eight persons! One root of bitterness defiles many (Hebrews12.15). Man's bad examples are very pestilential and pernicious; a little leavenleaveneth the whole lump. Or, as our country proverb has it, one scabbed sheepinfects a whole flock. The world grows worse and worse; the latter days are mostperilous because most sinful. And as if there had not been sin enough already,91