One Thing Leads to Another

10/11/11
The Circumstance
On our way home for Portland I noticed a sign at the Adult Video store that offered 'private viewing rooms'. I mentioned to James how awful it must be to be so ensnared by lust that one must watch porn in the store. The guy (or gal) who participates in such rooms didn't just decide to do that one day; no, they made a less dramatic choice once upon a time and one thing just let to another... Unfortunately this is so easy to do and the phrase "one thing led to another" is very common in our culture, and its a 'weasel phrase', used to weasel out of responsibility for ones actions. This can be used for many things: sex (porn, affairs, abuse), food, alcohol, gambling, theft, drugs, and changing of religious faith or losing touch with the Lord.

The Word
Romans 6:12-14
Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.

The Application
My salvation has nothing to do with me. Jesus did it all for me and there's nothing I can do to get 'get more saved'. Freedom, however, is my choice. I am not to let or present, as Pastor Al Carpenter teaches in Acts and Romans. Do not let sin reign and do not present myself to sinful situations. I am to make the choice to stop sin before it starts. I am to continually check in with the Holy Spirit and if something doesn't sit right in my spirit it is up to me to turn back, and it's much easier to turn back if I haven't gone very far. It is my choice to surround myself with people who will keep me accountable to holy living. It is my responsibility to look at the long term affects of my decisions. I admit, it is frustrating that I 'can't do what I want' when I feel held back from doing something 'fun and fancy free', but like James said this weekend in his sermon, is it really a sacrifice when the result is freedom? One thing doesn't just lead to another unless I let it. The Good News is that, when I do go down the wrong path, God's grace is sufficient for even that.