Three Steps Toward Sinful Living

This chapter contains six woes or warnings. I want to focus this evening on one particular woe that deals with our passage from this morning. The prophet Isaiah makes an observation here regarding the general theme for many when it comes to discerning right from wrong. I think we all can agree that the same issue exists in our world today.

Read Isaiah 5:20

Doesn’t this warning sou nd like a description of the world that we live in today? People often look at the world and ponder, “what are we coming to?” Yet, this verse and so many other passages of scripture ought to keep us mindful of the fact that humankind is depraved and will continue to live in a way that does not follow the moral standard that God has placed on our hearts.

Look with me at Three Areas of Evil Living

Label |

This is where the snowball effect takes place. I would go as far as to say that this is not just something that can be observed in the world but also in certain segments of churches today. When the holy living as prescribed and described in the bible is being attacked and called unholy, this becomes a serious issue. I want to give you a real example for each of these.

I recently heard of a so called Christian minister who was advocating for sex outside of marriage and stated that any sort of boundaries placed around human sexuality in consensual relationships was straight up wrong. Obviously, this person is then promoting the agenda of the sexual revolution: “Do what feels right.”

A perfect example of what Isaiah is attempting to warn against. A person who sees what God has called good and claims that it is evil is calling God a liar. James 1:17 says, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” How could it be that God would give allowance for something that He has called evil or call something bad that is encouraged by His word.

This sort of mindset is just the beginning. Next we see,

Replacement |

The action is seen here. When the things of God, light, become replaced by actions that have been forbidden by God. Taking what once was good and replacing it with the opposite, sinful action.

In the case of language, there is a tendency to replace language that is uplifting for tearing one another down.

Finally,

Tastes |

This is the desire. The bitter for sweet is applicable because there are some actions of sin that may not be pleasing to our flesh at first, though we are tempted. However, over time after we have convinced ourselves of it, and replaced the light with darkness, our tastes become changed as well. What was once bitter, sin, becomes sweet to us and the sweet, righteous ways of scripture, become difficult to swallow.

So, what do we do with such a problem?

Our hearts are important here. It is vital that we consider everything with our minds through a lens of scripture. If a temptation comes our way, a wonderful way to fight it off is to think about what God’s word says about it. Pray for the Holy Spirit’s guidance!