Choosing Sin
Choosing sin means rejecting Christ and denying His commands, and it is essential to be diligent in avoiding sin to follow Jesus.
Mary Wilder Tileston emphasizes the importance of choosing Christ over sin, highlighting that to choose sin is to reject Christ and to be ashamed of following His commands is to deny Him. She warns against being guilty of willful deadly sin, equating it to crucifying Christ afresh. Tileston encourages believers to do what pleases God, avoid what displeases Him, and diligently guard against anything that may tamper with their conscience. William Hay M. H. Aitken adds that we cannot hold onto besetting sins while trying to hold onto Jesus Christ; true discipleship requires reckoning oneself dead to all forms of sin to follow Jesus.
Text
And ye know that He was manifested to take away our sins; and in Him is no sin.
1 JOHN 3:5
TO choose sin is to reject Christ; to be ashamed, for fear of man, to do what Christ commands, is to deny Christ; to do, for fear of man, what Christ forbids, what is it but, with Pilate, to condemn Christ? for a Christian to be guilty of wilful deadly sin, what is it, but to crucify Christ afresh, and put Him to an open shame? Do what ye know to be pleasing to God, and avoid, by the grace of God, what ye know will displease Him, and God will enliven your penitence, and enlarge your faith, and brighten your hopes, and kindle your love. Only be very diligent, not knowingly to do anything which displeases God; be very diligent not to tamper with your conscience and do what you suspect may displease God.
EDWARD B. PUSEY
WE can never cling to a besetting sin with one hand, and grasp Jesus Christ with the other. Until thou art content to reckon thyself dead indeed to every known form of sin, whether thou thinkest it small or great, thou never canst follow Jesus.
WM. HAY M. H. AITKEN
Sermon Outline
- The Consequences of Choosing Sin
- The Importance of Diligence
- The Incompatibility of Sin and Christ
- Clinging to Sin and Jesus Christ
- Following Jesus
- Reckoning Oneself Dead to Sin
Key Quotes
“To choose sin is to reject Christ; to be ashamed, for fear of man, to do what Christ commands, is to deny Christ.” — Mary Wilder Tileston
“Until thou art content to reckon thyself dead indeed to every known form of sin, thou never canst follow Jesus.” — Mary Wilder Tileston
“WE can never cling to a besetting sin with one hand, and grasp Jesus Christ with the other.” — Mary Wilder Tileston
Application Points
- Be diligent in avoiding sin and maintaining a clear conscience.
- Recognize that choosing sin means rejecting Christ and deny His commands.
- Be content to reckon yourself dead to every known form of sin to follow Jesus.