Kill Your Darlings, Destroy That Sin Virus

by Kevin Burton

   Page 7 passed its 7^th anniversary without any special post from me July 20, because my main computer was in the shop to get a virus cleaned out.

   I know, should have had the anniversary post done ahead of time.

   It’s quite possible I will get around to looking back at seven years of the blog. But for now I want to talk about the virus.

   Here’s what I didn’t do when I suspected there was a virus. I didn’t say, “well I should get around to fixing that someday.” I didn’t say “well since the computer store is in Derby, I’ll just wait until I have two or three errands to do in Derby, then I’ll go.”

   Also, when I got to the computer store where this computer was built, I didn’t say, “There may be a virus and or malware on the unit, and that can be a big problem. But let’s just manage this thing, so it doesn’t get too far out of hand. I don’t know that we need to eradicate the virus, deal with the whole thing at once. So please, just fix a good bit of the problem, and we’ll see how things go.” 

   How stupid would that have been? I needed to be quick and aggressive in dealing with it.

   So why do you and I sometimes fail to deal with our sin virus in that way?

   This leads us to one of my favorite stories in the Bible and one of my favorite story tellers. A recent message from Alistair Begg of Truth For Life ministries talks about what Elijah did after his tremendous victory in 1 Kings 18. He had set up a burnt offering and challenged the prophets of Baal, calling on them to ask their god to send fire for the offering.

   Obviously there is no such entity as Baal, so no fire came.

   Then Elijah called on Jehovah to send fire, and He answered, thus proving to the people of Israel, who was the true God.

   In his message, Begg talks about what Elijah did next, and what we need to do to follow his example:

   “When the prophet Elijah had received the answer to his prayer, and the fire from heaven had consumed the sacrifice in the presence of all the people, he called upon the assembled Israelites to take the priests of Baal and sternly cried, “Let not one of them escape.”

    “He took them all down to the brook Kishon and slew them there,” Begg writes. “So must it be with our sins—they are all doomed; not one must be preserved.”

   “Our darling sin must die. Do not spare it because it cries. Strike, though it be as dear as a beloved son. Strike, for God struck at sin when it was laid upon His own Son.”

   “With stern unflinching purpose you must condemn to death that sin that was once the idol of your heart,” Begg writes. “Do you ask how you are to accomplish this? Jesus will be your power. You have grace to overcome sin, given you in the covenant of grace; you have strength to win the victory in the crusade against inward lusts because Christ Jesus has promised to be with you even unto the end.”

   “If you would triumph over darkness, set yourself in the presence of the Sun of Righteousness. There is no place so well adapted for the discovery of sin and recovery from its power and guilt as the immediate presence of God.”

   “Job never knew how to get rid of sin half as well as he did when his eye of faith rested upon God, and then he abhorred himself and repented in dust and ashes.”

   “The fine gold of the Christian is often becoming dim. We need the sacred fire to consume the dross. Let us fly to our God. He is a consuming fire; He will not consume our spirit, but our sins,” Begg writes.

   “ Let the goodness of God excite us to a sacred jealousy and to a holy revenge against those iniquities that are hateful in His sight. Go forth to battle in His strength and utterly destroy the accursed crew: Let not one of them escape.”