Capital Punishment of Sin

I don’t recall the source of this illustration in some old notes, but it’s good none the less…

Thinking of the analogy of execution (of sin), killing them, here are some thoughts about treating our sins to capital punishment. First, you have to pronounce them guilty. This is important. Denying that something is sin only increases its power over us and decreases our joy and usefulness to God. Call it what it is. That bad attitude, that bitterness, that griping, those thoughts… if the Bible calls it sin, so should you.

So now that you’ve declared the sins as guilty, you need to take care of them. You have to starve them. They’ll fight, they’ll be nasty, they’ll scream and holler. But you need to starve the sources. Whatever tempts you, stay away from it. Whatever leads you to argue with someone in your head, get away from it. Sin needs to be fed to be dangerous. The battle for sin is first won or lost in the mind before it’s ever acted out. Learn to control your thoughts.

Now, you have to practice corporal punishment. That is, be prepared to suffer. Some cave in at withdrawal. Some can’t picture their lives victorious, so it never happens. Sometimes living without sin hurts. Of course, living with it hurts more. Be willing to suffer. Hebrews 12: 4 says, “In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.” It’s a battle, but the victory is promised to us.

Next, to treat sin like a prisoner on death row, neglect your sins. Don’t dwell on them. Don’t treat them like they deserve some special place in your life. You’ve already starved them, now just pay no attention to them. Don’t remind yourself of their supposed power. Understand they are forgiven and in the past. Understand that you are forgiven. They don’t need to be in your life or in your thoughts. Let them wither away by neglect.

And lastly, replace them. It’s not enough just to be so concentrated on your sins that you forget Who forgave them. Some people are so bogged down by the thoughts of their sins. I think of Martin Luther before he was converted. He was so overwhelmed with guilt, that he continually went to his bishop for confession. The issues were things like, having too comfortable a chair or getting too good a night’s sleep. Well, the bishop grew so tired of his whinings that he said, “Look, Luther, I don’t want to hear your sins anymore until you do something worth confessing.”

Clearly, God has better things for you than to dwell on things that need forgiving, and things that don’t. Focus on Him. Set your mind on things above. Fix your eyes on Jesus, not always on yourself. Spend time with Him. Yes, ask Him about what needs to change in your life, most certainly. But replace thoughts of your sin or guilt with thoughts of the Lord.

Declare them guilty! Starve them! Make them suffer! Neglect them! Replace them. This is how to live as Christians with circumcised hearts. Yes, every person has an appointment with death. Well, so do your sins. Deal with them. Put them to death. Then you will live.

Live holy, preach Jesus!