Sin Is a Rattlesnake
Last month, while elk hunting near a creek, Pastor CJ sat down to rest about a foot and a half from a sagebrush. When his pack hit the ground, he heard something slither away. A rattlesnake had been right between him and the bush. In Week 7 of While I Breathe, I Hope, that close call opens a message on why sin is a rattlesnake, and why God’s commands are protection, not control.
The question every Christian asks
Romans 6 deals with a question every follower of Jesus wrestles with: if I’m already forgiven, does it matter what I do now?
“Well then, since God’s grace has set us free from the law, does that mean we can go on sinning? Of course not! Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living.” (Romans 6:15-16, NLT)
Paul wrote Romans to a church he had never visited as a summary of what Christians believe (chapters 1 to 11) and how they live (chapters 12 to 16). Here he answers the question head on.
The wages of playing with a rattlesnake
After his encounter, Pastor CJ looked up snake-bite statistics. About 65% of people bitten by venomous snakes are men, and 44% of bites happen on the hands. In other words, a lot of snake bites start with someone saying, “Hey, watch this.” Play with a rattlesnake long enough and it will bite you.
That is what Paul means when he says, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23, NLT). Whatever we give ourselves to pays out its wages.
We think God is just picky
Most of us picture God like a dad who was particular about his tools, or a micromanaging boss: he made the rules, he’s picky, and the goal is to not get caught. That picture goes back to Genesis 3, where the serpent told Eve that God was holding out on her. When we see God that way, we either get good at covering up or we freeze in fear. Either way, fear is in control, and like Adam and Eve, we hide.
God isn't hard on us. Sin is.
When God calls something sin, it is out of compassion, not anger. He is angry at sin because it kills the people he loves. Parents don’t let kids run with knives to ruin the game; they do it to keep them safe. “God is not hard on us. Sin is hard on us,” Pastor CJ said. The addiction, the bitterness, the gossip and the things we tell ourselves in the mirror are what is hurting us.
The same message runs through all of Scripture. After giving the law, God said, “Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live!” (Deuteronomy 30:19, NLT)
Four steps toward freedom
1. Confession
Confession is saying out loud, plainly, the specific thing that is wrong. “Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.” (James 5:16, NLT). A doctor can’t help if you won’t say what hurts. We don’t confess for the sake of shame; we are already forgiven. We confess so the thing stops controlling us. Tell God, and tell a trusted friend, your Life Group or a pastor.
2. Repentance
Repentance is more than saying sorry. It means to turn away: you were going one direction and now you go the other. Many of us keep struggling with the same sin because we apologize for it while still holding on to it.
3. Habits
Proverbs tells a young man, “Stay away from her! Don’t go near the door of her house!” (Proverbs 5:8, NLT). Temptation works step by step, so take a different route. Stop buying what you’re trying to quit. Close the laptop at night and move the computer to a shared room. Don’t keep going to lunch with the people you gossip with. We can’t willpower our way out of sin; we change our habits.
4. Accountability
“Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.” (Ecclesiastes 4:12, NLT). Everyone needs someone who knows their struggle and can ask the hard question. Pastor CJ also encouraged accountability software, so someone else can see what we search for.
While I breathe, I hope
Can you imagine a life where you’re not ashamed of yesterday, not driven by addiction, not waking up angry? “If you are alive today, there is hope that tomorrow you will have more freedom from sin than you have today.” Once we see that sin is a rattlesnake, we can stop playing with it and choose life.
Next Steps After Sin Is a Rattlesnake
- Bring a friend next Sunday. Week 8 is the final week of While I Breathe, I Hope. Sundays at 8 AM, 9:30 AM and 11 AM.
- Take a step of faith. If you’re ready to follow Jesus publicly,
- Find people who can walk with you. Accountability starts with community.
- Read “Becoming,” Chapter 7. Our church book Becoming has a chapter dedicated to Sin and Struggle. Pick up a copy at the Purchase Project (free if you can’t afford one) or listen on Spotify.
Did you like the message, Sin is a Rattlesnake? If so, check out more of our Sunday teachings here.