Apples of Gold
Radio Script for August 13, 2008
“Sin Will Sell You Down the River”
Hello, I’m Doug Apple…with Apples of Gold.
What was John Edwards thinking?
He wanted to be the next president of the United States. He had a family – a wife who battled cancer, a daughter at Harvard, and two little ones at home. And yet he had an affair.
With whom? Not a celebrity. Not a national leader or rich young heiress. No, it was just some woman.
Why did he do it? To what advantage?
He must have seen some advantage to having this affair.
But now listen to this. An affair is sin, and when we sin, we enter into a master-slave relationship. Sin is the master and we are the slave.*
Now let me ask you, in a master-slave relationship, things are done to whose advantage? It’s always to the master’s advantage. If you are the slave, you can count on this. Things are not being done to your advantage.
The instant John Edwards gave in to sin, he became a slave. But I’ll bet he didn’t see it that way. I’ll bet he still thought he was in control.
What does a master do when his slave thinks he’s in control? He knocks him down a peg or two, lets him know who is boss.
John Edwards has been knocked down a few pegs. He stands humiliated before the whole world. And it all goes back to the moment he surrendered to sin.
I’ll bet he thought he could just get in and get out and walk away. That’s like thinking you can sign up for slavery, but quit anytime you want. It may be your choice to get in, but once you are a slave, you no longer have the power to get out. The master has all the power.
John Edwards is a warning for everyone else. There is no such thing as tinkering with sin. As soon as we agree to sin, we become a slave.
Here is a word I like: talons. Imagine a huge falcon sinking its talons into its prey.
Sin does that. Sure, you may reach your hand in the cage for a quick thrill, but then it has you. You can feel the talons sinking in. You don’t have a grip on your sin. Sin has a grip on you. It is the master and you are the slave.
And sin is not a good master. It will sell you down the river.
Do you know what that means, “sell you down the river”? I’m reading “Pudd’nhead Wilson” by Mark Twain. In the book there are some slaves in Missouri, and one day their master threatens to “sell them down the river.” They considered that to be like sending them to hell because conditions were so much worse for slaves farther south.
And that’s what sin will do. It won’t leave you where you are. It will sell you down the river.
So is there a sin in your life that has a grip on you? Can you see that it has become the master and you have become the slave?
Now what? What can you do?
As you probably know, you can’t get out on your own. You must appeal to a higher power, someone with power to break the bondage of sin. And that someone is Jesus Christ.
Hebrews 9:15 says that Jesus died as a ransom to set us free from our sins.
Revelation 1:6 says that Jesus frees us from our sins by His blood.
Romans 8:2 says that through Jesus we are set free from sin.
So cry out to Jesus. Repent of your sins and receive His forgiveness. Ask Him to be your Savior. Ask Him to set you free from the bondage of sin. Then offer yourself up to serve Him.
Now you might say, “But Doug, I’ve done all that. I am a born again Christian. I’ve repented of my sins time and again, but this one sin keeps sinking its talons into me.”
Then I urge you to study Romans chapter six. Here are some highlights:
It says, “…you have been set free from sin…”
It says, “…count yourself dead to sin…”
It says, “…do not let sin reign in your mortal body…”
It says, “…do not offer the parts of your body to sin…”
It says, “…sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace…”
When you come to Christ, you are set free from sin. Sin is no longer your master. The problem is, it will still insist that you obey. But as a child of God, you are not bound to sin. You don’t have to do it. God says, “Don’t do it. I have set you free!”
“But Doug, I feel like I’m bound to do it.”
If you are a saved child of God, you are not bound to do it. You have been set free. The chains have been broken. It’s time to walk away from sin and walk towards God.
Romans 6:13 says, “Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God…and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness.”
That’s the key – offering ourselves up to God as instruments of righteousness.
Have you ever heard that idle hands are the devil’s tools? It’s not in the Bible, but it makes a point. If you are struggling with a certain sin, don’t just try to not do it. Instead, replace it with something good, something for God. The time and effort you’ve been spending on that sin, instead offer that same time and effort up to God for His purposes.
Sin is a terrible master. It will humiliate us then sell us down the river. To overcome it we need a higher power, and thank God we have just that. We are set free from the slavery to sin by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!
Comments?
E-mail me: dougapple@wave94.com.
May God bless you today! With Apples of Gold…I’m Doug Apple.
* Romans 6:16, “Don't you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?”
© 2008 The Arrow’s Tip
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(Proverbs 25:11 – “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.”)
Why “The Arrow’s Tip”? Each morning, after diligently seeking the Lord, I write Apples of Gold. Then before I release it to the public I pray one final prayer, “Lord, send forth your arrows.” I envision Apples of Gold as arrows, tips dipped in the river of the water of life that flows from the throne of God (Rev. 22:1), sailing toward the hearts and minds of men and women around the world.
Doug Apple
General Manager - Wave 94
Christian Radio for Tallahassee
PO Box 4105
Tallahassee, FL 32315
(850) 926-8000
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