THE SLIPPERY SLOPE

James 1:12-17
September 27, 2009

    The psychologist calls them problems.  The government calls them crimes.  The Bible calls them sins.  But, by whatever name, these unfortunate events fill our newspapers and monopolize our media.  They are all acts which negatively impact individuals, relationships and society as a whole.

    Individual problems include:  accidents, addictions, obsessions, compulsions, depression, and suicide.  Relationship problems include:  physical and mental abuse, bullying, molestation, rape, divorce, violence and homicide.  Social problems include:  riots, vandalism, arson, burglaries, shop lifting, pollution, oppression, discrimination and war.

    What causes all of these personal heartaches, relationship conflicts and social ills?

    Well, they are seldom pre-meditated or planned.  Nobody gets up in the morning , sits on the side of the bed and thinks, “Let’s see.  How can I ruin my life today?”  Instead, what happens is far more subtle.

    No married couple suddenly divorces.  No church suddenly splits.  Nobody becomes a criminal overnight.  Instead, the erosion is a slow and silent process based on small steps and poor judgment.  If you don’t stop the downward process, last week’s wrong decision doesn’t seem quite as bad this week, and by the next month it doesn’t seem like a bad decision at all!

    Our character deteriorates slowly over time as we compromise our morals, nullify our conscience and slide down the slippery slope into disaster.  Paul said, “(They) will tell lies with straight faces and do it so often that their conscience won’t even bother them.” (1 Tim. 4:2, lb).

    Since none of us wants to lose the joy of our salvation, and none of us wants to destroy our Christian influence, how can we avoid sin’s slippery slope?

I.  FIRST, WE CAN STAY AWAY FROM TEMPTATION

    A rich man was interviewing potential chauffeurs, and he asked each of them to drive near a deep ravine, and told them he was evaluating their skills.  One after another they skirted the rim and proudly showed how close they could come without falling off.  None were hired.  Finally, a fellow came along and applied for the job.  When the man asked how he would handle the cliff.  He answered, “To tell you the truth, Sir, I’d stay as far away as possible.”  He was hired.

    Don’t push the envelope.  Don’t see how close to the flame you can fly.  Don’t flirt with temptation.  Solomon said, “Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned?” (Prov. 6:27, kjv).

    Once a little boy was told never to swim in a creek without supervision.  One day his dad caught him in the water.  “But I didn’t mean to do it,” the child cried.  “Then why did you take your bathing suit with you,” his father asked.  “Well,” sniffed the little sinner, “I took it along just in case I got tempted..”

    That is just what we must not do.  We must not prepare to sin.  All of us have weaknesses.  What might not even be a problem for one person might be a very big problem for another.  For instance, if you have trouble with alcohol, don’t frequent bars.  If you have trouble with gambling, don’t hang around casinos.  If you have trouble with your temper, avoid gangs and bullies.  In other words, use common sense and stay away from temptation.

II.  NEXT, WE CAN BE CAREFUL ABOUT CHOICES.

    Choices are crucial, and the idea of freedom is often misunderstood.  It’s true that we’re free to jump off a bridge.  But once we’ve jumped, we’re not free then to change our mind on the way down.  You can’t undo decisions.  You have to live with the consequences.  So, be careful.  Think before you jump, and look before you leap.  Make a commitment to follow God’s guidance.  Say with Joshua, “As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord” (Josh. 24:15).

    Serving the Lord means getting your priorities straight.  A man said, "For several years I tried to grow grass in my yard.  You can't have all these trees, a wise old neighbor told me, and have grass, too.  Take your choice:  trees or grass." 

    I'm stubborn.  I wanted both.  So I called an expert, who cares for sick lawns.  I paid him to tell me what my neighbor had already told me for free.  "Take your choice.  Trees or grass." 

    I gave up the grass.  Sometimes we have to decide what’s most important and commit to that.

    The bride and groom exchange vows because commitments are important.  There is power in a commitment.  When you make a commitment to someone or something, you’re not saying, “I’ll do this if I feel like it”; or “I’ll do this if it’s convenient”; or “I’ll do this if it’s easy.”  Instead, you’re saying, “I’ll do this whether I feel like it or not!”  I’ll do this even if its inconvenient!” “I’ll do this even if it is hard!”

    Commitment help us set our priorities.  That’s why young people sign pledges not to take drugs.  That’s why a lot of Juniors and Seniors sign “Prom Promises” that they won’t drink and drive.  It’s important to make a commitment to do the right thing.

    Making a commitment to do the right thing can help you when you’re tempted.  You don’t have to hesitate.  You don’t have to wonder what to do.  You’re reminded, by your commitment, that you’ve already made that decision.

    A very wise man said, “When it comes to decisions, I can’t tell you what to do.  But, I can tell you how to decide.  Just do what you won’t regret five years from now.”  Perhaps no one has said it better than John Oxenham:

        To every man there openeth
            A way, and Ways, and a Way;
        And the High Soul climbs the High Way,
            And the Low Soul gropes the Low,
        And in between, on the misty flats
            The rest drift to and fro.
        But to every man there openeth
            A High Way and a Low.
        And every man decideth
            The way his soul shall go.

    Be careful about choices.

III.  FINALLY, WE CAN PAY ATTENTION TO OUR CONSCIENCE.

    Someone said:

        A conscience is that still small voice that quells a wicked thought. 
        Then adds this practical advise:  “Besides you might get caught.”

    The conscience is our inner guide and our moral compass.  Jesus promised us such a spiritual helper.  He said, “The Father . . . will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth . . . He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you . . . He will guide you into all the truth . . .” (John 14:16-17, 26 and 16:13, nas).

    If we allow the Holy Spirit to work through our conscience, we can be led into righteousness.  Solomon said, “In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths” (Prov. 3:6, kjv).

    But, your conscience can be destroyed if you keep overriding it.  A man moved to town and got an apartment near the rail station.  The first few nights a train that passed nearby woke him up.  But after a few weeks, he slept right through till morning.  His alarm system had been conditioned to accept the noise and it didn’t bother him anymore.

    The same thing can happen to our conscience.  If we keep ignoring the Holy Spirit’s guidance; if we keep making excuses for our mistakes; if we keep misusing our guilt warning system; our conscience will quit working for us.  Like a smoke alarm that is damaged, or has dead batteries, we will be in danger in a crises.

    Pay attention to your conscience.

    So, how can we avoid the slippery slope that leads to sin?

    Jesus said praying helps.  “Keep alert and pray. Otherwise temptation will overpower you. For though the spirit is willing enough, the body is weak!” (Matt. 26:41, nlb, also Luke 22:46).

    Then, know and use Scripture.  When he was tempted, Jesus responded forcefully by saying, “Get away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only’ ” (Matt. 4:10, edb).

    Don’t listen to bad advice or follow poor examples.  Moses said, “Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil . . .” (Exo. 23:2, kjv). 
    Fortify yourself with truth, righteousness and faith.  Paul says “Take up the full armor of God, that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and stand firm. . . .” (Eph.  6:13).

    The first step is crucial.  If you start buttoning your coat and put the second button in the top hole, from then on every button will be wrong.  But Jesus said, if you begin right, everything else will fall into place.  “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you” (Matt. 6:33).

    Those who avoid the slippery slope have a great promise.  James said, “God blesses the people who patiently endure testing. Afterward they will receive the crown of life . . .” (James 1:12).

    At twenty-five Robert Robinson was called to pastor a Baptist Church in Cambridge, England, where he became very successful.  But the popularity was more than he could handle.  Soon he faded from the scene.

    Years later Robinson was traveling and happened to sit next to a woman who was reading a book.  After a while she turned to Robinson, a complete stranger to her, and held a page toward him.  Pointing to the hymn she had been reading, she asked what he thought of it.

    Robinson looked at the first few lines;
   
        Come, Thou Fount of every blessing
        Tune my heart to sing Thy grace,
        Streams of mercy, never ceasing,
        Call for songs of loudest praise

        O to grace how great a debtor
        Daily I’m constrained to be!
        Let Thy goodness, like a fetter,
        Bind my wandering heart to Thee:

    He read no further and tried to change the subject.  But she pressed her point and told him of the benefit she had received from the words.
    Overcome with emotion, Robinson finally said, “Madam, I am the poor, unhappy man who wrote those words many years ago, and I would give anything to enjoy the feelings I had then.”

    How ironic that, at the end of the hymn, he had seemed to foretell his own downfall:

        Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
        Prone to leave the God I love;
        Here’s my heart, O take and seal it;
        Seal it for thy courts above.

    Robert Robinson died a short time after this occasion.  He had left the God he once loved.  He had slid down the slippery slope of sin.
    You only have one life and one witness.  Use it well.  Stay away from temptation.  Be careful about choices.  Pay attention to your conscience. 

    The Holy Spirit works through our conscience.  Now, what does your conscience tell you to do this morning?  What commitment should you make right now? 

    Remember, just doing nothing can be a wrong choice.  James said, “One who knows the right thing to do, and does not do it, to him it is sin” (James 4:17).

    Rejecting God’s call leads to a slide down the slippery slope into sin.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

(WC1857)

Copyrighted 2009 by Miles and Maralene Wesner, Idabel, OK.  PLEASE FEEL FREE TO USE THIS MESSAGE IN ANY WAY YOU THINK IS APPROPRIATE.  The only thing we ask is that you give credit for original material in PUBLISHED works. 

NEW PERSPECTIVES is a free service from Diversity Press. 

You may find other messages and a book list on our Webpage:
                                  www.ForMinistry.com/USOKSOBCOFBC5
or                              www.diversitypress.com

Email: wdiversitypress@aol.com or milesewesner@gmail.com
Phone: 1-580-286-3148

Remember, you may cancel at any time by replying with CANCEL written on the SUBJECT line and click on REPLY.  Your address will then be excluded from receiving any more NPs.

Miles E Wesner