Whether at the individual or societal level, sin tends to fester. Once it sets out on its course it only gets worse. Sin made its debut into the world in Genesis 3. It began with disobedience to God’s clear instruction to not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Moving on to chapter 4, a new sin had been introduced – anger. That was quickly followed by murder. When God asked Cain about his brother Abel, he arrogantly queried if he was made his brother’s keeper. Things had gone bad by the time we get to chapter 6. Here is God’s verdict concerning the situation of mankind: “Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” (Genesis 6:5 NKJV). Sin was no longer incidental, it became the norm of man’s existence.
Here is the point: those who want to enjoy victory over sin cannot afford to watch the devil move from a foothold to a stronghold in their lives.
See how quickly Cain moved from anger to murder to arrogance to lying! Yet, he could have prevented all of these. His trouble started when God accepted the offering of Abel but disregarded his own. He became angry. At that moment, God told him his anger was baseless; if he did the right thing he also would be accepted. He was also forewarned of sin lurking in the corner trying to take hold of him. That was when Cain could have stopped the downward trend. He probably could have arranged a more acceptable offering to God. Rather, he took things out on his brother and killed him. He failed to conquer sin in its infancy. Here is the point: those who want to enjoy victory over sin cannot afford to watch the devil move from a foothold to a stronghold in their lives. The moment you see any trace of sin, take steps to dismantle it. You have the Word of God and the Blood of the Lamb as effective weapons to overcome sin.