A Word about Addiction to Sin

Today I want to share a word about addiction to sin as I comment on Judges 2:8-23.

Royal Pains was the name of a television show that aired on the USA Network for eight seasons beginning in 2009. It was a comedy-drama series that highlighted the travails of a doctor with a concierge practice who made house calls on the rich and famous in The Hamptons area of Long Island, New York. The name of the series was a foreshadowing of the problematic, pampered, and petulant patients the physician dealt with over the course of the program. 

During this series of sermons, we will find that the kings of Israel and Judah were just as problematic for the Children of Israel. The difference is, however, the television show’s patients were as fictional as their doctor, but the kings of Israel and Judah were very human and very real, as were the problems that they caused for God and His people. 

Before we get to the actual kings of Israel and Judah, we must discover how they came to be, and the story begins after the Children of Israel entered into the Promised Land, and after they had possessed most, but not all of it.  That was when they discovered they had a serious problem.  In fact, it was an addiction.

Addictions are real and they have beset humanity from the time that Noah planted a vineyard and got drunk.  Once an addiction sets in, it is difficult to break. I once knew a petite mother of twins who was as straight an arrow as you might ever see.  Her morals were righteous to the point of being a prude.  You can’t imagine how shocked I was to find out that she smoked cigarettes.  She told me that she hadn’t smoked until she was about 40 years old. One day, while she was sitting with her dying mother in the local hospital, she saw a pack of cigarettes that had been left by another relative.  She was very stressed, and for some reason she took a cigarette, lit it, and took a deep pull.  From that point she was absolutely hooked!

I also knew a man who was an alcohol and drug abuse counselor.  Like many in that line of work, he was a recovering alcoholic.  This man was a retired Navy helicopter pilot whose last assignment was to teach new pilots how to fly helicopters.  He told me that he had become so dependent upon alcohol that before he could shave in the morning, he would have to drink a water glass full of vodka to steady his hand or he’d almost cut his throat.  He’d probably drink another glass for his breakfast before going out to the airfield to teach.  About midmorning he’d have to find an excuse to land and go back to his quarters for another glass.

People can be addicted to things besides substances.  For example, many women who are abused by their husbands will leave, but then go back to them time and time again, often until they are killed or seriously injured. They become addicted to the relationship, even though it is an abusive one.

One of the key indicators of an addiction is a pattern of trying to turn over a new leaf but falling back into destructive behavior. Often, people with addictions will try to make up with the people they have hurt by saying things like, “I really mean it this time.  It’s going to be different, I promise!”   Unfortunately, they relapse time and again.

Israel was addicted to something too.  They were addicted to sin. Let’s begin by reading Judges 2:8-13,

Joshua son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died at the age of 110. They buried him in the territory of his inheritance, in Timnath-heres, in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash. That whole generation was also gathered to their ancestors. After them another generation rose up who did not know the Lord or the works he had done for Israel. The Israelites did what was evil in the Lord’s sight. They worshiped the Baals and abandoned the Lord, the God of their ancestors, who had brought them out of Egypt. They followed other gods from the surrounding peoples and bowed down to them. They angered the Lord, for they abandoned him and worshiped Baal and the Ashtoreths.

Israel Fell into Sin:

Sin is common to people. In fact, the Scriptures not only bear witness to this, but they also go farther and assert that sin is universal among people. Romans 3:10 says, “There is none righteous, no not one.” Romans 3:23 tells us, “For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” 1 John 1:8 teaches that, “If we say we do not have sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.” If the God of this universe tells us that sin is endemic in the human race, we probably should pay attention. 

However, if we don’t trust God, other evidence of human sin exists as well. The daily news media that we read, hear, and watch produce report after report of how people mistreat one another, and how people lie, cheat, and steal. Stories of political corruption are so common, people hardly pay attention to them anymore. Famed comedienne Carol Burnett once commented about how she was shocked that people are not shocked anymore.

While we may not be shocked, our hearts do bear witness to our sin. Guilt is nearly as universal as sin, even if it is possible for us to feel guilty about things we did not do. A few people in our society are true sociopaths who feel no guilt, but almost all of us know in our hearts that we are not pure and that we are imperfect, frail, and limited, and that we are hapless, helpless, and hopeless, when it comes to defeating sin in our lives.

In truth, sin, like addictions, can be resisted for a season. We can follow our conscience for a time. We can follow the Bible for a time. We can follow a Godly leader for a time. Then, however, we stop meditating on God’s Word, our consciences become seared and unfeeling, and our leaders fall, or fail, or pass away. Moses and Joshua were strong leaders, and while they lived, they helped the Children of Israel avoid many sinful traps, but they were now gone. God’s Word remained, but someone must point to it!

Few human institutions last for long. The average family business will last for a generation and a half, and only really thrive for a portion of that time. Even large, multinational corporations wax and wane, as do the nations of the world.  Our sin and human frailty will always win out over natural humanity. Jesus said that, “The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Sin is an addiction that we can’t resist; no matter how long we fight it, we will fall sooner or later. Proverbs 26:11 graphically describes this human predicament, “As a dog returns to its vomit, so also a fool repeats his foolishness.” Biblical Israel is a prime example of this!

Israel Suffered the Consequences of Sin:

Let’s read Judges 2:14-15,

The Lord’s anger burned against Israel, and he handed them over to marauders who raided them. He sold them to the enemies around them, and they could no longer resist their enemies. Whenever the Israelites went out, the Lord was against them and brought disaster on them, just as he had promised and sworn to them. So they suffered greatly.

The Israelites learned a hard lesson: there are no good results from sin. The Bible tells us that sin separates us from God and the natural world as well. Romans 6:23 says that. “The wages of sin is death . . .” Sin brings physical and spiritual death, and it brings separation from people also. Sin promises joy, but it only produces sorrow. Going off God’s script for our lives has consequences.

We need to pay close attention to what happened when Israel went off script. They left heathens in the land that could, and did, attack them. They were plundered, spoiled, and unable to defend themselves. They had estranged themselves from God and so did not have His help to which to turn. They were like an atheist at a funeral. To whom can they turn for nurture and encouragement?

The saying that “the bigger they are, the harder they fall,” applied to God’s children during this time. God had won all their battles for them during the Exodus, and so the people of Canaan were terrified of the Jews. Of course, it was God’s power the Canaanites actually feared, but now God’s people had turned their back on Him and they no longer had access to His might and power. The Song of Debrorah in Judges 5 illustrates how low Israel had sunk. In verses 6-7 we see,

In the days of Shamgar son of Anath, in the days of Jael, the main roads were deserted because travelers kept to the side roads. Villages were deserted, they were deserted in Israel, until I, Deborah, arose, a mother in Israel. Israel chose new gods, then there was war in the city gates. Not a shield or spear was seen among forty thousand in Israel.

Israel was beset by physical enemies who fought against them and dominated them. In our case, in Ephesians 6:12-13 Paul taught us that,

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this darkness, against evil, spiritual forces in the heavens. For this reason take up the full armor of God, so that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having prepared everything, to take your stand.

Like Israel, we must learn not to turn our backs on God and His Way. We cannot win our spiritual battles without God’s help any more than Israel could win their physical battles without God’s help. When we leave behind God’s Way, when we go off His script, we leave behind His victories also.

The same truth that confronted Israel is present with us today. Sin only produces sorrow. Those who sin suffer. Those who are sinned against suffer. God suffers. Like the Prodigal Son, we must “come to our senses.”

Israel Repented of Sin and They were Saved:

Let’s read Judges 2:16-18,

The Lord raised up judges, who saved them from the power of their marauders, but they did not listen to their judges. Instead, they prostituted themselves with other gods, bowing down to them. They quickly turned from the way of their ancestors, who had walked in obedience to the Lord’s commands. They did not do as their ancestors did. Whenever the Lord raised up a judge for the Israelites, the Lord was with him and saved the people from the power of their enemies while the judge was still alive. The Lord was moved to pity whenever they groaned because of those who were oppressing and afflicting them. 

John Maxwell, a noted Christian expert on leadership, studied the reason why people change their habits and practices and other aspects of their lives. He stated that people change only when three conditions are met:

 * When they hurt enough to make it necessary to change.

* When they know enough about what they need to change.

* When they know enough about how to make the necessary change.

Considering the state that Israel was in, it wasn’t hard for them to meet these requirements! They saw their need, and they saw that only God could fulfill their needs, and so they turned back to Him. What would God do?

Our God is a faithful God. And when we repent, He will save us. He did this for Israel in human, physical terms. He still does this for us today in spiritual terms as well. This is illustrated by Jesus in the Parable of the Prodigal Son which is really the story of a loving father. But the Parable of the Lost Sheep is some ways even more encouraging, because it is really the story of a good shepherd who went out looking for the lost sheep. In fact, God doesn’t wait for us to come home, He comes looking for us, because Jesus is the Good Shepherd.

While God takes the initiative when it comes to caring for His people, we also cannot minimize the role of repentance. Repentance is not feeling bad about something. That is guilt. Nor is repentance an effort to make amends for something that was wrong to do. That is restitution. Instead, repentance is a decision of our will to go in a different direction. Repentance is a “U-turn” in our life’s path. Repentance is a desire in our heart to serve God. Repentance is turning our back on the life of sin.

We all know the jokes about how men hate to ask for directions when travelling. A man and his wife were on a trip, and the husband became frustrated at the slow traffic on the Interstate Highway. He took an exit for a side road and began trying to make his way to their destination. Soon, he was hopelessly lost, but when his wife asked him to turn around and retrace their path to the Interstate, he refused. “Why should I give ground?” he asked. “Besides, there is no traffic on this road, and we’re making great time!”

Meteorologists have coined a rhyming phrase to help people avoid the dangers associated with flooded roads, “Turn around; don’t drown!” Jesus taught us that the path to destruction is broad, and that many will take it. Our only way to avoid destruction is to turn around. 

Israel Fell Back into Sin:

Let’s read Judges 2:19-23,

Whenever the judge died, the Israelites would act even more corruptly than their ancestors, following other gods to serve them and bow in worship to them. They did not turn from their evil practices or their obstinate ways. The Lord’s anger burned against Israel, and he declared, “Because this nation has violated my covenant that I made with their ancestors and disobeyed me, I will no longer drive out before them any of the nations Joshua left when he died. I did this to test Israel and to see whether or not they would keep the Lord’s way by walking in it, as their ancestors had.” The Lord left these nations and did not drive them out immediately. He did not hand them over to Joshua.

How would you respond to someone who had just saved your life? How would you respond to someone who had just given you a home? Would you be grateful? Would you ignore them? Would you spit in their face?

Israel spit in God’s face. They went right back to their sinful ways. They ignored God’s Word and His Way. They went right back to serving their false gods. Remember what Proverbs 26:11 says? “As a dog returns to its vomit, so also a fool repeats his foolishness.” This is Israel in a nutshell.

To put it simply, the children of Israel were addicted to sin. Just like someone addicted to a physical substance, they were unable to change their ways permanently. They might do better for a period of time, but soon they would suffer a relapse. This is such a common occurrence, that it has even become an advertising strategy. Whether it be a potato chip of which is said, “No one can eat just one,” or a lollypop that people can’t resist biting instead of licking, advertisers have learned to capitalize on human weaknesses. So have the forces of evil. Israel could not repent in their own power. They needed help. 

Like Biblical Israel, people today are addicted to sin also. We are unable to repent in our own power. We need help, too. 

Alcoholics Anonymous is one of the most successful programs for overcoming addictions. The first three of the twelve steps in their program points us the way we need to go in defeating our sin addiction: 

* We admitted we were powerless over alcohol -- that our lives had become unmanageable 

* We came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.

* We made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.

Our God, as we understand Him from the Bible, has made a way for us!   In Romans 7: 21-25  Paul tells us, 

So I discover this law:  When I want to do what is good,  evil is present with me. For in my inner self I delight in God’s law, but I see a different law in the parts of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and taking me prisoner to the law of sin in the parts of my body. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with my mind I myself am serving the law of God, but with my flesh, the law of sin.

In Romans 8:1-4, Paul went on to enlighten us even more saying, 

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus, because the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do since it was weakened by the flesh, God did. He condemned sin in the flesh by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh as a sin offering, in order that the law’s requirement would be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 

Conclusion:

Are we stuck in the same addictive cycle as the Israelites? Are we like the dog that goes back to his vomit? Are our lives out of control because of sin? If so, God is seeking us today with the solution we need. He offers us His Son who will forgive our sin, and He offers us power to live an abundant life!  Are you tired of running in circles? Come to Him today!

Every blessing,

Dr. Otis Corbitt