CASUALTIES OF SIN 

HEBREWS 12:12-15

          There are many themes in the Book of Hebrews, one of which is Christian persecution and how we are to endure such persecutions.  We also find Paul, in Hebrews, warning the Christians about falling away from God and back into sin.  Here in chapter 7 Paul gives several things that Christians should do when confronted with or after failing God.  He says lift up your hands and your weak knees – I give up, I submit to God, and force yourself to stand up and admit what you have done; Make a straight path for your feet – walk a righteous path lest you find yourself walking on stony ground, twisting your ankle and thus hindered from meeting your goal.  Live peaceably with all men and holy before God.  I want to draw today from what Paul says in verse 15.  “Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled (Hebrews 12:15);” He says inspect yourself lest sin be found in you and many be defiled.  Many times we know that we fall prey to a particular sin and we can even see the danger and destruction that sin brings in our lives, but Paul warned them that many could be defiled by their sin.  Today’s message is “Casualties of Sin”.

          In our heads we know that the sin of one affects many.  For it is abundantly clear to us that the Sin of Adam and Eve introduced sin as a sickness into the lives of all mankind.  So, on a large scale we see and understand the effects of sin.  But it seems to be a bit more difficult for us to see the effects of our own personal sins on others.      We tend to think “I am only hurting myself” and sometimes that reduces for us the urgency to purge ourselves of sin.  But I want you to know today that when we sin we are not the only ones affected.  There are other casualties of sin.

          The Biblical example for today’s message is Achan.

JOSHUA 7:1-12

          Achan underestimated God and didn’t take his commands seriously.

JOSHUA 6:16-19

          The accursed things (devoted to destruction by God) refer to all the clothing, cattle, and other plunder that God said Israel should destroy when they conquered Jericho. It did not matter that these items were good and maybe even useful or needful to the people, they were to be destroyed.  It did not matter if Achan had found a good use for something that was going to be thrown out anyway and thus decided to keep the items.  Any excuse that Achan could us for keeping any of the spoils was not relevant.  He had disobeyed God.

          God’s command to destroy all was not just a test or an act of revenge on his part.  It was not God flexing his muscles to show what a powerful God he is.   

DEUT. 20:16-18

          God wanted to purge the land of sin and thus reduce the chances that they Children of Israel would be drawn into the sins of the heathen nations.  The problem is not that Achan wanted to keep a few things, but rather that he wanted them badly enough to disobey a direct order from God.  Achan’s sin was a serious offense because it was in direct defiance to an explicit command of God.    It may have seemed a small thing to Achan, but the effects of his sin were felt not only by Achan but also by the entire nation of Israel and especially his family. Like Achan, our actions affect more people than just ourselves. Beware of the temptation to rationalize your sins by saying they are too small or too personal to hurt anyone but you.  Achan’s sin opened the door for other casualties and so does ours. 

     Some might ask “Why did Achan’s sin bring judgment on the entire nation? Although it was one man’s failure, God saw it as national disobedience to a national law. He considered Israel collectively responsible and withheld His blessing until the matter was made right.  God needed the entire nation to be committed to the job they had agreed to do—conquer the land. Thus, when one person failed, everyone failed. If Achan’s sin went unpunished, unlimited looting could break out. The nation as a whole had to take responsibility for preventing this undisciplined disobedience and God had to bring to the attention of Israel this problem among the people.

Imagine the peoples surprise when just after the great battle of Jericho they are put to shame by the men from Ai.  There were only 36 casualties, but this was supposed to be small quick fight.  Even in major battles up to this point we see no record of any casualties. 

          Let me mention that Achan’s sin is not the only mistake made here.  When Joshua first went against Ai he did not consult God but relied on the strength of his army to defeat the small city. Verse 3 says “And they … It was only after Israel was defeated that they turn to God and ask what happened.  Too often we rely on our own skills and strength, especially when the task before us seems easy. We go to God only when the obstacles seem too great. However, only God knows what lies ahead. Consulting him, even when things are going well will save us from making grave mistakes or misjudgments.

          However, when Joshua goes to God it is not with a formal church prayer; it is the prayer of a man who is afraid and confused by what has happen. Joshua poured out his real thoughts to God. Hiding our needs from God is ignoring the only one who can really help us. God welcomes our honest prayers and wants us to express our true feelings to him.  David said in Ps. 107:6 “they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them out of their distresses.”  God wants to help us overcome our flesh, the ways of the world and even our enemy, the devils whose desire is to steal our joy, kill our spirit and destroy our soul.  We must cast all of our cares and concerns on God.  As believers we can be more honest in prayer by remembering that God is all-knowing and all-powerful and that his love is everlasting.  There is no need to try to hide from him.

          Back to Achan.  Achan’s sin was not merely his keeping some of the plunder, but his disobeying God’s explicit command to destroy everything connected with Jericho. His sin was indifference to the evil and idolatry of the city, not just a desire for money and clothes.  He did not hate sin enough to hate the fruits of it also.  As believers we must, like God, hate sin in all of its forms.   God would not protect Israel’s army again until the sin was removed and the army returned to obeying him without reservation. God is not content with our doing what is right some of the time. He wants us to do what is right all the time. We are under his orders to eliminate any thoughts, practices, or possessions that hinder our devotion to him. 

II CORINTHIANS 10:5

          We are to cast down not hold on to every thought, action or attitude that is unlike God and bring them all under submission to the will of God.  Hebrews 12:1 says that we are to “lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily overcomes us.  God will help us but we must commit ourselves to living a life surrendered to Him.

JOSHUA 7:19-26

          Another casualty of this sin was Achan but many of us would say that he got what he deserved.  And though that may be true, we would not like to get what we deserve.  In fact we are grateful when God shows us mercy.  The Old Testament often commanded God’s people to purge evildoers from among their ranks, normally by execution. Otherwise, the unrepentant offender could remove God’s blessing from the whole community and bring about the death of others. Here the evildoer is purged from the community by being banished and then stoned.

I COR. 5:6-13

          Leaven in the Bible normally represents sin or false teaching.  The statement “a little leaven, leavens the whole lump” means that if you allow the sin to remain and go unchecked it will spread throughout the whole body.  It is for this reason that we are employed not to fellowship with one who calls himself a Christian and continues in a sinful and unrighteous life.  Sin must be purged from our lives as individual believers lest it infect the whole body and we, along with others become casualties of sin.

But no matter how we feel about Achan we still ask “Why did Achan’s entire family pay for his sin? The Biblical record does not tell us if they were accomplices to his crime, but in the ancient world, the family was treated as a whole.  Achan, as the head of his family, was like a tribal chief. If he prospered, the family prospered with him. If he suffered, so did they. Many Israelites had already died in battle because of Achan’s sin. Now he was to be completely cut off from Israel.  Achan’s entire family was to be stoned along with him so that no trace of the sin would remain in Israel. In our permissive and individualistic culture we have a hard time understanding such a decree, but in ancient cultures it was a common punishment. The punishment fit the crime: Achan had disobeyed God’s command to destroy everything in Jericho; thus everything that belonged to Achan had to be destroyed. Sin has drastic consequences, so we should take drastic measures to avoid it.  If we will not avoid sin we run the risk of opening ourselves as well as our families, friends, our church, etc. to become casualties of sin.

Joshua was not aware of the sin in Israel but the defeat at Ai awakened him.  God told Joshua that when this accursed thing was put away, all would be well. Times of danger and trouble should be times of change where we look to God for assistance. We should look into our own hearts, into our own houses and our actions, searching diligently to find out if there is some accursed thing there, which God sees and abhors.  Is there some secret lust, some unlawful gain, some undue withholding from God if so, release it lest you become a casualty of sin. We cannot prosper, until the accursed thing be destroyed out of our hearts, our families, and forsaken in our lives.   Let’s not be casualties of sin or cause others to become casualties.  We must always keep in mind that our actions do affect others.

After Israel had been cleansed from Achan’s sin, Joshua prepared to attack Ai again—this time to win. Joshua had learned some lessons that we can follow: (1) confess your sins when God reveals them to you; and (2) when you fail, refocus on God, deal with the problem, and move on. God wants the cycle of sin, repentance, and forgiveness to strengthen us, not weaken us. The lessons we learn from our failures should make us better able to handle the same situation the second time around. Because God is eager to give us cleansing, forgiveness, and strength, the only way to lose is to give up and become a casualty of sin.