Sin is the enemy of holiness. What makes all sin so grievous is that it is against a pure and holy God. We cannot think of a certain sins as mostly harmless, we cannot rationalize them or make excuses for them. We must realize that all sin is a sin against God. God considers our sin, spiritual adultery; a betrayal of our relationship with Him. We bring reproach to the name of the Lord when we fail to take sin seriously.

Instead of realizing the wickedness of our sin, we have come to view it as almost normal and acceptable behavior; or perhaps something to be controlled or tamed. We have become careless and thoughtless, even laughing at sin, and being entertained by it. But our holy God is not the least bit entertained by sin, nor does He find it funny in any way.

Even beyond how sin offends a holy God, and how it affects others, sin exacts a price from those who would indulge in it. Before you yield to temptation, remind yourself of these consequences:

• Sin will disappoint you - it never delivers what it promises. Sinful pleasures simply do not last, and are just not worth the price that you will pay. Sin will take you farther than you ever wanted to go, keep you longer than you ever wanted to stay, and cost you more than you ever wanted to pay.
• Sin will deceive you - it dulls your capacity for truth and your ability to discern right from wrong. It deceives you into thinking that somehow you can escape the consequences of sin. The more you indulge, the more you defend your choices, or insist that you can handle it. You become blind to severity and extent of your sin.
• Sin will dominate you - it lures you with the promise of freedom, but ultimately enslaves you. II Peter 2:19 says that we are slaves to whatever masters us.
• Sin will destroy you. Sin is a deadly monster sin more dangerous than wild animals or a blazing fire. “The thief cometh not but to steal, kill, and destroy.” Sin never comes to us in its true colors. Instead it comes to us like Judas with a kiss.

Moral or spiritual landslides most often occur because we have paid little attention to the little cracks in our own walk with God and our moral conduct. Small, seemingly harmless compromises snowball, and set the stage for tragic consequences.

From "Holiness" by Nancy Leigh DeMoss.
Visit Nancy's website, Revive Our Hearts