BLOG: Worry more about sin and less about COVID-19

Let’s state the obvious: CORONAVIRUS can be scary.

As of mid-April 2020, 161,000+ have died around the world. Millions of people have been infected with the virus. Many people are fearful and anxious about it. I totally understand that.

Yet, my bigger fear is that we are spending too much time worrying about this virus. Statistically, you’re not likely to even be infected by coronavirus. The odds you die from it are even slimmer. I preached an entire message on this the Sunday after Easter on Facebook Live.

Yet, 100 percent of us will die from sin. Are we more worried about sin or coronavirus?

One will definitely kill you. One will likely not send you to the grave. Coronavirus, while scary, is a tiny problem compared to our sin. My main problem is I struggle to realize my sin. I miss it when it manifests. I overlook it at times without meaning to. I think I’m a “good person” but have to constantly remind myself I’m not.

I’m a sinner. How do I know?

Romans 3:23 “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

Romans 3:10 “There is no one righteous, not even one.”

Romans 6:23 “The wages of sin is death.”

WAGES are EARNED. Which means Romans 6:23 teaches that we EARN death daily. The penalty for sin is death. That’s a big problem for everyone.

How has sin manifested itself during Coronavirus? Porn use up 12%. Wine sales up 66% Beer sales up 42% Domestic abuse up 35% in the USA.

People are scared and confused by coronavirus. That has cracked the door for sin. And sin is ready to capitalize. Sin capitalizes on our weakest moments. We need to be strengthened by something other than ourselves.

In times of trouble, God is our rock (1 Samuel 2:1-2). God is our shield and our refuge. He’s a firm foundation. We need God.

People will ask, ‘Where is God?’ during something as scary as a worldwide pandemic? Valid questions. The answer? Right beside you (Psalm 16:11). Coronavirus is not an indication of an absence of God. It’s a powerful example of God’s restraint in dealing with sinful people. We deserve so much more than coronavirus. We’ve already read that we deserve death (Romans 6:23).

The good news is that God is walking with us and wants to guide us through our fears – like coronavirus – and, more importantly, sin. He offers us a way to escape sin. It’s called his GRACE.

EPHESIANS 2:4 BUT because of his great LOVE for us, God who is rich in MERCY, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in our transgressions – it is by GRACE you have been saved.

Christ is our only escape from sin. Christ is the embodiment of heavenly grace and that availability of grace serves to reveal our brokenness

CORONAVIRUS IS A WAKEUP CALL TO CHRISTIANS

Do you feel vulnerable because of uncertainty? Has coronavirus made you question yourself? That vulnerability is a good thing. It shows us how much we need God and accentuates how he’s the only thing capable of sustaining and restoring broken people like us.

Now is the time to run to go for release from our sin. There is no more time for being lukewarm. Lukewarm isn’t just undesirable but DETESTABLE.

Revelation 3:15-16 `He says, "I know what you do. I know that you are neither cold nor hot. And I wish that you were cold or hot. 16 So I will spit you out of my mouth, because you are only warm and not hot or cold.

WE SERVE A GRACIOUS GOD who doesn’t want to spit us out. He wants to welcome us in. There is no social distancing with God. He wants to be close. It’s impossible to get away from him.

It’s GRACE that gives us the ability to survive coronavirus because grace covers our disobedience.

In Ephesians 1:3-8 Paul writes: “3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace 8 that he lavished on us.

God loves you so much that he extends you GRACE in moments like these. He forgives your sins because of grace.

Revelation 3:8 “I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength yet you have kept my works and have not denied my name.”

I already listed Romans 3:23 to reveal our need for God but the grace unveiled in the following verse is life-giving.

Romans 3:24 24 Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins.

I understand your coronavirus fears. It’s confusing. It’s depressing. But it’s not useless. It’s a wakeup call to repentance and acceptance of God’s grace.

1 Corinthians 2:9 “It is written ‘No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him”

CORONAVIRUS isn’t great… but spending our days worrying about a virus that is highly unlikely to kill you instead of focusing on an ever-present case of sin we cannot escape (and definitely will kill you) strikes me as a waste. This doesn’t mean to ignore COVID-19. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t wash your hands and stay as safe as possible by taking reasonable precautions. It does mean we need to TRUST God to care for us. Today. Tomorrow. This week. Forever. How?

Recognizing our brokenness and need for a savior.

Let’s worry more about our sin and the penalty for it and less about coronavirus. God cares for you. He’s not caught off guard by this virus. He’s in control.

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