To Be Done With Sin
Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion,
which cannot be moved, but abides forever.
As the mountains surround Jerusalem,
so the LORD surrounds his people,
from this time forth and forevermore.
For the scepter of wickedness shall not rest
on the land allotted to the righteous,
lest the righteous stretch out
their hands to do wrong.—Psalm 125:1-3
We were living in Idaho in 1980 when Mount Saint Helens blew her top. We got some of the fallout—ash and other debris—though we are over four-hundred miles away. A year after the eruption I flew over the mountain with a friend and we were astonished at the devastation visited on that majestic peak. In a moment of time titanic, inexorable, underlying forces blew it to smithereens.
Sin is like that, you know. It can destroy our lives in a moment. Is anyone safe?
Indeed. Mount Zion, a symbol of those who put their trust in God, like Mount Zion, cannot be moved; the "scepter of wickedness” cannot rulethere. We are secure, surrounded by God's love "lest we stretch out (our) hands to do unrighteousness," and once for all ruin our lives.
Surely, we will sin. Temptations to sin are sure to come," Jesus said. We're besieged on every side by inducements to follow the evil impulses that cross our minds. Yet Paul assures us: “Sin will not have dominionover you" (Romans 6:14). We can become like Zion—immutable, fixed, firm, indomitable, un-menaced and undisturbed by evil.
Oh, not all at once and not right away. But, as Peter assures us, “after you have suffered a little while, God Himself... will restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you" (1 Peter 5:10). We will never be perfect in this life, but we can make progress as God’s Spirit makes us over into the image of his Son.
The finale awaits Heaven "When we see him. Then and only then, we shall be like him. Then we be done with sin forever!
David Roper
