Read John 5:1-14
“Afterward Jesus found him in the temple, and said to him, ‘See, you have been made well. Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you.’”—John 5:14
After healing the man who’d been sick for 38 years, Jesus disappeared into the crowd. Jesus reemerged to give the man a stern warning—“Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you.” Jesus cautions the man there’d be dire consequences for going back to his old ways.
You struggled mightily with an issue; a sin that held you in bondage for the longest time. Despite fears you’d never escape, finally you’re set free! Yet, every now and then, something triggers a walk down memory lane to visit that old habit, substance or relationship. You thought “it” was defeated but “it” quietly lingers in the shadows, lurking to ensnare you once again.
Despite the longing to go back, it’s dangerous conceding to your old sin. What seems to be a familiar, comforting brook can turn into raging waters; deeper, swifter and darker than recalled. The very thing thought to bring peace and contentment, becomes the source of enslavement to bondage once again. This time, the climb out of the deep may be longer and harder than imagined.
“As a dog returns to his own vomit, So a fool repeats his folly” (Proverbs 26:11). An unpleasant thought but some dogs will eat from their vomit. Just as it’s repulsive to ingest what the body has rejected, it’s foolish and spiritually revolting to return to a past we’ve cast off. It’s returning to the scene of the crime in the cavalier belief we can survive repeat offenses. It’s testing God’s grace under the belief He will continually spare us.
Deliverance and freedom from sin came at a cost—the cross of Jesus Christ. Maintaining that freedom comes at a cost also—avoiding the same pitfall once again. Don’t return to the scene of the crime; it may cost more than you imagine.
Lesson to Remember: Returning to your old ways will give you only one thing—the same old results.
“For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning.”—2 Peter 2:20
