"THE DECEITFULNESS OF SIN."
By T. Adams
SIN is always saying to us, "Just this once more." We have a bad habit that we propose to leave off sometime; but sin says, "Only indulge this once, then you will quit." No matter what the form of evil that besets us, when our conscience condemns us and the Spirit of God through His Word is urging us to reform, sin continues to whisper in our ear, "Only this once." This evil commences with childhood and follows us until we, in the strength of the Lord, say to Satan with his temptations, "Get thee hence." The little boy or girl desires some indulgence, and father and mother say that it is not good. But the child pleads, "Just this once, and I will never ask it again." Fathers and mothers, if they have wisdom from God, will seek at the first manifestation of this evil to explain to their little ones that it is nothing less than the deceitfulness of sin that is prompting them to plead, "Only once." When a temptation confronts us, Satan seeks to make it appear that the peculiar circumstances are such that it would be best to yield "just this once;" and then after this we will be strong. Indeed, we feel perfectly sure that it will be only for this one time that we will yield. We feel very weak before the temptation now because of the "peculiar circumstances;" but how strong we feel while indulging in our sinful habits, because of the thought that to-morrow we will surely conquer! But how foolish we are to allow ourselves to thus be led along in sin! The plea when the temptation comes is, "Only this once." When it comes again, it is, "Only this once." And while it continues to come week after week and month after month and year after year, it is never anything but, "Just this once." The apostle's admonition is, "Exhort one another daily, while it is called To-day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin." Heb. 3:13. It is a part of the "deceitfulness of sin" to keep saying to us, "Only this once." For in this way a habit is formed, and the longer that it can be kept up by Satan's persuasive and seemingly plausible argument, the more confirmed and hardened do we become. "Only this once" is without doubt the most cunning and at the same time the most successful trick that Satan has ever invented. It is positively dangerous to take another step in that direction. Stop now.
T. ADAMS.