Loving the Chains

Scripture: John 3:19 (KJV)

“And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.”

Personal Reflection

Perhaps the most frightening truth about man's bondage to sin is that the sinner loves his chains.

The problem is not merely that people cannot find the light. Scripture says they love darkness rather than light. Sin has captured not only the mind and will but also the affections.

This explains why simply presenting Christianity as a better lifestyle cannot save anyone. The sinner's deepest need is not improved circumstances but a changed heart.

By nature, we choose sin over Christ, self over submission, and the world over the Word. Sin promises freedom while tightening its chains. It promises pleasure but ultimately pays its wages in misery, ruin, and death.

Yet this is precisely where sovereign grace appears so magnificent.

God does not merely drag unwilling sinners into heaven while they continue loving darkness. In regeneration, He changes the heart. What we once loved begins to grieve us. The Christ we once ignored becomes precious. Holiness, once burdensome, becomes desirable.

The converted person does not become sinless, but his relationship with sin fundamentally changes.

Before grace, sin was home.

After grace, sin becomes enemy territory.

The Christian may stumble there, but he cannot settle comfortably there. The Spirit produces an increasing desire to return to Christ, confess sin, and pursue holiness.

Do you grieve over sins you once defended? Do you hunger for holiness you once considered foolish?

Thank God.

Those changed affections are evidence of His transforming grace.

Contemplation

Do my deepest affections increasingly reveal love for Christ and hatred for the sin that once enslaved me?

Puritan Quote

Thomas Watson wrote:

“Till sin be bitter, Christ will not be sweet.”

Prayer

Lord, change my affections. Make sin increasingly bitter and Christ increasingly precious. Teach my heart to love what You love and hate what dishonors You. Amen.

Application

Identify one sinful desire you once excused but now recognize as bondage. Thank God for changing your attitude toward it.