Concept:
One of the most damaging areas to our lives is, 
of course, our bent to sin. Sin simply means 
missing the mark and nothing could be more damaging 
to us than not being able to achieve, because we keep
missing our goals. If you have ever participated in 
athletics, you know the heartaches of not being able 
to achieve victory because of a missed opportunity. 
Maybe you have participated in a soccer game and 
had the opportunity to score the winning goal, but 
you missed the penalty kick. Remember the rush of 
emotion when you realized that victory had just 
eluded you and your teammates because of your failure 
to kick correctly? That is exactly what happens when 
we sin. We lose an opportunity for victory and let those 
who are depending on us down because we did not hit the mark.

Scripture says that the wages of sin is death, but the 
gift of God is eternal life (Romans 6:23). This verse 
plainly states that missing the mark will cause defeat 
to take place in my life. In I Kings 9:4,5, the Lord 
spoke to Solomon and told him to follow the direction 
laid out in the Word and he would succeed. But, if he 
failed to use the Word as his standard, he would fail. 
The principle is easy to apply in our lives: If I give 
attention to the Word of God and apply it, there will 
be victory and I will hit the mark and reach the goal. 

Romans 6:6 states that the body of sin has been done 
away with so that we are not slaves to sin any longer. 
This scripture shows us that sin is trying to enslave 
us and hold us captive. Sin is attempting to keep us 
bound and chained so we will not experience the freedom 
that the Lord purchased for us on the cross. Not only 
does sin desire to paralyze me but it also puts me in 
a position of resisting the love of God that is being 
extended to me. The prodigal son, in Luke 15, was away 
from the Father’s touch until he decided to return to 
his father’s house. Not only does sin hurt my situation 
but it also hurts my fellowship with the Father, because 
like the prodigal, I have left His presence. Exodus 20:5,
amplified the consequence of sin by showing how my sin 
could affect the lives of three to four generations 
after me. These consequences certainly make us aware 
of how important the blood of Christ is to cleanse us 
and also break the power of sin in our lives. Praise 
God for His blood!

I Peter 5:8 reminds us that the devil is waiting for 
an opportunity to devour us. How can he devour me if 
I believe in Christ and I am sealed the Body of 
Christ?  Very simply, all I have to do is open 
the door of my life through sin which gives the 
enemy free access to come in and take a big bite 
out of me. We see David doing that very thing in 
II Samuel 11 and 12. David opened the door of his 
life to the devil by having an affair with Bathsheba. 
This allowed the devil to come in and take four big 
bites out of David and his family. This is why the enemy 
of my soul is always trying to get me to compromise on the 
Word. He can’t make me sin, but he can make it very easy for 
me to fall into the pit of destruction. The devil will 
certainly put potential stumbling blocks in front of me, 
but the Word will bring light into the darkness and I will 
not fall. Romans 5:12-14 explains how the power and presence 
of sin has been holding everyone in captivity with no way of 
self-escape. But, Jesus shed His blood and His gift of life 
has set us free and now sin no longer has dominion over
all of us who have received Christ as our savior and Lord. 

The good news is that Romans 5:16 states, that the gift 
of righteousness is stronger than sin and we will be able 
to walk in freedom. We know that the grace of God was 
given so that we would have the ability to get up from 
each fall and keep going forward. The Lord is so committed 
to our victory that He comes and lives inside us to insure 
that we can do all things because He will personally 
strengthen us. 

We need to become so bold that our confession before 
the devil is “Sin and Satan have no more dominion or 
power over me, because the blood of Christ has paid 
my debt and the grace of God is empowering me to stand 
against every temptation to compromise. I will be 
victorious in Christ and I will hit the mark.” 

Definitions: 
Sin: Hamartia: Missing the mark, failure, 
offense, taking the wrong course, wrong 
doing, sin, guilt. A principle and quality of 
action.  John 8:34, James 1:5

Transgressions: Parabaino: Abandoning a trust, 
departing, stepping aside, overstep, violation, 
rebellion, disobedience, deviation from original 
and true direction. Revolting against law, 
going against established limits. 

Iniquity: Avon: Evil, fault, blame, moral illness, 
perversion, and crookedness, bent on distorted. 
Iniquity is an evil bent within human beings and 
the crooked direction of sinners. 

Scripture Application:

1. Genesis 4:6,7

2. Exodus 32:30-32

3. Matthew 18:15

4. Matthew 18:21

5. Luke 15:18

6. Luke 17:3-5

7. John 1:29

8. John 5:14

9. John 8:11

10. John 9:2-5

11. Romans 3:23,24

12. Romans 5:12-16

13. Romans 6:15-17

14. I Corinthians 8:12

15. I Corinthians 15:34

16. Ephesians 4:26

17. I Timothy 5:20

18. James 1:15

19. I John 1:10

20. I John 2:1

21. I John 3:8,9

22. I John 5:17, 18 

23. Psalms 19:13

24. Psalms 32:1,5

25. Psalms 39:8

26. Psalms 51:1,3

27. Psalms 65:3

28. Psalms 103:12

29. Isaiah 43:25

30. Isaiah 53:5,8

31. Ezekiel 18:31

32. Daniel 9:24

33. Micah 1:13

34. Micah 6:7

35. Acts 1:25

36. Romans 11:11,12

37. Galatians 3:19

38. Ephesians 2:1,5

39. Genesis 4:17

40. Genesis 15:16

41. Genesis 19:15

42. Leviticus 16:21,22

43. Leviticus 26:39

44. Psalms 32:5

45. Psalms 51:2,9

46. Psalms 85:2

47. Psalms 90:8

48. Psalms 130:3

49. Isaiah 50:1

50. Isaiah 53:5,6,11

51. Jeremiah 3:25

52. Jeremiah 11:10

53. Ezekiel 36:33

54. Daniel 4:27

55. Daniel 9:13,16

56. Matthew 23:28

57. Acts 3:26

58. Romans 4:7

59. Romans 6:19

60. Hebrews 1:9

61. Hebrews 8:12

62. Hebrews 10:17

63. II Thessalonians 2:7

64. Titus 2:14

65. I John 3:4

66. Revelation 18:5

Summary: 
As we see, the verses describe the 
consequence of sin and the world around 
us that is falling apart because of sin. 
I hope that there is a righteous 
indignation that rises up within you and 
hates sin and its result. We have to fight 
not only the desire to sin but we always 
need to have in mind what sin does. Sin wants 
to destroy your life and the life of your 
family. We have to understand that it may 
be pleasurable for a season but that season 
is soon followed by death. We never get away 
with sin because even if I do it in secret, 
it will be shouted from the housetop. My sin 
will always find me out. Remember sins start 
in the mind and then come out as action. The 
mind is where I can cast them down and they 
will then never get into action. James 1:15 
states that desire always proceeds sin. 
Therefore, if my desires are wrong I had better 
start delighting in the Lord instead of sin. 
Then the Lord will then, give me His desires 
for my life. Delight means to be pliable in 
the hands of the Lord by mediating on his 
purposes for my life. What I give attention 
to in my life is what I am going to desire 
and what I desire I will eventually act out. 
Do I want what I am thinking; this is the 
question we all need to answer.

The Lord will give us the power to overcome 
any obstacle in my life, if I will only let 
Him have access. Give the Lord access by 
praying about your desires and asking Him 
to change any action in your life that is 
not bringing glory to Him. 

Action Point:
Take a day and keep track of your thought 
life. Evaluate what you are meditating on 
and ask the Lord to convict you of any 
wrong thought processes. Write down what 
took most of your thought time and evaluate 
the consequences if those thoughts were 
put to action. Decide: Is that the 
direction that you want your life to go? 
Take Philippians 4:8 and begin to confess 
it and watch the Word change your life.