After some help from wise men & reflection it seems to me that it would be helpful for me to provide some more clarity on the question I posed in the introduction on Sunday: “Why should the non-Christian repent if they are enjoying their sin?”

Sin is death (Romans 6.23a, etc.) therein, what the unregenerate perceive to be joy is in fact death (2 Cor. 4.4). The unregenerate says “well, then, if this is death, then I will take eternal separation from God! Party up!”

Jesus responds very sharply to this exact scenario in Luke 12.16-21 by telling a parable of a man of abundance who concludes that he shall store up all his abundance and “eat, drink, and be merry.” Jesus responds to this man by telling him: “’Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”

In other words, delighting in self (sin) is the delighting in the finite at the cost of the infinite. Or, to say it differently, living for self is living for that which will die, whereas living for Christ is living for that which has Life eternal (Romans 6.13). This is why sin cannot ultimately satisfy, because it cannot impart true life…its promises cannot fulfill.

Consequently, the return of a life lived for Christ is just that…life. This is because Christ defeated death on the cross and gives us life through the resurrection (Col. 2.13-15).

Based off this understanding of life, we then understand that a life that is NOT Dull is a life that is being lived for true life (Christ), not true death (Sin). The non-believing movie star or world traveler, then, is not nearly as exciting as the house mom or janitor whose life is devoted to Christ and His Kingdom.

Let me conclude by offering an illustration that makes the point. Most fine restaurants offer you bread before your meal and that bread is typically wonderful. We are most tempted to fill up on the bread (and often we do), however the bread is never intended to be the meal, it is only intended to lead you into a more pleasurable meal. No one comes to a fine restaurant only to feast on bread, they want the whole course, and yet that is what those who delight in living for sin & self do…they feast upon bread when they were intended to enjoy a more delectable meal (Christ Himself…the Author of Life).

So the next time you are confronted with someone who thinks there is more joy to be had in sin than there is in a life for Christ, you should pity them, look them in the eye and use the words of the great CS Lewis…”You are far too easily pleased.”