Larry Ray Hafley
"Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? Nay, they were not at
all ashamed, neither could they blush" (Jer. 6:15).
The brazen sinner is bold. He acts without conscience. His heart is hardened.
He is cold blooded. His victims are objects of scorn. He feels no remorse, no
pity. He shows no mercy. The Bible describes such people as "having their
conscience seared with a hot iron" (1 Tim. 4:2). "Even their mind and conscience
is defiled" (Titus 1:15). "Who being past feeling have given themselves over
unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness" (Eph. 4:19). They
are "as natural brute beasts....that cannot cease from sin" (2 Pet. 2:12,
14).
"They were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush." Was Jeremiah
defining psycho pathic killers? No, he was referring to children of God, "from
the prophet even unto the priest" (Jer. 6:13). We would like to think these
horrible depictions of sinners are far removed from ourselves. They are not!
Drinking, gambling, immodest dress, and sexual immorality may be engaged in
without shame. Women may parade their exposed bodies without any sense of
modesty. Men may curse and boast of fornication, noting acts of immorality with
pride. Of all such, Paul said, "Whose glory is in their shame" (Phil. 3:19).
Each sin serves to smother the pangs of conscience. Before temptation, we
hesitate; we doubt; we ponder. Then, we sin. Afterwards, we feel guilty, but we
do it again, and again. Sin becomes easier and easier to commit. Finally, we sin
without shame, without remorse, without regret.
What Then? What Now? What Next?
Return to Jeremiah. See what follows the statement, "They were not at all
ashamed, neither could they blush." "Therefore they shall fall...at the time
that I visit them they shall be cast down, saith the Lord" (Jer. 6:15). We may
choose to sin. We may reach a point where we can sin without fear, without
regret, and without shame. We may not even blush when our sins are known.
However, when the Lord comes in judgment, we "shall fall." We "shall be cast
down, saith the Lord."
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