Sin - A Velvet Alley!

Rev. George R. Dillahunty
685 Grant Avenue
Virginia Beach, Virginia 23452-3047

September 07, 2009

Text: Proverbs 4:12 (King James Version)

"When thou goest, thy steps shall not be straitened: and when thou runnest, thou shalt not stumble."

Topic: Sin - A Velvet Alley!

The Message Bible (MSG), interprets our Holy Scripture text, in this fashion: "I don’t want you ending up in blind alleys, or wasting time taking wrong turns." Sin is alluring to the eye - sin is atrractive to the flesh - sin is very appealing to the carnal nature - however, sin is not what it appears to be!

The Southern Baptist evangelist, Dr. R. G. Lee, has described sin as "a beautiful pansy bed with a deadly serpent hid beneath." In one of his sermons on sin, the Baptist pastor, evangelist, and founding editor of "The Sword of the Lord," Dr. John Richard Rice (1875 - 1980), pictured sin as "a beautiful red apple with a worm crawling inside." Sin is like an iceberg, with the great, jagged bulk hidden out of sight. It is a boomerang that always returns to its sender with consequences. Surely, my brothers and sisters, sin is a "velvet alley" with a beautiful entrance; but, once inside, it is filled with filth and ugliness.

Sin is deceptive - it is not what it portrays itself to be! It looks fine on the surface; however, there is tragedy and sorrow buried down inside! Adam and Eve, our ancestral parents, discovered the "velvet alley," traveling down that awful street where everything looked fine; and, Satan made it sound all right - however, the human race has suffered ever since!

Achan learned too late that the price of sin is high! The gold, the silver; and, the goodly Babylonian garments were certainly attractive; but, they were not worth being stoned to death! The Apostle Paul, in Romans 6:23 (NLT), tells the Romans and us: "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is Eternal Life through Christ Jesus our Lord."

King David - a man after God’s own heart, went down the "velvet alley" when he saw and lusted after the beautiful Bathsheba; but, the four-fold payment that he suffered made him look back in regret! Ananias and Sapphira were lured into the "velvet alley" by greed and lust; and, they soon discovered what Almighty God thinks and feels about sin - they both died!

The prodigal son found that the atrractive path of the "velvet alley" led to a pig pen! The Disciple/Apostle Peter went out and wept bitterly after carelessly wandering into the tragic "velvet alley!" The Disciple Judas Iscariot went out and hanged himself after thinking that he was too far down the dead-end street of the "velvet alley" to turn back! If he had only realized, like the Disciple/Apostle Peter, that Almighty God is a God of second chances; and, then some! Thirty pieces of silver looked good at first; but, he threw them down at the feet of the priests in disgust and shame; but, then, it was too late!

The alcoholic has found that the cocktail and cold, thirst-quenching beer is not what it is cracked up to be! The fallen girl, unwed mother, and the diseased, dying victim of sexually transmitted diseases soon realize that the "velvet alley" is not velvet after all! The psalmist, David, in Psalm 34:2 (NLT), tells us: "I will boast only in the Lord; let all who are discouraged take heart." The psalmist, David, goes on to say, in Psalm 140:11 (NLT): "Don’t