Consent to Sin

Lundgaard describes consent of the will as a tricky thing. Sometimes we give our consent to something freely, fully, absolutely, after careful deliberation. Sometimes we consent reluctantly to "the lesser of two evils." Sometimes we do something on impulse that we immediately regret and can't explain.

Lundgaard categorizes consent to sin in two forms:

1. Sins of the high hand

In Ephesians 4:19 Paul speaks of those who have "given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more." With this consent the soul plunges into sin like a ship at full sail with the wind at its back.

2. Sins of the willy-nilly

When believers consent to sin, there is always a secret reluctance. The Spirit in us is grieved by our sin and can't delight in it. The believer's consent is like a ship sailing against the wind. In every individual sinful thought, word, action, or feeling, God's grace fights against the will's consent. The wisdom of the believer is to learn to listen to the voice of the Spirit's resistance, no matter how faintly it may echo in the conscience. The folly of the believer is to ignore that voice repeatedly, until he becomes nearly deaf to it. That is only 'greasing the tracks for sin," as Lundgaard calls it.

Lundgaard tells a story which illustrates what we must do in order to defeat sin:

"Suppose my friend Stanley is getting ready to spend a few months in the Central African Republic. Dr. Livingston tells him he must take a series of inoculations, or he will certainly get malaria. Stan looks into it and finds the pills will cost him $200, so he balks. Four months later Stan is on his deathbed, looking up at Dr. Livingston's I-told-you-so face. Who is responsible for Stan's sickness and possible death?

Stan was warned. He knew what he had to do in order to prevent malaria. But he chose, because of the cost, not to take the pills. He has no one to blame but himself.

For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live. (Romans 8:13)