Vaccine Against Sin

by Micky Galloway

Psalms 119:10-14, “With my whole heart have I sought thee: Oh let me not wander from thy commandments. Thy word have I laid up in my heart, that I might not sin against thee. Blessed art thou, O Jehovah: teach me thy statutes. With my lips have I declared all the ordinances of thy mouth. I have rejoiced in the way of thy testimonies, as much as in all riches.”

As horrible as sin is, wouldn’t it be wonderful if there was a vaccine that would inoculate us against it? The good news is that God has provided us with such a vaccine! With all the current discussion of the vaccine for the Coronavirus, perhaps its timely to talk about God’s vaccine against something a lot worse – SIN.

What Does Sin Do?

• Sin separates from God. Isaiah 59:1-2, “Behold, Jehovah’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: but your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, so that he will not hear.”


• Sin has consequences. “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). “Wages” is earned pay for work done. We have all served sin. “For all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23; cf. Ephesians 2:3). Sin will pay its wages and that pay is death, eternal separation from God.


• Sin caused Jesus to leave the glory of heaven. “Have this mind in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: who, existing in the form of God, counted not the being on an equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men; and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, becoming obedient (even) unto death, yea, the death of the cross” (Philippians 2:5-8).


• Sin cost Jesus His life. “For while we were yet weak, in due season Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: for peradventure for the good man some one would even dare to die. But God commendeth his own love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:6-8).

Thankfully, there is a vaccine. Sin is not inevitable. The fact that “all sin” does not make sin incapable of being avoided or prevented. John writes, “My little children, these things write I unto you that ye may not sin. And if any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” (I John 2:1). Sin is a choice (Romans 6:16-18; cf. James 1:13-15), and we can choose not to sin (Psalms 119:11). The fact we HAVE sinned does not mean we cannot keep from sinning! In fact, if we keep on sinning, we have chosen to belong to Satan rather than God. “(My) little children, let no man lead you astray: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous: he that doeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning” (I John 3:7-8). In discussing the abundance of God’s grace through forgiveness some reached the ridiculous conclusion, “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?” The apostle Paul replied, “God forbid. We who died to sin, how shall we any longer live therein? … Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey the lusts thereof” (Romans 6:1-2, 12).

So, what is the vaccine? Psalms 119:11, “THY WORD have I laid up in my heart, that I might not sin against thee.” The apostle Paul said it this way, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly” (Colossians 3:16). To “dwell” means that the word of God has a constant and fixed place in our hearts. It is not like a stranger that continues for only a while or makes an occasional visit. The word of Christ is to have permanent residence, so that it will have full opportunity to exercise complete control over our every thought and deed (cf. II Corinthians 10:5). It is not by some mystical process, but through our own diligence and effort to study (II Timothy 2:15; Acts 17:11). We intentionally make our lives a home for the word of Christ. We “hunger and thirst after righteousness” (Matthew 5:6). To arm ourselves against false teachers, Peter said to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ” (II Peter 3:18). We must meditate on the word of Christ, day and night. “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the wicked, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of scoffers: But his delight is in the law of Jehovah; and on his law doth he meditate day and night” (Psalms 1:1-2; cf. 119:97).

God’s word deposited in the heart will protect me from sinning. Treasure it up in your heart. There is no substitute or shortcut! It must be my fervent desire to be continually guided by its precepts, that I might be admonished of my duties, and that I might be deterred from going astray. I cannot be protected without the vaccine!