The Power of a Preposition
The preposition is a part of speech that plays a key
role in sentence structure. It is “pre-positioned” before its
object(s) in a prepositional phrase for the purpose of describing
and or augmenting the noun or verb that it modifies. And while they
typically consist of few letters, they can pack a powerful punch!
The two-letter preposition “in” is a prime example. It is extremely
versatile, and can have several meanings depending on its object. It
can be used as a reference to location (e.g., in Florida), condition
(e.g., in trouble, in debt, in love), position (e.g., in office),
direction (e.g., in route) or dispensation of time (e.g., in the
summer).
There are 9,526 verses in the 1611 King James Bible where “in”
is used a total of 12,674 times. In fact, it is the very first word
of scripture: “IN the beginning, God…” (Genesis 1:1). Consider its
five-fold usage in describing the “Blessed” man, who “walketh not IN
the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth IN the way of sinners, nor
sitteth IN the seat of the scornful. But his delight is IN the law
of the LORD; and IN his law doth he meditate day and night” (Psalm
1:1-2). And in terms of one’s eternal destiny, position is
everything: “For as IN Adam all die, even so IN Christ shall all be
made alive” (I Corinthians 15:22).
In John 8:20-24, the apostle records for us a verbal exchange that
took place in the treasury between Jesus and the
religious elites as he taught in the temple. Jesus utilized the
phrase “ye shall die IN your sins” three times both to affirm their
spiritual condition and to predict their spiritual end if they
persisted in unbelief. To be IN one’s sins is the ultimate trouble;
and to die IN one’s sins is the ultimate disaster.
Now, one might find him- or herself IN debt, IN foreclosure, IN a
divorce, IN jail, IN prison, IN the hospital, IN bankruptcy, or IN a fight for
life with a dreaded illness. But none of these distasteful
conditions compare to the peril incurred by a persistent
state of unbelief that leaves an unbeliever IN his or her sins
until claimed by death and hell. The human mind is incapable of
imagining a more tragic end of a life!
A few observations are in order. The first is the admonition of
Jesus. The warning to the scribes and Pharisees regarding their sins
was spoken by One who was Sinless from the crown of his head to the
soles of his feet (i.e., he packed the spiritual and moral authority
to do so). The word “sins” was indicative of multiple
indictments. The pronoun “your” made the warning intensely
personal in nature. Sin is always a personal matter for which men
are singularly accountable!
The second is the response of the self-righteous. They were
viscerally irritated by our Lord’s analysis of their condition. If
you’re a member of the religious elite, and you’ve just been
confronted with “your sins”, it’s not going to sit too well! So, in
response to “whither I go, ye cannot come” (v.21), they concluded
(based on the assumption that they were bound for glory) that Jesus
was going to commit suicide—a one-way ticket to hell in their minds
(v.22). These critics of our Lord, who were operating IN their sins,
demonstrated that it is possible to be in the presence of Deity and
misconstrue it for darkness! They were masters of making the right
wrong and the wrong right, turning virtue into vice and vice into
virtue!
This same phenomenon is currently on display in our national
leadership, as follows:
-
The Bible affirms the sanctity of human life (Psalm
139:13-17), but President Barrack Obama (and his liberal cohorts)
treat abortion as a sacramental virtue. Obama virtually endorsed infanticide as
a member of the Illinois senate, and is perhaps the most passionate
proponent of abortion to have ever held elected office.
-
The Bible
advocates freedom from debt (Romans 13:8) and avoidance of surety
for others (Proverbs 17:18), but Obama, unlike any of his
predecessors, has authorized multiple trillions in unfunded spending
that will balloon the national debt and make us surety to the
Chinese, who already own half of that debt. If Obama gets his way,
what he adds to the national debt will exceed the combined total
of his forty-three predecessors!
-
The Bible condemns the
homosexual lifestyle as an abomination (Leviticus 18:22) that is
against nature itself (Romans 1:26-27), but Obama recently granted
benefits to the same-sex partners of federal employees in order to
placate gay-rights advocates and the homosexual lobby.
President
Obama and his minions are clearly masters of making the right wrong
and the wrong right. And like the elites of old, they appear to be
operating IN their sins! We should therefore pray earnestly for our
national leaders! The future of America hangs in the balance!
The third is a subtle reference to redemption from sins. In my mind,
when Jesus said, “I go my way” (v.21), he was referring to the way
of the Cross—a way that he alone would and could travel—that would
ultimately take him back to the Father’s right hand as
the One Mediator between God and men! In believing the gospel truths
regarding his precious atoning blood and triumphant resurrection from the
dead, those who are IN their sins can get OUT OF their sins and INTO
Christ!
All of us at this hour are in any number of conditions—some good and
some not so good. In whatever state (or states) we happen to find ourselves,
let's be sure
that “IN our sins” is not one of them! Faith IN the Lord Jesus is
the only way OUT of our sins! Such is the power of a preposition!
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