There is a house for sale at 546 Munich Street in San Francisco, California.
It is near public transportation and two parks. It is also just minutes
from the coast. The house is described as a single-family home with two
bedrooms and two bathrooms. You may see a picture of the house with its
listing (http://vanguardsf.com/RESI-403636.php) or drive by the property,
but that's all that you'll get to see. According to the listing, the
"Seller will not provide any interior showings or inspections." It will be
sold "AS IS with no repairs," and no one but the current tenants knows the
condition of the inside of the house.
The house is occupied by "tenant and former owner," but the listing also
advises:" Please do not disturb the occupants who will not be vacating prior
to the sale." To make matters worse, the listing states: "The Buyer assumes
all risks associated with the existing tenancies after close of escrow.
Seller will not transfer any legal action related to any existing
tenancies." According to AOL Real Estate, this statement "means that once
you buy the home of mysterious interiors, you also have the responsibility
of kicking out the tenants!" *
Now who would want to buy a house without looking at its interior and
knowing that the buyer would have to deal with some mysterious tenants?
But WE succumb to the same kind of "listings" frequently.
Satan, the tempter (Matthew 4:3), makes SIN look very appealing, but he
purposefully doesn't disclose all the details about it. He emphasizes the
personal pleasure of engaging in sin, but he doesn't inform the victim that
the pleasure is only temporary (Hebrews 11:25) and that the consequences are
deadly (Romans 6:23).
Observe the tactics of the tempter with his first "listing": see Genesis
3...
The "property" that Satan wanted Eve to "buy" was the forbidden fruit of the
tree of the knowledge of good and evil, concerning which God had commanded
Adam and Eve NOT to eat, "for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely
die" (Genesis 2:17). Satan sought to raise doubts in Eve's mind as to God's
command and His character by telling her: "You will not surely die. For God
knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will
be like God, knowing good and evil" (Genesis 3:4-5).
"So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant
to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit
and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate" (Genesis 3:6).
What Satan did NOT "list" were the consequences of sin such as shame
(3:7-8), fear (3:10), guilt (3:7-13), hardship (3:16-19), and death
(3:22-24).
Satan uses the SAME kind of "listings" to tempt us to sin (1 John 2:15-16;
James 1:14-15), without including the destructive consequences. Sadly, each
one of us has "bought in" (Romans 3:23).
But God loves us so much that He gave His Son Jesus to die on the cross to
pay the price for our redemption from sin (Ephesians 1:7) and to defeat
Satan (Hebrews 2:14-15).
Jesus will save those who will place their faith and trust in Him (Acts
16:30-31), turn from sin in repentance (Acts 17:30-31), confess Jesus before
men (Romans 10:9-10), and be baptized (immersed) into Christ for the
forgiveness of sin (Acts 2:38). He will continue to cleanse those who
continue to walk in the light of His Word (1 John 1:7).
Buying in on Satan's property is a terrible deal. But God will "buy you
back" (redeem you) if you will only accept the Savior's offer on His terms.
Won't YOU?
David A. Sargent
No comments:
Post a Comment