To Be Hindered from Sin

“Then God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know that you have done this in the integrity of your heart, and it was I who kept you from sinning against me. Therefore I did not let you touch her” (Genesis 20:6) 

Calvin Coolidge once came home from church, and his dear wife asked him, “What did the preacher preach on?” “Sin,” said Coolidge. “Well, what did he say about sin?” Calvin Coolidge gave the best response: “He’s against it.” This does seem to summarize the crux of our passage today, but let us spend a moment fleshing out the details. 

First, Abimelech knew that sleeping with another man’s wife was wrong. How did he know it was wrong? Was it a social taboo? Was it against their tradition? No, a more straightforward answer can be found in Scripture. Paul says: “[Gentiles] show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness.” God created man as righteous – an act that involved writing God’s righteous law upon their very hearts. God had no need to explain what Abimelech did wrong; it was part of his very nature to know. 

Second, God does not accuse him of sinning against Abraham, but against God. All sin is first and foremost against God, for every sin is committed against God’s image bearers and done before God’s face. Sin is a personal attack on God and will ultimately provoke a personal response. It assaults His glory, assails His majesty, and becomes an affront against all His most wonderful attributes. Much of the world’s sin comes from a failure to put it in the right perspective. 

Third, how thankful we should be when God keeps us from sinning. Sin is the worst calamity that man can fall into, for there is more evil in a drop of sin than an entire sea of affliction. As Chrysostom once said, “I fear nothing but sin.” God often spares us from this great evil, hedging our way, hindering our steps, and halting our paths. Wasting disease, intense suffering, even slow and stalled traffic – all these and more to keep us from sin. Have we once thanked God for keeping us from sin? It should be part and parcel of our resounding praise!