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We have already seen how God ascribed Achan's sin to the entire nation and how He dealt with the matter decisively and judicially. We have also learnt some lessons therefrom. We now continue with some more observations.

We shall now continue from where we left off in our previous article to answer our inquiry—can sanctification fail?—and other heart-throbbing questions about God's judgment.

6.    Sanctification is not mechanical but requires the willingness of the individual to be sanctified.

Regarding sanctification, we asked how what ought to have helped Achan repent before meeting with God failed? Why did Achan not repent and confess during his sanctification? Achan did not take his sanctification seriously. If he had taken it seriously, he would have acknowledged his sin during the sanctification process. In Achan's mind, it appeared that sanctification was a mere religious act with no real significance for living. He was wrong!

When you hear God's word about areas in your life that are not pleasing to Him, it is up to you to yield to the discipline and purging of the Holy Spirit. If you don't, nothing happens, and you remain unsanctified and unusable by God, despite investments in God's word! 2 Timothy 2:20-22 encourages us to abstain from things that defile so that we can be useful to God unto every good work.

So, what happened to Achan? Satan may have deceived Achan into believing that it would be too shameful to own up before everyone, something he eventually had to do after he was exposed. Satan may even have told him that he couldn't be found out, not among so many people. He may also have convinced Achan that someone else was the target of the investigation, not him, or that he could not have been the only one who took something that day, and so they would pick someone else.

Whichever deception of Satan Achan believed, he was dead wrong, and he paid a very heavy price for believing Satan. When we find ourselves pondering whether or not to confess sin, we ought to know that Satan, the deceiver, is at work and must never give him room to manipulate us!

As Satan beguiled Eve, many people today are being fooled by Satan with lies, falsehood, and deception. We see a high level of moral laxity and liberalism among Christians today, who believe that "a loving God will not send anyone to hell!" Such people need to read the Bible repeatedly to see how dead serious God is on the issue of sin.

Through sanctification, we realise that God desires that we are cleansed from sin at all times. Sanctification helps us to realise our sinfulness and to make amends before they are exposed. The Bible says,

"He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy." (Proverbs 28:13, KJV)

Sin is like a cancerous bacteria or virus that thrives in the dark. The more we are quiet about our sins, the more it thrives and endangers our souls. However, once we allow the light of God's word to shine on sin, it dies. And this is why Satan deceives people to believe that they would be disgraced if they confess their sins. The truth is that if a person confesses his sin before the Lord, that sin dies, the person is forgiven and receives God's mercy. Also, God forgets every confessed sin and never remembers it, ever (Hebrews 8:12)!

Achan needed to confess his transgression during the sanctification process, but he did not. The sanctification process does not fail; It requires those to be sanctified to come clean on their sinfulness, and they would receive God's mercy. Unfortunately, Achan did not come clean before he was exposed! The same goes for many of us, who act as though we can get away with sin—you cannot, and you will not! Hence, repent now and be saved from God's judgment on sinners!

7.    Confessing your sin after you have been found out or caught is not repentance.

If after a person has been caught or found out, he confesses, as Achan did, what has happened is regret, only because he has been detected and must now face the consequence of his actions. True repentance acknowledges one's wrong actions the moment the Holy Spirit or one's conscience brings it up!

Some people, like Achan, have made themselves impervious to the prodding of the Holy Spirit or their conscience. We find in the Bible the contrast between King Saul and David. Whereas King Saul sought to justify his wrong actions whenever they came up, David did not. David would immediately come clean and repent before God!

In Psalm 32:1-6, David spoke of the blessedness of God's forgiveness of sin. He mentioned the torment of covering up sin, but the release, relief, and refreshing that accompanies true repentance and confession of sin (Acts 3:19). We must not mistake confession after being caught as repentance. The question is, "If Achan had not been exposed, would he have confessed?"

8.    God's elaborate action in pointing out a culprit is His goodness at work.

God said through Ezekiel, the prophet,

". . . I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways," says the Lord GOD. "Repent, and turn from all your transgressions, so that iniquity will not be your ruin. Cast away from you all the transgressions which you have committed, and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. For why should you die, O house of Israel? For I have no pleasure in the death of one who dies," says the Lord GOD. "Therefore turn and live!" (Ezekiel 18:30-32, NKJV)

God does not want anyone to perish, which is why He sent Jesus to come to the earth to pay the price for our sins and then sends men at great inconvenience and pain of death to go all over the world and relay this good news.

In going through the elaborate process of sanctification, then picking tribe, clan, family, household before the individual, God gave Achan ample opportunity to confess his sin before being exposed. Unfortunately, Achan did not perceive the goodness of God.

When Adam and Eve had sinned, God came to meet with them, but they hid from Him. God then asked if they had eaten of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, a tree of which He had asked them not to eat. But instead of admitting their transgression, they each blamed someone else but not themselves! They did not realise that God wanted them to confess and come clean. Sadly, they did not repent, and we are still paying the price for the consequence of their sin.

Even if someone entices you to sin, the point is that you committed the sin by yourself, and the right and sobering thing to do is admit your fault and repent, and you will receive the mercy of God! There is no gainsaying that there have been times when God has prodded us to come clean on sin and repent. Did we repent, or did we blame someone else? Habitually blaming others for our sins or justifying them is to rebuff God's goodness. We must understand that whenever God brings up the issue of sin, it is His goodness to help you repent and receive mercy (Romans 2:4).

9.    Achan did not suffer alone.

Although Achan sinned, he did not suffer alone. He brought judgment upon his children and even his livestock. Indeed, he caused the death of his fellow countrymen when they first attacked Ai.

When Jonah fled from the presence of God after God had asked him to go to Nineveh to preach, the consequence of his action put his co-travellers in jeopardy. The ship Jonah was travelling in encountered an uncontrollable storm, resulting in property loss by all the passengers, all because of Jonah's rebellion against God!

When God judged Achan, why include his family and even his livestock?

(a)   God wants us to know how vile sin is to Him so that we don't revel in it but are quick to repent.

(b)   The severity of the judgment ought to serve as a deterrent to anyone who would presume to disobey God's instruction!

(c)   God wants us to be our brothers' keepers, interceding on their behalf and rescuing them from such severe judgment (James 5:19-20).

The above applied to the Israelites then and also, today's Christians (1 Corinthians 10:1-11).

10. God has made a provision for our salvation from sin under the New Covenant

God does not deal lightly with sin, and His judgment upon the sinner is death!

"The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is life through Jesus Christ, our Lord" (Romans 6:23, KJV).

The severity of the punishment for sin ought to motivate us not to sin, and where one sins, to immediately repent! Paul wrote,

"Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men . . ." (2 Corinthians 5:11, KJV)

asking them to give up their sinful ways and turn to God in repentance. Today, we have Jesus who willingly took upon Himself the sins of the world on the cross—God judged sin in Jesus. God

... did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all ... (Romans 8:32 NKJV)

What happened to Jesus on the cross is a revelation of how severely God judges sin in any individual—whether or not they are His. But thank God that because Christ died for sin, every human being on the earth has an opportunity to repent and receive forgiveness for sins, thus avoiding the judgment of God upon sin and sinners.

Some people are offended when told to repent, but knowing the severity of God's judgment makes us implore men to repent and turn to God in faith through Jesus Christ.

It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. (Hebrews 10:31 NKJV)

If you have a friend who asked not to be disturbed after a tiring trip so that he could sleep soundly and had put a large "DO NOT DISTURB" sign on the door; if there is an outbreak of fire, would you be mindful of his large "DO NOT DISTURB" sign? I bet you wouldn't be knocking on his door; you would be breaking it down to grab him out even though he might still be asleep! Your knowledge of fire's destructive power and love for your friend will make you save him from certain doom.

This is how we must help those who are still living in sin. We must let them know that God is not joking about His judgment on sinners (Revelation 20:11-15; 21:8; 22:14-15). And He has shown this by His judgment on Achan and many others in Scripture. What's more? Eternal judgment is forever!

With this understanding of the severity with which God handles sin, whether or not the sinner is one of His own, we have written this article to warn men of the terror of God. God is indeed love, but He is also a consuming fire. God is doubtless merciful but also an impartial judge who will judge sin and sinners. God pleads with men to reconcile with Him, but He will cast off into hell all who rebuff His pleas. Today is the day of salvation; let us turn from our sins unto God and implore our family and friends, and even enemies, to turn to God in true repentance!

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