Enslaved to Sin
The Demoniac
This is the story of the Gerasene demoniac from the eyes of the disciples. Perhaps the day before, they had just been through the most terrifying storm of their entire lives (Mark 4:35-41). What normally would have been a relaxing trip across the Sea of Galilee turned into life or death. But Jesus miraculously calmed the story, and now they were safe. So, wet, tired, and miserable…
Mark 5:1 They came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gerasenes.
Imagine you were one of Jesus’ disciples. What would you want? A warm blanket, maybe some hot chocolate, and a cozy seat by the fire? Or maybe just someplace to take a nice nap.
But as you get closer to land, and jump out of the boat to push it to shore, out of the corner of your eye you see a dark blur. It looks like someone running, but there’s something strange about him. His gait is all wrong. His hair is wild. He looks more like an animal than a man. And he is moving fast—really fast—towards you.
Mark 5:2-5
And when Jesus had stepped out of the boat, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit. He lived among the tombs. And no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain, for he had often been bound with shackles and chains, but he wrenched the chains apart, and he broke the shackles in pieces. No one had the strength to subdue him. Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was always crying out and cutting himself with stones.
As far as you’re concerned, this guy is crazy. He’s filthy, as if the only shower he’s ever taken was from the heavens above. Mud clings to his hair and hands, feet and knees. He has no clothes. The bones of his body stick out like jagged stones. His body is covered with gashes and wounds, scars and scabs, as if he’s been at war with the mountains themselves. And he reeks.
You look at his arms and ankles—scarred. From what you wonder? It looks like he was a prisoner, chained—but now escaped. Fear rises in your chest. And then there’s his eyes, lit up with a wicked flame, darting here and there, glaring at things invisible, as if any moment he might leap upon you and tear you apart.
You’ve survived the sea, but what new danger lies on the shore?
This is the demoniac of Geresa.
While demons are wicked,1 in the gospels, demoniacs are consistently presented as victims. Never does the Bible say that these people deserved their demon possession; we are simply told that they were sick and tormented.
This demoniac wasn’t born a demoniac. He probably lived a normal life, maybe even had a normal family. But then, the demons came. They compelled him to live outside, alone, away from his his family, friends, his community. He became so wild that the locals, maybe even some of his former friends, tried to tie him with chains — like an animal, like a wild beast. Verse 5 says he constantly he was crying out night and day—a more vivid translation is that he was screaming. Can you imagine living nearby? Every night as you went to bed, you’d hear the screams during the night. Your little siblings would cry. Your parents would tremble and lock the doors. But why did he scream? Anger? Pain? Loneliness? Sorrow? And lastly, he was always cutting himself, gashing himself upon the stones. Every day, new wounds, new blood, new misery.
The Sinners
Demoniacs are a pitiful people. At first, we’re afraid when we hear of them. But, if we will only stop to think about their humanity, we will realize that we are not so different. I want to show you that by walking through the progression of sin.
1. Sin Deceives Us
At the root of every sin we’ve ever committed is a promise of something that we want. It says things like:
If you look at that website, you’ll feel better.
People will like you if you’re smart; it’s not cheating if no one knows.
No one likes the real you; you better do what they want or else you’ll have no friends.
Don’t worry; sin is fun and it doesn’t hurt anyone.
All of it is a bold-faced lie. God says that there is no good besides Him (Ps 16:2). He makes known to us the paths of life; in His presence is fullness of joy; in His right hand are pleasures forevermore (Ps 16:11). In Christ is fullness of life, and life abundant (Jn 10:10), overflowing, everlasting, true.
But sin lies, and says that there is pleasure in it, not God. The lie is like the bait on a fishing hook. The bait looks delicious and pleasurable and good, but its real purpose is to hide the hook, that hook that pierces our soul and drags us to death.
2. Sin Enslaves Us
And when we bite, even just once, sin begins to enslave us. At its best, the promise is fleeting and temporary, but we quickly feel the stab of the hook in our mouth.
We looked to sin for satisfaction but all it gives is emptiness. And yet we return to it again and again, like a dog to its vomit, like a pig to its filth, slaves to sin, because we think we need it—to feel safe, to find relief, to feel good. As Titus 3:3 says, “For we also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another.”
Sin becomes our master, enslaving us to its will that we would obey its lusts (Romans 6:12). We may not be physically chained, but like the demoniac, in our sin we are trapped, mastered by a power we cannot defeat.
3. Sin Isolates Us
Once we’re on the hook, sin reels us in and draws us away from the community of God. Our consciences tell us that our sin is wrong, and that we ought to stop. But we can’t.
In our shame, we don’t confess to God or to others. Instead, we hide, afraid of being exposed, afraid of what God might do, of what people might say if they knew who we truly were. So, we long for the darkness rather than the light—for our deeds are evil (John 3:19). Like the demoniac who lived alone among the tombs, we wander alone.
But Jesus declares, “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out” (John 6:37). The Bible says: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).
Even enslaved, even isolated, there is still hope for us.
4. Sin Torments Us
Yet as our sin increases, it is not satisfied with past pleasures. Sin always wants more sin.
First it starts with cursing at school with your friends because you want to fit in. Just a slip here or there, but soon it becomes part of who you are. To hide it, you live in hypocrisy. But when your parents find out, they punish you, and you respond in bitterness. That sows hatred, fighting, enmity in your family. So you begin to spend more time away from home with friends, doing dumb things, immoral things. At first, you don’t really want to, but to fit in, you comply. They complain, so you complain. They cheat, so you cheat. They lie, so you lie. They drink, so you drink. And as your life spirals, life becomes one long nightmare.
Where is the pleasure sin promised? Gone like a mist. And in its place we reap torment. We run to poisoned sludge, trying to satisfy our thirst.
Mark it, sin never leads to blessing and joy. Sin will never make you happy. Don’t believe its lies! Do not gash yourself day and night upon the rocks of its torments!
5. Sin Destroys Us
But sin doesn’t stop there. It always seeks to increase suffering. Smaller sins lust to become bigger sins.
James 1
15 Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death.
No one becomes a murderer overnight. More “ordinary sins” like anger, jealousy, bitterness, hatred come first, but they are always threatening to become rage and murder.
No one becomes enslaved to other’s opinions overnight. First it’s just clothes, then makeup, then obsessive social media. But soon it breaks open into anxiety and panic attacks, dangerous dieting and throwing up, a complete erosion of your identity in God.
Sin isn’t content to kill just a part of you; it wants to destroy all of you. Sin is a liar and a cheat, a counterfeit, a scam.
And in our natural state, it is our cruel master, our poison of choice, our living hell! We are both perpetrator and victim, guilty for the sin we commit and yet destroyed by the sin we thought we wanted so much.
The Savior
Those in a burning building need a fireman to save them. Those drowning in the sea need a lifeguard to save them. Those with a terrible disease need a doctor to save them. But who can save us from sin, from spiritual slavery? Who can set us free from our wickedness and wretchedness, from such a horrific living death?
The Savior King. By His might and mercy, He sets the captives free. We’ll learn more about Him in the next post of this series.
Adapted from a sermon preached for Lighthouse Community Church’s Youth Group (Junior High) on 2021.02.19.
Photo by Roth Melinda on Unsplash
Footnotes
Demons are unclean spirits, originally created by God as good angels. But long ago, Satan and his angels rebelled against God, and were thus sentenced by God to be demons. Now, they hate all that God loves and live to increase human suffering. And they await the final day of judgment, when finally Satan and all his demons will be thrown into hell, forever.
But until that day, demons influence and can even dwell within people. When this happens, the Bible calls that person demon-possessed, or a demoniac. ↩