Originally published July, 2022

There is a difference between power and authority.

G.K. Chesterton explained it using a rhino: if a rhino came into your home, he would have great power. (Oh man, would he! He could smash all your windows, empty your cupboards, and run right through your walls!) But he would have absolutely no authority. In the same way, sin has no authority in the Christian’s life. But we often allow it to exercise its power.

The sting of death is sin. That is, sin is the part that bites and kills you. Without sin, there would be no death. While I like Chesterton’s use of the rhino, I’m going to use a snake because I’ve had more experience with them.

Look at that brute! Kind of ugly, isn’t he?

And he had power to kill, but no authority. He had not been commissioned by any judge to execute a death sentence. In the picture above, he is quite dead. Soon I will cut his head off. But let’s not get careless. He can still bite. Watch out as he writhes on the ground; don’t get too close. Watch, and think of death writhing in death. Jesus conquered it on the cross. He “cut its head off.” But there again, don’t play with the sting end, sin. It can still bite. Its authority is revoked, but the insidious power remains.

The sting of death is sin . . . But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. I Corinthians 15:56-57