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From the writings of the Rev. Billy Graham

Q: What does it mean when people say that sin’s pleasure is only for a season? – S.P.

A: The Bible tells us that there can be pleasure in sin. We know this from our own experience. But we often fail to read “the rest of the story.” For God’s Word says that sin’s pleasure is only for a season (see Hebrews 11:25). Then it’s over, leaving us bitter and finally destroying us. A day of reckoning always comes.

No one has ever committed a sin that he or she did not have to pay for in some way, even if it is just in the regret we feel. In Luke 15, we read of a loving father and his son who learned this lesson the hard way. The boy had been brought up in a wonderful home, with a father who worshiped God. He loved his children and tried to raise them right. But this young man demanded his inheritance while his father still lived. The father granted his request, and the young man left home and lived a sinful life, wasting his inheritance on foolish and sinful living. His life, for a time, brought him happiness, he thought. But when his money ran out, regret stepped in. He had miserably failed, eventually finding himself living in a pig pen and eating with the pigs. He returned home in shame and remorse, willing to be a servant in his father’s house. Instead, the father forgave him and accepted him back as a beloved son.

This is what Christ has done for sinners. “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23, NKJV). Sin’s masterpiece of shame and hate became God’s masterpiece of mercy and forgiveness. Jesus came for the express purpose of dying for sinners – offering His forgiveness and redemption.

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(This column is based on the words and writings of the late Rev. Billy Graham.)

©2025 Billy Graham Literary Trust. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

(c)2025 BILLY GRAHAM DISTRIBUTED BY TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES, INC.