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Jul 03, 2026 06:00am

When Sin Can’t Be Painted Over

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It started small, but the problem grew bigger and bigger. And soon, it was out of control.

Let me back up a little. I had bought my first house. It was a cute little white house that was older but had some cottage charm. I did a few updates that were needed, and it was a sweet little place just outside of town. One morning, I noticed a little mold in the bathroom. I grabbed the bleach spray and sprayed it on the caulk that lined the tub and shower unit. It worked a little, but it just wouldn’t get it clean. I picked up some new caulk from the store, ripped out the old caulk, and squeezed in the new stuff. I was pretty proud of my handy-dandy self.

And that worked for a few months or so, but it didn’t take long, and I noticed it was back. I pulled back the shower curtain and did a deep clean. And that’s when I noticed a little moldy spot on the wall beside the tub. I thought that was odd, so I sprayed it too. It wiped off for the most part, and I thought, well, it must just be a little stained. So, I decided to paint the walls. I didn’t like that purple paint in there anyways.

But, it didn’t take long, and I noticed the mold back on the wall beside the tub. When I pressed the sponge to the wall to clean it, the wall was soft to the touch. I had a big problem. I just didn’t know how big. When the repairman came out to take a look, he knew instantly. “You’ve got a mold issue.

You’ve had a water leak for a while.” He pulled back a piece of the wall behind the shower and sure enough, it was all damaged. Every bit of it. “It’s all going to have to be ripped out and new put in.” No matter how much I had tried to clean it up, or freshen it up with paint or new caulk, it still wasn’t enough. It all had to be torn out. Every bit of it. Colossians 3:5-8 “Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. 6 Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience, 7 in which you yourselves once walked when you lived in them. 8 But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth.” These commands are for followers of Christ. Paul wrote this to the believers in Colosse, but it’s for all people who have been saved by Jesus Christ.

Here’s the bottom line: our old selves were sinful. But because of Jesus, we are not those people anymore. These kinds of things like sexual immorality, lies, lust, evil desires, and filthy language – they have no place in our new life. Can you imagine if I had paid all that money to the repairman and had this brand-new bathroom, and he decided to leave some moldy boards behind? It has to go. Every bit of it. Then why do we let those things into our lives? Jesus paid for our sins. That debt has been cancelled. When we accept the beautiful gift of salvation, we are made new. We are white as snow as it says in Isaiah 1:18. The sins of our old selves have no place in our Christian life. But it doesn’t start by us trying to clean it all up. We have to rely on the Holy Spirit to change us from the inside out. He is the one who makes us new and leads us to a life that’s pleasing to the Lord. One that’s full of mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, and love.

Do our lives look more like that old, moldy bathroom? Or do they shine with the newness of Christ’s work in us?