OUTLINE:

Not only is sin “negative” against holiness, it is “positive” for depravity.

2 Pe 2:22
It has happened to them according to the true proverb, "A DOG RETURNS TO ITS OWN VOMIT," and, "A sow, after washing, returns to wallowing in the mire."

The Deceitfulness of Sin
One of the greatest errors any man or woman can ever make is to presume that sin only exists in their acknowledgement of it. Analogy: does undetected/undiagnosed cancer mean that the insidiousness of the disease isn’t real in someone who has it?

Sin Is Devious
It has evil intents and activities going on behind the scenes, while smiling at us on the surface.

Ignoring sin, or choosing to stay in the dark about sin and its strategies, gives it power over us.

Ro 7:24
Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?

Sin is like invisible magnetic forces in that it exerts force on otherwise stationary objects… even though we are rooted and grounded in the Rock, Jesus Christ, sin tries to pull us away from Him.

Isn’t sin better described as an influencer than just a movement???

Eph 2:2 [Amplified Classic]
In which at one time you walked [habitually]. You were following the course and fashion of this world [were under the sway of the tendency of this present age], following the prince of the power of the air. [You were obedient to and under the control of] the [demon] spirit that still constantly works in the sons of disobedience [the careless, the rebellious, and the unbelieving, who go against the purposes of God].

Eph 2:3 [Amplified Classic]
Among these we as well as you once lived and conducted ourselves in the passions of our flesh [our behavior governed by our corrupt and sensual nature], obeying the impulses of the flesh and the thoughts of the mind [our cravings dictated by our senses and our dark imaginings]. We were then by nature children of [God’s] wrath and heirs of [His] indignation, like the rest of mankind.

The old self hates Christ, and therefore its direction is always away from Him. So, if we have THAT kind of influence in us, we need to understand how it operates!

Sin wants us to think we're doing OK on the outside, and not examine the inside, where we might be "laying up deceit"... even deceiving ourselves, at times, into thinking our motivation is good when it's evil.

Jer 17:9
"The heart is more deceitful than all else
And is desperately sick;
Who can understand it?

Deceitfulness is the name of the game that sin plays.
(Pr 26:22-28; 2Co 11:14)

Understanding Sin
Isn’t sin better described as an influencer than just a movement???  One easy way to understand this is to understand the direction of sin’s affections. While the new creature is 100% attracted to Christ, the old self is 100% repelled from Christ.

A. W. Pink
Love is that which animates the obedience which is agreeable to God: "If a man love me, he will keep my words" (John 14:23). Love is the very life and substance of everything which is gratifying to God.

A. W. Pink
As the principle of obedience, love takes the precedence, for faith works by love (Gal. 5:6). Note the order in the injunction "Let us consider one another to provoke [1] unto love and [2] to good works" (Heb. 10:24). Stir up the affections and good works will follow, as a stirring up of the coals causes the flames to rise.

A. W. Pink
It is love which makes all the divine commandments "not grievous" (I John 5:3). We heartily agree with Charnock: "In that one word love, God hath wrapped up all the devotion He requires of us."

A. W. Pink
“Love is that which animates the obedience which is agreeable to God”…

2 Co 5:14 NIV
For Christ's love compels us