What Is Sin?
A preacher once said, “I would
esteem above every other gift that could be bestowed upon me as a preacher
the power to adequately conceive what sin is and to adequately set it before
the people.” Why is it so important for us to understand what sin is?
Because of the consequences of
it.
Isaiah 59:1-2, Behold, the
LORD's hand is not shortened, That it cannot save; Nor His ear heavy, That
it cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God, And
your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear.
Our sins separate us from God
and cause Him to hide his face from us and He refuses to listen to our
pleadings.
John 8:21, “Then Jesus said to
them again, "I am going away, and you will seek Me, and will die in your
sin. Where I go you cannot come."
Another consequence of sin is that we
cannot go to Jesus as long as we are in our sins.
1 Corinthians 5:5, "To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the
spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus".
A consequence of sin is the
destruction of our flesh. Since the garden of Eden, man has been denied
access to the tree of life and we all grow old and die.
And finally:
Romans 6:23. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is
eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
The final consequence of sin is
spiritual death which is eternal separation from the presence of God.
So we have in all,
1) Sin separates us from
God.
2) God hides His face from us.
3) God refuses to listen to us.
4) We cannot go to Jesus where He dwells.
5) We grow old and die.
6) We are eternally lost and our souls will spend eternity in the
Fires of Hell.
It is my prayer and my goal in this lesson
that I will have the ability today to convey to you what sin is, so that it
may be avoided and also its consequences.
Sin is a violation of
conscience:
Romans 14:23 “And he that
doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith: for whatsoever
is not of faith is sin.” The word “faith” in the context of this verse is
not referring to a system of faith as it does in Galatians 1:23 and Jude 3.
It refers to faith in a
subjective sense, the persuasion or confidence of an individual Thus, this
passage is teaching us that we must be fully persuaded that what we are
doing is lawful; otherwise, to act, is to sin.
We also see that our actions
are not to be based on what “the crowd thinks” or “what others do”. We must
believe a thing to be right. Our conscience is that moral nature about us
that reacts favorably or unfavorably, sanctions or disapproves, as we react
to the things we think, the things we say say or the things we do.
But we must be very careful
about our conscience. Just because we may truthfully think something
is ok, it may not necessarily be so. Our conscience must be educated
by God’s Word. Paul persecuted Christians in all good conscience (Acts
23:;1; 24:16; 26:29) so if our conscience is not according to God’s word,
then we need to take those steps to correct our conscience.
The conscience is not an
infallible guide – In John 16:2, Jesus said, “They shall put you out of the
synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that
he doeth God service.” Those who rejected Christians in that context
thought in all good conscience that they were serving God but they weren’t.
We need to make sure our conscience is in line with the will of God.
The conscience can be dulled.
1 Timothy 4:1-2, “Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter
times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and
doctrines of devils Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience
seared with a hot iron;” These people will depart from the faith,
allowing themselves to be drawn away by lies and false doctrines to the
degree that their very own conscience will be seared to the point that it
cannot be trusted. They will no longer be able to react unfavorably to
the wrong things they, or others around them, may think, say or do.
Ephesians 4:19, “Who being past
feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all
uncleanness with greediness.” We can sin so much that our conscience
becomes seared and dulled to the point that we feel that what we are doing
is ok when it isn’t.
Do you have any doubts about
playing a certain game, going to a certain place, participating in a certain
function, or involving yourself in a certain habit? If so, refrain from
doing it! Instead of living by doubt, obey the will of God – Hebrews 10:22,
“Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our
hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure
water.”
Sin is knowing to do good, but
doing it not. James 4:17,
“Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.” This verse emphasizes the fact that sin is
not only wrong doing, it is a failure in doing right, failing to do good. I
have heard this type of sin referred to sins of omission.
We are not only to be innocent
of doing bad, we are to be followers and doers of good. Galatians 6:10
teaches, “Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all,
especially to those who are of the household of faith.” Notice the emphasis
placed on fellow Christians. But those outside Christ are not in any way
excluded from this.
In speaking to the church in 2
Corinthians 9:10-14, Paul wrote, “Now may He [referring to God here]
who
supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food, supply and multiply the seed
you have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness, while you are
enriched in everything for all liberality, which causes thanksgiving through
us to God. For the administration of this service not only supplies the
needs of the saints, but also is abounding through many thanksgivings to
God, while, through the proof of this ministry, they glorify God for the
obedience of your confession to the gospel of Christ, and for your liberal
sharing with them and all men”
Our primary obligation as
Christians in the body of Christ are to each other, but that in no way
excludes us of our obligations to those outside the body of Christ. It
would be wrong of us to minister to the needs of someone outside the body of
Christ while being neglectful of our brethren in need, but it would be
likewise just as wrong for us to be neglectful of those outside the body of
Christ if we have the means whereby we can help them. And this obligation
falls not just on the individual, but on the church as well. Paul was
speaking to the church in Corinth as a group.
Some examples of those doing
good. The good Samaritan was a doer of good (Luke
10:30-37); Jesus went about doing good (Acts
10:38). Jesus said that in the final resurrection, those who do good
will inherit eternal life (John 5:28-29). Therefore, not doing good,
or failing to do good, is sin.
James 4:17, quoted earlier, presents unto us the sin of unused
knowledge, the failure to do what we know is right, the sin of knowing how
to live right and not doing it.
Yet how often do we hear…
1) “I know what’s right, but …”
2) “I know I should teach the
lost, but …”
3) “I know that I should not
forsake the assemblies, but …”
4) “I know what I should be
doing, but …”
5) “I know what I am doing is
wrong but…”
We need to consider seriously
the words of Jesus in Luke 12:47-48, “And that servant who knew his master's
will, and did not prepare himself or do according to his will, shall be
beaten with many stripes. But he who did not know, yet committed things
deserving of stripes, shall be beaten with few. For everyone to whom much is
given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed,
of him they will ask the more.” Those of us who know the
will of God and refuse to submit ourselves to it in obedience will be "beaten
with many stripes". God expects more from those who know better.
Sin is a violation of God’s
law. And 1 John 3:4 teaches us
without question that there is law, “Whoever
commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness.” It
is impossible to commit lawlessness where there is not any law to break.
Paul wrote in Romans 4:15, “because the law
brings about wrath; for where there is no law there is no transgression.”
If there was no law for us to follow, then it would not be possible for
there to be sin. If there were no law, there would be no transgression.
There would be no sin.
Where did this law come from?
In the old testament, Isaiah 33:22, “For the LORD is our judge, the LORD is
our lawgiver , the LORD is our king; he will save us.” They had law in the
old testament, no doubt about it. But what about the New Testament? Do we
have a lawgiver? In writing to Christians James says by inspiration in
4:12, “There is one Lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy…”. Why
would James tell fellow Christians there was a lawgiver if there was no
law? Of course there’s law, Paul called it “the law of Christ” in Galatians
6:2.
Our lawgiver is Jesus Christ.
Where did He get it? John 12:48-50.
“He who rejects Me, and does
not receive My words, has that which judges him — the word that I have
spoken will judge him in the last day. For I have not spoken on My own
authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say
and what I should speak. And I know that His command is everlasting life.
Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak."
Jesus received the law from God the Father and spoke it to those on earth.
And this law which has been recorded for us by inspiration is what is going
to be used to judge us in the last day.
According to 1 John 3:4, Sin is
breaking God’s law.
For example:
God tells us not to lie
(Ephesians 4:25, Therefore, putting away lying, "Let each one of you speak
truth with his neighbor," for we are members of one another. Therefore to
lie is a sin.
1 John 3:4 teaches that sin is
a personal refusal to be governed by God. Jesus Christ not only is our law
giver, he is also our king, our governor if you will. Paul taught the
Ephesians that He was “Far above all principality, and power, and might, and
dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in
that which is to come: And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him
to be the head over all things to the church” (Ephesians 1:21-22). Paul
taught the Christians in Corinth that Jesus was indeed reigning in 1
Corinthians 15:25: “For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under
his feet.”
When we refuse to be subject to
our King, then we are refusing to be governed by God. This is called
rebellion toward God in scripture. King Saul learned this the hard way in
Old Testament times when he allowed the people to keep some of the cattle
and the spoil from the destruction of the Amalekites. When Samuel
confronted Saul about this he said:
"For rebellion is as the sin of
witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast
rejected the word of the LORD" (1 Samuel 15:23). When we fail to obey God,
we reject His word. Sin is rebellion against God, rejection of His will,
and refusal to be governed by His word.
Sin is a failure to keep God’s
commands
“All unrighteousness is sin” (1
John 5:17). Everything that is not righteous or rightful is sin. All of
God’s commandments are righteousness (Psalm 119:172). John teaches in 1
John 3:7, “Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth
righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.” He then went on in
the same conmtext to say in verse 10: 1 “whosoever doeth not righteousness
is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.”
Thus, those who obey God’s
commands are righteous, but those who do not obey God’s commands are
unrighteous. John 5:17 teaches us that to fail to keep God’s commands is to
sin.
Sin is to trespass against God.
2 John 9 ((NASB)
Anyone who goes too far and does not abide in the teaching of Christ,
does not have God; the one who abides in the teaching, he has both the
Father and the Son.
When we go somewhere today
where we are not allowed to go, it's called trespassing. We can go beyond
the teachings of Christ and thereby fail to abide in His teachings.
Paul, in his first letter to the Corinthians wrote in 1 Corinthians 4:6 (NASB),
"Now these things, brethren, I have figuratively applied to myself and
Apollos for your sakes, that in us you might learn not to exceed what is
written..." We can go too far, we can exceed or go beyond what is
written. We can go where we are not authorized or permitted to go.
We can trespass against God and to do this is sin.
THE BIBLE’S EPITHETS FOR SIN
Webster defines epithets as “a
characterizing word or phrase accompanying or occurring in place of the name
of a person or thing”
One epithet for sin is
“transgression”. Acts 1:25, “That he may take part of this ministry and
apostleship, from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his
own place.
“Transgression” means to rebel
or set one’s self against. Thus, sin is treason against the Most High. A
sinner is a rebel. Sin is a clinched fist and its object is the face of
God. Sin is the refusal to submit ourselves to the authority of God.
James 4:7-10 “Therefore submit
to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He
will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your
hearts, you double-minded. Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be
turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the sight of
the Lord, and He will lift you up.”
Another epithet for sin is
“iniquity” “Iniquity” has reference to perversity or crooked dealings. The
Greek word for iniquity is often translated as lawlessness. Iniquity is
that which is twisted, or bent out of line or not in harmony with the law of
God. God’s word draws a line, and it is our responsibility to walk along
that line without departing from it.
The Bible uses word pictures to
illustrate sin.
1. Sin is pictured as a
“putrefying” disease in
Isaiah 1:6
2. Sin is pictured as a “heavy”
burden in Psalm
38:4-6
3. Sin is pictured as “foolish”
insanity in
Numbers 12:11
4. Sin is pictured as
“defiling” filth in 2
Peter 2:20-22
5. Sin is pictured as a
“binding” debt in
Matthew 6:12
6. Sin is pictured as a
“blemishing” stain in
James 1:27
7. Sin is pictured as an
“impenetrable” darkness in
2 Corinthians 6:14
8. Sin is pictured as "slavery"
in Romans 6:17
CONCLUSION:
Sin is no laughing matter. Sin
is:
1) Rebellion against the will
of God
2) Lawlessness
3) Perversity
4) Failure
5) Trespass
6) Enslavement leading to
spiritual death.
Furthermore, sin is:
1) a disease needing curing,
2) a burden needing lifting,
3) insanity that needs curing,
4) filth that needs cleaning,
5) a debt that needs paying,
6) a stain that needs removing,
7) and darkness that needs
light
And finally, sin is expensive.
Sin carries with it a great cost. When we sinned, we forfeited our
souls. When we sinned it cost us our spiritual lives with God forever.
When we sinned, we lost our place in heaven with God the Father forever.
The cost of sin to us cannot be overstated. It cost us everything that
really matters.
God cannot just overlook our
sin. His righteous nature demands the punishment of death which we owe
for our sin. So He paid that debt for us so that we could have a hope
of eternal life after sin. He paid that debt by sending His only Son
down here to earth to suffer and die the death we deserved. God paid
our sin debt for us in order to set us free of the slavery, the bondage of
sin. Our sin cost God a lot. Our sin cost God the life of His
only begotten Son. He paid that debt because we can't. We have
nothing to offer for it. We're dead in our sins. What does a
dead man have to offer? What does a dead man have to give as payment
for a debt? Does a man's creditors go to his gravesite to try and
collect unpaid debts? No. Why? Because the dead man has
nothing with which to pay that debt.
Similarly, those who are dead
in their sins have nothing to offer as payment for their sin debt. Our
deaths, both physical and spiritual, are what is due for our sins.
When we die, there is nothing left to offer. Our sin cost us
everything. Jesus Christ came down here and offered His life in the
place of ours so that we could have a hope of life. Without the
sacrifice of Jesus, we have no hope. Jesus Christ left heaven, and
came down to earth to die, so that when we die, we can leave earth and go
live in Heaven with Him forever.
So how do we free ourselves
from the slavery of sin? How do we cure the disease? How do we
lift the burden? How do we cure the insanity? How do we cleanse
the filth? How do we remove the stains? How do we shine light on
the darkness? How do we free ourselves from the slavery of sin?
In short, what do we have to do in order to take advantage of the offering
of Jesus Christ and live?
Romans 6:15-23
What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace?
Certainly not! Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves
slaves to obey, you are that one's slaves whom you obey, whether of sin
leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness? But God be
thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart
that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. And having been set free
from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. I speak in human terms because
of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as
slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so
now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness.
For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness.
What fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed? For
the end of those things is death. But now having been set free from
sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and
the end, everlasting life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift
of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Paul's answer was that we become slaves to God if we want to be free from
the slavery of sin. Slavery to God sounds a lot better than
slavery to Sin. Slavery to God ends us up in eternal glory and Heaven
with God. Slavery to sin ends us up in Hell with the devil and his
angels and everybody else who are liars, cheaters, drunks, thieves,
adulterers, murders, fornicators. The company we would have to keep in
Hell would be bad enough all by itself, but add to that the wrath of God in
eternal punishment and the consequences become dire indeed. So.
How do we become slaves to God?
How do we become slaves to righteousness like Paul said? Easy, by
doing what he said to do in verse 16 of the passage we just read. "Obedience
leading to righteousness". Obedience. Well, what are
we supposed to obey? First of all, we have to be "in Christ".
An American is someone who lives in America. Likewise, a Christian is
someone who lives in Christ. We have to be a Christian in order to be a slave of righteousness.
Non-Christians are not slaves of righteousness. They have not
submitted to the authority of God. So then how do we come to live in
Christ?
First we have to hear Jesus.
This means more than just hearing passively. We are to listen
attentively and heed the message. Paul said "Faith cometh by
hearing, and hearing by the word of God" (Romans 10:17).
Then we have to believe.
Jesus said "He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not
believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the
only begotten Son of God" (John 3:18). We must have faith but that is
not where it stops. As Bobby taught us in the past weeks, faith
without obedience is dead and we are not saved by a dead faith. We are
saved by a living, active, complete faith.
Then in Mark 1:15, Jesus said,
"The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and
believe the gospel." In Luke 13:3 Jesus said Luke 13:3
"except ye repent , ye shall all likewise perish." Repentance
is extremely important in that without it, we cannot be saved.
Repentance is best defined as a sorrow of heart that leads to a change of
behavior. We are sorry for the sin in our life and we resolve to live
better. We resolve to be a slave of righteousness living according to
what is good and right and shunning that which is wrong and evil.
Repentance is not a one time thing. Rather, repentance is a commitment
that takes a lifetime of resolve with a daily recommitment for the rest of
one's life.
Then Jesus said in Matthew
10:32-33, "Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I
confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny
me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven."
We have to confess Jesus Christ as the Son of God. This is another
thing that is not a one time thing. We confess Jesus as the Son of God
before men for the rest of our lives. But the initial confession
precedes one's baptism just like with the Ethiopian Eunuch who said that he
believed Jesus Christ was the son of God.
Then finally, Jesus said in
Mark 16:16, "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he
that believeth not shall be damned." He also told Nicodemus in
John 3:5, "Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit , he cannot
enter into the kingdom of God." Those who wish to become
Christians and be a slave to righteousness must submit to the command to be
baptized. It is at this point that we are immersed into the death of
Jesus Christ (Romans 6:3). Jesus death was by the shedding of His
blood, therefore when we are immersed into His death, we are immersed into
the means of that death; His blood. It is at that moment in time
that the cleansing blood of Christ is applied to us and our sins are washed
away (Acts 22:16). We are immersed/buried into Jesus Christ (Galatians
3:27, Romans 6:3). We are then reborn to a new life in Christ.
We are then freed from the slavery and bondage of sin and have become a
slave of righteousness. We have become a Christian, added to the
church of Christ by God (Acts 2:47).
From that moment on, Christians
are commanded to walk in the light, meaning we live faithfully and obediently like the first
century Christians were instructed. We serve the will of God by
serving each other, spreading the the good news of salvation and worshipping
in spirit and in truth. Confessing our sins, asking for forgiveness
and keeping on keeping on trying to live our lives as slaves of
righteousness. Jesus said, "Be thou faithful unto death and I will
give you the crown of life" (Revelation 2:10).
Invitation
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