Introduction:
· We are looking at the subject of sin because it seems to be a topic that the church is choosing to ignore.
· We are seeking to develop a sin consciousness so that we recognize when we are sinning and understand the consequence of that sin.
· As a church I think we have grown calloused to the severity of sin and the ramifications of that sin in our lives.
1. Review--What is Sin?
a. Sin is lawlessness.
i. The law defines sin.
ii. The knowledge of the law shows us what separates us from God and destroys our lives.
b. Sin is both an act and a condition before God
c. Sin is an offense to God.
d. We have trivialized sin in our day. And we do this in several different ways.
i. We have created our own list as to what is sin.
ii. We have reduced it to actions rather than a condition
iii. We have made it a failure or a mistake an no longer an offense to God.
2. Sin is a Killer
- Sin is bad news and the bad news is far worse than we are not experiencing health, wealth, and happiness now. It is that we are actually dying and nothing can reverse this fact.
i. It gets worse. Death is just a symptom of sin. We will all have a different “cause of death” listed on the medical certificate.
ii. However, death itself is the result of a condition we all share: “The wages of sin is death…” (Rom 6:23); “The sting of death is sin, and the power of death is the law” (1 Cor 15:56). Notice that it is not sins (particular actions), but sin (a condition), that requires our death. Even now, we are falling apart on our way toward death—even if we are having our best life now.
b. I want to look at six men today in scripture and the effect of sin on their lives.
i. Each one was born into sin—the condition.
1. Psalms 51:5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me. NKJV Ps 51:5 I've been out of step with you for a long time, in the wrong since before I was born. The Message
2. Ro. 5:12-14, 17,18. Through Adam all died. Through Christ all can live.
a. We are pre-disposed to sinning.
b. We are bent in that direction because of sin.
ii. Each one fell prey to sin—the actions.
1. James 4:17 Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin. NKJV
2. Matthew 15:19 For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. NKJV
3. James 1:15 Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death. NKJV
iii. Each one responded to that sin—the heart.
c. Each one of us will see ourselves in these six men and hopefully will see the way of escape. Lets look at the first group.
3. Broken by Sin and Died
a. Three Men—Saul, Judas, Herod. We may not get to all three.
i. Saul—of the OT was chosen to be king over Israel. Samuel warned the people in their request for a king what would happen. They ignored the warning and chose a man to rule over them. Saul experienced three distinct failures.
1. Saul disobeys:
a. 1 Sam 13 he performs the sacrifice rather than waiting for Samuel. He abandons the order of God. And assumes an authority not given to him. Samuel declares—vs. 14 You kingdom shall not continue.
b. 1 Sam 15:14 he keeps the sheep and cattle after a victory that were supposed to be slaughtered as directed by God. “You are rejected as king.”
i. David is anointed king by Samuel and at that same moment a distressing spirit comes upon Saul. (consequence)
c. 1 Sam 28:7 he consults a witch/medium. Vs. 19 “Tomorrow you and your sons shall be with me.”
2. Saul died-1 Chronicles 10:13 So Saul died for his unfaithfulness which he had committed against the Lord, because he did not keep the word of the Lord, and also because he consulted a medium for guidance. NKJV
ii. Judas
1. Judas Disobeys. Judas is tempted as was Saul.
a. Luke 22:3-5 Then Satan entered Judas, surnamed Iscariot, who was numbered among the twelve. 4 So he went his way and conferred with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray Him to them. 5 And they were glad, and agreed to give him money. NKJV Demons do not come in when they want to—we must open the door to them.
b. John 12:4-6 Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, who would betray Him, said, 5 "Why was this fragrant oil not sold for three hundred denariiand given to the poor?" 6 This he said, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and had the money box; and he used to take what was put in it. NKJV
2. Judas Died- Acts 1:16-18 Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus; 17 for he was numbered with us and obtained a part in this ministry." 18 (Now this man purchased a field with the wages of iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst open in the middle and all his entrails gushed out. NKJV
iii. Herod- Acts 12:21-24So on a set day Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat on his throne and gave an oration to them. 22 And the people kept shouting, "The voice of a god and not of a man!" 23 Then immediately an angel of the Lord struck him, because he did not give glory to God. And he was eaten by worms and died. 24 But the word of God grew and multiplied. NKJV
1. Herod disobeyed walk according to his own ways.
2. Herod was deceived-I am a god.
3. Herod died a tragic death.
b. Three steps. Sin touched all three of these men and I want to look at a pattern that is evident in their lives.
i. Pride-Websters 1828 Dictionary “an inordinate self-esteem, unreasonable conceit of one’s own superiority.” A perfect example of pride is thinking that God will not judge us for our sin. We do that individually and also as a nation. We think we are above the law/sin. It is what Satan was guilty of.
1. Satan says he will ascend to a place not given to him. The same was in Saul’s heart. The same is in all of our hearts because of the condition we are born into.
a. Isaiah 14:13-14 For you have said in your heart: 'I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation On the farthest sides of the north; 14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.' NKJV
b. Isa 14:15 Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, To the lowest depths of the Pit. NKJV
ii. Deceived-misled, deluded, to be led into error. (Deceived-they dodged the truth.) Saul was proud and performed the sacrifice. Judas was proud and thought he would prosper. Saul feared the people more than God and sought their approval. (many of our sin issues today are related to our fear of people and what they will think of us.)
iii. Hard Heart towards God and the end result was death.
1. Saul hardened his heart. He kept committing the same sin against God’s direction.
2. Judas sat with Jesus, ate with Jesus, and still refused to be changed by his message.
3. Herod spoke with Jesus, refused to acknowledge who He was and sought to be a god.
c. Judgment—The consequence for their sin. Un-dealt with sin.
i. Saul lost the kingdom and died.
ii. Judas was condemned.
iii. Herod was eaten by worms.
4. Broken by sin They Cried
a. Three Men—all of these in pride committed sin too. No difference at this point between them and the last three we looked at.
i. David-Adultery and murder. 2 Sam 11:3-ff; 12:7 “David you are the man!”
1. Nathan the prophet comes and tells David a story and that infuriates David and he proclaims “Tell me, who is that man?”
ii. Peter-brags about his strength and zeal for the Lord then denies Jesus. Luke 22:60-62
1. In a moment of truth Peter looks Jesus in the eye and all of Peter’s self righteousness comes face to face with Christ’s holiness and he is undone.
iii. Paul-best of the Pharisees and murderer of Christians. Acts 8:3; 9:3-6
1. Wreaked havoc on the church.
2. Then on the way to Damascus cries out, “Lord what would you have me do?” It was like Isaiah, “Woe is me! I am undone.” Saul in his self-righteousness meant holiness and saw that his life was an offense to God.
b. Three steps
i. Conviction-They allowed themselves to be convicted. There is a big difference between conviction and condemnation. Condemnation declares you guilty and there is no way out. Conviction says guilty but provides a way out. They feel the same but they produce different results.
1. Webster 1828 dictionary. Conviction--“The act of convincing, or compelling one to admit the truth of a charge; the act of convincing of sin or sinfulness; the sate of being convinced or convicted by conscience; the state of being sensible of guilt; as, the convictions of a sinner may be temporary, or lasting and efficacious. By conviction, a sinner is brought to repentance. Men often sin against the conviction of their own consciences.” Condemnation --the judicial act of declaring one guilty, and dooming him to punishment.
a. Nathan to David-“you are the man.”
b. Peter-saw the eyes of Jesus, heard the rooster and wept bitterly
c. Saul-saw Jesus, was confronted by his sin and asked what do I do.
ii. Humility-
1. Defined:
a. In ethics, freedom from pride and arrogance; humbleness of mind; a modest estimate of one's own worth.
b. In theology, humility consists in lowliness of mind; a deep sense of one's own unworthiness in the sight of God, self-abasement, penitence for sin, and submission to the divine will.
2. Humility is the soil in which the word of God grows.
3. 2 Chron. 7:14 If my people will humble themselves and pray and seek my face…
iii. Repentance-by the grace of God you turn back to him. To repent means you turn to face God not turn away from him. Adam and Eve hid themselves from God. In Rev. 6, John is invited to ‘come and see’ while he is looking the people sought to hide themselves from God.
5. God uses Broken people
a. Psalms 34:18 The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart And saves such as have a contrite spirit. NKJV
b. Psalms 51:17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart — These, O God, You will not despise. NKJV
Conclusion:
· Sin is a forgotten word today.
· Sin has been change to excuse words-dysfunctional, bad behavior, wrongs, off course etc.
· We have lost the vision of a holy God and so we have lost the definition of sin.
· We lost regard of a holy moral God therefore we have lost the gut wrench power of conviction.
· We no longer have moral absolutes so all things are now permissible and we don’t care.
o In and English county they are now encouraging teens to be sexually active.
o In Amsterdam I believe they have now legalized child prostitutes. They have dropped the age of consent from 16 to 12.
o -Human Trafficking generates approximately $9.5 billion each year. It is second only to drug trafficking in international crime (US Trafficking in Persons Report).
-“…Experts say that at any given time, some 2.5 million people are being trafficked …” (http://www.makewaypartners.org/effects.html)
-The USA is the number one country of destination for trafficked victims. The land of the free and the brave has become the receiving country for sex-slaves and forced manual workers. Run-away or kidnapped children are also sold and exploited within our borders and Internet child pornography or solicitation is thriving. (http://www.makewaypartners.org/effects.html)
-A child goes missing every 40 seconds in the USA.
That is more than 2,000 a day and more than 800,000 every year.
Another estimated 500,000 disappear without being reported.
For most, these bodies are never found.
What happens to them? (National Center for Missing and Exploited Children)
-Rising tide of human trafficking by Americans against other Americans - between 1.3 and 2.8 million runaways and homeless youths living on America's streets are one of the most at risk populations for exploitation. (PR Newswire)
-1 in 7 teenagers in the USA run away from home. Living on the streets, one out of every three teens will be lured into prostitution within 48 hours of leaving home. And the longer they are gone, the more likely they are to engage in "survival sex." After three months away from home, 90 percent of children will turn to sex. (National Incidence Studies of Missing, Runaway and Throwaway Children)
· We have been “busted” by the Holy Spirit.
· It is time for a nation and a community to weep over the condition of our souls.
· Invitation…
