Growing up going to
Sunday School, you may have heard sin defined as anything you say, do,
or think that goes against what God wants. That points to the heart of
what sin is.
You rarely hear
about sin today, even from the pulpit! Our society today tries to make
sin look good—drinking, sex, lying, homosexuality…. The world refers to
these as alternative lifestyles, sicknesses, DNA….
It is imperative we
speak out that sin is just as deadly as it was in the Garden of Eden.
That has not changed.
13
Has then what is good become death to me?
Certainly not! But sin, that it might appear sin, was producing death in
me through what is good, so that sin through the commandment might
become exceedingly sinful.
(Romans 7:13)
What Is Sin?
·
An offense or transgression of
God’s law.
24
And the Lord commanded us to observe all these
statutes, to fear the Lord our God, for our good always, that He might
preserve us alive, as it is this day. 25 Then it will
be righteousness for us, if we are careful to observe all these
commandments before the Lord our God, as He has commanded us.’
(Deuteronomy 6:24-25)
17
All unrighteousness is sin, and there is sin
not leading to death.
(1 John 5:17
All unrighteousness is sin!
9
Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the
doctrine of Christ does not have God. He who abides in the doctrine of
Christ has both the Father and the Son.
(2 John 9)
·
A missing or the mark—
21
Then Peter came to Him and said, “Lord, how
often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven
times?” (Matthew
18:21)
38
Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every
one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of
sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
(Acts 2:38)
Sin is to miss the way, the goal, or the
path of right.
It is to make an error or wander from the
path of uprightness. God’s word informs us of the target; when we miss
it, we sin.
What Are The Consequences of Sin?
·
It forms a barrier between you and God—
1 Behold, the
Lord’s
hand is not shortened,
That it cannot save;
Nor His ear heavy,
That it cannot hear.
2 But your iniquities have
separated you from your God;
And your sins have hidden His face from you,
So that He will not hear.
(Isaiah 59:1-2)
Because God
is holy, sin cannot dwell in His presence. Note the separation depicted
in Revelations 22:14-15.
14 Blessed are those who
do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life,
and may enter through the gates into the city. 15 But
outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and
idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie.
·
Dominates a person’s life—sin
comes in to take control.
1.
A relentless master—
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?
(Romans 6:16)
2.
A tug of war is going on—
16 I say then: Walk in
the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. 17
For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against
the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do
the things that you wish.
(Galatians 5:16-17)
3.
Ruins relationships—
1 Where do wars and
fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for
pleasure that war in your members? 2 You lust and do
not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet
you do not have because you do not ask.
(James 4:1-2)
Sins such as immorality and worldliness hurt
the homes of Lot, Isaac, Jacob, David, and others. It hurts
relationships in church families as well.
17
Now I urge you, brethren, note those who cause
divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and
avoid them.
(Romans 16:17)
4.
Sin deceives—
13
but exhort one another daily, while it is called “Today,” lest any of
you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.
(Hebrews 3:13)
a)
Throughout the Bible, we are
warned—“Be not deceived.”
7
Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for
whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.
(Galatians 6:7)
b)
Sin appears right when it is wrong.
12 There is a way that
seems right to a man,
But its end is the way of
death. (Proverbs
14:12)
5.
Sin brings death—
a)
Alcohol, drugs, and tobacco have shortened
the lives of countless people.
1
Wine is a mocker,
Strong drink is a brawler,
And whoever is led astray by it
is not wise.
(Proverbs 20:1)
18 Flee sexual
immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who
commits sexual immorality sins against his own body. 19
Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit
who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?
20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God
in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.
(1 Corinthians 6:18-20)
b)
More importantly, sin brings
spiritual death
8
For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap
corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap
everlasting life. (Galatians 6:8)
20
The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not
bear the guilt of the father, nor the father bear the guilt of the son.
The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the
wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.
(Ezekiel 18:20)
8 But the cowardly,
unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers,
idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns
with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”
(Revelations 21:8)
To the sinner, he will lose peace, joy, and
eternal life in heaven.
22 But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty
and the Lamb are its temple. 23 The city had no need of the sun or of
the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb
is its light. 24 And the nations ]of those who are saved shall walk in
its light, and the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into
it. 25 Its gates shall not be shut at all by day (there shall be no
night there). 26 And they shall bring the glory and the honor of the
nations into it. 27 But there shall by no means enter it anything [f]that
defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are
written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.
(Revelations 21:22-27)
Our sins
cost Jesus his life. But because of his death, we can have life.
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