What Is Sin and Why Should I Care About it?

[!NOTE] Primary Scripture Reading: Hebrews 10:1-10

I. Sin is unfashionable

A. 21 st Century man considers the concept of sin archaic and backward

B. He is not frightened of sin’s consequences and may not believe in hell He thinks it is arrogant to regard someone’s action as “sin”

C. Some accept the concept of sin but blame others or situations for sins.

D. Some acknowledge the concept of sin but do not take it seriously.

E. They think that God will really not punish them for such little things. In order to feel more comfortable about sin some joke about it or rename sin in order to remove the stigma of sin and make it more acceptable. Fornication is just fooling around; homosexuality is an alternative lifestyle, lying is stretching the truth, cheating is fudging the numbers Though men may laugh at sin, minimize it, or rename it—it is still sin

F. Others minimize their sins by comparing themselves to others.

G. Matthew 7:1-5 – mote and beam2 Corinthians 10:12 – foolishness of judging self by others

H. “A keen student once observed that almost all failures to take an adequate view of the person of Christ can be traced to a failure to realize adequately the seriousness of sin.” ISBE: “Sin”

I. If I were Satan, I would want people desensitized to sin; to think it no big deal but with God sin is of the greatest importance.

II. Sin

A. Fundamentally sin is a violation of God’s law

B. In the Old and New Testaments God has expressed the attitude and behavior that must characterize His followers through commands.

C. Man must subject his will to the rule of his creator. Man often desires to violate God’s will or ignore parts that displease him Sin takes place at the point when man defies God’s will.

D. Case Study: Adam and Eve

E. Simple command: Genesis 2:16-17 Temptation to rebel: Genesis 3:4-5

F. At this point Adam and Eve could obey God and maintain harmony with Him or exercise their free will to disobey God’s command.

G. Temptation is the enticement to disobey God for some perceived benefit or pleasure not obtained through obedience to His will. James 1:14-16 – drawn away by lusts1 John 2:15-17 – Lusts of the world vs. doing God’s will They chose to rebel against God’s will: Genesis 3:5-6 Perceived benefit: They would be like God and know good and evil Reality: As death separates the body and the soul, rebellion separated man from God and the paradise of His benevolent care. They lost what they wanted for what they thought they wanted.“It does not matter how small the sins are, provided that their cumulative effect is to edge the man away from the light and out into nothing. Murder is no better than cards if cards can do the trick. Indeed, the safest road to hell is the gradual one—the gentle slope, soft under foot, without sudden turnings, without signposts.” C.S. Lewis

H. Sin describes not only the act of rebellion but also the guilt of sin

I. Bible guilt is not feeling guilty but is judgment of God that the rebel is guilty Though one my regret and even turn from the act of rebellion, the guilty sentence remains as well as its consequences. A bank robber might be sorry for his crime and tell the police where the money is hidden but must still suffer the consequences of his crime.

III. Redemption

A. Our hopeless situation

B. The guilty sentence cannot be removed by man or discarded by God We cannot cleanse ourselves from the filth of sin

C. God built a bridge through Jesus by which we can be cleansed of sin and escape the eternal death—separation from God—we earned through sin

D. Jesus came to live among men—the holiest among the unholy; perfection among imperfection—in order to lead us back to God. God let Jesus die an agonizing death at the hands of sinful men to be a sacrifice to satisfy the penalty of sin that all men deserve. The blood of animals was insufficient, the blood of another man is useless, but the death of God in flesh atones for man’s sin. The judge suffered the condemnation of the law to free the guilty

E. Obedience to the message of salvation draws men from the world of sin and restores man’s fellowship with God.

F. Just as man is drawn by lusts towards sin, man must be drawn to God

G. Drawn by the gospel

H. 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14 – called by the gospel1 Peter 1:22-25 – purified through obedience to the gospel When we examine the gospel as Eve examined the fruit on the tree we will find that the gospel is good to behold, good for one’s life, and can make one truly wise and should desire to reach out and partake of it. Francis J. Mc Connell: “Lives cannot be transformed merely by precept. The only effective force is the force of a divine life which will reach and save human lives.” ISBE: “Sin”

I. We must reconcile our will to God’s will

J. Sin: departure from God’s will; redemption: submitting to God’s will again. Though freedom from condemnation is immediate upon obeying the gospel, recovering from sin is gradual as if recovering from some dreaded disease as one strives to undo habits and thoughts that are sinful By obeying the gospel both God and I put our sins behind us.

IV. Conclusion: The choice of obedience is in your hands. Jesus paved the way for reconciliation with the Father through the removal of sin but you must choose to take the narrow and difficult way that leads to life. Though your sins may be as scarlet they can be as white as snow. Will you repent and be baptized to wash away your sins?

V. What Is Sin?