10915

SERMON TOPIC: Sin and Grace

Speaker: Ken Paynter

Language: ENGLISH

Date: 15 January 2017

Topic Groups: GRACE, SIN

Sermon synopsis: We do not have to look far to find sin, it is within each and everyone of us.

“If only it were all so simple! If only there were evil people somewhere insidiously committing evil deeds, and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being. And who is willing to destroy a piece of his own heart?”  Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, The Gulag Archipelago 1918-1956
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Sin and Grace.

We do not have to look far to find sin, it is within each and everyone of us.

“If only it were all so simple! If only there were evil people somewhere insidiously committing evil deeds, and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being. And who is willing to destroy a piece of his own heart?” https://www.goodreads.com/ author/ show/ 10420.Aleksandr_Solzhenitsyn

The Gulag Archipelago

is a book by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn about the Soviet forced labour camp system.

The three-volume book is a narrative relying on eyewitness testimony and primary research material, as well as the author's own experiences as

a prisoner in a gulag labour camp.

Sin and Grace.

Romans 3:9- 18 & 23.

Jews and Gentiles alike are all under the power of sin. As it is written: There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one. Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit. The poison of vipers is on their lips. Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood; ruin and misery mark their ways, and the way of peace they do not know. There is no fear of God before their eyes.......

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

Sin and Grace.

This was the confession of David, a man after the heart of God who was used mightily by God in rescuing Israel from the oppression of the Philistines.

Psalm 51:1-5.

Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.

For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight; so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge. Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.

Sin and Grace.

As God reveals himself to us, he reveals ourselves to us as we are deceived by sin and think of ourselves too highly.

Isaiah: 6:1 & 5.

Woe to me! I cried. I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty.

Luke 5:8.

When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus knees and said, Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!

Sin and Grace.

Job Job 42:4-6.

You said, Listen now, and I will speak; I will question you, and you shall answer me.

My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you.

Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.

Paul. 1 Timothy 5:15 & 16.

Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life.

To see yourself you need to see the Lord.

Have you seen the Lord?

1 John 3:6.

No one who continues to sin has either seen Him or known Him.

If you have had an encounter with Jesus, you will know why John says this in his epistle. Because the Lord only reveals Himself to the sincere seeker and opens their eyes to their sinfulness so that He can deal with it.

Jeremiah 29:13.

You shall seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.

Hebrews 11:6.

He is the rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

Revelation 3:17-18. You say, I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing. But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.

Sin and Grace.

1 John 1:5-10.

This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.

If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.

1 John 2:1

My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.

Sin and Grace.

A Christian may sin but not walk in darkness, consequently their sin is very quickly exposed so that it can be repented of.

John 8:12.

When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.

Psalm 90:8.

You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence.

John 3:20-21.

Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.

Sin and Grace.

The topic of sin is not a popular one today.

Many view the concept of sin as archaic and demeaning -- something that needs to be cast aside in light of current " modern thought". Christians however know that there are some things taught in God's Word which will never become outdated. Sin is one such topic that is as relevant today as it was two thousand years ago.

The world view is that the individual or in some cases, society decides what is right or wrong.

But one persons conscience differs from the next person and what a society or culture accepts differs with the passing of time. In the time of Rome leaving babies out to die of exposure was accepted and as the world was Christianized it became not just sin but a crime, however nowadays in many countries killing your unwanted baby before birth is not only accepted but encouraged.

Doing good instead of God’s will is sin.

The definition of sin lies with God and not with man.

1 John 3:4.

Everyone who sins breaks the law, in fact sin is lawlessness.

Strong’s concordance

lawlessness; the utter disregard for God's law (His written and living Word).

Simply put, sin is doing your will instead of God’s will.

Matthew 7:21-23.

Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles? Then I will tell them plainly, I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!

The deceitfulness of sin.

Sin is very often not deliberately doing evil, but been deceived into trusting our own reasoning rather than God’s Word and His clear instructions.

It is the strategy that Satan used on Eve and it is the Strategy he used on Jesus when tempting him during his 40 day fast.

2 Corinthians 11:2-4.

I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him. But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ. For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the Spirit you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough.

The spirit of this age is one of lawlessness, of trusting your own reasoning rather than submitting to God’s Word.

The deceitfulness of sin.

Satan deceives us into substituting obedience to God with our own human reasoning.

Genesis 3:1-6.

Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made.

He said to the woman, Did God really say, You must not eat from any tree in the garden?

The woman said to the serpent, We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die. You will not certainly die, the serpent said to the woman. For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil. When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it.

The deceitfulness of sin.

Satan deceives us into substituting obedience to God with our own human reasoning.

1 Samuel 15:1-3 and 13-23.

Samuel said to Saul I am the one the LORD sent to anoint you king over his people Israel; so listen now to the message from the LORD. This is what the LORD Almighty says: I will punish the Amalekites for what they did to Israel when they waylaid them as they came up from Egypt. Now go, attack the Amalekites and totally destroy all that belongs to them. Do not spare them; put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys. Early in the morning Samuel got up and went to meet Saul, but he was told, Saul has gone to Carmel. There he has set up a monument in his own honour and has turned and gone on down to Gilgal. When Samuel reached him, Saul said, The LORD bless you! I have carried out the LORD’s instructions.

The deceitfulness of sin.

1 Samuel 15:12-24.

........ But Samuel replied: Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the LORD? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.

For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD,

he has rejected you as king......

The deceitfulness of sin.

Sin is not just doing bad things, it is disobedience to God.

Jonah disobeyed God because of his reasoning, he believed that the Lord should punish Nineveh and not give them a chance to repent.

If God told you to go and preach to Isis, would you go??

Jonah 1:1-3.

The word of the LORD came to Jonah son of Amittai: Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me. But Jonah ran

away from the LORD and headed for Tarshish.

The deceitfulness of sin.

Jeremiah 17:9. The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked.....

Hebrews 3:13. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.

Because our hearts are prone to sin and deceit, we need God to examine us and expose sin. Psalm 139:23. Search me oh God and know my heart, try me and know my thoughts…

Hebrews 4:12. The Word of God - A discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Once God has exposed our sin, we need to repent. Psalm 66:18. If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.

Sin is ignoring God’s authority.

Matthew 8:8-13.

The centurion replied, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed.

For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, Go, and he goes; and that one, Come, and he comes. I say to my servant, Do this, and he does it.

When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith....

BUT: The Lord tells us go; and we don’t, fast and pray; and we don’t, tithe; and we don’t, forgive; and we don’t, fellowship regularly; and we don’t, do all things without grumbling and complaining; and we don’t, give thanks and intercede for those in authority over you; and we don’t…… and the list goes on.

Sin is ignoring God’s authority.

Luke 6:46-49.

Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? As for everyone who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice, I will show you what they are like. They are like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation.

The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete.

Sin is ignoring God’s authority.

We disobey not only God but all the authority structures that He has placed over us.

We disregard the authority of our parents, bosses, husbands, government and church leaders because we reason that we know better.

Eve thought she knew better than God, so did Aaron and King Saul and so many others who followed their example of leaning on their own understanding instead of trusting the Lord with all their heart.

Submission doesn’t even start until you disagree.

So it is plain to see that the Biblical definition of sin is very different to the ideas that many have that confines sin to merely bad things that a person does, like lying stealing, sexual sin or murder.

IS JESUS LORD OF YOUR LIFE??

Sin is ignoring God’s authority.

Hearing God’s Word is a waste of time unless you do something about what you see, take action. We must hide the Word of God in our hearts not just our minds

James 1:23-25

For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.

Lamentations 3:40.

Let us examine and probe our ways, And let us return to the LORD.

But the hope of the sinner is God’s grace.

Psalm 103:1-14. Praise the LORD, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the LORD, my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. The LORD works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed. He made known his ways to Moses, his deeds to the people of Israel: The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will he harbour his anger forever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust.

Do you deserve God’s grace?

Which of these prayers do you pray?

Luke 18:9-14.

To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable:

Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: God, I thank you that I am not like other people robbers, evildoers, adulterers or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get. But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, God, have mercy on me, a sinner. I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.

Do you deserve God’s grace?

Romans2:1-9 & 22-23.

You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. Now we know that God’s judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. So when you, a mere human being, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment? Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance? But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed. God will repay each person according to what they have done.... There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil:.....

Do you deserve God’s grace?

Romans2:1-9&22-23.

..... you, then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal? You who say that people should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who boast in the law, do you dishonour God by breaking the law?

The sin of self-righteousness.

Matthew 7:1-5.

Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, Let me take the speck out of your eye, when all the time there is a plank in your own eye?

You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

The sin of self-righteousness.

We have a responsibility to take the speck out of our brothers eye, but only when we have by God’s grace dealt with the beam in our own eye. (and we all have to deal with the beam of self-righteousness)

James 1:26.

If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless.

James 2:12-16.

Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, because judgement without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful…….

The sin of grumbling & complaining.

Philippians 2:14-15.

Do everything without complaining or murmuring, so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crocked and depraved generation…..

James 5:9

Don’t grumble against each other brothers or you will be judged, the judge is standing at the door.

1 Corinthians 10:9-11

and do not grumble as some of them did and were killed by the destroying angel.

A clear conscience is not a sign of innocence.

We can pretend and put on a mask for others but God knows everything there is to know about us.

Paul knew that even though he felt no conviction of conscience that did not mean he was without fault.

1 Corinthians 4:3-5.

I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself. My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me. Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart. At that time each will receive their praise from God.

Did Manasseh deserve God’s grace?

2 Chronicles 33:1-16.

Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-five years. He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, following the detestable practices of the nations the Lord had driven out before the Israelites. He rebuilt the high places his father Hezekiah had demolished; he also erected altars to the Baals and made Asherah poles.

He bowed down to all the starry hosts and worshiped them. He built altars in the temple of the Lord, of which the Lord had said, My Name will remain in Jerusalem forever. In both courts of the temple of the Lord, he built altars to all the starry hosts.

Did Manasseh deserve God’s grace?

2 Chronicles 33:1-16.

He sacrificed his children in the fire in the Valley of Ben Hinnom, practiced divination and witchcraft, sought omens, and consulted mediums and spiritists. He did much evil in the eyes of the Lord, arousing his anger.

He took the image he had made and put it in God’s temple, of which God had said to David and to his son Solomon, In this temple and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put my Name forever. I will not again make the feet of the Israelites leave the land I assigned to your ancestors, if only they will be careful to do everything I commanded them concerning all the laws, decrees and regulations given through Moses.

Did Mannaseh deserve God’s grace?

2 Chronicles 33:1-16 (continued)

But Manasseh led Judah and the people of Jerusalem astray, so that they did more evil than the nations the Lord had destroyed before the Israelites.

The Lord spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they paid no attention. So the Lord brought against them the army commanders of the king of Assyria, who took Manasseh prisoner, put a hook in his nose, bound him with bronze shackles and took him to Babylon. In his distress he sought the favour of the Lord his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his ancestors. And when he prayed to him, the Lord was moved by his entreaty and listened to his plea; so he brought him back to Jerusalem and to his kingdom.

Did Mannaseh deserve God’s grace?

2 Chronicles 33:1-16 (continued)

Then Manasseh knew that the Lord is God. Afterward he rebuilt the outer wall of the City of David, west of the Gihon spring in the valley, as far as the entrance of the Fish Gate and encircling the hill of Ophel; he also made it much higher. He stationed military commanders in all the fortified cities in Judah. He got rid of the foreign gods and removed the image from the temple of the Lord, as well as all the altars he had built on the temple hill and in Jerusalem; and he threw them out of the city. Then he restored the altar of the Lord and sacrificed fellowship offerings and thank offerings on it, and told Judah to serve the Lord, the God of Israel.

God’s gives grace to the humble.

1 Peter 5:5

and all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE.

Isaiah 2:12

For the LORD of hosts will have a day of reckoning Against everyone who is proud and lofty And against everyone who is lifted up, That he may be abased.

Daniel 4:37

Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise, exalt and honour the King of heaven, for all His works are true and His ways just, and He is able to humble those who walk in pride.

Psalm 138:6

For though the LORD is exalted, Yet He regards the lowly, But the haughty He knows from afar.

God’s gives grace to the humble.

In Pursuit, author and evangelist Luis Palau writes:

Thank God his grace isn't "fair." A couple of years ago, one of my nephews (I'll call him Kenneth) was near death. He had AIDS. During a family reunion in the hills of northern California, Kenneth and I broke away for a short walk. He was a hollow shell, labouring for breath.

"Kenneth, you know you're going to die any day," I said. "Do you have eternal life? Your parents agonize. I must know."

"Luis, I know God has forgiven me and I'm going to heaven."

For several years, since his early teens, Kenneth had practiced homosexuality. More than that, in rebellion against God and his parents, he flaunted his lifestyle.

"Kenneth, how can you say that?" I replied. "You rebelled against God, you made fun of the Bible, you hurt your family terribly. And now you say you've got eternal life, just like that?"

God’s gives grace to the humble.

"Luis, when the doctor said that I had AIDS, I realized what a fool I'd been."

"We know that," I said bluntly, but deliberately, because Kenneth knew full well that the Bible teaches that homosexual behavior is sin. "But did you really repent?"

"I did repent, and I know that God has had mercy on me. But my dad won't believe me."

"You rebelled in his face all your life," I said. "You've broken his heart."

Kenneth looked me straight in the eye. "I know the Lord has forgiven me."

"Did you open your heart to Jesus?"

"Yes. Luis! Yes!"

God’s gives grace to the humble.

As we put our arms around each other and prayed and talked some more, I became convinced that Jesus had forgiven all of Kenneth's rebellion and washed away all his sin. Several short months later he went to be the Lord at age twenty-five. Says Palau, "My nephew, like the repentant thief on the cross, did not deserve God's grace. I don't either. None of us do. That's why grace is grace- unmerited favour.

God gives grace to the humble.

James 4:6-10.

But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says:

“God opposes the proud but shows favour to the humble.”

Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you.

Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.

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