Sin and the sinner.
We have all sinned: Romans 3:9- 18 & 23.
We are not sinners because we sin, we sin because we are sinners.
God’s solution for our sin problem was for Jesus to live a sinless life and to die so that we can die in him and just as he rose from the dead we can live a life of victory as we reckon ourselves dead to sin.
The sin problem.
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.
The sin problem.
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
The Gulag Archipelago is a book by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn about the Soviet forced labour camp system.
It’s 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.
David’s confession.
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.
Psalm 103:1-14.
1 Praise the LORD, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
2 Praise the LORD, my soul, and forget not all his benefits
3 who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases,
4 who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion,
5 who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
6 The LORD works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed.
7 He made known his ways to Moses, his deeds to the people of Israel:
8 The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love.
Psalm 103:1-14.
9 He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever;
10 he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities.
11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him;
12 as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
13 As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him;
14 for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust.
Walking in the Spirit.
Our problem is that we first of all try to get to heaven, or be saved, by our works and in the strength of the flesh, and then when we finally realize the futility of it, we throw ourselves on God’s Grace.
But then again, we try again to be sanctified through the efforts of the flesh and our performance, this too is an exercise in futility, as God is not interested in our best, He only wants one thing, and that is Christ living His life through us.
It is not a case of being good or bad, but a case of walking in the flesh or walking in the Spirit.
Walking in the Spirit.
Galatians 5:16-21.
So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Walking in the Spirit.
That which you have started in the spirit don't try finish in the flesh. Galatians 3:1-5.
You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified.
I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish?
After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh? Have you experienced so much in vain, if it really was in vain?
So again I ask, does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you by the works of the law, or by your believing what you heard?
Dead Works.
Hebrews 9:14. How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? Repentance from dead works is a foundational thing. Repentance means to change the way we think.
From the outside looking in we can’t tell the difference between dead works and good works. They can look very much the same outwardly. They can be the same works, but they have different motives.
Praying can be a dead or good work.
Attending church can be a dead or good work.
Reading the Bible can be a dead or good work.
Dead Works.
That’s why Jesus said: Matthew 7:22-23.
Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’
Prophesying, casting out demons, performing miracles in the name of Jesus are all outwardly good things. But Jesus will reject “many” who do those things. Why? Because their hearts are wrong. These people have the wrong motivations for the things they do.
What are “Dead works?” Any attempt to find favour, earn acceptance or be made righteous before God by one’s own effort, ability or willpower.
Dead Works. (Repeat)
That which you have started in the spirit don't try finish in the flesh. Galatians 3:1-5.
……………… I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish?
After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh? Have you experienced so much in vain, if it really was in vain?
So again I ask, does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you by the works of the law, or by your believing what you heard?
The blood of Jesus cleanses us from all our sins.
As a Christian walking in the light we have this promise.
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.
Sinners walking in the light.
A Believer may sin but because they are walking in the light, their sin is exposed so that it can be repented of.
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.
Sanctification just like Salvation is a work of God it just needs our cooperation.
Hebrews 10:4.
For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.
Sinners walking in the light.
So “Believers” are “Sinners walking in the light” Our sins are dealt with by the blood, but that’s not the only problem, we will sin again because we are sinners.
Illustration: (Watchman Nee)
If we destroy all the liquor in town we haven't solved the alcohol problem as there are breweries and they are going to manufacture more, you can’t just deal with the product, you have to deal with the manufacturer. In the same way when our sin is washed away we need to deal with ourselves as we are sinners, we are sin factories.
So how does God deal with the sinner?
The sin is dealt with by the blood, but the sinner is dealt with by the cross.
We, like Paul, were dealt with by the cross.
Galatians 2:2:20.
I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
If you didn’t realize that you died when you believed, then why did you have a funeral.
Baptism is a burial service.
Colossians 2:11-12.
Your whole self ruled by the flesh was put off when you were circumcised by Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead.
Baptism is a funeral service.
Baptism is symbolic of the death of our life (A funeral, or burial) so that Christ can live His resurrected life through us.
We, like Paul, were dealt with by the cross.
Romans 6:3-8.
Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?
Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.
For he who has died has been freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him.
We, like Paul, were dealt with by the cross.
Colossians 3:1-3
If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
Galatians 5:24.
And those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
Colossians 3:5
Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.
This is where the Lord needs our cooperation, He can and will do the work if we yield to His Spirit and obey Him.
We, like Paul, were dealt with by the cross.
Romans 6:10-13
For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts.
And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.
Are you presenting yourself and your body to God as a living sacrifice, or are you living for yourself?
Christ or self.
The problem with “SELF” is that we have to deal with it, even when we have dealt with sin.
Jesus had to deal with self, when He was in Gethsemane in His incarnation. He did not want to drink the cup and be separated from the Father, but He prayed “Nevertheless, not my will but yours be done.”
Adam and Eve, before the fall in Eden, did not have a sinful nature, why did they sin, why did they disobey God? They sinned and became sinners tainted with the sin that we ourselves are born in, because the put self before God and His will.
Are you putting self first? Do you do God’s will or what you feel like doing? Do you just do God’s will when it suits you?
Jesus taught that we must “Deny self.”
The doctrine of self love that is taught in some of the modern day churches a false doctrine?
Jesus taught that we must “Deny self.”
Jesus said there are two great commandments.
To love the Lord with all our heart, soul, mind and strength and
To "love your neighbour as yourself" (Matthew 22:34-40).
But if we say we can't love others until we love ourselves, we are essentially saying Jesus gave us a third commandment.
In fact, without realizing it, we are suggesting that to love yourself is the second greatest commandment, for we are saying it comes before the commandment to serve others. We are saying that loving ourselves is a precondition to loving other people.
Scripture teaches a very different doctrine.
We are to esteem others better than ourselves.
Philippians 2:2-4.
Make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind.
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.
JOY: Jesus first
Yourself last
& Others in-between....
In Pursuit, the author 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.
Pursuit Luis Palau
"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?“
"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 behaviour 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."
Pursuit Luis Palau
Kenneth looked me straight in the eye. "I know the Lord has forgiven me."
"Did you open your heart to Jesus?"
"Yes. Luis! Yes!“
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.
The sin 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…….
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 of self - righteousness in our own eye.
To see yourself you need to see the Lord.
The deception of Lukewarmness.
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.
Paul once a very religious man sees his sin.
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.
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.
Isaiah sees himself.
As God reveals himself to us, we see ourselves as we really are,
“Deceived by sin and thinking 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.
Isaiah:
The time and manner of his death are not specified in either the Bible or other primary sources. The Talmud [Yevamot 49b] says that he suffered martyrdom by being sawn in two under the orders of Manasseh. (Wikipedia)
Peter sees himself.
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!
Peter and Paul
Both martyred in Rome about 66 AD, during the persecution under
Emperor Nero.
Paul was beheaded. Peter was crucified, upside down at his request, since he did not feel he was worthy to die in the same manner as his Lord.
Job sees himself.
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.
If Job says that, how can we see ourselves any differently.
This should cause us to throw aside any attempt at self improvement.
Sin and our Advocate.
Provision is made for when we mess up and take our eyes off the Lord.
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.
COPYRIGHT INFORMATION
Unless otherwise stated, Scripture quotations are taken from the NIV:
THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV®
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™
Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Scripture quotations taken from the NASB:
New American Standard Bible®,
Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation
Used by permission. (http://www.lockman.org)
Scripture quotations are taken from the ESV:
Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.