Page four: “The Sins of the Flesh” 3/3/13
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God must to deal with each of us after our sins, doesn’t He? Here King Saul is being dealt with by the LORD on the basis of his refusing to obey Him. And God is clear. His actions; his rebellion, is compared to the sin of witchcraft.
Here’s Psalm 32:1 “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.” Psalm 51:3 “For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.” If there is one thing we’d all like to have, it’s this – that our sins be covered; that they are no longer in the LORD’s sight. Blessed, happy, is the person whose sin is forgiven. Proverbs 14:34 “Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people.” Folks, sin is the one element in the human race; the one element in a nation, that is the most unacceptable with God. It brings reproach to any people and it brings grief to God. And from the NT, do you remember the story of the woman caught in the act of adultery? Here’s John 8:11 “She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.” Once you’ve been forgiven, according to the Bible, you are to go and “sin no more.” Then, in a public discussion with the Pharisees, here’s what we find Jesus saying. John 8:34 “Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.” So, you see, the Bible is filled with God’s attitude towards sin. The term “sin” in the Bible is a word that describes someone shooting at a target and missing the bull’s eye. It’s the term “missing the mark.” And missing the mark isn’t just making a mistake. You choose each and every one of your sins. Sin is your decision. It’s an act of your will. No one makes you do it. And when you do sin, you are choosing to go contrary to the will of God. |
Here are a few words from the NT.
Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;…” Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” I John 3:4 “Whosoever committeth sin transgres-seth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.” I John 3:8 “He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.” Biblically defined, sin is lawlessness. I John 3:4 “sin is the transgression (breaking) of the law.” Sin is also not doing what you know you ought to do. James 4:17 “Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.” And sin is living apart from faith. Romans 14:23 “for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.” Jack Cottrell, professor of theology at Cincinnati Christian University, says about sin. “This is not an innocent mistake, an accidental failure to hit the mark, as is usually the case in target shooting; it is rather a deliberate decision and willful failure for which one must bear the blame.” Your sin and my sin is the most offensive thing in the universe.” And here’s another man of God puts it. “Sin is not weakness, it is not a disease; it is red-handed rebellion against God and the magnitude of that rebellion is expressed at Calvary” [Oswald Chambers]. As you can see from the Scriptures, to understand sin, you must see it as God sees it. And to understand the work of Christ on the Cross, you need to understand the power and magnitude of sin in your own heart. "Sin really is Hitler. It's destroying people everywhere, forever. Hitler tried to destroy people in this life. Sin is destroying people forever. And God hates sin. And he hates the doing of sin. And he will punish sinners" [Pastor John Piper]. |