Sin

1. Last week I walked up to some men who were talking.

2. One of these men used the word “Hell.”

3. The one who was listening said, “that’s a swear word.”

4. “Saying that word is a sin.”

5. The other man said this was incorrect; it was okay to say “Hell” as he was using it.

6. The second man pointed to me and said, “There’s the preacher; let’s ask him.”

7. Sometimes we need to look at even the small words and think about what they mean.

ANOTHER LITTLE WORD IS “SIN.” THIS TERM IS USED IN CONVERSATIONS, BUT DO WE AND OTHERS REALLY KNOW WHAT SIN IS?

a) Certainly people in the world have will react to the word “sin.”

b) There are those who hear something called sin and they become angry.

c) Others laugh at sin while still others view the idea of sin with contempt and scorn.

d) We even find “intellectuals” who think sin is a means of deceit to control the masses.

2) Sin is a little word that most would actually agree with a basic definition of the term.

3) In very simple terms, sin is wrong behavior.

4) Through the history of the world, most everyone has said or recognized that some things are wrong.

5) Long ago there was a Roman philosopher (Seneca) who said: ”We have all sinned, some more, some less.”

6) A German poet and philosopher (Goethe) confessed,

7) “I see not fault in others which I myself might not have committed.”

8) Even the Chinese have recognized sin; one of their proverbs says:

9) “There are two good men: one is dead the other is not yet born.”

10) Within most there is a conscience that functions; at times this conscience condemns.

a) When we look to the Bible and the subject of sin, we see a lot of attention given to this topic.

b) At first our minds may run right to Rom. 3:10 and 23 – none are righteous and all sin.

c) Long before Paul came along preachers were preaching about sin.

d) 2 Chron. 6:36 says “there is no man that sinneth not.”

e) Wrongdoing is a problem, and it is a problem for all people if they live long enough.

11) What if someone said: “sin is as old as the world.” Would this be a true statement?

12) We probably need to add a little more information.

13) At the beginning of time, man was without sin. In one sin came after man.

14) From another perspective, sin existed before man was formed.

15) Recall with me the words of Jesus in Jn. 8:44; Christ said Satan was guilty of sin from the “beginning.”

16) Before Adam and Eve were formed the devil was involved with sin.

17) Sin has been around for a long, long time and Satan and sin really go hand in hand.

18) Righteousness is of God and evil (wrongdoing/sin) is from the devil.

19) Knowing this helps us determine what sin is not.

a) There are those who view sin as “the violation of cultural standards.”

b) If we go against the grain in society, that’s wrong (sin).

c) This definition of sin may or may not be true.

d) Jesus never sinned (Heb. 4:15), but He did violate cultural standards.

e) For instance, in Jn. 4:27 the Lord conversed with the woman from Samaria.

f) Another false view of sin says this is a problem associated with sickness.

g) Sin and sickness are not always connected.

h) God holds man accountable for sin, but we are never told we are accountable for sickness.

i) Sickness is not necessarily sin, and sin is not necessarily correlated to disease.

20) Another error when we look at the subject of sin involves “genetics.”

21) We live in a time of great scientific knowledge.

22) We have medical achievements and advancements. This technology has confused some people.

23) We find allegations that essentially say certain sins are based upon genetic conditions or failures.

24) If a man says he cannot control his desire to seek out other males, some say it is a matter of genes.

25) If a woman cannot control her desire to drink, it is said she cannot be held accountable (genetics).

26) Genetics may make a person more or less susceptible to something.

27) God says we are responsible for our choices, our faults, and our wrongs (sins).

28) Eph. 2:1 says “you were dead through YOUR trespasses and sins.”

29) It was not bad genes, negative family history, or anything else.

30) Personal choice and personal responsibility are directly tied in with sin.

QUITE A BIT HAS BEEN SAID ABOUT SIN IN GENERAL SO LET’S NOW MAKE THE SUBJECT A LITTLE MORE SPECIFIC.

a) Sin is the violation of God’s law, 1 Jn. 3:4.

b) When we sin we are missing the standard; we fail to meet the target.

c) In manufacturing there are often quotas.

d) A plant may want to make 200 units of something each day it operates.

e) Either that 200 target number is met or it is not.

f) The plant might get close. Maybe it completes 199 & is only 20 minutes away from 200 units.

g) 20 minutes short of having 200 is close but it is missing the mark. 199.9 is not 200.

2) God is perfect and His standard is identical with His character (i.e. perfection).

3) We may live very good lives; in our minds our lives may be outstanding.

4) If we take a close look at our lives, we find that we are not perfect.

5) It was for this reason the Chronicle writer as well as Paul said we are all guilty of sin.

6) “Sin” is from a word that literally meant “miss the mark.”

7) It was used of archers who shot arrows at targets; the bulls eye might not be missed by much.

8) The point was not how much it was off but just that it was off—it was not dead center.

9) Being “off” is very bad in the spiritual realm.

a) Rom. 6:23 says pays a wage; it is like receiving a check.

b) When we look at that check from sin it says we receive spiritual destruction.

c) Long ago a prophet said “sin separates us from God” (Isa. 59:1-2).

d) This may be part of the reason why Prov. 13:15 says “the way of the transgressor is hard.”

e) Was the writer right?

f) Punishment for sin is “the lake of fire” (Rev. 20:14); the Old Testament writer was right.

g) Eternal ruin in every way is the consequence of sin if sin is not somehow paid for.

h) Jesus that sin would make people perish and they could not come to where He is.

10) We also think about the principle in Gal. 6:7-8 – what we reap we sow.

11) Many are under the impression that we need to sow a lot of sin to merit God’s wrath.

12) A little sin will not destroy so if we minimize our wrongs we will be okay.

13) We do not find that kind of teaching anywhere in the Bible.

14) Imagine a white shirt – as white as white can be.

15) A single drop of blood is allowed to drop on to this shirt.

a) We would all agree that the shirt is not covered in blood.

b) At the same time, we would also agree that the shirt is no longer completely white.

c) One small spot of blood is enough to mark a shirt.

d) In a similar way, one sin is enough to stain a person who is accountable.

THIS LESSON, WHICH FOLLOWS THE MATERIAL OUR YOUNG PEOPLE ARE STUDYING FOR THE LADS TO LEADERS PROGRAM, IS SUPPOSED TO DEMONSTRATE THE HIGH PRICE OF SIN.

a) All we have said so far says sin is serious and the price to pay for it will be very high.

b) If just one sin condemns, then sin is extremely serious.

c) Much of our lives are lived counting the cost of various products.

2) Winter has arrived and people are beginning to “count the cost” to heat their homes.

3) We often hear drivers “count the cost” when it comes to filling up the car gas tank.

4) For those who give gifts at this time of the year, “cost counting” is often done as well.

5) In the secular part of life we “count the cost” again and again.

6) When it comes to the spiritual part of life, cost counting is often a forgotten virtue.

7) Jesus tells us that is really the only part of life that matters; we need to count the cost of sin.

8) People who have not done this or refused to do this have suffered and suffered terribly.

a) Consider the residents of Sodom in Gen. 18.

b) Gen. 18 says God knew about the sin in this city and area.

c) It was a “grievious” matter.

d) Gen. 19:13 says heavenly visitors were sent to “destroy” the city.

e) Has God every destroyed one or more cities due to sin? Yes.

f) Sin has destroyed whole cities in the past and this very fact.

g) Sin destroyed people from Egypt, Babylon, Assyria, Edom, Israel and the Philistines.

h) If sin didn’t wipe out whole communities, the people suffered in many other ways.

i) It was because of sin that people faced: Burning, stoning, hanging, beheading, crucifixion,
and the sword. For “minor offenses,” punishment was a little less severe:

j) Scourging, fines, and sometimes imprisonment.

9) Sin is man’s worst problem and it needs a divine solution.

10) Sin says man needs a savior, and only one person can fit that need; His name is Jesus.

11) Sin leaves man with no peace (Isa. 57:21), but Christ is the prince of peace.

12) The way of the transgressor is hard (Prov. 13:15), but Jesus said He has an easy yolk and burden.

13) Sin brought havoc upon the earth (Rom. 8:20f), but Christ brings a spiritual kingdom of contentment.

14) Sin helped confuse the language of the world (Gen. 11:7), but there is “one language” in Christ.

15) Jesus died for sin (1 Cor. 15:3); He was an “innocent victim” so we do not need to pay the price.

16) God’s grace comes through Christ and His sacrifice (2 Cor. 6:1).

17) For us to receive that grace, we must be obedient (Heb. 5:9).

18) All sin can offer is pleasure for a very limited time (Heb. 11:25).

19) Will we take the Lord’s offer?

20) Every morning at 9:30 I attend a meeting at **.

21) At this meeting we review truck success and failures from the previous day.

22) Last Thursday a problem that affected several trucks was discussed in length.

23) One person had created all the problems on this particular issue.

24) After this information had been heard by about 30 people, the plant manager grabbed a microphone.

25) He said, “Why didn’t that line operator pull the cord?”

a) Throughout ** there is a yellow cord that looks like a clothes line.

b) If an operator has some type of problem or concern, he pulls the cord and people come to him.

c) There are also red emergency cords; if these are yanked everything stops and people come running.

d) The team leader who gave the report said to the plant manager, “I don’t know why he didn’t pull the cord.”

e) “He often pulls it for other stuff, but didn’t pull it to get help for this problem.”

26) The plant manager then shouted at the assistant plant superintendent—COME SEE ME AFTER THE MTG.

27) I’m pretty sure the man who failed to pull the cord last week is now out of a job.

28) He could have pulled a cord for help and he should have pulled a cord for help.

29) If he would have known his job would have been on the line, he surely would have pulled the cord.

30) Sin is serious and we need to “pull the cord” (call on Christ through obeying the gospel).

31) Have we pulled that cord to become a Christian and have we kept hold of our commitment?