Outside of the doors of the local church, not many people, not many church people, use the word "sin." To use the word would be to acknowledge an ultimate standard that identifies wrong. Sadly, too many of us are uncomfortable with the idea that wrong is wrong.
We've become masters of justification and rationalization when it comes to right and wrong. We fiddle with moral alternatives. Statistical morality uses the measure "everyone is doing it" as permission to do what we want to do. Emotional morality uses the measure "if it feels good, do it" as justification for personal behavior. Situational morality uses the measure "deciding in the moment" as the mode of dealing with right and wrong. Sensitive morality uses the measure "offend no one" as reason for setting no moral standards.
Now, I didn't make these statements up. This is merely a description of what we are doing in our daily lives. We like to sin. But our consciences, and for Christians, the Bible, cries out against the very behaviors we have embraced. Hence the need to work hard to explain away, to justify, how we make our choices, how we manage our daily lives.
Today's message is a response to some of the truths we have considered over the past few weeks. Before we go further into the book of Romans, I thought we should stop and consider biblical responses to sin. We already know what we do, how we respond. It might be helpful to consider God's ideals on the subject.
I think it safe to state that sin exists, that God hates sin, and we, too often, encounter sin. What are we to do when we encounter sin? Are we to be haters of sin? What about the sinners of sin? Do we hate them, or avoid them? This is a very important issue for the Christian. Our response to sin may be the determining factor in the measure of our relevance to the world around us.
I would like to quickly walk us through a collection of passages and biblical truth statements in search of a response to sin(s). The passages and truths are categorized by four statements that help us define who and what we are in Jesus Christ. This could be a wild sword drill, or you can use the scriptures in the bulletin.
#1 . . . Know Who You Are In Christ
2 Corinthians 5:17 . . . Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!
Each believer is brand new, not reheated leftovers, not merely repaired. We are made new. This newness concerns the heart/soul. From the inside out, we have been re-created to become what God intended us to be.
Titus 3:4 . . . But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, {5} he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit....
Our salvation, being made new, was a work of God motivated by His love. We did nothing to deserve this attention. As such, we should approach each moment of life with the assumption that we need His help and guidance to live our new lives.
1 John 3:6 . . . No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him. {9} No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God's seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God.
The power of God's salvation, the presence of God's Holy Spirit in us precludes continued sinning. You've heard me say "we do not have to sin." John takes this idea even further: continuing to sin is cause to question one's spiritual health. Does this mean we should never sin? That's the ideal. But at the least, the better life would be a life, that when sin enters, is torn and moved to confession.
#2 . . . Know What You Have In Christ
2 Peter 1:3 . . . His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.
This is the Prego spaghetti sauce verse. Once saved, once indwelt by God's Spirit, we have everything, everything we need to be holy. There is no second installment. There is no upgrade to a better system. It's all inside us in the person of the Spirit. What we have in our salvation is a lifelong project of figuring it all out.
Ephesians 6:10 . . . Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. {11} Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes.
God has made available for our use, spiritual armor. We just need to put it on. The armor is free. The armor is more than enough. But unless we take the effort to put it on, we are little more than targets at the local rifle range.
1 John 1:9 . . . If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
Confession unto forgiveness is one of the greatest gifts from God. No sacrificed cows. No memorized penitential prayers. When we catch ourselves sinning, our best response is to run to God and squeal on ourselves. In the moment of our true confession, God forgives us, cleanses us, and sets us free. Confession at the Cross, for the sincere, is our "get out jail free" card.
#3 . . . Know How You Are Doing In Christ
Ephesians 4:22 . . . You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; {23} to be made new in the attitude of your minds; {24} and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
We need to change our spiritual clothes. Before our Cross experience, our standard operating procedure was to decide for ourselves what is right and what is wrong. We called the shots. Before our Cross experience, our outlook for the future was dismal. We were destined to die for each one of our many sins. In Christ, after a Cross experience, we are free to be and to do righteousness.
But this is not automatic. There is change that we must make. A bit of self evaluation as we stand before the Word of God reveals the dirt/sin. We are to take off, that is, remove from our lives all sin. Thoughts, words and deeds that God calls sin must be removed. And then, we are to clothe ourselves with the pure thoughts, words and deeds that God calls righteousness.
Psalm 19:14 . . . May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.
One way to begin the process of cleansing a life is to talk with God. Pray! Ask God to do an audit of your life and to prompt your conscience, alerting you to the sin in your life.
Proverbs 1:10 . . . My son, if sinners entice you, do not give in to them.
And a GREAT BIG NO-BRAINER is to avoid anyone who might tempt you to sin.
James 4:17 . . . Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins.
And just in case you think sin is ONLY doing things that are wrong, think again. Not doing that which is right is just as much sin as doing what is wrong. Sins of commission are the wrongs we do. Sins of omission are the rights we do not do.
#4 . . . Know Your Goals In Christ
1 Corinthians 6:12 . . . "Everything is permissible for me"—but not everything is beneficial. "Everything is permissible for me"—but I will not be mastered by anything.
Shallow and self-centered believers often misuse their freedom in Christ to achieve personal goals and objectives. Truth: If God has not said that it is a sin, then it is probably okay to do, to embrace. But in Christ, it is more than "is it okay?" We must also decide between what is good and what is best. Sometimes saying "No!" to a right is what is best. We struggle with this biblical concept because we have become an entitlement-focused people.
Because we are who we are, whether Christian or American, first at the intersection, the victim of another's wrong, many of us feel we're entitled to whatever it takes to make it all better. I missed that rule when I read through the Bible. God's best for us is that we consider what is REALLY best, that we refuse to be mastered/controlled by anything.
Philippians 2:12 . . . Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, {13} for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.
Do you know Jesus? Then you have eternal life. But what will you do with the gift of life? Paul calls us to rise up and to make the most of our salvation. To "work out our salvation" is to choose to live each moment/breath with God's best in mind. Discover your gifts and abilities and use them until you breathe your last. Embrace all God gives you and use it for His glory and honor. Live every day, every breath, as if — and they are — treasures to be enjoyed.
As you can see, these are but a few of the biblical ideals that we must keep in mind as we confront temptation and sin. Sin is real. Sin overlaps, even consumes, our daily lives. Let us not walk around unaware of this reality. Instead, let us face each day with an awareness and a plan to make the most of the salvation Jesus has provided. Let us plan to not sin. And to confess when we do. Let us make the most of each new day.
These are some of the responses we should be making when it comes to dealing with temptation and sin: Know Who You Are In Christ. You are not what you once were. You are becoming someone new. Learn who you are in Christ. Know What You Have In Christ. You have freedom to become more. You have great power. Use all that God makes available. Know How You Are Doing In Christ. Don't assume you're doing just fine. Continually evaluate your personal growth in Christ. Don't settle for just being saved from Hell. Know Your Goals In Christ. Do you just want to be saved? Do you want to become more? It is important to acknowledge what you intend.
These basic life questions are significant because they determine what we will do with temptation and sin. What do you plan to do when sin comes knocking on your door?
