WEBVTT 00:00:00.240 --> 00:00:02.640 That's one of those tunes that no matter what 00:00:02.640 --> 00:00:04.799 the word said, it would just move you to hear 00:00:04.799 --> 00:00:14.019 it. It's gorgeous. There was a day when America 00:00:14.019 --> 00:00:20.760 legislated against sin. When its people wept, 00:00:21.699 --> 00:00:26.960 mourned, and repented because of sin. However 00:00:26.960 --> 00:00:33.479 today, We condone sin. We pass laws to approve 00:00:33.479 --> 00:00:42.200 it. We laugh at it. And when I say we, I'm including 00:00:42.200 --> 00:00:47.520 many of God's own people. We have forgotten the 00:00:47.520 --> 00:00:51.939 seriousness of sin. We have forgotten what sin 00:00:51.939 --> 00:00:56.109 is and what its consequences are. So today I 00:00:56.109 --> 00:00:58.729 want us to think about that as we continue the 00:00:58.729 --> 00:01:03.890 S .O .S. series. Let's think about the seriousness 00:01:03.890 --> 00:01:07.250 of sin. I would like you to open your Bible with 00:01:07.250 --> 00:01:18.109 me to the book of James, the first chapter. For 00:01:18.109 --> 00:01:21.510 God cannot be tempted by evil and he himself 00:01:21.510 --> 00:01:26.040 does not tempt anyone. But each one is tempted 00:01:26.040 --> 00:01:29.859 when he is carried away and enticed by his own 00:01:29.859 --> 00:01:35.519 lust Then when lust has conceived it gives birth 00:01:35.519 --> 00:01:40.319 to sin and When sin is accomplished it brings 00:01:40.319 --> 00:01:47.799 forth death Sin is serious It is serious to society 00:01:47.799 --> 00:01:54.409 It is serious to families It is serious to individuals. 00:01:55.250 --> 00:02:02.290 Above all, sin is serious to God. I'd like for 00:02:02.290 --> 00:02:05.010 us to begin today by asking the question, what 00:02:05.010 --> 00:02:08.750 is sin? Because we live in a day when the definition 00:02:08.750 --> 00:02:14.810 of sin has been lost. What is sin? Is there such 00:02:14.810 --> 00:02:20.270 a thing? Well, even some psychiatrists like Carl 00:02:20.270 --> 00:02:24.180 Menninger a number of years ago who wrote a book 00:02:24.180 --> 00:02:28.280 about sin, recognized that there is such a concept 00:02:28.280 --> 00:02:31.840 even in a secular world. Now they would define 00:02:31.840 --> 00:02:33.780 it differently than we might from the Word of 00:02:33.780 --> 00:02:41.740 God. But what is sin? Well, sin is not the same 00:02:41.740 --> 00:02:45.360 as temptation. James clarifies that for us. It 00:02:45.360 --> 00:02:48.139 is one thing to be tempted. Temptation can be 00:02:48.139 --> 00:02:52.659 resisted. When it is not, temptation does then 00:02:52.659 --> 00:02:59.860 lead to sin. Sin is defined in a number of ways 00:02:59.860 --> 00:03:03.819 in the Bible. Let me just suggest several of 00:03:03.819 --> 00:03:08.240 them to you quickly. One is that sin is error. 00:03:09.580 --> 00:03:14.979 James 5 verse 20 says that a sinner can be saved 00:03:14.979 --> 00:03:21.729 from the error of his way. The word error is 00:03:21.729 --> 00:03:26.169 a Greek word from which we get our English word 00:03:26.169 --> 00:03:31.150 planet. We call these heavenly bodies planets 00:03:31.150 --> 00:03:35.110 because they move around the solar system. That 00:03:35.110 --> 00:03:38.389 term was not selected haphazardly. They were 00:03:38.389 --> 00:03:41.870 seen in the telescopes wandering in the heavens 00:03:41.870 --> 00:03:45.349 and so this term was applied to them. They are 00:03:45.349 --> 00:03:51.849 wandering around the heavens. Sin is wondering. 00:03:52.509 --> 00:03:56.710 It is error. It is forsaking the right path. 00:03:58.569 --> 00:04:03.169 Secondly, sin is omission. Again, James says, 00:04:05.030 --> 00:04:07.389 the one that knows to do good and does it not, 00:04:07.469 --> 00:04:13.389 to him it is sin. So sin can be omission of something 00:04:13.389 --> 00:04:15.770 that we know to be right. It is failure to do 00:04:15.770 --> 00:04:21.660 what is expected. Thirdly, sin is lawlessness. 00:04:22.000 --> 00:04:24.860 John gives us this definition in 1 John 3 verse 00:04:24.860 --> 00:04:30.060 4. Sin is lawlessness, he says. In other words, 00:04:30.180 --> 00:04:34.100 it is defection from God's righteous standard. 00:04:35.620 --> 00:04:39.699 It is to live without restrictions from God upon 00:04:39.699 --> 00:04:47.240 one's life. It's lawlessness. 1 John, again, 00:04:47.360 --> 00:04:50.600 chapter 5 verse 17, it says sin is unrighteousness, 00:04:50.920 --> 00:04:55.399 or unrighteousness is sin actually. In other 00:04:55.399 --> 00:05:01.300 words, sin is the absence of what is right. And 00:05:01.300 --> 00:05:05.319 finally, the word sin that we commonly see in 00:05:05.319 --> 00:05:09.000 the New Testament is a word that means departure. 00:05:10.339 --> 00:05:15.199 Harmartia is the word. Literally, it meant in 00:05:15.199 --> 00:05:18.459 its origins, to miss the mark. And it was a word 00:05:18.459 --> 00:05:21.600 that an archer might use regarding a shot that 00:05:21.600 --> 00:05:25.199 he would take at a target. And because of something 00:05:25.199 --> 00:05:27.699 being wrong with the arrow, perhaps the feather 00:05:27.699 --> 00:05:31.519 was not properly placed or the shaft was a bit 00:05:31.519 --> 00:05:36.839 warped, it would miss the mark. That is the word 00:05:36.839 --> 00:05:39.980 that God uses by the inspiration of the Holy 00:05:39.980 --> 00:05:45.160 Spirit to define sin. It means the mark The target 00:05:45.160 --> 00:05:49.420 is out there and we are, as it were, shot at 00:05:49.420 --> 00:05:53.220 it and we miss it because of something that is 00:05:53.220 --> 00:05:58.639 warped and wrong inside of us. A definition of 00:05:58.639 --> 00:06:02.839 sin might be this. It is the lack of conformity 00:06:02.839 --> 00:06:09.420 to the character of God. Sin is any lack of conformity 00:06:09.420 --> 00:06:15.450 to the character of God. A little girl. proudly 00:06:15.450 --> 00:06:20.670 announced to her mother, I'm like Goliath. I'm 00:06:20.670 --> 00:06:25.170 nine feet tall. Her mother looked down at her 00:06:25.170 --> 00:06:28.149 and said, well, honey, what makes you think that? 00:06:29.329 --> 00:06:31.509 The little girl replied, well, I made a ruler 00:06:31.509 --> 00:06:34.009 and measured myself with it and I'm nine feet 00:06:34.009 --> 00:06:38.629 tall. You see, that's what man does. He says, 00:06:38.769 --> 00:06:41.290 I'm okay, but the problem is he's made his own 00:06:41.290 --> 00:06:47.600 ruler. You see, sin is any lack of conformity 00:06:47.600 --> 00:06:53.899 to God's character. That's the ruler. It really 00:06:53.899 --> 00:06:57.060 makes very little difference how we define sin. 00:06:58.899 --> 00:07:01.279 It makes little difference what categories we 00:07:01.279 --> 00:07:05.439 put it into, because ultimately sin is measured 00:07:05.439 --> 00:07:11.500 against God. Sin is any lack of conformity to 00:07:11.500 --> 00:07:14.980 the character of God. The Bible speaks of it 00:07:14.980 --> 00:07:20.879 in three ways. It is a state. It is a position 00:07:20.879 --> 00:07:24.860 that we have before God. Ephesians chapter 2 00:07:24.860 --> 00:07:30.860 verse 1 speaks of us being dead in sins. It is 00:07:30.860 --> 00:07:33.579 a position that we inherit from our great great 00:07:33.579 --> 00:07:38.480 grandfather Adam. He passed it down to us and 00:07:38.480 --> 00:07:41.040 to every generation preceding us and we pass 00:07:41.040 --> 00:07:45.569 it on to our children. It is a state that we 00:07:45.569 --> 00:07:50.850 are born into, just as we are born by our natural 00:07:50.850 --> 00:07:54.810 parents as citizens of whatever country they're 00:07:54.810 --> 00:07:57.110 a part of. In our case, most of us, the United 00:07:57.110 --> 00:08:00.649 States of America. And that is our state. That 00:08:00.649 --> 00:08:03.490 is our standing in the world. We are citizens 00:08:03.490 --> 00:08:07.529 of the United States. So when we are also born 00:08:07.529 --> 00:08:10.329 from our parents, we inherit a spiritual position. 00:08:10.670 --> 00:08:14.430 a spiritual state, a standing before God, and 00:08:14.430 --> 00:08:19.470 it's said to be in sin. Now the proof of that 00:08:19.470 --> 00:08:21.970 is seen in the fact that the Bible also describes 00:08:21.970 --> 00:08:27.250 us as being sinners in nature. We were by nature, 00:08:27.850 --> 00:08:31.259 says Paul in this same text. the children of 00:08:31.259 --> 00:08:33.419 wrath. We were by nature the children of wrath. 00:08:33.700 --> 00:08:36.919 And so sin is not merely a state or a condition 00:08:36.919 --> 00:08:39.639 that we are born into. It is a nature, something 00:08:39.639 --> 00:08:44.600 inside of us. It is a capacity or an inclination 00:08:44.600 --> 00:08:48.600 that is inherent in us from our birth to sin. 00:08:49.500 --> 00:08:52.259 And that leads to the third way the New Testament 00:08:52.259 --> 00:08:56.460 speaks about sin. It's a position or a state. 00:08:57.080 --> 00:09:01.919 It's a nature. An inclination, it is a deed. 00:09:02.519 --> 00:09:08.740 It's an act. We act out what we are by our natural 00:09:08.740 --> 00:09:13.600 birth. Because we are sinners, we therefore sin. 00:09:13.759 --> 00:09:19.059 It doesn't apply that we become sinners because 00:09:19.059 --> 00:09:23.000 we sin. It's just the opposite. We are sinners, 00:09:23.059 --> 00:09:28.460 therefore we sin. Our nature is to sin. And so 00:09:28.460 --> 00:09:31.620 Paul says in this same text again, we lived in 00:09:31.620 --> 00:09:37.840 the lusts of our flesh. What is sin? It is any 00:09:37.840 --> 00:09:40.440 lack of conformity to the character of God and 00:09:40.440 --> 00:09:45.860 it is the curse of the human race. Why is sin 00:09:45.860 --> 00:09:49.360 so serious? Let me give you two reasons why it's 00:09:49.360 --> 00:09:53.840 serious. Because of what it does to us and what 00:09:53.840 --> 00:10:00.919 it provokes in God. What does sin do to us? In 00:10:00.919 --> 00:10:05.340 the first place, sin deceives us. Hebrews 3 and 00:10:05.340 --> 00:10:10.240 verse 13 warns about the deceitfulness of sin. 00:10:11.960 --> 00:10:16.559 Sin promises us certain things, but it does not 00:10:16.559 --> 00:10:21.220 deliver. Sin says that we can be involved in 00:10:21.220 --> 00:10:24.320 this activity or we can have that goal that's 00:10:24.320 --> 00:10:27.860 wrong. And there are no consequences to it. It's 00:10:27.860 --> 00:10:32.659 a lie. And we soon find out that we've been taken. 00:10:34.620 --> 00:10:39.600 Sin implicates. It endangers. It brings bondage. 00:10:39.840 --> 00:10:44.720 It wastes. It erodes. Sin hardens the heart. 00:10:49.039 --> 00:10:52.220 It tempts. It tantalizes. It entices. But it 00:10:52.220 --> 00:10:55.399 does not deliver. It deceives. It is by its nature 00:10:55.399 --> 00:11:00.269 deceptive. Sin says if you will just do this, 00:11:00.289 --> 00:11:06.009 then you'll be satisfied. Sin says if you just 00:11:06.009 --> 00:11:11.529 involve yourself in this, it'll be enough. But 00:11:11.529 --> 00:11:17.389 you're never satisfied with sin. You never have 00:11:17.389 --> 00:11:24.110 enough with sin. It deceives. The picture that 00:11:24.110 --> 00:11:29.080 is used by James of enticing is the picture of 00:11:29.080 --> 00:11:33.919 a fisherman. Some of you went fishing a few weeks 00:11:33.919 --> 00:11:39.700 ago upon Lake Malax, had a wonderful day, not 00:11:39.700 --> 00:11:43.139 many fish, and I didn't even go. I can't be blamed 00:11:43.139 --> 00:11:48.720 for it. Some of you were skilled fishermen. You 00:11:48.720 --> 00:11:51.039 knew exactly what bait to put on there, what 00:11:51.039 --> 00:11:54.779 lure to use. You knew what depth you were fishing 00:11:54.779 --> 00:11:57.899 at. You knew the kind of fish you wanted. And 00:11:57.899 --> 00:12:00.220 somehow that day they just weren't biting. They 00:12:00.220 --> 00:12:04.639 were smart fish. They were not enticed onto your 00:12:04.639 --> 00:12:08.200 hook. That's the picture that James uses. He 00:12:08.200 --> 00:12:13.259 says that lust and sin put the bait on the hook. 00:12:13.899 --> 00:12:16.840 They hold it out there for us. And it says, oh, 00:12:16.860 --> 00:12:20.159 if you'll just try this, you'll enjoy it. Oh, 00:12:20.159 --> 00:12:23.440 if you just have some of this, you'll be satisfied. 00:12:23.960 --> 00:12:30.000 And if we take that hook, we are fooled. Sin 00:12:30.000 --> 00:12:35.700 deceives. That's why it's serious. Secondly, 00:12:35.940 --> 00:12:41.299 sin disgraces. Righteousness exalts a nation, 00:12:41.379 --> 00:12:44.740 we read earlier, but sin is a reproach or a disgrace 00:12:44.740 --> 00:12:50.470 to any people. Why is sin serious? Because it 00:12:50.470 --> 00:12:56.629 disgraces the sinner. It brings shame and guilt. 00:12:58.549 --> 00:13:05.610 Sin ruins reputations. It tarnishes names. It 00:13:05.610 --> 00:13:10.850 makes people ashamed to be out in public. Ask 00:13:10.850 --> 00:13:14.090 some of the politicians or other leaders of our 00:13:14.090 --> 00:13:18.159 area who have been caught in sin. in recent months. 00:13:22.259 --> 00:13:25.279 Look at your own record when you've been caught. 00:13:27.659 --> 00:13:31.500 When I've been caught in sin. Sin disgraces. 00:13:32.679 --> 00:13:39.639 It's serious. Thirdly, sin destroys. It's serious 00:13:39.639 --> 00:13:46.320 because it destroys lives. It's serious because 00:13:46.320 --> 00:13:52.480 it destroys families. It's serious because it 00:13:52.480 --> 00:13:59.620 destroys whole nations. Nations become footnotes 00:13:59.620 --> 00:14:04.600 in history because of sin. The United States 00:14:04.600 --> 00:14:10.019 is on its way there right now. Because of sin, 00:14:10.259 --> 00:14:13.240 our nation is quickly losing its leadership and 00:14:13.240 --> 00:14:17.200 its greatness in the world. And we should not 00:14:17.200 --> 00:14:19.179 be surprised should there come a day when the 00:14:19.179 --> 00:14:21.240 United States will not only be a second -rate 00:14:21.240 --> 00:14:25.080 power, but will not even matter in the course 00:14:25.080 --> 00:14:27.740 of history in the world. Relegated to nothing 00:14:27.740 --> 00:14:30.799 more than a footnote in that time and the reason 00:14:30.799 --> 00:14:35.629 because of its moral collapse and decay. Sin 00:14:35.629 --> 00:14:38.669 destroys on every level. It destroys character. 00:14:40.929 --> 00:14:45.169 It destroys people in their vocations. It destroys 00:14:45.169 --> 00:14:47.370 people in their friendships. It destroys them 00:14:47.370 --> 00:14:51.809 in their loves. Sin destroys. That's why it's 00:14:51.809 --> 00:15:03.809 serious. Then finally, sin damns. James says, 00:15:04.940 --> 00:15:09.360 Sin, when it is finished, brings forth death. 00:15:10.860 --> 00:15:16.539 Romans 6 -23, the wages of sin is death. Why 00:15:16.539 --> 00:15:22.200 is sin serious? Because it damns the soul. It 00:15:22.200 --> 00:15:26.480 brings judgment from God. Ezekiel 18 -3, the 00:15:26.480 --> 00:15:32.299 soul that sins shall die. God doesn't delight 00:15:32.299 --> 00:15:35.980 in that, but that's the way it is. That's the 00:15:35.980 --> 00:15:39.840 moral justice of his universe based upon his 00:15:39.840 --> 00:15:45.779 character. The soul that sins dies. Sin is serious. 00:15:48.360 --> 00:15:53.100 But we're inoculated to it. We watch it on our 00:15:53.100 --> 00:15:59.559 videos. We tune it in on our televisions. It's 00:15:59.559 --> 00:16:03.779 made a joke of and we laugh about it. And no 00:16:03.779 --> 00:16:09.200 longer do we take it seriously. Although it destroys, 00:16:09.620 --> 00:16:15.500 it disgraces, it deceives, and it damns. Sin 00:16:15.500 --> 00:16:21.840 is no joke. It's time to stop laughing. Because 00:16:21.840 --> 00:16:27.340 of what sin does to us. But consider also what 00:16:27.340 --> 00:16:33.090 sin provokes in God. The Bible says that God 00:16:33.090 --> 00:16:38.309 is angry with sin. Psalm 7 verse 11 says that 00:16:38.309 --> 00:16:43.070 God is angry with the wicked every day. This 00:16:43.070 --> 00:16:46.549 is the response of His holiness to that which 00:16:46.549 --> 00:16:52.429 is antithetical to Him. It offends Him. God hates 00:16:52.429 --> 00:16:58.009 sin. Psalm 45 verse 7. He loves righteousness 00:16:58.009 --> 00:17:03.059 and hates wickedness. Do you know the primary 00:17:03.059 --> 00:17:08.359 reason that God hates sin so? It is because of 00:17:08.359 --> 00:17:15.319 what it does to us whom He loves. God hates sin 00:17:15.319 --> 00:17:19.000 because He sees what its fruits are in the lives 00:17:19.000 --> 00:17:25.319 of people for whom He has great compassion. God 00:17:25.319 --> 00:17:29.400 is angry with sin. God hates sin. God judges 00:17:29.400 --> 00:17:33.809 sin. Romans 1 -18, the wrath of God is revealed 00:17:33.809 --> 00:17:38.349 from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness 00:17:38.349 --> 00:17:43.869 of men. Why is sin so serious? I'll tell you 00:17:43.869 --> 00:17:49.670 why. Because of what it provokes in God. It provokes 00:17:49.670 --> 00:17:58.950 in Him anger and hatred and judgment. How can 00:17:58.950 --> 00:18:04.390 sin be escaped? Sin, after all, is a crime requiring 00:18:04.390 --> 00:18:10.390 justice. Sin is a debt demanding payment. Sin 00:18:10.390 --> 00:18:15.890 is a stain necessitating removal. How can sin 00:18:15.890 --> 00:18:22.970 be escaped? Sin is so serious that someone must 00:18:22.970 --> 00:18:26.269 die because of it. That's how serious it is. 00:18:27.990 --> 00:18:34.720 Every sin demands death. Either the death of 00:18:34.720 --> 00:18:41.859 the sinner or the death of the Savior on behalf 00:18:41.859 --> 00:18:47.400 of the sinner. If you want to understand the 00:18:47.400 --> 00:18:50.759 seriousness of sin, all you have to do is to 00:18:50.759 --> 00:18:55.059 think back to the cross that was on Calvary on 00:18:55.059 --> 00:18:59.839 that Good Friday where the Lord Jesus Christ 00:18:59.839 --> 00:19:05.720 hung. nailed there, bled, suffered, and died. 00:19:07.279 --> 00:19:11.200 That tells us the seriousness of sin. Sin demands 00:19:11.200 --> 00:19:15.799 death. It is a wonderful occasion for God's love 00:19:15.799 --> 00:19:18.319 to be demonstrated. That's the marvelous thing. 00:19:19.460 --> 00:19:21.700 Despite the fact that it demands death, it's 00:19:21.700 --> 00:19:25.680 also an occasion for God to step in and to intervene 00:19:25.680 --> 00:19:28.200 and to show and demonstrate His love for man. 00:19:30.599 --> 00:19:33.660 For while we were yet sinners, Christ died for 00:19:33.660 --> 00:19:38.279 us. God demonstrated His love for us in that 00:19:38.279 --> 00:19:45.460 truth. How can we escape sin? By coming to the 00:19:45.460 --> 00:19:49.880 Savior. Sin is so serious that God has provided 00:19:49.880 --> 00:19:54.819 the only release from it. And He has provided 00:19:54.819 --> 00:19:59.079 that at awful personal cost. The death of His 00:19:59.079 --> 00:20:05.019 only Son. Through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, 00:20:05.700 --> 00:20:08.559 escape from death and sin has been provided for. 00:20:09.039 --> 00:20:12.539 Justice has been satisfied. Payment has been 00:20:12.539 --> 00:20:18.500 made in full. The stain has been removed. Sin 00:20:18.500 --> 00:20:25.980 can be escaped. But there are some people that 00:20:25.980 --> 00:20:33.890 Jesus will not save. Did you know that? Despite 00:20:33.890 --> 00:20:36.490 the fact that he died for sinners on the cross, 00:20:36.750 --> 00:20:39.029 there are some people that Jesus Christ will 00:20:39.029 --> 00:20:43.910 not save. A Christian physician received his 00:20:43.910 --> 00:20:49.289 training in part at the Mayo Clinic. He was a 00:20:49.289 --> 00:20:54.450 Christian. And after that training, he gave this 00:20:54.450 --> 00:20:56.769 illustration sometimes when he talked. He said, 00:20:56.789 --> 00:20:59.680 when I was in residence at the Mayo Clinic, A 00:20:59.680 --> 00:21:02.039 lady who had suffered for many years came for 00:21:02.039 --> 00:21:05.839 an examination. We found that she could be helped 00:21:05.839 --> 00:21:09.519 through surgery and proper medication. Before 00:21:09.519 --> 00:21:11.819 leaving the clinic, she suggested that her husband 00:21:11.819 --> 00:21:14.339 have a checkup, although he appeared to be in 00:21:14.339 --> 00:21:17.539 good physical condition. At first, he refused, 00:21:17.839 --> 00:21:19.980 saying, I'm not sick, I'm perfectly healthy, 00:21:20.279 --> 00:21:22.799 I don't need a doctor. Does that sound like any 00:21:22.799 --> 00:21:27.940 men you know, ladies? But, at his wife's insistence, 00:21:27.960 --> 00:21:31.220 he finally yielded and received the tragic news 00:21:31.220 --> 00:21:34.720 that he had a cancerous tumor in his chest, which 00:21:34.720 --> 00:21:38.700 would soon end his life. Since it had not affected 00:21:38.700 --> 00:21:41.839 any nerves, he experienced no pain, yet he was 00:21:41.839 --> 00:21:46.420 a dying man. Many sinners are likewise deluded 00:21:46.420 --> 00:21:49.359 into thinking they are spiritually healthy when 00:21:49.359 --> 00:21:51.920 actually they are inflicted with the deadly disease 00:21:51.920 --> 00:21:57.730 of sin that can doom them. forever. Who are the 00:21:57.730 --> 00:22:00.069 people that Jesus will not save? It is those 00:22:00.069 --> 00:22:02.970 who will not recognize that they need to be saved. 00:22:04.789 --> 00:22:09.670 It's those who laugh at sin. Those who mock sin. 00:22:11.390 --> 00:22:17.910 Those who love sin. Those who enjoy sin. Those 00:22:17.910 --> 00:22:21.690 who refuse to acknowledge sin. Those are the 00:22:21.690 --> 00:22:25.069 people that Jesus Christ Himself cannot save. 00:22:30.250 --> 00:22:34.509 How can we escape sin? Well, we must never see 00:22:34.509 --> 00:22:39.470 it as a harmless pastime. We must never see sin 00:22:39.470 --> 00:22:45.230 as just a bad habit. We must never evaluate it 00:22:45.230 --> 00:22:47.890 as merely an innocuous activity that doesn't 00:22:47.890 --> 00:22:53.180 hurt anybody else. We must never allow it to 00:22:53.180 --> 00:22:57.000 become merely an excused attitude that we harbor. 00:22:58.299 --> 00:23:01.680 Sin, in whatever form it is, is dangerous, destructive, 00:23:01.980 --> 00:23:07.380 and damning. You know, people used to realize 00:23:07.380 --> 00:23:12.779 this. It's hard for us, as inculturated as we 00:23:12.779 --> 00:23:17.019 are, to realize how much people used to recognize 00:23:17.019 --> 00:23:21.000 what I'm talking about today. Listen to the words 00:23:21.000 --> 00:23:25.259 of one person who wrote a couple of centuries 00:23:25.259 --> 00:23:30.200 ago in America. I confess my sin, my frequent 00:23:30.200 --> 00:23:35.519 sin, my willful sin. All my powers of body and 00:23:35.519 --> 00:23:39.720 soul are defiled. A fountain of pollution is 00:23:39.720 --> 00:23:42.960 deep within my nature. There are chambers of 00:23:42.960 --> 00:23:47.319 foul images within my being. I have gone from 00:23:47.319 --> 00:23:51.559 one odious room to another. walked into no man's 00:23:51.559 --> 00:23:55.579 land of dangerous imaginations, pried into the 00:23:55.579 --> 00:24:00.039 secrets of my fallen nature. I am utterly ashamed 00:24:00.039 --> 00:24:06.859 that I am what I am in myself." Can you imagine 00:24:06.859 --> 00:24:15.180 somebody saying that today? One Christian writer 00:24:15.180 --> 00:24:21.019 put it this way in a prayer. O Lord of all hypocrites, 00:24:21.400 --> 00:24:25.319 grant that I may not be an evangelical hypocrite, 00:24:26.720 --> 00:24:31.420 who sins more safely because grace abounds, who 00:24:31.420 --> 00:24:35.380 tells his lusts that Christ's blood cleanses 00:24:35.380 --> 00:24:39.019 them, who reasons that God cannot cast him into 00:24:39.019 --> 00:24:44.039 hell for he is saved, who loves evangelical preaching, 00:24:44.640 --> 00:24:50.960 churches, Christians. but lives unholy. Of all 00:24:50.960 --> 00:24:56.019 the hypocrites, grant that I may not be an evangelical 00:24:56.019 --> 00:25:04.319 hypocrite. It is easy for us, on an occasion 00:25:04.319 --> 00:25:06.799 like this, to talk about the sins of America, 00:25:09.319 --> 00:25:12.680 to point outwardly to society and to those sins 00:25:12.680 --> 00:25:19.259 that are so prominent flagrantly displayed, boasted 00:25:19.259 --> 00:25:23.839 about in parades, and to condemn those who are 00:25:23.839 --> 00:25:30.140 involved in these sins. But it's harder for us 00:25:30.140 --> 00:25:34.539 to look within, as did this person who wrote 00:25:34.539 --> 00:25:38.220 this prayer, and to see within our own hearts 00:25:38.220 --> 00:25:43.910 the hypocrisy that is there. How we have fun 00:25:43.910 --> 00:25:49.509 with sin. How we excuse sin. How we embrace sin. 00:25:51.750 --> 00:25:55.009 We have accommodated ourselves to its presence. 00:25:58.390 --> 00:26:05.369 We are a worldly people. We have compromised 00:26:05.369 --> 00:26:12.049 with this destructive, powerful principle that's 00:26:12.049 --> 00:26:16.190 active in the world and present in our own lives, 00:26:16.430 --> 00:26:24.609 our own bodies, called sin. What is needed today 00:26:24.609 --> 00:26:30.329 above all else in America is a people of God 00:26:30.329 --> 00:26:38.299 who are renewed in their hatred of sin. who hate 00:26:38.299 --> 00:26:44.579 it first of all in themselves, who are willing 00:26:44.579 --> 00:26:51.319 to see its stain within themselves, and are willing 00:26:51.319 --> 00:26:54.940 to allow their hearts to be broken before God 00:26:54.940 --> 00:27:03.339 in repentance. That's what America needs. It 00:27:03.339 --> 00:27:07.450 needs a people of God who are first. willing 00:27:07.450 --> 00:27:16.190 to confess their own sins. That we do sin, we 00:27:16.190 --> 00:27:21.450 must acknowledge if we are honest people. The 00:27:21.450 --> 00:27:23.890 Scripture tells us that if we say we have no 00:27:23.890 --> 00:27:27.789 sins, we've deceived ourselves. The truth isn't 00:27:27.789 --> 00:27:32.170 in us if we say we have no sin. It is there. 00:27:34.329 --> 00:27:41.390 What we must do is learn to repent of it. We 00:27:41.390 --> 00:27:45.390 must turn from it. We must cease harboring it 00:27:45.390 --> 00:27:49.690 and nurturing it and enjoying it and realizing 00:27:49.690 --> 00:27:53.650 what it is and what it results in. Turn from 00:27:53.650 --> 00:28:02.089 it. A little girl accepted Christ as her Savior 00:28:02.089 --> 00:28:05.930 and applied for membership in a local church. 00:28:08.269 --> 00:28:10.829 One of the old deacons was interviewing her for 00:28:10.829 --> 00:28:13.910 membership and said to her, were you a sinner 00:28:13.910 --> 00:28:16.430 before you received the Lord Jesus into your 00:28:16.430 --> 00:28:23.190 life? Yes, sir. Well, are you still a sinner? 00:28:24.930 --> 00:28:27.970 To tell you the truth, I feel I'm a greater sinner 00:28:27.970 --> 00:28:32.839 than ever. Well, he said, then what change have 00:28:32.839 --> 00:28:36.640 you experienced? Well, she said, I don't know 00:28:36.640 --> 00:28:40.460 quite how to explain it, but I used to be a sinner 00:28:40.460 --> 00:28:43.900 running after sin, but now that I'm saved, I'm 00:28:43.900 --> 00:28:49.339 a sinner running from sin. A very simple way 00:28:49.339 --> 00:28:53.900 she put it right. Our problem today is that we're 00:28:53.900 --> 00:28:56.160 not running as fast as we ought to be from sin. 00:28:57.579 --> 00:29:00.240 In some cases, we've actually slowed down and 00:29:00.240 --> 00:29:04.039 turned around. And today, we need to come before 00:29:04.039 --> 00:29:06.619 God and recognize the seriousness of sin for 00:29:06.619 --> 00:29:09.500 ourselves, our families, and our nation, and 00:29:09.500 --> 00:29:16.240 repent of it and be done with it. I invite you 00:29:16.240 --> 00:29:23.259 to bow with me in prayer. It's time to do business 00:29:23.259 --> 00:29:28.970 with God. If we would ask God to bless America, 00:29:29.130 --> 00:29:31.769 we must ask first that He bless us. If we would 00:29:31.769 --> 00:29:34.789 ask that God bring repentance to this nation, 00:29:34.849 --> 00:29:39.730 we must begin in our own hearts, acknowledging 00:29:39.730 --> 00:29:45.109 our sins, understanding its seriousness, turning 00:29:45.109 --> 00:29:51.670 from it. If you've not come to the Savior before, 00:29:51.710 --> 00:29:54.819 we invite you to do that today. as an act of 00:29:54.819 --> 00:29:58.160 faith in your own heart to receive Him so that 00:29:58.160 --> 00:30:00.880 you might not have to experience the second death 00:30:00.880 --> 00:30:05.079 which is the lake of fire, an eternal separation 00:30:05.079 --> 00:30:08.559 from God, the place where all unforgiven sinners 00:30:08.559 --> 00:30:13.759 will spend eternity. Someone must die because 00:30:13.759 --> 00:30:19.200 of your sins, you or the Savior on your behalf. 00:30:21.609 --> 00:30:26.190 Will you come to Him today and trust Him, invite 00:30:26.190 --> 00:30:29.829 Him into your life and your heart, to live there, 00:30:29.930 --> 00:30:35.450 to reign there? Christian friend, if you have 00:30:35.450 --> 00:30:40.910 done that, what today would God be calling upon 00:30:40.910 --> 00:30:47.069 you to do? Have you been tolerating sin? It will 00:30:47.069 --> 00:30:52.609 surely bring you to ruin. Are you playing with 00:30:52.609 --> 00:30:58.750 sin? It's not a toy. Are you walking right as 00:30:58.750 --> 00:31:01.109 close to the line as you can without trying to 00:31:01.109 --> 00:31:05.769 step over it? You're going to trip and fall on 00:31:05.769 --> 00:31:14.089 your face. Sin is serious. Child of God, turn 00:31:14.089 --> 00:31:17.630 from your sin today. Let's come before our Heavenly 00:31:17.630 --> 00:31:30.200 Father with brokenness in our hearts. Father 00:31:30.200 --> 00:31:33.599 God, we thank you that in the quietness of moments 00:31:33.599 --> 00:31:37.980 like this, you do work inside of us by your Spirit. 00:31:39.099 --> 00:31:43.380 Sometimes it's uncomfortable and painful, as 00:31:43.380 --> 00:31:49.539 in the time when we talk about sin. Wherein we 00:31:49.539 --> 00:31:52.539 have been willing to live with it, to excuse 00:31:52.539 --> 00:31:59.579 it, to harbor it, We come before you with brokenness 00:31:59.579 --> 00:32:06.319 and repentance and sorrow deep within Do a fresh 00:32:06.319 --> 00:32:10.160 work in us Lord giving us renewed hatred for 00:32:10.160 --> 00:32:21.299 it Let us fear sin father and run from it Let 00:32:21.299 --> 00:32:24.000 us see it for all that it does in our world and 00:32:24.000 --> 00:32:29.920 what it provokes in you Let us understand, Father, 00:32:29.980 --> 00:32:36.839 the consequences and experience afresh Your mercy, 00:32:37.799 --> 00:32:40.480 Your deliverance, and Your power in our lives 00:32:40.480 --> 00:32:49.200 over it. Just as we wait upon God, I wonder if 00:32:49.200 --> 00:32:52.119 You'd like to respond personally to the Lord. 00:32:53.250 --> 00:32:55.769 I'm not going to have a come forward kind of 00:32:55.769 --> 00:32:57.910 invitation this morning, but I would invite you 00:32:57.910 --> 00:33:01.710 to stand where you are if your own heart is broken 00:33:01.710 --> 00:33:05.029 today and you're saying to God, do something 00:33:05.029 --> 00:33:07.829 fresh in my life. Give me a fresh hatred for 00:33:07.829 --> 00:33:11.950 sin, a love for holiness. I invite you to stand 00:33:11.950 --> 00:33:16.630 in dedication of yourself to God right now. When 00:33:16.630 --> 00:33:19.769 you're seated, just stand to your feet before 00:33:19.769 --> 00:33:33.279 we close in prayer. Father, I pray that you will 00:33:33.279 --> 00:33:37.779 bless these who have stood in confession and 00:33:37.779 --> 00:33:41.579 brokenness and in sincere prayer before you. 00:33:42.400 --> 00:33:46.759 Some of us still haven't gotten it, Lord. Some 00:33:46.759 --> 00:33:54.400 of us still haven't gotten it. We need to. Work 00:33:54.400 --> 00:33:57.119 by your Spirit to bring about renewed holiness 00:33:57.119 --> 00:34:00.599 in your church and the lives of your people. 00:34:01.569 --> 00:34:07.609 May we be holy because you are holy. May we fear 00:34:07.609 --> 00:34:11.269 and hate sin and run from it and live in the 00:34:11.269 --> 00:34:16.469 light of your truth and holiness and power. For 00:34:16.469 --> 00:34:20.530 Jesus' sake, we pray. I invite all of you to 00:34:20.530 --> 00:34:23.969 stand with me. I'd like to read a prayer from 00:34:23.969 --> 00:34:27.889 a Puritan, which will be our benediction this 00:34:27.889 --> 00:34:30.670 morning. Listen to these words that we offer 00:34:30.670 --> 00:34:55.420 to God through His pen. Let's pray. Give us a 00:34:55.420 --> 00:34:58.519 deeper knowledge of thyself as Savior, Master, 00:34:58.760 --> 00:35:03.619 Lord, and King. Give us deeper power in private 00:35:03.619 --> 00:35:09.519 prayer. More sweetness in Thy Word. More steadfast 00:35:09.519 --> 00:35:14.579 grip on its truth. Give us deeper holiness in 00:35:14.579 --> 00:35:20.840 speech, in thought, in action. And let us not 00:35:20.840 --> 00:35:25.139 seek moral virtue apart from Thee. For we have 00:35:25.139 --> 00:35:30.280 no master but thee, no law but thy will, no delight 00:35:30.280 --> 00:35:34.340 but thyself, no wealth but thou givest, no good 00:35:34.340 --> 00:35:37.719 but that thou blessest, no peace but that thou 00:35:37.719 --> 00:35:42.860 bestowest. We are nothing but that thou makest 00:35:42.860 --> 00:35:46.579 us. We have nothing but that we receive from 00:35:46.579 --> 00:35:52.500 thee. We can be nothing but that thy grace adorns 00:35:52.500 --> 00:35:58.510 us. Query us deep, Lord, and then fill us to 00:35:58.510 --> 00:36:05.170 overflowing with living water, pure and free. 00:36:07.329 --> 00:36:07.610 Amen.