Pastor Jann Braaksma
According to God’s Holy Word, what is Satan’s job description?
To steal, kill and destroy. It comes from the Gospel of John, tenth chapter and 10th verse. “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy.”
Christianity is a religion of salvation from sin. People need salvation because they are sinners. The body itself is not sinful—only the sin nature is sinful.
Continuing in John 10:10, Jesus says; “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
Satan seeks to rob Christ of His glory, and the sinner of salvation, by giving us a wrong view of sin. He does not want us to know how sinful we are and how deadly sin is.
1 – Who is guilty of sin? Yes, everyone.
Romans 3:23 says, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” And 1 John1:10 says, “If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.”
Each infant is born innocent but impure. (45)
No sin is small in the sight of God.
God says every sin is open rebellion against Him.
Sin not only deprives us of the presence of God, the favor of God, the knowledge of God, and the desire for God, it also blinds and enslaves our spirit. (50)
Unless checked by grace, sin becomes more natural, more habitual, more bold, and more vile. (57)
We understand we are all sinners, some are saved by grace and some are not yet saved. But the question can be, “what is sin anyway?”
2 – Let’s hear the Wesleyan Core Term, Sin (page 531)
Many Christians think the word sin is no longer an appropriate way to understand the condition of our life as human creatures before God.
Not so for John Wesley! He was convinced by his study of Scripture, the cumulative wisdom of the church, and reflection on his life and the circumstances of his time that there lies within us a power, working with such force that it is capable of destroying us.
Wesley saw that naming the source of our problem as sin, that is, willful action setting us against the will of God and turning us away from communion with God, bestows great dignity upon us.
We are sinful creatures of a gracious God whose great love grants us freedom in the shaping of our life and destiny in relation to God and others. And while the reality of sin is pervasive, and, at times, seemingly overwhelming. Wesley believed a capacity for acknowledging its reality is itself a gift of God.
The original translation for the word sin comes from an archery term which means “to miss the mark”. By sinning we “miss the mark” of God’s holy standard of righteousness. For such a small word it packs quite a punch.
Sin is what God says it is. In Exodus 20 God says;
have no other gods before me; don’t make any graven image;
don’t take my name in vain; don’t work on the Sabbath day;
don’t dishonor your father and mother; don’t kill;
don’t commit adultery, don’t steal,
don’t bear false witness and don’t covet.
These are the Ten Commandments of course.
If those standards weren’t high enough, Jesus gave further instructions in Matthew 5 and said;
whosoever is angry shall be in danger of judgment;
whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire;
and if you have lust in your heart, you have already committed adultery.
I mean whoa!
Then if you search out the verses that talk about laziness, gluttony, sloth and gossip, you could almost get discouraged.
People promise not to sin, determine not to sin, yet succumb to temptation or habit and sin anyway.
Even the apostle Paul struggled with this. Let’s hear Rom 7:14-20.
We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.
As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature.
For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do, no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.
For goodness sake, this is Paul, who had a great conversion, lived his life for the Gospel and he still struggled with sin.
People sin in spite of education, wealth, prestige, or position. (61)
But why should we worry about sin?
3 – What is the penalty of sin? Yes, the wages of sin is death for the sinner and for the Christian alike. (299)
Romans 6:23 tells us; “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Sin not only deprives of the presence of God, the favor of God, the knowledge of God, and the desire for God, but also blinds and enslaves the spirit. (50)
Our spirit lives eternally somewhere, and God has provided for each human being who will accept His redemption to spend eternity with Him in the joy, fellowship, beauty, music, glory, and fulfillment of His heaven. Only sin prevents that future, so God has made provision for each person to be saved from sin if they will accept God’s provision. (21)
So are we bound to die in our sin? We don’t have to.
4 – God did not wish human beings to fall, but God made full provision to reclaim from the Fall all who accept His gracious provision. His is a redemption of grace and glory. (36)
And His provision is Jesus. For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved. (John 3:17)
Jesus took upon Himself the punishment for our sin which was rightly ours, but that did not make Him guilty. He was still the sinless one. Guilt is always personal. Only the Holy Spirit can help us realize our guiltiness before God. (45)
Realizing that every human is sinful, understanding what sin is and that the penalty for sin is death and Jesus is the provision for that penalty – what do we do?
We confess that we are sinners and ask Jesus to save us. Many of us here have made that request. But like little foxes, has sin snuck back into our lives?
Does our tongue slip with profanity from time to time? Do we neglect our prayer time for TV or games?
We hear again the words from 2 Chronicles 7:14 – If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
5 – God’s salvation is salvation from sin. Jesus came to save people from their sins.
To be a Christian means to be saved from the habit and practice of willful transgressions of God’s law. (176)
The essence of victory over sin is the forgiveness of sin and the crucifixion of self by the Spirit’s sanctifying, cleansing work. (31)
Therefore until death, salvation for the individual is conditional upon their continuing to believe and obey. (300)
The Christian can rejoice and rest securely in God’s love. But they cannot deliberately and persistently sin against that love and remain secure. (301)
So the full strength of God’s condemnation of sin was met by the full strength of redemptive grace. (49)
C – I close today with Romans 6: 22-23 –
“Now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.
For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Let us pray.
Resources: The Life Application Bible; God’s Great Salvation by Wesley Duewel; The Wesley Study Bible.
Romans 3:23
“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” And 1 John1:10 says, “If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.”
Rom 7:14-20.
We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.
As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature.
For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do, no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.
2 Chronicles 7:14 –
If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.