Great News!
Have you ever had one of those really 'perfect moments'? They can be few and far between sometimes, but when they come - it's like all the stars align and everything feels right in the world.
However, in this life there usually aren't many 'perfect' moments. It always seems that something comes along to spoil things. This life can be really good at times! But even when we're enjoying the great blessings that God has given us - there are still bills to pay, there are family and health issues and things like earthquakes and storms and power outages. And if you listen to the news at all, there are a myriad of crisis' and conflicts in our nation and the economy and all over the world!
Let's face it, things here aren't perfect. But those of us who have read the Bible know that wasn't always the case. In the very beginning, God created a perfect world and placed His children in a perfect spot – the Garden of Eden. Everything was perfect - just as God intended it to be. God and man walked and talked freely together - until sin entered the picture. Then we had…
I. Perfection spoiled
Let's turn all the way back to the book of Genesis and pick up the story in Genesis 2:15-17 (NIV)...
The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. (16) And the LORD God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; (17) but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die."
Life was simple. You live and work in a perfect garden and all your needs are taken care of by your perfect Father. Anything that Adam and Eve were even capable of thinking was permissible – they had the run of the entire planet! At that point - there was only one way to sin – one thing that went against God's will – one thing they were told that was off limits. They were told not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. And that perfect moment was ruined by…
A. Direct disobedience
Let's jump ahead in the story where we find the first account of anything happening in the entire universe that wasn't directly in harmony with God's perfect will.
Genesis 3:1-6 (NIV)
Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?" (2) The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, (3) but God did say, 'You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.'" (4) "You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman.
(5) "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." (6) When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.
So, a half truth and a lot of deceit led to direct disobedience of the one command that God established. And because of that disobedience, the serpent was right in one sense – they now did know good and evil. And it was that evil that God was too perfect to tolerate. Which brings us to…
B. The result
This is the part of the serpent's deceit – "you will not surely die." God wasn't lying – that sin would lead to death, something that wasn't a part of the original plan. Sin always has consequences. So let's pick it back up with God's response to their disobedience in Genesis 3:16-19 (NIV)...
To the woman he said, "I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing; with pain you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you." (17) To Adam he said, "Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, 'You must not eat of it,' Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life.
(18) It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. (19) By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return."
And death enters the picture. God created perfection for His children – a place where He could be with His creation for eternity! All of that fell apart with that one sin. God kicked His own children out of the perfect Garden because of sin. Do you think that God takes sin seriously?
Sin is not something people like to talk about a lot. And even when we are talking about it, we prefer terms like 'bad choice' or 'mistake' to make it more palatable. And I understand why we do it; calling sin for what it is isn't very popular or comfortable. And even in the Church, we don't want to be seen as condemning or judgmental – so we're careful not to offend.
But I don't want to be so careful as to ignore the seriousness of just what sin is. Let's look at…
II. Sin defined
Years ago I knew a man who was cheating on his wife. Well, not according to him. He had specifically gone over to the house of his 'female friend' for a rendezvous. They were all alone and started getting friendly. Notice all the polite euphemisms so far..? Now, his wife called their minister, who drove over to talk and showed up just before things went much beyond a PG-13 rating.
He was caught in the act, but his response was, 'That was a big mistake but I'm glad you caught me before I committed adultery'. - Before adultery? - A mistake? He accidentally started flirting with her a few weeks before; he accidentally accepted her invitation; he accidentally drove to her house and he accidentally took his pants off?
Sin is not simply a mistake! Sin is deliberately choosing our will over God's will! If God had considered Adam and Eve eating from the tree simply a mistake – do you think He would have endured the pain of kicking His own children out of the garden He had created just for them?
Sin separates us from God! Sin breaks the relationship between God and man! Anything that is against 'the will of God' falls into the category of sin. And whether we call it a 'mistake' or a 'bad choice' or a 'bad habit', it is…
A. Serious
I want us to look at a passage where Jesus talked about sin from Matthew 18:6-9 (NIV)...
But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea. (7) Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to sin! Such things must come, but woe to the man through whom they come!
(8) If your hand or your foot causes you to sin cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire. (9) And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.
Those are some pretty strong statements. Now, I've heard some teach that passage and say something like, "Well, Jesus didn't really mean that part about gouging out your eye or cutting off your hand." While Jesus wasn't encouraging people to poke out their eyes or cut off their hands, I get uncomfortable when people say, "Jesus didn't really mean what He said."
Jesus said what He meant. Jesus took sin very seriously! He may not have been calling people to cut off their hands, but He was serious about it being preferable to Hell... Jesus was so serious about sin, and the result of sin, that He willingly went to His death on a cross in order to save you and me from the eternal consequences of our sin!
Just the other day, I heard a guy on the radio encouraging people to love themselves and he said, "You are perfect just the way you are!" We live in a culture that denies there even is sin - that has forgotten how to grieve sin - and instead many take pride in their sin and even celebrate sin!
Now, please don't misunderstand. It's not my intent to condemn anyone for their sin! For those who've accepted Jesus and have been baptized into Him, the Bible is very clear that we have been forgiven for our sins! Never forget that! - But, that doesn't mean that any sin or disobedience in our life is not serious.
The eternal consequences, for one who accepts Jesus and allows Him to wash away our sin, the eternal consequences are gone – but that doesn't mean there are no consequences of our sin! If we believe Jesus' words – sin is always serious! Now, as we attempt to understand 'sin' a bit better, the question sometimes comes up...
B. Big or little sin?
We know that murder can't be the same as telling a lie, right? Some come from other Church backgrounds where there's teaching regarding what are called 'venial sins' or 'mortal sins' - smaller sins and sins that lead to death. And that teaching has changed somewhat over the years. But what hasn't changed is...
Romans 6:23 (NIV)
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Notice it doesn't say, 'the wages of big sins is death and the wages of little sins is a timeout'. The consequences of a murder and a lie are very different in this life – and I'd of course much rather you lie to me than murder me, right? However, nowhere in the Bible do you find a distinction between 'big sins' and 'little sins'. To make ourselves feel less convicted, we make a huge distinction, but I can't find any Biblical evidence that God does. Think about it - the 'small sin' of eating fruit from a tree led to physical death for all humanity. All sin is serious. Again, Jesus said...
Matthew 5:21-22 (NIV)
You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.' (22) But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, 'Raca,' is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, 'You fool!' will be in danger of the fire of hell.
Does that sound like Jesus makes a huge distinction?
There's something vital we need to remember to put things in perspective - sin is not arbitrary. Sin is called sin for a reason. Something is either in line with God's will, or it isn't. God didn't just set up a random set of rules just to show us who's in charge. God calls some things sin because they are bad for us! God calls us to avoid sin for our own good!
God told Adam and Eve not to eat from the tree for a very good reason – so they could stay in their perfect home and enjoy a perfect, personal relationship with God. God didn't give them that command to restrict them but to free them for an amazing, blessed life! Instead, they chose disobedience which always leads to pain.
God tells us some things are 'sin' because God always wants what is best for us. God's will is that we are blessed – going against His will removes that blessing and brings pain. The choice then is simply…
III. How do we respond?
I don't want to neglect the first step for anyone in responding to sin. We find Peter's command to those who wanted to know what to do in Acts 2:38-39 (NIV)...
Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. (39) The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off - for all whom the Lord our God will call."
Repentance - turning away from sin - that's what everyone needs to do. But it's not just the response asked of those outside of Christ.
I think many in the Church have become too comfortable with sin. We redefine it. We rationalize it away. We treat it as a personal choice rather than as disobedience to God. And in some cases, if the government says it's legal, it's no longer sin, right? If the majority no longer calls it sin, it must be okay? If we don't get caught, is it still sin? We forget how seriously God views sin! Please don't get so comfortable with your 'blanket of grace' that you forget to seek God's will first and foremost in your life!
Sin will try to entice you and convince you that it's not really that big of a deal! Encourage one another, and fight sin in your life! Following Jesus is not a passive act. Don't allow yourself to get comfortable with sin in your life, or in the life of anyone else with whom you have a relationship or influence! Sin is serious and it separates us from God and the blessings that He wants to pour out on us!
Hebrews 12:1-4 (NIV)
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. (2) Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
(3) Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. (4) In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.
Do you view sin the same way that God does? Have you resisted sin to the point of shedding your blood? When you look at it that way – perhaps we've got a long way to go, don't we?
So What?
Drunkenness, pornography, premarital sex, extramarital sex, cheating on your taxes, coveting, lying, idolatry, gossip, stealing, swearing, greed, jealousy, rape, misusing God's name, cheating, not honoring our parents, lust, murder - with which of those are we more comfortable? Sin is sin.
And I'll freely admit it – I'm not better than a single one of you; I'm a 'Grade A' sinner by any definition. But I don't have to like it, and by the amazing grace of Jesus I don't have to accept it! That's the Gospel message - the Good News of Jesus - we can be free of the power of sin!
Things here may have gotten pretty messed up since the original Garden of Eden. But the same God who wanted perfect fellowship with Adam and Eve still wants us to live with Him in another perfect home! He has prepared Heaven for those who are faithful and struggle to live for Him. He provided a way for the eternal consequences, the price of our sin to be completely paid by coming down Himself and dying on a cross for us! This is not a message of bad news, but Good News!! - Great news!
We need to be aware of sin and to fight it with everything we have so that we can be in line with God's holy and perfect will. Then we'll be useful in brining others to Jesus! And we need to run with perseverance until we get home!