Christ Came To Take Away Sin Series

Jesus came into the world to deal with sin

A. The reason Jesus came into this world to die for us.

1. Essentially, and primarily, Jesus came to deal with 2 great problems: Sin and death. Rom 8:1-2.

2. They are interlinked. Sin led to death.

3. But the main problem is sin.

4. See Matt 1:25

B. WHAT IS SIN?

1. Sin is any deviation from God’s perfect standards of righteousness.

2. It includes actions, words, and thoughts.

C. THE REALITY IS: WE ALL HAVE SINNED

1. Everybody is a sinner as a result of the sin of Adam.

2. Nobody is righteous or good in God’s eyes.

3. When it comes to the topic of sin, some people try to justify themselves by saying, “at least I’ve never killed anyone or cheated on my spouse.”

4. But Jesus does not accept these excuses.

5. In the Sermon on the Mount, he teaches that anger is just as bad as murder and lust is just as bad as adultery.

6. Sin is sin...and has harsh consequences.

D. IT IS IMPORTANT FOR US TO RECOGNIZE THAT WE HAVE SINNED AGAINST GOD.

1. In recognizing this we can then seek and receive His forgiveness.

2. One of the main arguments of Paul in the letter to the Romans was to show that all men are sinners, in order that he might emphasize the truth of Christ’s mission as the universal Saviour.

3. Listen to his conclusion: “We have before proved that both Jews and Gentiles are all under sin” (Rom. 3:9). “There is no difference: for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (vss. 22-23).

E. WE SIN ALL THE TIME

1. James says: If you know to do good and do it not, it is sin (4:7).

2. Many who claim to have no sin need to examine themselves in the light of God’s word.

a. Do I love God with all my heart?

b. Do I love my neighbour as I love myself?

3. Sin is breaking God’s laws by doing things contrary to his laws (sins of commission).

a. Sin is breaking God’s laws by failing to do what he requires (sins of omission).

b. Sin is also mistreating others.

c. Numbers5: 5-6 says: The Lord said to Moses, “say to the Israelites: ‘any man or woman who wrongs another in any way … is unfaithful to the lord (and) is guilty (before Me).

4. All these are sins that offend God. Gossip...slander...anger...stealing...lying...betrayal...thinking evil thoughts towards others...judging people without first judging yourself...not helping others when you have the capacity to.

5. Sin goes contrary to God’s nature. God is:

a. Holy

b. Love

F. WHAT ARE THE GREATEST SINS?

1. Before coming to Christ, the greatest sin is rejecting or ignoring Christ

2. After being saved some of the greatest sins are probably:

a. Spiritual apathy...lukewarmness…compromise. Rom 12:1

b. Sexual sin. Paul says it’s the only sin against your own body, and your body has become the temple of the Holy Spirit.

G. SIN HAS DIRE CONSEQUENCES. And in looking at these we will discover why God hates sin:

1. SIN DESTROYS

A. It destroyed harmony and union with God

1. Man became separated from a God because of sin.

2. Man became spiritually dead. Eph 2:1-3.

3. The Spiritual Life God wanted them to have was ripped away because of sin

4. The physical life God wanted for man was destroyed

5. Rom 6:23 says “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23, NIV)

B. It destroyed the well-being of mankind.

1. In Genesis we see that sin caused the fall of man

2. It caused the first fight between brothers, and resulted in the death

3. It caused the Flood

4. It resulted in Sodom and Gomorrah being destroyed by God

5. Sodom and Gomorrah’s destruction and the Flood took place before the law.

6. A loving God destroyed the earth. Because of sin. Particularly sexual perversion and violence.

7. Don’t let anyone tell you that now that you’re a Christian sin doesn’t matter because of grace

8. Don’t let them deceive you by saying that God does not mind your sin.

9. Remember Ananias and Sapphira we saved and under grace, and God still struck them down because of their sin. Acts 5:1-11.

10. Paul says that even though we are set free from the law, we must not use our freedom to indulge in sin. Gal 5:13; 1 Pet 2:16.

C. The Bible warns us about sin – even in the New Testament!

1. Hebrews 2:1-2 says: We must pay the most careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. 2 For since the message spoken through angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment, 3 how shall we escape if we ignore so great a salvation?