Im Dreaming Of A White Christmas Series

The Stain of Sin

I. Sin is never a little matter.

The consequences of sin are never strictly personal. he curse of sin impacted not just man, but animals, and the ground, and the weather. Sin has a global impact. When you and I participate in sin, we have an impact on more than ourselves. We continue the curse on creation itself.

Listen to what the N.T. says.

Romans 8:20

20 For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God. We know that creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.

Creation is caused great pain by mankind’s disobedience. And don’t miss the words, liberated and bondage. “Liberated” and “bondage” are slavery kinds of words.

The Stain of Sin

II. Sin doesn’t just hurt creation; it enslaves it to corruption and decay.

People often wonder why there are tornadoes and earthquakes; why there is cancer and disease. One answer is that these things happen because of the curse of sin. The world doesn’t operate the way it should. Ever had a computer crash? Have you ever read the message “Corrupt file system”? Sin has corrupted the world’s operating system.

So as this text opens, God calls Heaven and earth to the stand as peers; as witnesses to the devastating consequences of sin. In verse 3, then, God makes a claim of ownership on Judah. Do you hear it in the phrases? An ox knows its owner…A donkey knows its master

It sound strange, when we think of it is a commodity sense. But God is claiming another kind of "ownership." Let me illustrate.

Illustration

How many of you have children? How many of you have ever said, “That’s my son” or “That’s my daughter.” You do realize don’t you that by using the word “my” that you are claiming ownership (possession.) My is a possessive pronoun. But I hope you do not use it in the same way that you say “That’s my car.”

Instead, when we say, “That’s my son”…”That’s my daughter” we are claiming an attachment through relationship. I am attached to my kids and I certainly hope my kids know that I wouldn’t trade them for the world.

As God speaks through Isaiah, He is making a claim of ownership of Israel in a family sense. He calls Judah his children in verse 2. So he says, “These are my children but they have rejected me.”

Sometimes when we read the prophets, we can see a strict and angry God. We see a God ready to dole out some punishment. And we miss the relationship that God desires. As we read this in Isaiah, however, I hope that we can picture God as a deeply caring Father who has been rejected by his children.

In fact, in verses 3-4, he points to their foolishness.

He tells the people of Judah, the Ox knows its owner…the donkey knows its master. Animals can sense to whom they belong, but not you. We can almost read into this that God has said that his children aren’t even as bright as the animals. His children have experienced how God cares for them, yet they have rejected Him. Do you see the picture in the first 4 verses?