Our Gift

OUR GIFT

Rom 3:21-31

• INTRODUCTION

I would like you to listen carefully as I read to you Rom 3:21-31

READ

If you really tried to grasp what Paul is saying there you probably worked up a bit of a sweat on the old grey matter. I know I find some of that pretty hard to understand!

Nevertheless, we will be looking at 2 themes mentioned in this passage:-

1. Our Sinfulness & what that means

2. The Gift that God offers us.

Firstly, lets turn attention to that which has almost become a swear word in todays vocabulary -

SIN

We will be looking at 3 aspect of sin:-

1. What sin actually is

2. That we are all sinners, and

3. The consequences of sin.

And firstly we need to understand:-

• 1. WHAT SIN ACTUALLY IS

Sin is basically doing that which is displeasing to God!

And I think Scripture presents 2 categories of how we sin. - The intentional & the unintentional.

By unintentional, I mean that sin which we commit without knowing, or at least we don’t do it on purpose. It could be a slip, a blunder or something that we didn’t even know was offensive to God. It could be ignorance of , but still a breaking of, God’s Law.

It may be an attitude of controlling our own destiny & not even being aware that in our life decisions God is the one that should have the final say, not us.

The other sin group - the intentional - are those deliberately committed. The times when we do something wrong just because we want to.

Lets be real!

Even Scripture tells us that sin can be great fun at first - it says that it is “pleasurable for a season”. I mean the very fact that we are tempted indicates the appeal it has & that we can get enjoyment from it!

The intentional category = the sins we do by a deliberate breaking of God’s law.

The Law is summed up in the 10 Commandments - which are found in Exodus 20, & you can read them for yourself in your own time. Don’t forget that Jesus taught in Matthew that the 10 Commandments apply to attitudes & thoughts as well as actions.

Now that we have established what sin actually is, lets move on to the fact that:-

• 2. WE ARE ALL SINNERS

You are a sinner (point to congregation) *Ooops 3 fingers are pointing back at me. We are sinners!

To the woman caught in adultery, Jesus said “ Let the one who hasn’t sinned throw the 1st stone at her.” Jesus was saying “You are all sinners, so look carefully at yourselves before you point the finger.”

And Paul tells us in the passage that we just read (vs.23) that “...all have sinned...”

John, in 1 John 1:18 says “That we live in, make believe land, if we say we have no sin.” He goes on to say that “We make Almighty God out to be a liar, if we say we have not sinned.”

And Paul says in Rom 1:18 that God’s wrath is poured out on those who suppress the truth - And isn’t that true! If you can’t see that you are a sinner, you will not see your need for Christ & will consequently go to Hell - because you wouldn’t believe the truth!

Listen to how CH Spurgeon (a famous 19th century preacher) came to see his sinfulness:-

TAKEN FROM “BASIC CHRISTIANITY” pg70

BY J STOTT

“I do not hesitate to say that those who examined my life would not have seen any extraordinary sin, yet as I looked upon myself I saw outrageous sin against God. I was not like other boys, untruthful, dishonest, swearing and so on. But of a sudden, I met Moses carrying the law ... God’s Ten Words ... and as I read them, they all seemed to join in condemning me in the sight of the thrice holy Jehovah”

Spurgeon was convinced of his sin as God convicted him through His Law.

If you are not convinced of your sinfulness as Spurgeon was, by the character of God as revealed in His Law - Then listen to what Jesus says in Mk 12:30. He says - this is the greatest of all the commandments, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength”

Is there any part of you which is exempt from totally loving God all the time?

No! Every bit of you is to love God completely, or you have sinned!!! And Jesus isn’t talking about a one off thing - it is to be loving Him in this way every moment of the day, every day of your life!