“There were present at that season some who told Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.
13:2 And Jesus answered and said to them, "Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered such things?
13:3 "I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.
13:4 "Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem?
13:5 "I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish."
13:6 He also spoke this parable: "A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none.
13:7 "Then he said to the keeper of his vineyard, ’Look, for three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none. Cut it down; why does it use up the ground?’
13:8 "But he answered and said to him, ’Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it.
13:9 ’And if it bears fruit, well. But if not, after that you can cut it down.’ ”
Introduction:
Sin is any breaking of God’s standards especially summed up in the 10 commandments.
What’s the big deal? Why is sin such an issue and a problem in Christian teaching?
And what did Jesus think and teach about it?
There is a well known anecdote told about U.S. President Calvin Coolidge who went to church one Sunday. “Returning from church…, Calvin Coolidge’s father asked him on what topic the minister had preached. ‘Sin,’ he said. ‘And what did he say about sin?’ his father asked. Replied Coolidge: ‘He was against it.’ ” (http://www.anecdotage.com/index.php?aid=4650)
Apparently Coolidge was famous for such witty replies.
While even someone as important as a President can be brief in their consideration of the topic, sin is still there and it does not go away.
What did Jesus say about it? How should we regard sin?
Well, we start with the truth by which all things are measured or considered.
“What is truth?” was one of Pontius Pilate’s questions when confronted by Jesus. Where do you find out the truth?
You can start with the Bible. Of course we have to come to the Bible with the right attitude.
In this case, we must come to see what it actually teaches about sin and be prepared to heed its message.
It is our attitude to the Word of God that matters!
Jesus said that we would know the true believers by their actions. What you believe is what you will become.
Selecting the Truth.
Last Sunday, in Luke 4, we discovered that Jesus took God’s word seriously. When tempted by the devil, and in extreme personal circumstances, Jesus got rid of him by speaking God’s written word.
With such clear teaching of Jesus about the authority of the word of God, I do not know where people get the idea that there will be no eternal consequences if we sin.
When tempted, Jesus Himself refused to submit to the devil’s words because Jesus lived under a higher law, a better law: the word of God.
So where can you find out what is true about these things?
It depends where you get your information from. As I said, we all need true information. Just as our bodies need water to live and thrive, so we need to know the truth which will set us free. Jesus said: “You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.” (Jn 8:32)
If the “truth” you are following does not set you free, it is not God’s truth.
There are those who take all their main teaching from the words of Jesus, and yet they still deny that Jesus said we would suffer God’s eternal punishment if we sinned.
“UNLESS YOU REPENT YOU SHALL ALL LIKEWISE PERISH.”
They just do not see that there are serious consequences for us if we commit sins.
Well, I don’t know where they get that idea. They did not get it from Jesus, even if they think they did. I conclude that they do not believe the words of Jesus in the Bible. I understand some people read the Gospels selectively, only taking from them that which pleases them, or which fits their picture of the world.
Some will say I am being selective too. I have to agree.
I choose to select the whole Bible and not just the parts I like or can cope with. If that is being selective then I am selective too.
I am also selective about what I eat. What is better? To be selective, to take care, or just eat anything without knowing whether it will do you good or harm?
Jesus’ Teaches about Sin.
If you read all the teachings of Jesus, you will come across many sayings, like the one found in this passage today, Luke 13, about sin. Some call such sayings: “the hard sayings of Jesus.”
It all depends on your attitude to the Scriptures.
The Issue
Some people brought an argument to Jesus: Their argument was that some Galileans suffered a horrible fate at Pontius Pilate’s hands. They reasoned that this must have been because they committed a terrible sin.
Governor Pilate had some people brutally killed and their blood was spilled during worship. That is, while they were making sacrifices. Some heard about this and brought it to Jesus.
Their argument went something like this: “You see those horrible people Pilate killed? They must have done something terrible against God to suffer such punishment.”
And so they brought this to Jesus for his assessment.
Jesus said plainly to them: “I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish."(5)
Sins and sins. They were shocked! How dare Jesus speak to them like that? They were sophisticated people who would not dream of doing evil deeds worthy of death.
Most people think that way. Many people throughout history thought like that. Do you think like that?
What Jesus teaches here, among other things, is that my sin; any and all of my sin is an outworking of a principle of sinfulness in my heart: “Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” ( I John 1:7-8) “… for (as the Apostle Paul said) all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Rom 3:23)
No one sin is more able to put you in danger of God’s judgment than any other sin.
Now I am not saying all sins are equally hurtful to people; some are clearly more hurtful than others.
For example, if I shout at you instead of shoot at you, I have done you less harm that I could have with a gun.
On the other hand, from God’s point of view, all sins are dangerous to our eternal welfare.
You cannot be a little bit sinful and say to God: “Surely my little sins do not matter?” It’s like saying: “I am only a little bit pregnant!”
God is holy and cannot tolerate sin of any kind in His presence. All sin is an offence to the God who inhabits all space and time, and is harmed by all our sins: both peccadilloes and grievous sins and everything in between.
God is present when we sin, He sees and feels it. We are never out of God’s presence, and He is offended by the sinful things we think, say and do.
Now this creates a problem. God insists on upholding His justice.
All sin creates the need for the payment of a penalty for its offensiveness. God insists on upholding His justice and making the offence stop. This means there must be retribution to put things right again.
We thank God the payment for sin does not have to be paid by us.
As the song writer says:
“He paid a debt He did not owe,
I owed a debt I could not pay.
I needed someone to wash my sins away.
And now I sing a brand new song,
Amazing Grace all day long,
Christ Jesus paid the debt that I could never pay.”
http://www.michael-thomas.com/music/church/worship/he_paid_a_debt.htm
So because we have all sinned in some way, it does not mean that we are necessarily under God’s judgement. Believers in Christ can be glad, God made provision for all our sins: past, present and future. The Apostle John says: “My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” (1JOHN 2:1)
Thanks be to God for his wonderful, astounding gift whose name is JESUS CHRIST.
Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.
Let me take you now to a related Scripture to the passage in Luke 13 today.
It is in Matthew 12. We will take it from verse 30
Mt 12:30 “He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad.
12:31 Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men.
12:32 Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come.’ ”
Stern words, but: DON’T WORRY!
Those who worry they have committed the sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, probably have not committed it. Those who have, are hard hearted, and have stopped listening to God a long time ago.
Jesus was approached by a group of Pharisees who tried to make people feel guilty for the wrong reasons. Because Jesus had been kind and healed someone who was demon possessed, they accused Jesus of using dark forces to do this: of being on the devil’s side!
On the contrary, Jesus had been empowered by the HOLY Spirit not evil spirits! (Mt 12:28) He used this incident to teach about the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God.
He taught that it is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit which stops us from having God’s blessing and brings His retribution.
Christians who wonder if they have sinned by blaspheming against the Spirit may worry about these words of Jesus.
They may worry about this because they feel a prick in their conscience. Sometimes the devil uses this to confuse us and bring us under false condemnation.
The Apostle Paul helps us again and says: “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.” (Rom8:1) It is in having such a pricked conscience that indicates to us that we are not guilty of having rejected God’s Spirit.
Have you as a Christian ever felt that maybe this time you had sinned too much? Just gone one too far? The fact that you have felt that way, having a tender conscience, should also tell you that you have not committed the unpardonable sin.
Some Christians used to wear a badge with the letters: G-I-N-F-W-M-Y = “God is not finished with me yet.”
It pays to remember that, and keep on asking God for His grace.
Think of the old slaves’ prayer:
“Lord, I ain’t what I oughtta be,
I ain’t what I’m going to be,
But Lord, oh Lord, I thank you that I ain’t what I used to be.”
http://www.glbtinrecovery.com/Prayers.html
The Flip Side.
The flip side of that is that Jesus has been teaching that any sin we do will be counted as a serious offence against God.
Why so? Because sinful acts are the result of a sinful personality and we all have one of those. The Bible says: “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23)
And Jesus said: It is out of the heart that all the sins: fornication, evil thoughts, lying cheating murder etc come: “For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies.” (Those are Jesus’ words in Mt 5:19)
Out of that same heart can come good, but only when something wonderful happens. As Jesus says: “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” (JN 7:38)
What can make that happen in your life? God has to change you from within. You have to repent and believe the gospel. Do you now see why you have to believe in Jesus, to rest in Him, to apply all your attention and faith to loving Him? For those who have been tempted to leave the path, Paul has some practical answers for us: “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.” (I Cor 10:13)
Thank God for such promises. Believe them and use them to help you! Amen.
