The Sickness of Sin and God’s Cure
MATTHEW 9:10-13
MAY 26, 2002
Parkersburg Baptist Church
GOD THE FATHER IS ALSO KNOWN AS THE GREAT PHYSICIAN. WE ALL KNOW THAT GOD KNOWS ALL AND SEES ALL. AS THE GREAT PHYSICIAN, I BELIEVE THAT GOD LAYS HUMANITY OUT ON THE EXAMINING TABLE AND LOOKS IT OVER.
GOD LIKE ANY GOOD PHYSICIAN GIVES MAN A THOROUGH EXAMINATION.
HE LOOKS INTO THE THROAT OF HUMANITY AND SAYS, “THEIR THROAT IS AN OPEN SEPULCHRE.” (ROM. 3:13a) JUST LOOK AROUND YOU TODAY AND YOU CAN SEE DEATH AND DESTRUCTION RUNNING RAMPANT IN OUR WORLD.
DEATH IN THE FORM OF ALCOHOLISM, DRUG ADDICTION, SEXUAL PERVERSION, GREED, MALICE, HATRED. ALL OF WHICH, WITHOUT CHRIST INTERVENING, RESULT IN DEATH. GOD LOOKS UPON MAN, AND IS SICKENED BY THE FILTHINESS OF OUR HEARTS AND MINDS AND OUR MOUTHS.
HE EXAMINES THE TONGUE AND EXCLAIMS, “WITH THEIR TONGUE THEY HAVE USED DECEIT. MAN IS FULL OF LIES. OUR WORLD IS FULL OF LIES. SATAN, AS THE FATHER OF ALL LIES, HAS DONE HIS TASK VERY WELL. LIES, ARE SOMETIMES SO WELL CRAFTED THAT THEY COME ACROSS AS THE TRUTH.
IT TAKES THE HOLY EYES OF GOD TO SEE THROUGH THE SMOKE SCREEN OF DECEPTION. THERE IS NOT A PERSON HERE TODAY UNDER THE SOUND OF MY VOICE, INCLUDING MYSELF, THAT HAS NEVER TOLD A LIE. WE ARE ALL GUILTY, ALL OF MANKIND IS GUILTY.
THE GREAT PHYSICIAN CONTINUES HIS EXAMINATION, AND PULLS BACK THE LIPS OF HUMANITY AND DECLARES, “THE POISON OF ASPS IS UNDER THEIR LIPS” (ROM. 3:13c).
WITH OUR LIPS WE CAN RUIN THE REPUTATION OF OTHERS.
THEN HE STEPS BACK AND TAKES AN OVERALL LOOK AT THE MOUTH OF MAN AND STATES, “WHOSE MOUTH IS FULL OF CURSING AND BITTERNESS” (ROM. 3:14).
MAN IS PRONE TO CURSING AND BACKBITING. LOOK AT WHAT THE GREAT PHYSICIAN HAS EXAMINED FIRST. HE HAS EXAMINED EVERYTHING TO DO WITH THE MOUTH. OUR MOUTHS GET US INTO A LOT OF TROUBLE DO THEY NOT?
WITH OUR MOUTHS AT TIMES WE CAN DO MORE DAMAGE THAN IF WE HAD BEATEN SOMEONE WITH OUR FISTS. HOW TRUE IS THE KIDS RHYME, “STICKS AND STONES MAY BREAK MY BONES BUT WORDS WILL NEVER HURT ME”?
NOW, I HAVE BEEN HIT WITH ROCKS, I GOT STITCHES IN ABOVE MY RIGHT EYE WHEN I GOT HIT BY A BASEBALL BAT, BUT SOME OF THE WORST HURT I HAVE EVER FELT, IS FROM THE WORDS COMING OUT OF SOMEONE’S MOUTH.
WORDS DO HURT. WORDS CAN CUT TO THE QUICK. WHAT DOES THE BOOK OF REVELATION SAY ABOUT CHRIST, OUT OF HIS MOUTH WENT A SHARP TWO-EDGED SWORD.
WE WERE MADE IN THE IMAGE OF GOD. DON’T YOU THINK THAT SOME OF GOD’S ATTRIBUTES CAME ALONG WITH THAT. HE SPOKE THE WORLD INTO EXISTENCE. FOLKS, OUR MOUTHS ARE VERY POWERFUL TOOLS. WE CAN USE THEM FOR GOOD AND THEY CAN BE USED JUST AS EASILY FOR EVIL.
THE GREAT PHYSICIAN CONTINUES HIS EXAMINATION OF HUMANITY AND HE LOOKS AT THE EYES AND OBSERVES, “THERE IS NO FEAR OF GOD BEFORE THEIR EYES” (ROM. 3:18). MAN LIVES AS IF GOD DOES NOT EXIST. WE CAN SEE THE EVIDENCE OF THIS, IF WE JUST TAKE A LOOK AT THE WORLD AROUND US.
GOD THEN LOOKS AT THE FEET, AND REMARKS, “THEIR FEET ARE SWIFT TO SHED BLOOD” (ROM. 3:15). ISAIAH 59:7 SAYS: “Their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed innocent blood: their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; wasting and destruction are in their paths.”
HE NOW LOOKS AT THE HEART AND LISTENS TO THE HEART, AND SAYS, “THE HEART IS DECEITFUL ABOVE ALL THINGS” (JER. 17:9a). HE THEN PERFORMS A COMPLETE CARDIOGRAM AND PRONOUNCES MANS HEART: “DESPERATELY WICKED” (JER. 17:9b).
WE CAN SEE FROM THIS DESCRIPTION OF HUMANITY FROM THE SCRIPTURES THAT MAN IS SICKLY AND NEEDS A CURE.
ALL OF THIS DESCRIBES THE CONDITION OF THE LOST, AND REGRETFULLY, IT MAY EVEN DESCRIBE THE CONDITION OF SOME CHRISTIANS. THIS CONDITION IS SOMETHING THAT CHRISTIANS ARE SAVED FROM, BUT THEY CAN HAVE A RELAPSE, THOUGH NOT TOTALLY FATAL TO THE POINT OF LOSING THEIR SALVATION, BUT RELAPSES CAN OCCUR IN MOST ANY ILLNESS, IF WE DO NOT FOLLOW THE DOCTOR’S ADVICE.
SIN SICKNESS STARTED SOME 6,000 YEARS AGO IN THE GARDEN OF EDEN. AND IT HAS TAKEN A DIVINE TRANSFUSION TO CURE THE SIN SICK PERSON FROM SUFFERING ETERNAL DEATH AND DAMNATION.
IT TOOK THE BLOOD OF THE HOLY LAMB OF GOD TO CURE OUR SIN SICK SOULS. ONCE THE BLOOD IS APPLIED WE WILL LIVE FOREVER. WE WILL WALK THE STREETS OF GLORY.
WE WILL LIVE IN THE NEW JERUSALEM A CITY 1500 MILES SQUARE AND 1500 MILES TALL—THIS SHOULD GIVE US SOME CLUE AS TO THE BIGNESS OF GOD. IT SHOULD CLUE US IN TO HIS MAJESTY AND POWER. THE TALLEST BUILDINGS OF MAN CANNOT EVER COMPARE TO THE HOLY CITY FROM HEAVEN.
BUT LIKE MOST SICKNESSES WE CAN HAVE A RELAPSE. WE CAN BECOME BACKSLIDDEN. WE CAN ALLOW SIN TO REAR IT’S UGLY HEAD IN OUR LIVES ONCE AGAIN.
CHRISTIANS NEVER LOSE THEIR SALVATION, BUT THEIR SOULS CAN BECOME SIN SICK. A LOT OF TIMES ITS HARD FOR US TO TELL WHO MAY HAVE A SIN SICK SOUL. THE SYMPTOMS ARE NOT ALWAYS OBVIOUS. AND BESIDES, HUMANS ARE EXCELLENT AT PULLING THE WOOL OVER EACH OTHER’S EYES.
WE ARE EXPERTS AT PUTTING ON FALSE FACES TO HIDE WHAT IS DEEP DOWN INSIDE, IN ORDER TO KEEP OUR SINS A SECRET. OR WHEN SOMEONE GETS CLOSE TO DISCOVERING OUR SECRET, WE POINT TO SOMEONE ELSE AND SAY LOOK AT THEM.
I WANT TO TELL YOU SOMETHING THIS MORNING, GOD DOES NOT NEED A FANCY MACHINE THAT USES X-RAYS OR ANY OTHER TYPE OF TECHNOLOGY TO SEE WHAT IS GOING ON INSIDE OF OUR HEART. WITH ALL OF OUR TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCES, MAN IS STILL UNABLE TO EXAMINE THE SOUL.
MAN IS STILL UNABLE TO EXAMINE THOUGHTS, MAN IS STILL UNABLE TO EXAMINE THE SPIRIT. BUT GOD, WHO CREATED MAN KIND, CAN SEE IT ALL. HE SEES IT FROM THE BEGINNING TO THE END. GOD KNEW THE THOUGHTS THAT YOU WOULD BE THINKING TODAY, BEFORE HE EVER CREATED THE EARTH.
GOD KNEW YOU WOULD BE HERE IN THIS SERVICE TODAY, WAY BACK THEN TOO.
I WANT US TO LOOK AT A FEW THINGS THIS MORNING CONCERNING THE SIN-SICK SOUL.
LET’S LOOK AT THE CONSEQUENCES OF A SIN-SICK SOUL.
FIRST, IT SEPARATES US FROM GOD. ISAIAH 59:2-8 “But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear. For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, your tongue hath muttered perverseness.
None calleth for justice, nor any pleadeth for truth: they trust in vanity, and speak lies; they conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity. They hatch cockatrice’ eggs, and weave the spider’s web: he that eateth of their eggs dieth, and that which is crushed breaketh out into a viper. Their webs shall not become garments, neither shall they cover themselves with their works: their works are works of iniquity, and the act of violence is in their hands. Their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed innocent blood: their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; wasting and destruction are in their paths. The way of peace they know not; and there is no judgment in their goings: they have made them crooked paths: whosoever goeth therein shall not know peace.”
IN A NUT SHELL, IF YOU DON’T KNOW CHRIST AS YOUR SAVIOR, THEN YOU HAVE NO FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD. IF YOU DO KNOW CHRIST, AND YOU ARE SIN-SICK, THEN YOUR FELLOWSHIP WITH HIM IS BROKEN AND THERE IS NO PEACE IN YOUR LIFE.
SECONDLY, SIN BRINGS FORTH DEATH. ROMANS 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
IT IS PLAIN AND SIMPLE, DIE IN SIN AND YOU SHALL KNOW ETERNITY IN HELL AND ALL OF IT’S SUFFERING. DIE IN CHRIST, AND HAVE ETERNAL LIFE WITH GOD IN HEAVEN THROUGH JESUS CHRIST.
THIRDLY, SIN IS INCURABLE BY HUMAN MEANS. PROVERBS 20:9 “Who can say, I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin?” JEREMIAH 2:22 “For though thou wash thee with nitre, and take thee much soap, yet thine iniquity is marked before me, saith the Lord GOD.”
NITRE IS A TYPE OF SALT. WHAT IS SALT, IT IS A PRESERVATIVE, AND ALSO A PURIFIER. THOUGH YOU WASH WITH SALT, AND MUCH SOAP! WE CAN NEVER GET RID OF SIN ON OUR OWN. IT TAKES JESUS!
NOW THAT WE HAVE SEEN THE CONSEQUENCES, I WANT US TO LOOK A MOMENT NOW, AT GOD’S CONCERN FOR A SIN-SICK SOUL.
FIRST OF ALL THE CONCERN IS SEEN IN GOD’S MERCY. PSALM 86:15 “But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth.”
IT HAS TAKEN THE MERCY OF ALMIGHTY GOD TO SHOW MANKIND THE CONDITION OF HIS SOUL. THE CONDITION BEFORE CHRIST COMES INTO HIS LIFE. MERCY IS GETTING WHAT WE DON’T DESERVE.
EVERY MAN, WOMAN, AND CHILD DESERVES TO SPLIT HELL WIDE OPEN. WE DESERVE THE JUSTICE OF GOD AND THAT IS ETERNAL PUNISHMENT. BUT IN HIS PLENTEOUS MERCY AS THE PSALMIST SAID, HE GIVES US THE ABILITY TO CHOOSE HIM. IT IS ALWAYS OUR CHOICE.
GOD’S CONCERN FOR A SIN-SICK SOUL IS ALSO SEEN IN THE DEATH OF JESUS CHRIST. HE KNEW THAT WE COULD DO NOTHING ON OUR OWN. HE KNEW WE WERE HELPLESS. GOD IN HIS PLENTEOUS MERCY, GAVE HIS MOST PRIZED POSSESSION. HE GAVE HIS ONLY SON.
THAT IS THE CONCERN THAT GOD HAS FOR YOUR SOUL. HE MADE HIM SIN, WHO KNEW NO SIN. THAT HE MIGHT SAVE US FROM ETERNITY IN HELL.
IF GOD IS SO CONCERNED ABOUT THE SOUL OF HUMANITY, HOW MUCH MORE SHOULD WE BE CONCERNING OURSELVES ABOUT OUR SOULS, AND THE SOULS OF THE LOST PEOPLE AROUND US.
WE HAVE TALKED ABOUT THE CONDITION OF MAN. WE HAVE TALKED ABOUT THE CONSEQUENCES AND THE CONCERN OVER A SIN SICK SOUL. NOW LET’S TAKE A LOOK AT THE CURE.
HEALING COMES BY THE STRIPES OF JESUS. 1 PETER 2:24 “Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.”
JESUS CHRIST BORE THE SINS OF THE WORLD IN HIS OWN BODY. HE BECAME SIN. HE TOOK OUR PLACE. JESUS DIED FOR YOU. WE ARE HEALED BY THE STRIPES ON HIS BACK.
HEALING ALSO COMES BY THE BLOOD OF JESUS. REV. 1:5 “And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,”
GLORY TO GOD, WE HAVE BEEN WASHED IN THE BLOOD OF JESUS. HE WASHED EVERY CHRISTIAN, EACH INDIVIDUAL, HIMSELF. JUST AS HE TOOK THE FORM OF A SERVANT AT THE LAST SUPPER IN THE UPPER ROOM AND WASHED HIS DISCIPLES FEET,
PEOPLE, HE HAS DONE MUCH MORE FOR US CHRISTIANS. I AM GLAD THAT I DID NOT LIVE DURING THE TIME OF CHRIST, I AM GLAD THAT I WAS NOT ONE OF THE ORIGINAL TWELVE, BECAUSE HE DIDN’T WASH MY FEET, HALLELUJAH, AND PRAISE GOD, HE WASHED MY SOUL WITH HIS OWN BLOOD.
JUNE 6, 1973, JESUS CHRIST REACHED DOWN HIS HAND FOR ME. I CAN SING THIS MORNING I HAVE BEEN WASHED BY THE BLOOD OF THE LAMB. I AM FULLY TRUSTING IN HIS GRACE THIS HOUR, I HAVE BEEN WASHED IN THE BLOOD OF THE LAMB.
I HAVE BEEN SAVED BY THE BLOOD OF THE LAMB, JESUS WASHED ME WHITER THAN SNOW. EVERY CHRISTIAN IN HERE THIS MORNING, OUGHT TO BE SHOUTING RIGHT NOW, BECAUSE BLEST BE TO GOD, YOU TOO HAVE BEEN WASHED BY JESUS CHRIST HIMSELF.
WE ARE ON SHOUTING GROUND, BECAUSE WE HAVE BEEN TOUCHED BY THE MASTERS HAND, WAY DOWN DEEP WHERE IT REALLY, REALLY, COUNTS. IN THE DEPTHS OF THE SOUL, I HAVE BEEN TOUCHED BY JESUS, AND IF YOU ARE A CHRISTIAN, THEN YOU TOO HAVE BEEN TOUCHED, BY THE LAMB OF GOD.
SHOUT HALLELUJAH THIS MORNING, IF YOU HAVE BEEN TOUCHED BY THE LAMB.!!! LOOK AT THE PERSON NEXT TO YOU AND IF YOU ARE A CHRISTIAN, SAY I HAVE BEEN TOUCHED BY THE LAMB OF GOD.
I WANT TO ASK YOU CHRISTIANS A QUESTION THIS MORNING, ARE YOU WASHED IN THE BLOOD?
THIRDLY, HEALING COMES BY REPENTANCE AND FAITH. ACTS 20:21 “Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.” DO YOU TESTIFY THIS MORNING TO THE WORLD, REPENTANCE TOWARD GOD AND FAITH TOWARD JESUS CHRIST.
IF YOU ARE SAVED TODAY, THEN SOMEONE HAD TO TELL YOU ABOUT THE CURE. WHY NOT TELL SOMEONE ELSE ABOUT THE CURE?
JOHN 1:12 “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:” ALL YOU HAVE TO DO THIS MORNING TO RECEIVE THIS CURE IS TO BELIEVE IN JESUS. REPENT OF YOUR SINS AND THE STRIPES OF JESUS WILL HEAL YOU AND JESUS CHRIST HIMSELF, WILL WASH YOUR SOUL IN HIS OWN BLOOD TODAY.
CHRISTIAN, IF THINGS ARE NOT RIGHT WITH YOU AND GOD. COME TO THE ALTAR THIS MORNING. CONFESS TO THE LORD YOUR SIN, AND HE WILL FORGIVE YOU AND CLEANSE YOU FROM ALL UNRIGHTEOUSNESS, THAT IS THE SPIRITUAL BAR OF SOAP. IT IS CALLED CONFESSION. CONFESS TO BELIEVE, CONFESS TO BE HEALED. DO IT TODAY.
