There are a lot of problems in the world. We have things like war, the problems with the economy; the millions of people out of work, Pornography, Drugs, hate, homelessness, ect... all of these issues are problems of this world. But there is one problem that stands out from the rest, and can some up all the problems I just mentioned; in fact some may say it’s what causes all of these problems in some form or fashion. The problem is sin.
That’s what today’s sermon is all about. Sin and how God gave us a solution to it through His grace.
I. SIN
Hello, my name is Willie and I am a sinner, a dirty rotten sinner. I stand here and say I’m a sinner but as I look out at all of you all I see are sinners.
That’s the truth of it we are all sinners, but what is sin?
A. What is sin?
The original Greek meaning for sin is simply “to miss the mark, to fall short of, or to err.” Basically, to sin is to do wrong. Not just doing wrong by the world’s standards, but also doing wrong through God’s eyes.
We are all trying to live up to the standards of God. We need to remember that we are all His creation and it is His rules we are supposed to live by.
When we disobey God’s law then we sin against Him, and we “miss the mark” God’s mark.
Romans 3:23 says; for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.
B. But why does sin exist?
This is a tough question for some. God has given man the freedom of choice. God wants us to love and obey Him of our own free will, not because we are forced to do so. It’s interesting to think that He could force us if He wanted to. God is all powerful, but he wants it to be genuine from us.
Illus: Let’s look a children. The more you tell them to do something or not to do something the more they want to do the exact opposite. We can’t force our children to love us. More often than not if we try to force it we end up driving them farther away.
That’s the same way with God, if he tries to make us love Him then we would rebel and it would drive us farther from Him.
So in this place, God gave man and Angels the freedom to love and worship Him. Well before man there was one angel that did not love and obey God.
This angel had too much pride and he wanted to be God. So he turned on God and after God the Father defeated him and all of his followers, well they were kicked out of Heaven.
That was the very first Sin. The sin that Satan committed against His father and creator. But man wasn’t around yet.
So then God created man, and placed man in the garden. The garden was a sin-free place, everything was perfect. In this sin-free garden, God still Gave man the choice to have a relationship with Him.
But then here comes that sinner Satan and he Got Adam and Eve to eat of the fruit and that’s when sin entered into this world. This is the history of sin in a nut shell.
C. What are the results of sin?
Because of Adam’s sin, sin and death entered into the world and at the moment that we commit our first sin we are doomed to death and hell.
The bible does not teach that we inherit Adam’s sin, but it does teach that we inherit the consequences of his sin; including sickness, pain, war, grief and physical death. Those problems that we deal with every day are the consequences of that first worldly sin.
Romans 5:12 say’s; Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, in this way death spread to all men, because all sinned.
We are not responsible of other people’s sin; we are only responsible for our own sins. Our personal sins are the only things that we have to give an account of, no one else’s.
So in conclusion to the study of sin we have learned these 3 things.
A. Everyone has sinned.
B. Sin brings death.
C. Unless something is done, every human being who ever lived will spend eternity in hell because of sin.
Now I know that starting with sin in a sermon is never really fun, but I must show you that we are all sinners. I preach this because of what John Wesley once said;
Before I can preach love, mercy, and grace, I must preach sin, law, and Judgment.
II. Grace
Grace is defined as “unmerited favor”. It is something that we don’t deserve.
1. It is undeserved.
By our sin, we have separated ourselves from God. Our actions have alienated us from God’s holy, sinless character.
But in spite of this, God has made available to us that which we do not deserve- forgiveness for our sin.
It is fortunate that God does not treat us as we deserve because we deserve eternal punishment. Instead, God chose to make eternal life available to us.
2. Grace is free.
As sinners, we can do absolutely nothing to earn God’s grace. He owes us nothing.
Grace is a free gift from God. Grace is not a man-made salvation, but is a God-made salvation.
Let us not fool ourselves into thinking we can earn or maintain God’s approval or His grace by our works. You can’t work your way to Heaven, it does not matter how good you are our how many good things you have done.
Grace starts with God, continues with God, and ends with God. Again, God’s grace or salvation is not a man-made thing; it is a God made salvation.
3. Grace is made available through the blood of Jesus the Christ.
We are taught in the Old Testament that an animal life had to be taken in order to be forgiven of a person sins. But God saw that people in the world had turned too far from Him. He knew that if he did not step in and do something then all the people of the world would be lost.
So, God did the only thing He knew would save them and that was to send Jesus, His son to die for all mankind.
Romans 5:8; But God proved is own Love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us!
The first mention of God plan for our salvation came in Genesis 3:15 that say;
“I will put hostility between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed. He will strike your head and you will strike his heel.”
This verse told mankind that God will send His son to defeat Satan.
Jesus was sent to this earth to teach, to preach, to heal, and to love us, but ultimately He came to die for us.
When Jesus died on the cross, His life was taken as payment of the penalty of man sins, your sins, my sins.
In verse 30 of John 19, Jesus says “It is finished” this refers to the payment that Jesus made for us. His death on a cross for our life with the father of all.
1 Peter 2:24; He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, so that, having died to sins, we might live for righteousness; by His wounding you have been healed.
God’s love and grace were given freely to all man when Jesus shed His blood on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins.
4. Grace is a free gift, which must be accepted by those who receive it. Because a gift is never a gift unless it has both a giver and a receiver.
God loves us so much that He does not want anyone to have an eternal separation from Him. He gave us a gift to save us. God sent His son to die on the cross for us.
We are coming close to the Easter season, the time we celebrate what Jesus did for us. Jesus died and we now have the chance at eternal life.
It is up to us to reach out and take this gift. God already did His part, now it’s our turn to take the gift. We must call on the name of our Lord, Jesus the Christ and ask God to forgive us of the sins that we have committed against Him.
Romans 10:13 says; For all who call on the name of the Lord will be saved.
We must repent of our sin and live our lives for God the father.
Illus: One time Billy Graham was driving through a small southern town, he was stopped by a policeman and charged with speeding. Graham admitted his guilt, but was told by the officer that he would have to appear in court.
The judge asked, “Guilty, or not guilty?” When Graham pleaded guilty, the judge replied, “that will be ten dollars- a dollar for every mile you went over the limit.”
Suddenly the judge recognized the famous minister. “You have violated the law,” he said. “The fine must be paid–but I am going to pay it for you.”
He took a ten dollar bill from his own wallet, attached it to the ticket, and then took Graham out and bought him a steak dinner! “That.” said Billy Graham “is how God treats repentant sinners!”
And that’s what God will do for you. Jesus already died for you now you must repent and God will forgive you and He will give you eternal life.
How about you? Do you need God’s forgiveness? Do you what to have eternal life? You can have it today. Call on the name of the lord and be saved.
