Sin: An Offense against God
Scriptures: Rev. 12:10; 1 Corinthians 5; Jude
Introduction:
This morning I want to continue the message I started last week titled “Sin: An Offense against God.” If you recall from last week, I told you that this message originated from several conversations that I have had with family members and friends relating to how sin is/is not addressed within Churches and how our acceptance of sin is evolving and not in a positive way. I told you that sin is an offense against God, first and foremost, and secondarily man in some situations. God is the One who defined what sin is and when we sin, we sin against Him because He is the one who gave the definition. Although the world is trying to change the definition of what sin is, this is not something that Christians can accept. In my message last week I read to you from Revelations the thirteenth chapter where John sees the coming of the Antichrist and the one who would be supporting him. I told you that the Antichrist would be a political figure and the other a religious figure. This is important to understand because while the Antichrist will walk in a political office and attempt to unite the world, the one walking as a religious leader will attempt to establish a new united religious order. When you study this chapter, you will find that restrictions (the ability to provide for your daily needs) will be placed upon those who do not accept the mark of the beast on their right hand or their foreheads. This mark is either the actual name of the man or the number of his name (666). What these verses are warning us of is the time that will shortly come when we will be unable to provide for the daily needs of our families unless we accept the mark of the beast. Imagine someone coming to your house and telling you that unless you receive a certain mark you will lose your job, cannot use any of your credit cards and you will be barred from purchasing things in stores. This is what is being described in Revelations during the time of the Antichrist.
Why is this important today in our conclusion on this subject of sin? Remember the situation that I told you about in the city of Houston where the mayor is requesting the sermons from pastors who have spoken out against homosexuality? If that plays out to its fullest potential, those pastors could be charged with hate crimes or breaking the law as it relates to discrimination. Those pastors would be required to accept as normal homosexuality in the sense that they would not be allowed to teach against it if they want to be able to freely operate their churches within the city limits. This is not that much of a difference from what will happen when the Antichrist arrives. If we accept the mark of the beast we accept what he stands for, both politically and religiously. The two will not be separated. We will have to choose to accept his doctrine and the doctrine of the religious leader supporting him. This is actually going to be a lot easier than you think because we are already being programed to do so and that is one of the reasons there is so little talk about sin and hell. In fact because everyone sins and everyone goes to heaven there is no need to really dwell on sin at all! This is a doctrine that the Antichrist will love – no need to follow God, do your own thing and you will be just fine.
I had a conversation this week and this subject came up. When I explained to one of my friends that there is a penalty for sin even for Christians who do not repent, she was not necessarily in agreement. She quoted Romans 3:23 where Paul states that everyone has sinned and fallen short and that only Christ had been sinless. I shared with her that we were born into sin and that she was correct that everyone “have” sinned. I told her the difference was that while we have all sinned, when we got saved we received the ability to not sin anymore. I walked her through several scriptural references which dispelled what we hear often that grace covers everything regardless of if a person repents (stop doing) and stop doing the sin. These are the conversations I am having with people because this sermon series is causing all of us to really examine our lives and what we believe as it relates to sin.
In my message last week I also spoke to you about the Judge, Prosecutor, Defendant and Defense Attorney. I used these roles to illustrate our current situation. God is the judge, Satan the prosecutor and Jesus is our defense attorney. We read from Revelations chapter twenty about our standing before God when the books are opened. I told you that when God makes His pronouncement about our fate there will be no appeals. His decision will be final and our decisions here on earth right now will influence that future decision. This morning I will continue from where I left off last week and begin with the prosecutor.
I. The Prosecutor
Last week I read to you from Revelations chapter twelve and verse ten. It reads, “Then I heard a loud voice in heaven saying. ‘Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, he who accuses them before our God day and night.” This verse tells us that Satan is our accuser and he is constantly accusing Christians of wrong doings. His accusations are not false based on how we are living and we need to understand that he is not merely pointing out our mistakes he is asking God for judgment. You see, he is telling God that we are not worth God’s time or the sacrifice of His Son. He tells God that even though we have been given salvation, we reject it. He throws our sins up in God’s face. Being accused by Satan is not a small matter either. We will read shortly that the archangel Michael chose not to pronounce judgment against Satan when Satan argued with him over Moses’ body. Instead the archangel Michael said “The Lord rebuke you!” I personally believe that Michael had respect for the former position that Satan had held as he knew firsthand who Satan was as Satan had possibly outranked him before his fall. This is the one who is making accusation before God about our behaviors and beliefs.
Remember the story of Job? Satan told God that the only reason that Job was serving Him was because God had a hedge of protection around him. He then ensured that Job had family and friends around him telling him he was being punished for some sin that he had committed even though Joe knew that he had not sinned against God. This is the type of accusation that he could possibly be making about us but it does not stop there. He also accuses God before us. He tells us that the God we love and serve does not have our best interest at heart and that is why we suffer. He tells us that all of the things that we are doing in our faith walk is for naught because we are still struggling. He tells us that God has better things to attend to versus answering our prayers. And when we actually go to God, He tells us that we are unworthy because of all of the sins that we have committed. So he is making accusations on both sides – to God against us and to us against God. And believe it or not, he is having an impact when it comes to what he tells us. God simply refers him to the blood of His Son, but we do not do that. We stand accused with the support of the world telling us it is okay. It is okay to sin and not say anything about our sins or the sins of those around us. It’s okay to accept any lifestyle as long as the majority who speaks up is in agreement with us. But it is not okay. Turn with me to the book of Jude and we are going to read the entire book which consists of just one chapter. As we read this, think about what we have read previously in Revelations and what is happening in Houston.
II. A Warning Of History To The Ungodly
"Jude, a bond-servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to those who are the called, beloved in God the Father, and kept for Jesus Christ: May mercy and peace and love be multiplied to you. Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints. For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ. (Vss. 1-4) Jude is speaking to believers (the “called”, Christians who have been called to a knowledge of God through Christ) and he opens with a warning. He calls for them to stand earnestly for the faith which had been delivered to them. The reason for this is that some had “crept” into the Church posing as believers though in reality they were ungodly/unsaved. They crept in unnoticed because the people were not maintaining their focus on the true teaching they had received. These teachers came in with a new doctrine that sounded good which the people started to accept. They taught that the more believers sinned the more they magnified grace which should have raised some suspicions with the church. Does this sound familiar? The taught that sin was okay because it allowed grace to rule. They did not go so far as to try and say the sin was not wrong; they approached it from the viewpoint that it was “okay” if you did it because you were now under grace. Let’s continue with verse five.
“Now I desire to remind you, though you know all things once for all that the Lord, after saving a people out of the land of Egypt, subsequently destroyed those who did not believe. And angels who did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper abode, He has kept in eternal bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day, just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, since they in the same way as these indulged in gross immorality and went after strange flesh, are exhibited as an example in undergoing the punishment of eternal fire. Yet in the same way these men, also by dreaming, defile the flesh, and reject authority, and revile angelic majesties. But Michael the archangel, when he disputed with the devil and argued about the body of Moses, did not dare pronounce against him a railing judgment, but said, "The Lord rebuke you!" But these men revile the things which they do not understand; and the things which they know by instinct, like unreasoning animals, by these things they are destroyed.” (Vss. 5-10) In verses five through seven Jude gives three examples of judgment to reinforce the judgment the false teachers would receive. He mentions the Israelites coming out of Egypt and the destruction of those who did not believe (the Israelites who were delivered out of Egypt but died in the wilderness because of their rebellion and unbelief). He mentions the angels who did not keep their own domain (those fallen angels that Satan persuaded to co-habit with women (Genesis 6:1-4; 2 Peter 2:4) and were confined immediately because of the gross nature of that sin. Finally he mentions the homosexual practices (went after strange flesh) of Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19:5). These were the examples he used to illustrate the future of those false teachers who had entered into their midst. Verse eight mentions the dreams and/or visions that they supposedly had to justify their teachings. In verse nine he uses the argument between the archangel Michael and Satan where Michael showed respect for authority (Satan out ranked Michael) to demonstrate how these false teachers had no respect for authority as they claimed to have knowledge but in truth only had a basic animal knowledge. Let’s continue.
“Woe to them! For they have gone the way of Cain, and for pay they have rushed headlong into the error of Balaam, and perished in the rebellion of Korah. (Vs. 11) He mentions Cain, Balaam and Korah. Cain rejected God’s provision for acceptance with himself (Genesis 4:1-12). This is the same as men do today when rejecting forgiveness through Christ. Balaam, on the other hand, hired himself out as a prophet and epitomizes deceit and covetousness (Numbers 22-24; 2 Peter 2:15). Finally the sin of Korah was rebellion against duly constituted authority (Numbers 16:1-3). All three of these example have one thing in common: they all rebelled against God in their thoughts and ultimately in their actions.
“These are the men who are hidden reefs in your love feasts when they feast with you without fear, caring for themselves; clouds without water, carried along by winds; autumn trees without fruit, doubly dead, uprooted; wild waves of the sea, casting up their own shame like foam; wandering stars, for whom the black darkness has been reserved forever. It was also about these men that Enoch, in the seventh generation from Adam, prophesied, saying, "Behold, the Lord came with many thousands of His holy ones, to execute judgment upon all, and to convict all the ungodly of all their ungodly deeds which they have done in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him." These are grumblers, finding fault, following after their own lusts; they speak arrogantly, flattering people for the sake of gaining an advantage.” (Vss. 12-16) Jude describes these false teachers and their motivations. They were selfish; had no water to offer thirsty souls; were unstable; fruitless; without spiritual roots; frothy and like momentary shooting starts. In other words, these teachers had no real understanding of the word of God and were teaching their own brand of Christianity. These same characteristics describes false teachers of our times – those who have new revelations based on dreams and visions that they have personally received which often contradicts what the word of God says. Let’s finish this chapter.
“But you, beloved, ought to remember the words that were spoken beforehand by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ, that they were saying to you, "In the last time there will be mockers, following after their own ungodly lusts." These are the ones who cause divisions, worldly-minded, devoid of the Spirit. But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life. And have mercy on some, who are doubting; save others, snatching them out of the fire; and on some have mercy with fear, hating even the garment polluted by the flesh. Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen." (Vss. 17-25)
Finally Jude closes with words of caution for the people. He called for them to remember what they were taught by the apostles and the warning they gave about the rise of false teachers who would be mockers and following their own personal lusts. He said that they would cause divisions as they were worldly-minded and devoid of the Spirit. Please understand this. There are many good people in the world who are worldly-minded and are teaching and/or believing a watered down gospel because it is easy. They are most interested in what the world says about living versus what the Bible says. Jude says that these false teachers are not truly saved even though they were acting saved. His final words to the people were words of encouragement and a call for action. He told them to keep themselves in the love of God by building on the truth of God and praying in the Spirit (praying in tongues and as guided by the Spirit) as you wait anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life. He called for them to have mercy on those who were doubting and to “save others, snatching them out of the fire…” This is a call to reach those lost souls and literally snatch them out of Satan’s hands through the love of Christ. We cannot do this if we never address the lifestyle someone is living that will send them to hell. We cannot do this if we are not willing to tell others about Christ and what it means to serve Him. These are one on one conversations as most will not be saved by one message spoken from a pulpit.
The book of Jude is a short book but it contains a very powerful message. It contains a warning for us to pay attention to. The warning pertains to false teachers that will enter into the Church that will share a message that is considerably different from the true gospel. This message will sound very pleasing to the ears but it will not lead to a Spirit-filled life. These individuals will be able to convince others that salvation is a gift and grace if the wrapping around the gift. They will teach us that sin is something that we are accustomed to and cannot overcome and therefore grace is applied to cover it completely. They will negate the power of Christ through the Holy Spirit to deliver us from the lusts of the flesh by focusing on a feel good message with little sustenance for spiritual growth. If you examine where we are today those pastors who are adhering to a conservative view of the gospel are quickly becoming a minority. The Bible spoke of the days that we are currently living in and it will get worse.
I opened this message last week by sharing with you several conversations that I have had with family and friends as it related to sin. The common theme that underlined all of those conversations was the idea that a good person could go to hell because of sin and that a Christian could go to hell because they sinned. As I shared from the beginning, I do not have a heaven or hell to send anyone to and that decision belongs to God alone. What I can tell you is that a Christian will not go to hell for a sin committed if they repent – confess it to God, ask for forgiveness and stop doing it. The danger for a Christian is when we justify the sin as being okay because of grace. Also, as I have shared in the past, a Christian can walk away from their salvation by choice. The Bible is clear on this as Hebrews 6:4-6 states “It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over, again and subjecting him to public disgrace.”
My point this morning is simple: as a Christian we cannot accept, allow, justify and/or make allowances for sin to exist in our live. We must also, in recognizing that we too have sinned and fallen short needing a Savior. To reach those who do not know Christ. We must snatch them out of the fire! As it relates to our own brothers and sisters in Christ, we must compare their lives with the word of God. If there is sin in our lives, we must act with love to help each other come out of it. We must ensure that everyone understands that asking forgiveness for a sin is not enough, repentance must accompany the request. So, what do you think? Is sin about the act or the person? Should the act be separated from the perceived character of the person? Should we allow the world to tell us what is acceptable and what is not? These are the questions we are facing today.
Conclusion
Several years ago we had a couple visit our Church who were long-time members of a large Baptist Church. On that particular Sunday I stated in my message that a Christian could end up in hell. This statement really offended them, especially the husband. After Church the husband came up to me and told me that he enjoyed the message but had some serious concerns about what I said about not believing “once saved always saved.” I explained to him why I believed that and even shared a couple of Scriptural references with him. I got his address and told him that I would send him some information for his own review. I sent him five page document containing the Scriptural references for which I based my understanding. I also offered to sit down with him and review the information. I never received a reply from him and they never visited the Church again.
I know how strongly people believe what they believe about sin and about grace. I understand fully the security blanket we have knowing that because we have accepted Christ, we are delivered from hell. I also understand the key word obedience. I will leave you with this Scripture from Hebrews 10:26-31. “If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. Anyone who rejected the Law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace. For we know Him who said, ‘It is mine to avenge, I will repay’, and again ‘It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”
Next week I will I will close this series with a look at simply being obedient to God – nothing more, nothing less.
Until next time, “The Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord lift up His countenance on you and give you peace.” (Numbers 6:24-26)
