Dealing With Sin
Illustration
It is remarkable what people will do in response to hearing what they want to hear, or in response to getting their own way. For example: there is a TV show called ‘Big Bang Theory’ and in this show there is a wimpy nerd, named Leonard, who will say and do anything Penny asks. Now Penny is what you might call a bit of a promiscuous female, who has had numerous masculine lovers. In return for his subjugation Leonard gets to have coitus with Penny; i.e. Penny manipulates Leonard by providing him intimate companionship.
Penny manipulates Leonard, but in many cases it is the female who gets manipulated by a man who has a good line. One of the best at manipulating women was a man who conned an amazing number of females by telling them they were great singers, and that he was going to take them to Nashville. Some of the women he married, but most simply responded to his sales pitch because he was telling them exactly what they wanted to hear. Now to be honest, this man was not much to look at, he did not have money or possession; but he was truly a remarkable Svengali. He it appears that he devoted most of his life to manipulating women … as the old saying goes, he could talk the pants right off a woman.
The point in all of this is that people have wants and these wants make them susceptible to being taken advantage of. This is also true for Christians, or at least people wanting to be a Christian. While it is true that people want to be saved and they want to go to heaven, it is also true that people want salvation without having to obey everything Jesus taught. As a result, they are inclined to listen to preachers who tell them what they want to hear. Such people love listening to warm and fuzzy sermons, and promises of what God owes them. They also insist on hearing that God does not expect much from them. The easier you make your brand of Christianity the more they like it; especially if you do not say much about sin or the penalty of sin. Herein lies the danger, wanting religion without obligation makes us vulnerable to the doctrine of demons.
Satan spawned lie
There are fewer more heinous demons than those spreading the lie that all ours sins, past-present-future, have already been forgiven; thus, we do not have to worry about sinning. Evil practitioners of this doctrine of demons will warp and twist scriptures such as Colossians 1:20 (... through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, ...) in an attempt to lure foolish people into believing they do not have to repent or seek God’s forgiveness. The sad thing in all of this is the fact that many people love to hear this lie; thus, many people refuse to acknowledge the consequence of their sin; therefore, they refuse to seek forgiveness; as a result, they are lost and going to hell.
When a preacher teaches evil lies such as “God’s forgiveness is universal and no one has to ask for it” or “once saved always saved” or “you do not have to ask God to forgive you because His forgiveness is automatic for all Christians” these men are false prophets. Perhaps they are even a child of Satan or a follower of the doctrine of demons. If you believe them, and you claim you do not have to confess your sins because all your past-present-future sins have already been forgiven, then you are lost and headed for the Lake of Fire. Before following preachers selling a doctrine of demons think about the following three points.
1. Sin is real and it cannot be ignored or allowed to exist in our life. Fighting sin is a “real time” “active” “repeating” process; resisting sin is a never ending battle. We must fear the thought of sinning … sin should drive us to our knees in seeking God’s forgiveness.
Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 1 Peter 5:8
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Ephesians 6:12
Flee immorality. Every other sin that a man commits is outside the body, but the immoral man sins against his own body. 1 Corinthians 6:18
Now flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. 2 Timothy 2:22
But flee from these things, you man of God, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness. 1 Timothy 6:11
2. Sin is rebellion against God. We cannot tolerate its existence in our life because God will not tolerate our accepting sin as a natural part of our life.
Abel, on his part also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and for his offering; but for Cain and for his offering He had no regard. So Cain became very angry and his countenance fell. Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it.” Genesis 4:4-7
Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. Galatians 5:19-21
Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin. James 4:17
Therefore I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air; but I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified. 1 Corinthians 9:26-27
3. Sin separates us from the will of God. Therefore, we must maintain a repentant heart and confess our sins to God and ask for forgiveness. Remember, when Jesus taught the Apostles to pray He included the phrase: “forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” Matthew 6:9-13 Based on the original text we are focusing on the after-effect of an obligation. We are obligated to obey all Jesus taught and when we fail to do so we sin and now we are obligated to pay the debt for this sin. In the Lord’s Prayer we ask God to forgive us this debt and He can do so because Jesus has already paid the debt. The point is that we have to have a repentant heart and we must ask.
for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live. Romans 8:13
He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper, But he who confesses and forsakes them will find compassion. Proverbs 28:13
acknowledged my sin to You, And my iniquity I did not hide; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord”; And You forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah. Psalm 32:5
Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts, Romans 6:12
Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much. James 5:16
I am afraid that when I come again my God may humiliate me before you, and I may mourn over many of those who have sinned in the past and not repented of the impurity, immorality and sensuality which they have practiced. 2 Corinthians 12:21
This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us. 1 John 1:5-10
Conclusion - God Is Light
It is imperative that we understand the implication of the symbolism that God is light and sin is darkness. John wrote that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all; as a result, we cannot have fellowship with God if we walk in darkness. When we sin we are walking in darkness. If forgiveness was automatic then it would be impossible for us to walk in darkness and what John wrote would be utter foolishness. Yet, John clearly said that if we walk in darkness and we deny it then we lie and do not practice the truth. There would be absolutely no logic in this statement if our sins were automatically forgiven. In fact, John goes so far as to blatantly proclaim: “If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us.” Thus, we do sin and the result of that sin remains in us until we repent and ask forgiveness. If this were not true then why would John have went on to say: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” What need would we have to confess our sins if all our past-present-future sins were already forgiven? There would be no need; but, the truth is that our sins are real and they stay with us until we repent and ask forgiveness. Remember, John also said: “If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us.” 1 John 1:5-10 It should be quite evident that sin is darkness and that we cannot tolerate any darkness in our life. The only way to remove this darkness is to repent and seek God’s forgiveness.
We must accept the fact that sin is real and that there is no universal or automatic forgiveness of sin in the blood of Jesus. Yes, Jesus’ blood has provided a propitiation for all sin but there is a condition to this propitiation: you must repent and seek forgiveness. If this were not true then why would Peter have written: “For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world by the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and are overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. For it would be better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn away from the holy commandment handed on to them. It has happened to them according to the true proverb, ‘A dog returns to its own vomit,” and, “A sow, after washing, returns to wallowing in the mire.’” 2 Peter 2:20-22 It should be quite obvious that if, after having been saved, a person returns to a sinful lifestyle they are no longer saved. This is why we need to constantly monitor our life in a repentant attitude and seek God’s forgiveness for all our sins and short comings.
We tend to listen to what we want to hear but that is not right. Listening to what you want to hear, as a Christian, can be downright dangerous … your life can be at stake. There is no more powerful a reminder that God expects us to maintain a repentant heart and always ask for forgiveness than in the instructions of Jesus. When the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray He said: “And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words. So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him. Pray, then, in this way: … ‘And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” Matthew 6:9-13 It is just like Jesus taught us in the Lord’s Prayer: we need to ask God to forgive us our sins … every time we pray.
