The ugliness of Sin
Matthew 5:4
3 Gardens (Eden, Gethsemane; New Heavens & New Earth)
I. Our Response to Sin
What does the word “to mourn” mean?
“the strongest word for mourning in the Greek language. It is the word which is used for mourning for the dead, for the passionate lament for one who was loved. It is defined as the kind of grief which takes such a hold on a man that it cannot be hid” (Barclay 93).
Most intensive of 9 verbs for mourning - continuous action
What it does not mean?
to mourn for physical death
to mourn over the hardships of life
to walk about in a state of gloom
Very simply, the second beatitude means “to be broken hearted over sin.”
1. Our Sin.
2. The Sin in the World.
Psalm 7:11, “God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day.” (KJV)
Psalm 119:136, “My eyes shed streams of tears, because people do not keep your law.”
Isaiah 59:2, “but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.” (ESV)
James 4:4, “You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.”
2 Peter 2:8, “Yes, Lot was a righteous man who was tormented in his soul by the wickedness he saw and heard day after day.” (NLT)
Some mock at sin.
Some ignore sin.
Some glamorize sin.
Some hide sin.
Some rejoice over sin.
ILL: Memory Pill
Some excuse sin.
God judges sin!
Sin has become . . .
clever advertising slogans
renamed
redefined
entertainment
Sin brings Sorrow to God’s heart.
2. Sin brings Separation from God’s
3. Sin brings Shame on God’s name
Sin brings Suffering to God’s people
5. Sin brings Scorn to the God’s Son
ILL: dried blood on Hope’s rings. When we sin, there is the dried blood of Jesus on that sin.
The truly saved will be broken hearted over sin.
Above all, we should be broken over sin out of a love for the Savior:
“If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema.” - 1 Cor. 16:22
Our Response is brokenness and tears.
Ezra 10:6, “Ezra then went from the house of God and walked to the chamber of Jehohanan son of Eliashib, where he spent the night. He did not eat food or drink water, because he was mourning over the unfaithfulness of the exiles.”
Psalm 51:4, “Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment.”
Daniel 9:19-20, “O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive. O Lord, pay attention and act. Delay not, for your own sake, O my God, because your city and your people are called by your name.”
While I was speaking and praying, confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my plea before the LORD my God for the holy hill of my God,”
II. Our Remedy to Sin
A. an unqualified promise
B. an unlimited promise
C. an unchangeable promise
Illustration: people living below us in Louisville, KY
We lived in an apartment in Louisville, KY for several years. We lived on the second floor of a 3 floor apartment complex. We heard all the noise above us and we lived in fear of causing problems for the people that lived below us. So, we tried to tiptoe through the apartment. We were always very careful. When we moved into a house, we continued to live as if people lived below us. In the same way, we can live as if we are still under the penalty of our sin.
