Sunday February 2, 2020
“The Gravity of Sin and God’s Greater Grace.”
Text: Romans 3:9-31
Quote: “Preaching that is true to the gospel of Jesus Christ “does away with two contemporary fictions, that God has quit judging sin; and that men and women find peace by learning how to feel good about themselves.”
Richard Lischer
... we want to say, "I didn't sin. I didn't rebel. I just made a mistake." The dictionary calls a mistake an "error in action," or "poor reasoning." So when it happens, we can say, "Aw, my bad, my mistake." But there's a big difference between a sin and a mistake. If everything is dumbed-down to a mistake, then that makes me a "mistaker." If you're just a mistaker, you just have to do better.
If I'm a sinner, that isn't going to be enough. I know that what I did was intentional—it wasn't a mistake. It was a choice.
So if we're going to look sin in the face— AND look ourselves in the face and see our sin—we need to see that we're not just mistakers; we're sinners.
Romans 3: 9 What shall we conclude then? Do we have any advantage? Not at all! For we have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under the power of sin. (key term) 10 As it is written:
“There is no one righteous, not even one; 11 there is no one who understands;
there is no one who seeks God.12 All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.”
13 “Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit.”
“The poison of vipers is on their lips.” 14 “Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.”
15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood;16 ruin and misery mark their ways,
17 and the way of peace they do not know.” 18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
(Judaism’s Solution – Observe The Law)// “RELIGION”
19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. 20 Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin.
21 But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22 This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 25 God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— 26 he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.
27 (Implication) Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. Because of what law? The law that requires works? No, because of the law that requires faith. 28 For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law. 29 Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too, 30 since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith. 31 Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law.
Our Modern SITUATION:
The category of sin has been displaced in our time by other categories such as disease mal-adjustment, neurosis, deficiency, addiction. ... the culture has shifted further and faster toward self regard and self-affirmation. It is very difficult to talk about sin today without losing one’s audience...
There is no way of taking the Bible seriously unless we are willing to hear it's position on the problem of sin.
The Knowledge Of Sin As Joyful Good News...
Sin, biblically speaking means something very much more consequential than wrongdoing; it means being catastrophically separated from the eternal love of God.” P. 174
Sin is not so much as collection of individual misdeeds as it is an active and malacious agency bent upon destruction, imprisonment and death – the utter undoing of God’s purposes.
“Misdeeds” are signs of that agency at work; they are not the thing itself. It is the thing itself that is our cosmic enemy.” P. 175
CS Lewis wrote; “Fallen mankind is not simply an imperfect creature who needs improvement he is a rebel who must lay down his arms and surrender.”
Sin is the universal human condition but this is not fully obvious unless one is God directed, God intoxicated. The simple concept of sin is not anthropological, but theological. As God makes himself known to us we recognize that we are not merely victims of sin but rather it’s settled inhabitants, actively practising in it's ways and means --as subjects in the service of it's false gods. P. 181
Sin is a responsible guilt.
And,
An alien power.
- all human beings are enslaved by this power and must be liberated by a greater power.
***The crucifixion is therefore understood to be Christ victory over the powers of sin and death.
There are three fundamental principles in the biblical picture of sin:
1. The Fall – which involves all human beings in a vast rebellion against our once and future destiny in God. Rom 5:12-17
12 Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way, death came to all people, because all sinned—
We come into this world as “born sinners in need of redemption?”
TERM -- “original sin” (which leads to active sinning)
Actor Johnny Deep said, "I found the evil in myself a long time ago, and I've accepted it. We're old friends."
2. The result - all humanity finds itself in bondage to the power of sin. Rom 3:10-18
10 As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one;11 there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. 12 All have turned away,...
3. There is an ongoing cosmic struggle between the forces of sin, evil and death – and the unconquerable power of God. (Eph 6:12)
Ephesians 6 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
***We cannot understand the biblical picture of Sin without these basic building blocks. P 185
...It has been proposed that a mere declaration of forgiveness by God could remedy the sin problem.
the great theologian (Anselm (12th century) uttered what may be the most penetrating insight ever stated concerning the doctrine of sin:
• “you have not yet considered the weight of sin.” P. 193
• Fails to appreciate the holiness of God
• Fails to appreciate the justice of God
Now to the details of our text...
1. The Sin Problem: “ there is none righteous – not even one” v.10
a. Passage Proofs
i. 13 “Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit.”
“The poison of vipers is on their lips.” 14 “Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.”
15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood;16 ruin and misery mark their ways,
17 and the way of peace they do not know.” 18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
b. Genesis 3 (the Fall) “you shall surely die...”
16 To the woman he said, “I will make your pains in childbearing very severe;
with painful labor you will give birth to children.
Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.”
17 To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’
“Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it
all the days of your life. 18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you,
and you will eat the plants of the field.
19 By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food
until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken;
for dust you are and to dust you will return.”
20 Adam[c] named his wife Eve,[d] because she would become the mother of all the living.
Can we understand the gospel without coming to grips with our sin?
a. Not by our effort/works/piety
b. “only a stronger power from outside ourselves can repair the breach –
i.e. we cannot save ourselves.
Though society’s primary effort I would submit – is to do just that!
Self-salvation fails to address the gravity of sin... and the holiness of God
Self- help has many benefits broadly speaking – at it's core self-help says think positive... believe in yourself... overcome...
It all sounds good – and has great value – it's much preferred to negativity and defeatism...
But it's not enough to overcome the gravity of sin... and the depravity of humanity.
*** Only a stronger power from outside ourselves can repair the breach.
c. Psalm 51 ...(5) Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
d. Modern proofs – read the news...
i. War
ii. Corrupt govt’s
iii. Murder/rape
iv. Sex trafficking/slavery
v. Environmental damage and pollution
e. Personal proofs –
vi. We are selfish
vii. Proud
viii. We seek revenge
ix. We hold grudges
This Sin problem cannot be overcome by human determination, human capacity, or human moral resolve. P. 202.
It is false and misleading and untrue to human nature to continue to think of sin in terms of individual avoidable acts or failures to act. Sin and it's cohort, death, rule over the cosmos as semi-autonomous Powers.
This, however is not the way westerners or North Americans ordinarily think. We believe we can make good choices if we have more knowledge and information ... well we live in the golden age of information but the sin problem hasn’t been solved – ones education doesn’t exempt someone from theft, corruption, murder. ...but the biblical story places us correctly within a completely different worldview.
Sin is the colossal X-factor in human life. ***It is not merely something we do -- so much as it is something done to us by our mortal foe, the alien power that has lured us into becoming it's agents. P. 197
The scandal and the outrage of the cross is proportionate with the offense and the (pervasiveness) of sin.
?? 'People' Magazine Tries to Make a 'Sindex'
Adapted from Fleming Rutledge, The Crucifixion (Eerdmans, 2016), pages 193-194; original source: People (2-10-86)
People magazine once undertook a part-serious, part-tongue-in-cheek survey of its readers on the subject of sin. The results were published as a "Sindex," with each sin rated by a sin coefficient. The outcome is both amusing and instructive. Sins like murder, child abuse, and spying against one's country were rated the worst sins in ascending order, with smoking, swearing, and illegal videotaping far down the list. Parking in a handicapped spot was rated surprising high, whereas unmarried live-togethers got off lightly. Cutting in front of someone in line was deemed worse than divorce or capital punishment. Predictably, corporate sin was not mentioned at all. The survey concluded, "Overall, readers said they commit about 4.64 sins a month."
2. Religion’s Solution To The Problem— vv 19-20
19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. 20 Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin.
a. Jews – “the law of Moses”
b. World religions – religious observance
c. All are based on earning it...
3. God’s Solution to the Sin Problem: The sacrifice of atonement; v 25 – in the form of “substitution”!
Romans 5:17 ... 17 For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!
25 God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— 26 he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.
1 Cor 15: “Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures”
Gal 1. 3 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, 4 who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, 5 to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
God’s ongoing solution? SANCTIFICATION/DISCIPLESHIP
Example? hockey game... Calgary v Edmonton.
Kassian v trachuk --- fight to atone for a previous incident – a sin against our player...
Penalty – perhaps – not enough – we need equal justice...
Why not just forgive and move on... that would dis-respect the player... our team unity and the integrity of the game of hockey.
Example: court of law—“criminal justice system”
Penalty must adequately address the harm and trauma of the crime
4. Upon Hearing The Gospel We Are Called To Decide - A Decision must be made on this issue:
...repentance follows and responds to the cross of Christ --- “by his sacrifice we justified freely by his grace” (24)
...we can repent of our sins and receive forgiveness by faith
“not even repentance can overcome sin and restore us to God”... repentance is not enough.
Something has to happen from God’s side to remedy the situation.
The entire sphere of power has to be invaded from the outside, from another sphere where sin and death have no sway.” P. 192
“Re-Positioning Repentance” P. 191
The cross/resurrection event marks the decisive turn in the cosmos.
“Mere Repentance” does not make this possible; God engenders the whole thing, including our repentance.
There is now a “new creation”. (P. 192 ) ...the fix we were in has been dramatically and decisively reversed.”
“the lamb of God has given himself in order to deliver us from the whole spectrum of individual failure and systemic evil.”
a. Romans 1:16 “ brings salvation to everyone who believes...”
b. Our security...
c. Our gratitude
d. Indwelling spirit... “born again”
e. New creation is a big idea in the NT
5. (place here or 3rd ?) There is a Day Of Judgment coming: (salvation is by faith – not works)
Romans 2:5 5 But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God's righteous judgment will be revealed. 6 He will render to each one according to his works: 7 to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; 8 but for those who are self-seeking[a] and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury.
2 Peter 3 This is now the second letter that I am writing to you, beloved. In both of them I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder, 2 that you should remember the predictions of the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles,3 knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. 4 They will say, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.” 5 For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God, 6 and that by means of these the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished. 7 But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.
... 10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.
11 Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, 12 waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! 13 But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.
romans 14:10 You, then, why do you judge your brother or sister? Or why do you treat them with contempt? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat.
2 Corinthians 5:10
10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.
Acts 17:31 31 For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed.
“Preaching that is true to the gospel of Jesus Christ “does away with two contemporary fictions, that God has quit judging sin; and that men and women find peace by learning how to feel good about themselves.”
Richard Lischer
*** God always gives an opportunity to repent before judgment comes.
**Judgment is never God last word or best word – his mercy calls us to repentance.
Repentance as we have mentioned already today – is only made possible by the cross and the atoning sacrifice of Christ.
Conclusion:
Come to Christ and accept his righteousness and let him save you.
*** 28 For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law.
Don’t procrastinate...
(1) life is unpredictable
(2) Jesus may come at any time – and then the opportunity to repent is over.
Yes, I want you all to realize the gravity if sin – and may it cause us to run to the cross and accept his amazing grace.
Now in terms of what all this means for ELIM...
(1) Pray for the lost... go to the lost... share the good news.
*** the gravity of sin highlights how good the good news is!
(2) live lives of obedience to the scriptures
(3) never think that we are ever good enough in ourselves – only by grace are we saved... and by his Spirit we are day by day sanctified...
