The Gospel – Part 2
Sins Separate us from God
March 7, 2021
Have you ever been using your phone and your call suddenly drops. The line goes dead. The person you’re talking to is no longer there. You’ve hit the dreaded “DEAD ZONE.”
What also happens is that you’re talking to someone and their voice keeps going in and out. You’re really not sure what they’re saying, but you don’t ask ‘what’ you just give an appropriately timed “un-huh!” Am I the only one who does that to my wife? No, never would I do that!
It doesn’t matter who you’re talking to or what you’re talking about. It just happens. It doesn’t matter what provider you have --- it can be very frustrating.
There was actually a commercial about that during the super bowl.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jlTAhOFlXc
You may not be a fan, but it’s a great commercial, with a great message that we’ve all experienced.
The point is this -- when you have a connection with someone on a call, often times you are mid-sentence in an important, meaningful conversation, and it isn’t good to have that connection disrupted and cut off.
Hold that thought. Last week we began a new series looking at what we were created for and how to build on our purpose in the world. Last week we looked at the fact that we are created in God’s image and created to be with Him.
We were created to have an uninterrupted connection with God. No dead zones, no times of disconnection, we’re to have an everyday . . . constant communion with Him.
But then sin entered the picture and just like those cell phone dead zones, the connection was disrupted – cut off. Now, there’s separation. And that’s what we’re going to talk about this week. . . it’s the bad news of the fact that “Our sins separate us from God.”
So, let’s go back and see what happened. The word sin comes from the Greek word “HAMARTIA.” Literally it means to miss the mark. Imagine shooting an arrow at a target and you miss the target. You’ve missed the mark. Imagine God is that target and everytime you sin, you miss that mark.
Our sin separates us from God. Sin is breaking God’s commands as we in essence violate God’s character, because we miss the mark. In Genesis 2:16-17, we read -
16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden,
17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” - Genesis 2:16, 17
When you think about all of the rules and restrictions for Adam and Eve, it was a much simpler time. In essence, there was only one command, one rule. Follow this and you have the freedom to enjoy everything else. I think I’d like to try that. Just one rule.
Now, let’s jump to Genesis 3:1-5 ---
1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made.
He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?”
2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden,
3 but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’”
4 But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die.
5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” - Genesis 3:1-5
You see, the serpent tempted Eve by questioning God’s Word and creating doubt in her mind. satan lied by distorting God’s Word - declaring that they wouldn’t die and even declared to Eve that they would “become like God.” The crazy part of this is the fact that they were created in God’s image. So there already was a likeness to God. But, they would never be God. That wasn’t possible.
We now suffer because of the lie, as they would be kicked out of the garden - - out of the presence of God. And that has had consequences from that day forward. I believe the garden is where our heart and soul longs to be. And because we’ve been banished --- there’s always a longing, always the sense that something is missing. That’s partly why heaven is so attractive to us. That’s our return to the garden.
We end up living life between two trees. Have you ever thought of that? The tree of Genesis 3, the tree of good and evil --- on the one side ---- and the tree of life that we find in Revelation 21 and 22. Revelation 21 and 22 mark our return to the garden. The seals are broken, the trumpets have sounded, the bowls are emptied - - - and satan, the 2 beasts and Babylon have been judged and done away with. Then comes the booming voice of the Lord proclaiming - - -
3 Come now, the dwelling place of God is with the people. He will dwell with them and they will be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. – Revelation 21:3
Then, John tells us in Revelation 22 –
1 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb
2 through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
Ah, do you see the power of what God has done for us? It’s amazingly powerful and beautiful all at once.
But, I digress. That’s what we have to look forward to. But we’re not there yet. Back to the story - - - so satan tempted Eve and we read . . .
6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes,
and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. - Genesis 3:6
That continues today. We are tempted aren’t we? There are so many ways satan tempts us. Often times without our even recognizing it. In 1 John 2, we read –
16 For all that is in the world — the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life — is not from the Father but is from the world. – 1 John 2:16
After Jesus was baptized and went off in the desert for 40 days, satan tempted Him to give up all He had and who He is. I’ll give you the world, just renounce your Father. It’s our lusting after the things of the world, using all of our senses, our heart, our mind, to rationalize that we deserve it.
When Adam and Eve broke God’s command, that was sin. When we sin, we too are breaking God’s commands. We’re separating ourselves from God and violating His character of purity and holiness.
We try to justify our sins by categorizing them as “not so bad” or “it didn’t hurt anyone.” Yet, sin is sin. When you think about Adam and Eve simply eating fruit from a tree that they were commanded not to, that probably wouldn’t fall in the “very bad” category in our minds. But when they broke God’s command, they violated His character. As sinners, they were then separated from God because He is holy (and we are supposed to be as well).
Think about the fact that after all he went through, Moses was not allowed to enter into Israel. For years he had to lead the people who were tremendously stubborn and against him. He made what we would call – one mistake, one bad decision, and there he was cut off from entering into the land of milk and honey. Yet, that’s God calling us to holiness and obedience.
There’s the example of Uzzah being killed for touching the ark when it was being returned to Jerusalem in 2 Samuel 6. He thought he was doing a good thing, and because David didn’t do what was right, he died. Yet, God had given specific instructions and those weren’t carried out.
OK, I want you to imagine this . . . imagine it’s a hot and sunny day outside. Isn’t that nice. You’ve been working in the garden and you’re hot and parched. You go inside and get a great big tall glass of water. You take a sip and it’s so refreshing.
You with me right now?
You take that big, cold glass of water back outside . . . you’re enjoying the day and then out of nowhere, a beautiful cardinal flies overhead and drops a little “present” in your large glass of water. I just killed the moment didn’t I?
You wouldn’t look at that water and say, “Well, it’s just one little dropping . . . there’s still a lot of good water in there to drink!” I don’t think you would do that!
No, you would know that this one impurity has now contaminated the entire glass of water AND you are no longer going to drink it.
This is how it is with sin. That one sin committed by Adam and Eve contaminated their relationship with a holy God and separated them from Him. In the end, it contaminated all of humanity’s standing with God, as we’re ALL separated from God because of sin.
As soon as Adam and Eve disobeyed God, everything changed. The next verse tells us - -
7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they realized they were naked - Genesis 3:7
They attempted to sew fig leaves to cover themselves. It was the first of gazillions of attempts at a works salvation - - attempting to cover our own sin.
I don’t want you to think of someone else, but think about yourself. Think about a time when you tried to justify your sin. Maybe it was in private, between you and God. Maybe you did something and hurt someone. But you justified it because they did something first. Whatever it is . . . don’t point the finger at someone else, point it at yourself. That’s where it starts.
That was Jesus’ point in telling us - -
3 Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? – Matthew 7:3
We tend to notice the sin in others long before we claim it about ourselves. Look at yourself, for who you are and that’s the point as we seek healing, redemption and forgiveness. Sin separates from a holy God.
Their relationship with God had been broken, so Adam and Eve hid in shame. God asked where they were, not so He could see where they were, God already knew where they were and what they did. The purpose was for them to see and understand that they were separated from God.
The sin of Adam and Eve now becomes our problem. As a result we are born with a sin nature. Paul tells us in Romans 5 - -
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. - Romans 5:12
Let me give you and example. If you’ve ever dealt with kids, this will ring true for you. You don’t have to teach your kids how to disobey you. Does that sound kind of strange?
Debbie and I raised our boys to have good manners, to ask before taking, to obey every command we gave them. That was my expectation. Did that always happen? Nope, it didn’t. Why? It wasn’t our teaching.
There was never a day when we said to them . . . “Ok, boys, today is a free for all day . . . we’re going to teach you how to disobey everything we ask you to do. We’re going to tell you to do something, and I want you to firmly say NO!”
That day never happened. Why? Because they figured out how to disobey all on their own. They were born with a sin nature, just like all of us.
We don’t become sinners because we sin, we sin because we’re sinners — we have a sinful nature. We may be great people, but there’s not one of us who doesn’t need the grace and mercy of Jesus. We’re held responsible for our own behavior and actions because we sin.
We don’t like talking about it, but we need to be aware we’re not immune to sin. We may try to justify ourselves by comparing our lives to others, but our standard is flawed because it’s based in sin. Ultimately, our standard is God’s, which is holiness and perfection.
GULP!! We all fall short of this. The Bible is very clear about this. In Romans 3, Paul tells us very clearly ---
10 As it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; 11 no one understands; no one seeks for God. 12 All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.” – Romans 3:10-12
That’s a pretty sobering statement from Paul. A few verses later, Paul added –
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, - Romans 3:23
We can join the blame game and blame someone else, or blame the devil. Ultimately, we are held responsible for our sin.
But Jesus made a way. That’s the power of the Gospel. Adam and Even tried but couldn’t cover their own sins and we can’t cover ours. In Genesis 3:21, we read –
21 And the LORD God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them. – Genesis 3:21
God made “garments of skins” to clothe Adam and Eve. An animal had to be sacrificed to cover them. This is the first of the sacrifices to occur in the Bible, leading to the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus, the Lamb of God, who was the sacrifice for OUR sins when he died on the cross for us.
Two last verses because I don’t want you to walk out holding on to the bad news about our sin nature. We have a gift that God has given us. Later in his first letter, John tells us - - -
9 “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” - 1 John 1:9
So there we have it! We are forgiven, purified, cleansed by the blood of Christ. All it takes is our faith in Christ, that because of His blood, the perfect sacrifice for imperfect people, we have redemption.
This is a prayer. This is our cry to a holy and loving God proclaiming “Lord, I’ve done it again. I’ve messed up again and again and again. Oh, Father, thank you for sending your Son, my Lord, Jesus for me . . . to cleanse me and purify me from my sinfulness. Strengthen and encourage me to follow you as your child. Help me to bless others and lead them to your throne of grace.”
