Sin’s beginning and it’s cost
I heard about a Christian cowboy who lost his New Testament while he was mending fences out on the range. Three weeks later, a bear walked up to him carrying the New Testament in its mouth. The cowboy couldn't believe his eyes. He took his New Testament out of the bear's mouth, raised his eyes heavenward and said, "It's a miracle!" "Not really," said the bear, "Your name is written inside the cover."
The real miracle we have today is, the word of God has been preserved for us over the ages; today we’re in the third section of Romans five verses 12-21.
“12 Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned— 13 (For until the law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law. 14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come. 15 But the free gift is not like the offense. For if by the one man’s offense many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many. 16 And the gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned. For the judgment which came from one offense resulted in condemnation, but the free gift which came from many offenses resulted in justification. 17 For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.)
18 Therefore, as through one man’s offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man’s righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life. 19 For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous.
20 Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more, 21 so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
I Sin’s beginning
A favorite nursery rhyme is the familiar tale of an egg that takes an unfortunate tumble:
HUMPTY DUMPTY SAT ON A WALL
HUMPTY DUMPTY HAD A GREAT FALL.
ALL THE KING’S HORSES AND ALL THE KING’S MEN
COULDN’T PUT HUMPTY TOGETHER AGAIN.
This piece of wisdom is thousands of years old and versions of it have appeared in eight European languages.
Most people don’t understand that Humpty Dumpty was actually a riddle that asked the question: what is something when it’s broken, can never be repaired, even by greatest or wisest? And the answer is, an egg; because no matter how hard we try, we can never put a broken egg back together again. We simply have to learn to live with the mess. And get this, just as there was a fall in the Humpty Dumpty story there was also one in the book of Genesis.
In verse 12 Paul takes us all the way back to Genesis where we have the first account of sin. Adam has been a great source for humour over the ages and many treat him as though he were simply an illustration of the first man, but God’s word treats Adam not only as a real person but as a perfect human being through whom God gave the role of naming creation as well as the one who participated in the first sin.
Now, I know that Satan tempted Eve and she actually committed the sin but Adam was just as guilty because he was standing there watching her and then he willfully took some of the forbidden fruit.
The moment they ate the fruit sin had an effect and their eyes were opened and they were conscious of their nakedness. Their first reaction was to hide from God and sew fig leaves together. This tells us they experienced guilt that followed their act of sin and for the rest of time man has been seeking the solution for his guilt rather than his sin.
There are two kinds of guilt. The first is where we know we have sinned and need to repent or confess our sin and turn from it to God, so that as Acts 3:19 says, “Our sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.” Guilt is God’s built-in alarm system that alerts us that we’ve done something that’s interrupted our relationship with God and we have to deal with it before we can successfully proceed with our lives.
I John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” We must confess and be willing to stop it and this demonstrates genuine repentance.
When God forgives your sin, He removes your sin. Psalm 103:12 says, “As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.” Did you know that if you are at the South Pole and go north, you will eventually meet the North Pole? But, if you travel east, you will never get to the ‘West Pole’; you will always, for ever and ever be going east. The same is true if you’re going west; you will never meet the ‘East Pole’; but will always and forever be going west. This illustrates that once our sin has been forgiven, it will never again resurface and we’ll never have to face it because it’s gone for ever!
So, sometimes we need to confess our sin to God, while other times we need to confess and even pay what we owe to those we’ve wronged in order to restore our fellowship with God.
There are many illustrations I could use but I remember the first time I gained peace with God by confessing a sin to someone I had wronged.
When I was in high school, I had worked in a candy store for a couple of years before heading out for fame and fortune in Ontario, and I started to make plans. The problem was, even though I had made a bit of money I never saved anything and I knew I needed some for the train ticket and a little to live on once I got there. So, I decided I’d help myself to couple of dollars on the nights I was working. It wasn’t much and I didn’t think anyone would notice or even care. At the end of the summer, I had about sixty dollars and got on the train and headed for Ontario.
A few years later, I had become a Christian and was attending a Christian conference in Detroit and the speaker was emphasizing the need of a clear conscience and he concluded his message by saying, “If you’ve ever said or done anything to offend someone, you need to get it right.”
My greatest desire in life was for God to use me and yet, there was something bothering me and I asked the Lord if there was something I needed to get right with someone and the man who owned the candy store came to mind. And I thought, “Oh no, not him.” I could never tell him that I stole from him and ask his forgiveness; after all he had done for me, I’d feel like such a jerk.” But the thought never left me and I prayed and prayed but the Lord kept bringing what I’d done and I knew I would have to do something.
So, I sent a cheque with what I figured I had taken and then I sat down and wrote what I was going to say and prayed that he’d answer the phone so we could have a private conversation. I called and he answered and said, “Hey, it’s really great to hear from you, I’ve often wondered what happened to you. How you are doing?” And I said, “I’m calling to tell you that I stole some money while I was working at the store. I’ve sent what I assume was the amount I took but I need to ask you, “Will you forgive me?” He said, “Wow, I knew you took some money and now, this is like the prodigal son coming home. Of course, I forgive you.” We talked a little and then said our good-byes and I felt like a load had been lifted off my shoulders. This was God clearing my conscience.
The second kind of guilt is false guilt and rather than leading us back to God it actually drives away from Him. These are common statements of people experiencing false guilt: “I am beyond forgiveness. God only forgives those who are worthy of His forgiveness. God is punishing me for what I have done. Or I’m so bad I deserve to live with this guilt for the rest of my life.” There’s no forgiveness for false guilt because there’s no repentance.
Karl Menninger, the famed psychiatrist, once said that if he could convince the patients in psychiatric hospitals that their sins were forgiven, 75 percent of them could walk out the next day!
So, we’re all sinners by nature and sinners by practice and there is a penalty for sin. We will either have to pay the penalty or have someone sinless pay it for us.
D L Moody said, “Some people think God does not like to be troubled with our constant coming and confessing but the way to trouble God is not to come at all.”
I heard a story about a cold winter’s night in the desert when an Arab was all bundled up for the night in his tent. As he about to go to sleep his camel poked his head under the tent and said, “Master, it’s really cold out here, would you mind if I just put my head inside the tent.” The kind master felt sorry for the poor animal and he said, go ahead and then he laid down to go to sleep.
A little while later, the camel said, “Master, would it be too much to ask if I put my neck inside the tent as well.” And again, his master felt sorry for him and said, “oh alright.”
And then the camel started complaining about his forelegs and he said they were getting really stiff and if he didn’t get them warm he wouldn’t be able to walk in the morning and the master said, “go ahead, bring them in.”
And before he knew it, the camel was completely inside the tent; but the tent was too small for both of them and so, when the master woke up, he was out in the cold and the camel had the tent all to himself. Listen, sin is the camel in our tent and if we let it have a little, it will end up destroying us.
II Sin’s penalty
The Bible tells us the penalty for sin in Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death.” This means we have earned death because of our sin. The world views death as the end of existence but God has created us to live forever. Genesis 2:7 says that God breathed life into the first man Adam and only man was created this way. So, the human body is earthly and dies like everything else on earth, but the soul came from God and therefore it’s eternal.
While we’re alive we can enjoy all the good things this world has to offer but after we die, if we’re saved, we’ll begin eternity with a seven-year feast while the unsaved will be suffering in hell and longing forever for the least amount of comfort they can imagine.
There is a story told by Jesus of a rich man who had spent his life enjoying himself while ignoring the needs of others, but when he died, he went straight to hell where he spent his time in agony and begging that the one whose needs, he had ignored would be sent to hell to provide him a single drop of water.
All sin began in the garden of Eden where Adam and Eve ignored God’s warning and although his death wasn’t immediate, those who were created to live forever began the slow process of deterioration and one day they’d both experience death. In the meantime, they experienced a spiritual death and they lost not only their home in the garden, but also the quality of fellowship they had enjoyed with God.
Paul says in verse 12, “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned.” The sin of Adam and Eve affected not only what they had but who they were and their very nature was passed down to us and as a result we’re born with a sin nature and all of us have sinned.
So, we’re not just sinners because we sin; but we sin because we’ve inherited Adam’s sinful nature. Some say it’s not fair that we should be punished for his sin but neither is it fair that Jesus took our sin when He died on the cross.
Sin is not just what we do; it’s what we are and this is seen by what we do. Sin is more than just an act; it’s an attitude and a condition. We do what we do because of who we are.
A story is told about Fiorello LaGuardia, who, when he was mayor of New York City, which was during the worst days of the Great Depression and all of World War II. He was called by many New Yorkers "the Little Flower" because he was only five-foot-four and he always wore a carnation in his lapel.
He was a colorful character who used to ride the New York City fire trucks, raid speakeasies with the police department, take entire orphanages to baseball games, and whenever the New York newspapers went on strike, he would go on the radio and read the Sunday funnies to the kids.
One bitterly cold night in January of 1935, the mayor turned up at a night court in an area that served the poorest ward in the city. He dismissed the judge for the evening and took over the bench himself.
Within a few minutes, an old woman was brought before him, she was charged with stealing a loaf of bread. She told the Mayor that her daughter's husband had deserted her and that her daughter was sick and her two grandchildren were starving. But the shopkeeper, from whom the bread was stolen, refused to drop the charges.
"It's a real bad neighborhood, your Honor." The shopkeeper told the mayor. "She's got to be punished to teach others around here a lesson." LaGuardia sighed. He turned to the woman and said, "I have got to punish you. The law makes no exceptions ten dollars or ten days in jail."
But even as he pronounced sentence, the mayor reached into his pocket and took out a bill and tossed it into his hat saying, "Here is the ten-dollar fine which I now pay; and furthermore, I am going to fine everyone in this courtroom fifty cents for living in a city where a person has to steal bread so her grandchildren can eat. Mr. Bailiff, collect the fines and give them to the defendant."
The following day the New York City newspapers reported that $47.50 was turned over to the old lady who had stolen the bread to feed her starving grandchildren and fifty cents of that amount was even contributed by a red-faced grocery store owner.
And all the courtroom full of petty criminals, people with traffic violations, and New York policemen, who had just paid fifty cents gave the mayor a standing ovation.
So, did the old lady get what she deserved? Clearly the answer is, of course not. She had stolen a loaf of bread and even though she had a good reason, stealing is stealing and punishment was deserved but what we see here is called grace. Grace is when one in a superior position shows kindness or mercy to one in a lesser position.
So, we are all sinners and sin has a penalty and the penalty is not excused but paid.
III Salvation from sin
I’ve been in many church services and Christian meetings where I’ve heard people shared testimonies about how they met Jesus. The problem is, not all them appeared to be saved from sin. Some testified they had been delivered from evil forces, while others had an extreme emotional experience and some even said that God found them broke and ashamed but He has blessed them beyond belief. I’m sure many of them were saved but they seemed to have a problem communicating what it was they were saved from.
Paul describes his own salvation in very simple terms by quoting what Ananias said to him in Acts 22:16, “Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.”
Salvation can be explained by using three simple words. First, the moment we repent and believe upon Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we are saved from the penalty of sin. Whether we’ve been saved as a child and then live a hundred years or saved at the last minute like the thief on the cross, we no longer have any reason to fear standing before God.
After we’ve been saved, we enter a process of sanctification where we are continually being saved from the power of sin. We’re still sinners living in a sinful world but we’re not the same as we were before.
Here are the testimonies of this fact by four great saints of history. Augustine said of himself, "Lord save me from that wicked man, myself." John Knox who was considered to be one of the greatest preachers in the history of Scotland said, "In youth, in middle age, and now after many battles I find nothing in me but corruption." And one of the great preachers and songwriters was a man named Augustus Toplady, who among other things wrote the hymn Rock of Ages, but he said of himself: "Oh that such a wretch as I should ever be tempted to think highly of himself. I that am myself nothing but sin and weakness and, in whose flesh, naturally dwells no good thing."
And then there was John Newton who was saved as a slave trader and he wrote,
I am not what I ought to be,
I am not what I want to be,
I am not what I hope to be,
But thank God,
I am not what I used to be.
And when we get to heaven, we will all be saved from the presence of sin. I’ve had people ask me if they’ll still have to wrestle with a particular sin when they get to heaven and the answer is absolutely not. We will be totally cleansed from sin and all the temptations associated with this sinful world.
So, today we’re saved from the penalty of sin, throughout our lives we will be saved from the power of sin and when we get to heaven we’ll be saved from the presence of sin.
The problem with most Christians is, we can get so used to being saved because we have Christian friends, our activities revolve around the church and even our holidays are spent at Christian retreats. It’s easy to become insulated from the world we are supposed to reach.
Three hundred and fifty years ago there was a ship that landed on the northeast coast of America. The first year they established a town site and the second year they elected a town council and then the third year the council voted to expand the town by building a road five-mile road out into the wilderness. In the fourth year the people tried to impeach the council because they thought the expansion was a waste of money expanding into the wilderness.
What’s so ironic is…these people had a vision to see three thousand miles across the ocean but in just a couple of years they couldn’t see five miles outside of town.
I had a friend whose church had experienced tremendous growth in a short time and the place was packed every Sunday. They realized in order to continue growing and to accommodate all the new people they had to either enlarge their facilities or build a new one. They had a meeting to discuss their situation and an old lady who had been very faithful over the years said, “We don’t need to build a new building. Why don’t we just tell all these new people to go somewhere else.” I think she was someone who had spent her life in church but never sensed the spiritual needs of those around her.
There are people who claim to have been saved, have been baptized and they tithe every penny they’ve ever earned; but they’ve never shared their faith with anyone or can’t remember the last time they did. And yet, four times, in every gospel, Jesus gave the great commission.
In Matthew 28:18-20 it says, “And Jesus came and spoke unto them, saying, all power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth.' 19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:' 20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.' This wasn’t a suggestion; it was a command.
We tend to think of His disciples as being special believers but in Mark 6:52 we see them after Jesus fed the five thousand and they were described by saying that their heart was hardened. Food was miraculously provided and they served it and cleaned up afterward but missed the miracle.
Why was their heart hardened? It’s easy to say they were tired but I think there was a sense of familiarity with the spiritual. They had seen so many miracles of conversion, healing, deliverance from demon possession and even raising the dead and this was just more of the same.
I think it’s easy to get tired of some parts of ministry. I visited a few large churches down South where people who want to be baptized could be baptized but all baptisms were done before the evening service and that way, not only does it interrupt the time allotted for preaching but non-Christians can attend the baptism, take a few pictures and leave before the message.
Sin can harden us and so can bitterness or even laziness. We can get so used to hearing the gospel that we assume everyone else has heard it as well; when for many the message may be new even though they’ve heard a thousand times before. I’ve seen people come forward for salvation who have been in the church for thirty or forty years.
I was reading a testimony by a man named Chuck Lawless who is the president of a seminary. He said, “I was not raised in a Christian home. I first heard about Christ when God planted in my seventh-grade classroom a fanatical twelve-year-old Pentecostal kid who made it his goal to win me to the Lord. His approach was simple: he’d meet me at the door of the class every morning and say, “Chuck, it’s a good thing you lived through the night because if you hadn’t, you’d be in hell right now. But . . . you can receive Jesus into your heart right now.”
Chuck said, “His technique was not the best, but somewhere in the midst of his message God drove the truth into my heart—and my life has never been the same.”
We saw sin’s beginning, sin’s penalty and salvation from sin. Let me conclude with a story.
There was a wealthy man and his son who loved to collect rare works of art. They had everything in their collection, from Picasso to Raphael. They would often sit together and admire the great works of art. When the Viet Nam conflict broke out, the son went to war. He was very courageous and he died in battle while trying to rescue another soldier. The father was notified and grieved deeply for his only son.
About a month later, just before Christmas, there was a knock at the door. A young man stood there with a large package in his hands. He said, "Sir, you don’t know me, but I am the soldier for whom your son gave his life. He saved many lives that day, and he was carrying me to safety when a bullet struck him and he died instantly. He often talked about you, and your love for art. The young man held out his package and said, "I know this isn’t much. I’m not really a great artist, but I think your son would have wanted you to have this."
The father opened the package. It was a portrait of his son, painted by the young man. He stared in awe at the way the soldier had captured the personality of his son in the painting. The father was so drawn to the eyes that his own eyes welled up with tears. He thanked the young man and offered to pay him for the picture. "Oh, no sir, I could never repay what your son did for me. It’s a gift."
The father hung the portrait over his mantle. Every time visitors came to his home he took them to see the portrait of his son before he showed them any of the other great works he had collected.
The man died a few months later. There was to be a great auction of his paintings. Many influential people gathered, excited over seeing the great paintings and having an opportunity to purchase one for their collection. On the platform sat the painting of the son. The auctioneer pounded his gavel.
"We will start the bidding with this picture of the son. Who will bid for this picture f the son?" There was silence. Then a voice in the back of the room shouted. "We want to see the famous paintings. Skip this one." But the auctioneer persisted. "Will someone bid for this painting? Who will start the bidding? $100, $200?"
Another voice shouted angrily. "We didn’t come to see this painting. We came to see the Van Gogh’s and the Rembrandts. Get on with the real bids!"
But still the auctioneer continued. "The son! The son! Who’ll take the son?" Finally, a voice came from the very back of the room. It was the long-time gardener of the man and his son. "I’ll give $10 for the painting."
Being a poor man, it was all he could afford. The auctioneer said, "We have $10, who will bid $20?" And someone yelled, "Give it to him for $10. Let’s see the masters." The auctioneer said, "$10 is the bid, won’t someone bid $20?"
The crowd was becoming angry. They didn’t want the picture of the son. They wanted the more worthy investments for their collections. The auctioneer pounded the gavel. "Going once, twice, SOLD for $10!"
A man sitting on the second row shouted. "Now let’s get on with the collection!" The auctioneer laid down his gavel. "I’m sorry, the auction is over."
"What about the paintings?" he yelled. "I am sorry.” He said, “When I was called to conduct this auction, I was told of a secret stipulation in the will. Only the painting of the son would be auctioned and whoever bought that painting would inherit the entire estate, including the paintings. The man who took the son gets everything!"
God gave His Son 2,000 years ago to die on a cruel rugged cross and much like the auctioneer, the message is, "The son, the son, who’ll take the son?" Because you see, whoever has the Son has everything.")
As Julia Harriette Johnston put it about 100 years ago,
Marvelous grace of our loving Lord,
Grace that exceeds our sin and our guilt!
Yonder on Calvary’s mount outpoured,
There where the blood of the Lamb was spilled.
Sin and despair, like the sea waves cold,
Threaten the soul with infinite loss;
Grace that is greater, yes, grace untold,
Points to the refuge, the mighty cross.
And the chorus says,
Grace, grace, God’s grace, Grace that will pardon and cleanse within; Grace, grace, God’s grace, Grace that is greater than all our sin.
