WHY DO WE NEED SAVING?
Text: Gen. 3:1-7
Intro.
1. This lesson and the next will be hard for me to
present.
2. The subject itself is difficult and depressing in
nature.
3. Yet to appreciate our deliverance, our salvation, we must descend into the depths of sin; I want us to explore an answer to the question, why do we need saving anyway? What is this religion thing all about.
5. Usually, in a discussion of sin, at least three passages are used to define and convict the hearers:
a. I Jn. 4:3 sin is a transgression of the law
b. Rom. 3:23, all have sinned and “fallen
short” of the glory of God…
c. James 4:17, it is the failing to do what you
know to do.
6. I believe there is more to it than that.
7. As Jesus indicates in Mt. 5-7, it all starts in the heart.
I. A LOOK AT GEN. 3, THE FIRST FALL
A. We are all familiar with the story.
B. But let’s take a closer look at what happened.
C. Satan’s approach to Eve is two-fold:
1. Who is God?
2. Who is man?
D. Let’s look at the first target: God’s nature.
1. “you won’t surely die…” a blatant lie
implying God is a liar, He has and will
deceive.
2. “God knows…” another lie accusing God of
impure motives; God is jealous, selfishly
insecure and protective of his position
and authority.
E. The second target: man’s heart
1. a lie of liberty/freedom “your eyes will
be opened…”; you won’t be blind and
dependent upon God anymore, you can make
your own decisions.
2. a lie of power “you will be like
God…” you can be just like God in power
and authority.
3. a lie of knowledge;“you will know good
and evil…” you will know what God knows.
F. These were lies because God had place them in
the garden with everything they needed to
survive, thrive and attain all that God
intended.
1. they had power—God had given them
dominion over all the beasts and animals.
2. They had knowledge—God told them
everything they needed.
3. They had freedom/liberty—they weren’t
encumbered with any emotional baggage;
they could roam freely without fear of
God.
G. Let’s draw some conclusions:
1. Basic to sin is distrust of God. He is
not who He says he is, nor knowledgeable
enough; we can’t trust his information.
2. So, in doing this, we dishonor him;
3. The result is our own desires fanned by
the tempter: freedom, knowledge and
power.
4. These lies surface time and again in
scripture, as we see in the next passage.
Let’s stop there and look at another passage
II. LET’S LOOK AT ROM. 1:18-28, A COMMENTARY
A. vs. 18
1. God’s wrath is revealed against all the
Godlessness-- asebia—impiety towards God
2. wickedness —adikia—injustice toward men
3. Who suppress--—hold it back, hold it down,
the truth—alethia—the knowledge of God
as communicated to the human conscience
4. By their wickedness—by their not living
right/proper according to God
B. vs. 21-23
1. They knew God from evidence of creation;
His divine nature and eternal power
2. But they didn’t glorify him as God—
ascribe him honor he deserved due to the
evidence he provided.
3. Nor did they give thanks; weren’t thankful
4. Their thinking—inward questionings
5. became futile—worthless
6. their foolish hearts—undiscerning
7. were darkened—made dark
8. they claimed wisdom—sophia
9. but the became fools—morons, literally
10. they created their own gods
C. vs. 25
1. they exchanged the truth of God for a lie
2. They worshipped the created things (the
gods they had created) rather than THE
CREATOR.
D. vs. 28
1. They did not think it worthwhile—they
tested knowledge of God and determined,
or disqualified it as useless
2. to retain knowledge—cognizance
E. We summarize Paul’s thoughts on sin:
1. disregard for divine revelation, vs. 19-20
2. ingratitude for God’s gifts, 1:19-21
3. hostility/enmity toward God, 8:7
4. a mindset toward fleshly desires, 8:5
III. SOME CONCLUSIONS AND FURTHER
THOUGHTS
A. All sin is based upon two premises:
1. God isn’t to be trusted,
2. I know what is best for me.
(Falling prey to 3 lies.)
B. This is true all through scripture
1. Job, Note Satan’s accusation; Job 1&2
2. Israel’s murmuring in the wilderness
3. People’s rejection of Jesus “you aren’t
who you say you are.”
4. Mt. 4, the temptation of Jesus.
C. note some practical definitions of sin as a
result of these passages:
1. sin is resistance to the promotive
leadership of God, hence indifference to
moral requirements.
2. sin is the assertion of the opposite of
God.
3. sin is the dishonoring of God, the
failure to attribute to God what is His.
4. Sin is mans seeking independence and self-
sufficient behavior to depart from the
order given by God and establishing
himself in his own position, and going
his own way.
5. sin is concern for and pursuit of
personal Rights
D. In viewing sin from these two premises, we
know more about each other.
1. From Rom. 1:18 we learn that God’s wrath
is against all who treat their fellowman
wrongly.
2. Understanding some of why that is done
enables us to reconsider our actions.
3. Note Gal. 5:19-21 The list of sins here
are ways we treat one another as mankind
and all are based on the two premises
found in the garden of Eden.
a) distrust/dishonor of God
b) self-seeking/elevation of self
E. Every sin you can name, regardless of
how “small” or how “great” falls under these
two premises
1. Our faithfulness to God in attendance,
singing, giving, service, how we spend
our time, our lives---all fall under
these two premises.
2. We are, as Paul concludes in Rom. 3, all
sinners needing rescue.
3. Failure to apply these truths to yourself
is to fall under these two premises—you
know what is best for yourself.
Concl.
1. This is not a pretty subject.
2. But I believe for too long we have incorrectly taught or implied that sin is simply an action we can avoid, or an action to carry out.
3. While that is true, sin, at its core is:
a. a distrust and thus a dishonor of God
b. a self-reliance to attain what God wants for
us.
4. It is a heart problem.
