Why we need Jesus. The problems sin creates 10-16-05 am
Text: II Cor. 5:17-22
Intro:
1. Last week we started looking at our problem, sin.
2. We noticed the two basic premises of sin, the two
core ideas of sin:
a) distrust and dishonor of God, stealing from
God what is rightfully His, and
b) elevation of self, lifting up ourselves as
knowing better than God what is good for us.
3. Our guilt in sin is based upon these two premises.
4. Whatever our transgression is, we do it because
we distrust God and feel like we know better how
to handle the situation.
5. The weight of this knowledge should be a huge and
heavy wet blanket on our souls.
6. Sin is more than just an action we should or
shouldn’t do. It is a heart problem.
7. and what happened in the garden of Eden produced
more catastrophic results than any natural
disaster this world has seen.
8. I want us to look at those consequences.
I. IMMEDIATE PHYSICAL CONSEQUENCES OF THE
ACTIONS OF THE FIRST PAIR
A. Shame due to guilt. “their eyes were opened…”
1. Just as Satan had told them, but what
they didn’t expect.
2. Now they understood their dependence upon
God
3. They realized their nakedness, which I
believe represents their condition
before God
4. They attempt to hide that dependence with
fig leaves
B. Fear—“God came walking…”
1. Isn’t it interesting that God appears in
the garden as one that still desires a
relationship knowing all the while what
the couple have done.
2. Adam and Eve hide due to guilt, shame and
fear.
3. When confronted, they blame someone else.
C. The responses we see here are the same we see
today.
1. Guilt, shame and fear and their relatives
of anger, hurt, depression are still
around today and wreak havoc on millions
of lives, just ask any counselor or
therapist
2. However, there are just as many today who
are not sensitive to their standing
before God and will not admit any wrong—
they feel no guilt, no personal
responsibility, still viewing sin as big
acts that need forgiveness.
3. guilt, shame, and fear cause people to
blame, hide and try to maintain their
standing before men rather than repair
their relationship with God.
II. IMMEDIATE AND LONG-LASTING SPIRITUAL
CONSEQUENCES
A. We took away from God what is rightfully His—
honor, authority, rule, trust; we refused to
submit to his will, thus we have a debt to
repay.
B. However, we have rendered ourselves incapable
of paying the debt by separating ourselves
from God due to our sin, (Isa. 59:1,2) thus
we have a debt but can’t repay it because we
can’t approach a Holy God. (Adam and Eve were
cast out of the garden, out of the presence
of God)
C. We would not be subjects in service to God in
His kingdom, but we sold ourselves into
slavery of Satan and now are held under his
control. Rom. 6 Paul uses this language to
explain our plight
D. We have incurred God’s wrath because, having
opposed and disobeyed him, now we must be
punished. Rom. 1:18.
E. We need to understand our situation, how
hopeless and Dismal, and that we cannot do
anything about it by ourselves. Cf. Eph.
2:12
III. GOD’S PROBLEM WITH OUR SIN; WHAT SIN DOES
TO GOD
A. Note God’s moral attributes:
1. immutable—unchangeable, James 1:17, Heb.
13:8
2. Holy—completely separated from anything
impure, the most often mentioned attribute
of God
3. Love—unconditional expression of rational
and voluntary service. Cf. Mt. 5:43-48
4. Goodness—the perfection of his nature
5. Truthfulness—Perfect knowledge of all
truth and never contradicting that truth.
6. Faithfulness—manifested by his
truthfulness, he never acts contrary to
the true nature of his being,
regardless of how we act toward him,
cf. II Tim. 2:11-13
7. Patience—longsuffering, II Pet. 3:9
8. Justice—acting, behaving according to a
standard, a straight line; includes the
idea of acting properly regarding one’s
rights, establishing and maintaining
the rights of others.
9. Wrath—in essence, the natural expression
of the divine nature-which is absolute
holiness and purity-manifesting itself
against the willful, deliberate &
inexcusable sin. Rom. 1:18
10. Knowledge—Perfect knowledge, omniscience
B. thus, looking at God’s moral attributes, sin
puts God in a dilemma:
1. On the one hand, Justice and wrath demand
satisfaction for sin, disobedience must
be punished; this is core to any justice
system.
a) either the guilty party pays
voluntarily or will ultimately pay
involuntarily
b) the debt of submission, honor and
rule will be repaid.
2. On the other hand, Love, grace and mercy
demand compassion.
3. Somehow, God must act true to his nature
and resolve our problem of sin and its
consequences.
IV. GOD TOOK THE INITIATIVE AND NOW PROVIDES
OUR WAY OUT
A. God became man—Phil. 2:5,6 Col. 2:9 deity
dwelled in bodily form, He took on the form
of a servant.
B. He became sin—II Cor. 5:21, God placed our
sin upon him thus identifying with us and
our sinfulness
C. He became obedient, even unto death—Phil.
2:7,8
D. Jesus was the lamb, the sacrifice we needed
to remove our sin from between us and God;
sin separated, only blood removes, one life
for another, Heb. 9:12,14,22 (because blood
is the life of man, Gen. 9:1-6 Lev. 17:11
God gave it to make atonement) Heb.10:1-4
Rev. 5:1-10
E. Jesus was the priest/go between/mediator we
needed to go to God in order to pay our debt,
I Tim.2:5, Heb. 5-7
F. Jesus is the guarantee of our continued
relationship, Heb. 7:22
G. Thus Jesus is our debt, our sacrifice, our
priest and guarantee that our relationship
can be restored.
Concl.
1. We can do nothing of ourselves, Rom. 5:5-10
2. We need Jesus every hour of every day to intercede for us and go to God on our behalf.
3. In Jesus, God satisfies the demand for punishment due our sin,
4. And He acts consistently with his nature and attributes of justice, wrath, grace and mercy.
5. Only Jesus can accomplish all that we need.
6. All this is yours, your problem is solved when you admit your need, turn to Jesus and place your faith and trust in Him, decide to live a life reflective of that decision, and in baptism put on/be clothed with Christ and His righteousness, and enjoy oneness with God once again.
