From the Desk of Pastor Toby Powers
Truth Baptist Church
Bremen, GA
June 11, 2006
The Sin of Thanklessness
1 Thess 5:18 “In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”
Rom 1:21-22 “Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools.”
2 Tim 3:1-5 “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.”
Intro: The Apostle Paul said in I Thess. 5:18 to give thanks for all things. He gave as one of the marks of an evil, perverse, corrupt, and reprobate generation the sin of thanklessness or ingratitude in Romans 1:21-22. In II Timothy 3:2, He stated that in the last days men would be among other things, “unthankful” and “unholy.” There is a connection in our text in Romans and in II Timothy between the sin of thanklessness and a life that is altogether displeasing to God. WHEN PEOPLE BECOME UNTHANKFUL, THEY WILL SOON BE UNHOLY! They forget where their blessings come from, and they become wise in their own eyes. God said of the Israelites in Isaiah 1:3, “The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master’s crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider.” This tells us of their thanklessness, and the very next verse God said that they were a “sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD.” I believe the primary sin that has caused the backslidden condition of people in America is the sin of thanklessness! We have become unthankful; therefore, we have become unholy!
• It was the woman who remembered all her sins that Jesus washed away that washed his feet with her tears!
• It was Mary Magdalene, out of whom Christ cast 7 devils, that stayed last at the tomb of our Lord and showed up first on resurrection day!
• It was one Samaritan leper who returned to God to give thanks!
• The man who lacked the fruit of the knowledge of Christ, according to II Peter 1:9, is “blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.”
• People who are not thankful will never serve with the same fervor as those who remember where they were when God found them, saved, them, and changed them!
We are living in a generation that “curses their father, and doth not bless their mother.” They are righteous in their “own eyes.” They are thankful unto no one for anything! Too often we are thankless toward:
1. Our Companion: He “that findeth a wife findeth a good thing.” Prov. 18:22
2. Our Children: Children must receive discipline at home, but the same Bible that teaches not to spare the rod, also teaches for fathers not to provoke their children unto wrath! Thanks or your verbal appreciation and approval when your children do well is every bit as important as correction when they do wrong!
3. Our Church: When was the last time you just told the people here that you love them? Thank God for a place where we can worship in the liberty of the Spirit of God!
4. Our Christ: Eph 1:3, He “hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.” We are commanded in his word to give thanks to him in all things:
Col 3:17 “And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.”
Eph 5:20 “Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
WE OUGHT TO THANK HIM FOR THE:
I. BODY’S STRENGTH: If you have good health, you ought to give God thanks… it comes from him! Thank him for strength:
A. To Labor: that good job you treasure, is a blessing from God!
B. To Love: you have the mental capacity to experience love for others and know their love for you because of the Lord! Furthermore, any physical capacity you have to demonstrate that love to those you care for so deeply is God’s blessings as well!
C. To Learn: If you have the capability to hear, see, speak, feel, and think, it is God’s blessing! If you have the capacity to learn and understand, you are blessed!
II. BLESSINGS OF SALVATION: “Thanks To Calvary I’m Not The Man I Used To Be.” I’m so thankful that I am saved!
A. Mercy: God not giving us what we deserve
B. Grace: God giving us what we do not deserve
C. Love: God giving to us what only Christ deserves!
III. BENEFIT OF THE SPIRIT: The Bible says he is a
A. Guide: teaches us and leads us along
B. Comfort: when we are hurting, lonely, grieving, or sad
C. Strength: when we just don’t have the fortitude to make it alone, we don’t have to!
IV. BROTHERHOOD WITH THE SAVIOR: We are “In Christ” and as such have brotherhood with him. We are joint-heirs with him. He has given us a place:
A. With The Father: I John 3:1
B. In The Forgiven: Eph 4:32
C. In The Family: I’M SO GLAD I’M A PART OF THE FAMILY OF GOD!
D. In The Fellowship: with God; with the brethren, with the Spirit!
E. In Forever: Time can not mine away what he put in my heart! I’M HIS AND HE’S MINE FOREVER!
Conclusion: We are so thankless! We are so ungrateful! We so often fail to thank him and thank others he has put in our paths to sweeten our days! If you have understood your sin of thanklessness today, and you do nothing about, NOT ONLY WILL YOU BE UNTHANKFUL, YOU ARE ON YOUR WAY TO BEING UNHOLY!!! Why don’t you take some time to give thanks… to God first, and then to some others you also need to thank?
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