James 1:16
Three Great Things Man Must Be Careful About Erring In
We need to be careful about ascribing either our sins or our temptations unto God. Man is very prone to err in his notions and apprehensions, as touching the authors of good and evil; too ready to conclude either God or Satan to be the author of the sin we commit, and ourselves the authors of the good we do. To this James states, “Do not err, my beloved brethren,” in this matter.
The word err means to go astray, fall into error, or be deceived . Making mistakes are part of our human nature. I once saw a sign once in a business that was referring to bad checks that read, “to err is human, but to forgive cost $25.00 .”
Now some of the mistakes we make are small, and others are great. This morning I want to speak about three notable areas in which man often errs.
I. We often err in our undervaluing of the GREATNESS of salvation (Hebrews 2:3)
“So great salvation.” When God looked on His creation as recorded in Gensis, He said, “It was good,” but when God refers to salavation, HE calls it GREAT.
A. Great because of whom is involved
The Trinity is involved in this so great salvation: God the Father designed the plan of salvation in eternity, God the Son discharged the plan salvation in the fullness of time, and God the Holy Spirit declares the plan of salvation daily.
When God created the worlds, He did it with His word, but God could not save sinners by His word alone. God had to come into the world Himself and take upon Himself a human body, live a perfect, sinless life, and die on the cross suffering everything we would have to suffer if we died without Him and went to Hell.
1. Jesus gave His BODY to bear our sins
I Peter 2:22-24 “Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously: Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.” He was treated as if he had been a sinner, in order that we might be treated as if we had not sinned; that is, as if we were righteous.
2. Jesus gave His to blot our sins
Ephesians 1:7 “In whom we have redemption through his , the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;”
Colossians 1:14 “In whom we have redemption through his , even the forgiveness of sins:”
3. Jesus gave His BEING to banish our sins
Galatians 1:4 “Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father:” He did not come to take upon himself unknown and unsurveyed woes. He did not go to work in the dark. He knew what was to be done. He knew just what sorrows were to be endured--how long, how keen, how awful. And yet, knowing this, he came resolved and prepared to endure all those woes, and to drink the bitter cup to the dregs. Jesus gave his life for our sins. He died in our stead. He gave his life up to toil, tears, privation, sorrow, and , that he might redeem us. The Lord Jesus became a vicarious offering, and died in the stead of sinners.
B. Great because of who is invited
John 3:16
Not one sinner has ever lived or will ever live whom Jesus did not die for. There is not a sinner who cannot be saved if he wills to come to Christ.
C. Great because of what is included
Most people, in thinking about salvation, think only of escaping hell. Salvation is not just about escaping hell. It is about sin. See Matthew 1:21. The great errand on which Jesus came was to make an atonement for and to deal with sin. He did not come to make allowances for sin but rather to make an atonement for sin . He did not come to save men IN their sins, but FROM their sins.
1. Deliver us from the penalty of sin
2. Deliver us from the power of sin
3. Deliver us from the presence of sin
I would love to think that if I had a business I would have some real convictions about two things. FIRST, about the worth of the goods I was trying to market, and SECONDLY, about the need for them. I would not want to sell things of nor real worth or goods for which there is no real demand. To be a good business man it is essential to have deep convictions of the worth of one’s goods or services, and the need for them.
Now that is exactly where we must begin in the Christian realm. The early church was so fully convinced of the worth of the goods they offered. Tragically, that is where the church errs today, and it is manifested in the means in which we made Christ known.
II. We often err in our underrating of the SHREWDNESS of Satan (Genesis 3:1)
Most battles are lost because the enemy is either unknown or unde.
Don’t be like the boxer who, after the first round, went back to his corner and his trainer patted him on the back and said, “Go back and get him the next round; he has not laid a hand on you yet.” He went back and fought the second round, and his opponent almost knocked him out. He staggered back to his corner, and his trainer patted him on the back again and said, “Go back and get him this round; he hasn’t laid a glove on you.”
He went back out the third round and was knocked down twice for the count of nine and then only saved by the bell. They dragged him back to his corner, his trainer patted him on the back again and said, “Go back and get him the next round; he has not laid a hand on you yet.” The boxer then aid to his trainer, “I am going back and get him this round, but keep your eyes on that referee; somebody is beating the tar out of me!”
The devil is cunning and extremely deceitful. If the devil was too subtle for our un-fallen parents, Adam and Eve, then we must be careful not to underrate him.
President Roosevelt had a dog he thought was a good fighter, One day while out for a walk, and old mangy dog jumped on the President’s dog and almost killed him. The FBI agents rescued the dog. One the way back to the White House one of the agents said, “Mr. President, I thought that dog was a good fighter.”
Roosevelt replied, “ He is a good fighter, but he is a poor judge of dogs.”
You may be a good fighter; but if you are a poor judge of your enemy, you will lose.
A. The devil will attempt to discredit the Word of God.
1. Its authority
2. Its accuracy
B. The devil will attempt to discourage the workers of God
1. With taxing labor
2. With trifling love
C. The devil will attempt to distract from the worship of God
1. Through pleasure
2. Through possessions
D. The devil will attempt to destroy the work of God
1. Through difficulty
2. Through disloyalty
E. The devil will attempt to deceive about the way to God
Heard once about a preacher who had just finished preaching on the devil, and afterwards a little boy came up to him and endeavoring to complement the preacher said, “Preacher, when you were up there preaching this morning, I could see the devil so plain.” Let me tell you, when you are contemplating the shrewdness of the devil, don’t forget to look in the pulpit.
2 Corinthians 11:13-15 “For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.”
F. The devil will attempt to dissatisfy towards the will of God
III. We often err in our underestimating of the PRECIOUSNESS of the soul (Mark 8:36)
How is value determined? How is the worth of something determined?
A. Observe its creativity
One of the rules for determining value is who created it or designed it.
B. Observe its durability
How long will it last?
C. Observe its potentiality
What is its possibility of becoming? People sell and by stock often based on potentiality. The greater the potential the greater the value.
D. Observe its rarity
A rare item is worth more.
You are only one. Never be anybody like you. You are not a copy. You are the original.
E. Observe its desirability
Demand for raises the price. I Peter 1:18,19
To lose your soul - to be lost forever in Hell is an irreplaceable loss.
Conclusion:
There are some mistakes we may make that are not as great as others. There are some things we may err about that are not as tragic as others.
However, if we undervalue the GREATNESS of salvation, or underrate of the SHREWDNESS of Satan, or underestimate the PRECIOUSNESS of the soul, we will be guilty of making a monstrous error.
