Sin: An Offense Against God Part 2 Series

Sin: An Offense against God

Scriptures: Rev. 12:10; 1 Corinthians 5; Jude

Introduction:

This morning I want to continue the message I started last week titled “Sin: An Offense against God.” If you recall from last week, I told you that this message originated from several conversations that I have had with family members and friends relating to how sin is/is not addressed within Churches and how our acceptance of sin is evolving and not in a positive way. I told you that sin is an offense against God, first and foremost, and secondarily man in some situations. God is the One who defined what sin is and when we sin, we sin against Him because He is the one who gave the definition. Although the world is trying to change the definition of what sin is, this is not something that Christians can accept. In my message last week I read to you from Revelations the thirteenth chapter where John sees the coming of the Antichrist and the one who would be supporting him. I told you that the Antichrist would be a political figure and the other a religious figure. This is important to understand because while the Antichrist will walk in a political office and attempt to unite the world, the one walking as a religious leader will attempt to establish a new united religious order. When you study this chapter, you will find that restrictions (the ability to provide for your daily needs) will be placed upon those who do not accept the mark of the beast on their right hand or their foreheads. This mark is either the actual name of the man or the number of his name (666). What these verses are warning us of is the time that will shortly come when we will be unable to provide for the daily needs of our families unless we accept the mark of the beast. Imagine someone coming to your house and telling you that unless you receive a certain mark you will lose your job, cannot use any of your credit cards and you will be barred from purchasing things in stores. This is what is being described in Revelations during the time of the Antichrist.

Why is this important today in our conclusion on this subject of sin? Remember the situation that I told you about in the city of Houston where the mayor is requesting the sermons from pastors who have spoken out against homosexuality? If that plays out to its fullest potential, those pastors could be charged with hate crimes or breaking the law as it relates to discrimination. Those pastors would be required to accept as normal homosexuality in the sense that they would not be allowed to teach against it if they want to be able to freely operate their churches within the city limits. This is not that much of a difference from what will happen when the Antichrist arrives. If we accept the mark of the beast we accept what he stands for, both politically and religiously. The two will not be separated. We will have to choose to accept his doctrine and the doctrine of the religious leader supporting him. This is actually going to be a lot easier than you think because we are already being programed to do so and that is one of the reasons there is so little talk about sin and hell. In fact because everyone sins and everyone goes to heaven there is no need to really dwell on sin at all! This is a doctrine that the Antichrist will love – no need to follow God, do your own thing and you will be just fine.

I had a conversation this week and this subject came up. When I explained to one of my friends that there is a penalty for sin even for Christians who do not repent, she was not necessarily in agreement. She quoted Romans 3:23 where Paul states that everyone has sinned and fallen short and that only Christ had been sinless. I shared with her that we were born into sin and that she was correct that everyone “have” sinned. I told her the difference was that while we have all sinned, when we got saved we received the ability to not sin anymore. I walked her through several scriptural references which dispelled what we hear often that grace covers everything regardless of if a person repents (stop doing) and stop doing the sin. These are the conversations I am having with people because this sermon series is causing all of us to really examine our lives and what we believe as it relates to sin.

In my message last week I also spoke to you about the Judge, Prosecutor, Defendant and Defense Attorney. I used these roles to illustrate our current situation. God is the judge, Satan the prosecutor and Jesus is our defense attorney. We read from Revelations chapter twenty about our standing before God when the books are opened. I told you that when God makes His pronouncement about our fate there will be no appeals. His decision will be final and our decisions here on earth right now will influence that future decision. This morning I will continue from where I left off last week and begin with the prosecutor.