We Can Break More Than We Can Fix

WE CAN BREAK MORE THAN WE CAN FIX

INTRODUCTION

A. When we sin and then repent, our natural inclination is to try to right the wrong.

B. We probably have not repented unless we have this desire.

C. But in sinning, we usually break more than we can fix.

I. EXAMPLES OF BREAKING MORE THAN WE CAN FIX

A. Suppose I am driving down the highway at a high rate of speed, cross over into the lane of oncoming traffic, and hit your car head-on, killing you. What can I ever do to make this right with your family?

1. I could support them for the rest of their lives, but that wouldn't bring you back.

2. I could take my own life, but that would only compound my guilt and help your family none.

3. I could refuse to ever drive again, but that wouldn't erase the careless deed.

B. We can always break more than we can fix.

1. Adam did when he ate the forbidden fruit.

2. David did when he committed adultery with Bathsheba and killed her husband to cover up the sin.

3. Saul of Tarsus did when he persecuted the church unto death.

II. FIXING WHAT WE CAN

A. At times, we can restore or reimburse.

1. We, or our insurance company, can reimburse for a damaged vehicle, time lost from work, etc.

2. Sometimes an apology is all that is needed to bring reconciliation.

B. But there are times when such efforts are not only useless, but they also insult the injured party.

1. If I were to break a priceless heirloom in your home and then offer to "fix it up as good as new" with some glue, I would add insult to injury.

2. Judas had remorse for betraying Jesus, but he tried to “make it right” by killing himself.

III. SOME THINGS ONLY GOD CAN FIX

A. When we violate the law of God, we have violated more than a legal code. We have violated God's moral nature.

1. We can no more violate the moral nature of God with impunity than we can violate the natural law of God and get away with it.

2. If we jump from a 10-story building, we may defy gravity, but we don't break it. It breaks us.

3. Suffering follows sin, for "The way of the transgressor is hard" (Proverbs 13:15 KJV).

B. There are distinct kinds of sin-related suffering:

1. There are penal sufferings for sin, for the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23).

a. But God grants repentance unto life (Acts 11:18).

b. If we deal with sin in this life through repentance, we will not face the penalty for sin in the life to come.

2. There are also consequential sufferings. What we sow, we reap (Galatians 6:7).

a. Repentance does not nullify the law of sowing and reaping and assure us of a crop failure.

b. Sufferings as a consequence of sin may be endured long after we have repented and have been forgiven by both man and God.

c. If I am convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison, God will forgive me upon repentance, but that does not change the sentence.

3. There are providential sufferings.

a. Whom the Lord loves, He disciplines (Hebrews 12:1-13)

b. Sometimes the discipline continues after repentance has been produced.

c. This may be to discourage future sin, or it may be a matter of God's honor.

1) When David repented of his sin with Bathsheba, God took away the sin, but the child died, and the sword did not depart from David's house.

2) These sufferings were not related to the taking away of David's sin. David, by virtue of his position, had given the enemies of God cause to blaspheme (2 Samuel 12:7-14).

3) Christ's sufferings, not David's, were the ground upon which God took away David's sin (Romans 4:5-8; 3:23-27)

IV. INSULTING GOD WITH OUR FIX-IT GLUE

A. The idea that one must endure a certain amount of suffering in this life to be forgiven of sin strikes at the very heart of the gospel.

1. Jesus was delivered up for our transgressions and was made to be sin on our behalf (Romans 4:25; 2 Corinthians 5:21).

2. He also bore our sins in His body on the cross that we might die to sin and live to righteousness (1 Peter 2:24).

3. The righteous one stood in for the unrighteous ones, "For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, in order that He might bring us to God" (1 Peter 3:18).

B. If Christ made satisfaction for our sins on the cross and we die with Christ in baptism, any attempt to penalize ourselves or others for those sins is an insult to the grace of God.