February 17, 2019
Morning Service

Last week John revealed to us the process God has put into place when we miss the mark and enter into sin.  It is through our own recognition of our failure and then our owning up to it that begins the process.  We then are commanded to confess our sin to God and He in turn has promised to forgive, cleanse, and restore us.  God knew this would be a struggle for all of us, but He uses it to keep us grounded and to force us to deal with our sin instead of ignoring it or simply accepting it as part of life.  As we place our faith into action, that includes believing God’s Word and acting upon it.  If God says He forgives us, we must also forgive ourselves and move forward in our walk with the Lord with new resolve.  Today, I would like to follow up with this message and look a little deeper into sin and show how the Bible defines it.  My hope is that we then can begin to identify areas in our lives that we are yielding to sin and begin to make the changes needed.  After defining sin, we will look at what true repentance looks like.

Sin is defined five different ways in the scriptures and we will begin in Proverbs.

 Pro 24:9  The devising of foolishness is sin, And the scoffer is an abomination to men.

            To plan foolish acts is sin.  We are responsible for our actions and need to be careful and not allow ourselves to get caught up in foolish actions.

 

Rom 14:23  But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because he does not eat from faith; for whatever is not from faith is sin.

            Here Paul was dealing with whether Christians should eat meat that had been offered to idols.  He boiled it down to being an act of following your own conscience or convictions.  If you could not eat the meat without any doubt that you were doing something wrong, then to eat it would be sin.  Sin would then be defined as doing something that you were not sure was totally right; or violating your conscience or personal convictions.

 

Jas 4:17  Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.

            Sin is not always doing something wrong.  Here James defines it as “not” doing something that has been impressed upon our heart to do.  Sin’s definition is sometimes broken into two categories; sin of commission or sin of omission.  The difference is like this: it is sin to tell a lie (commission) and it is a sin to know the truth and not tell it (omission).  As we give God our heart and enjoy a more intimate walk with the Lord, doing the right thing becomes more of who we are; our actions will imitate Christ.  Not doing the right thing that you know is right is sin.

 

1Jn 3:4  Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness.

 John defines sin as committing lawlessness or breaking the law.  When we step outside of the realm of the law of the land we sin.  We have been commanded to obey the authority that is put over us and as long as what they require of us does not violate our walk of faith, we are commanded to obey.  Breaking the law of the land is sin.

  1Jn 5:17  All unrighteousness is sin, and there is sin not leading to death.

            Any act that we perform that is not righteous (morally right or virtuous) is sin.  We commit sin when we do something that we know does not please God.  This could include stealing, gossiping, lust, drunkenness, or any act that violates what the scriptures teach.

 

Now I want to look at what sin does to us.  It separates us from God.  Look at what Isaiah said:

Isa 59:2  But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear.

Sin in our lives is something we must recognize and deal with.  Sin in our lives causes separation between us and the Lord.  Last week John told us the process God has put into place for us to deal with our sin.  “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”  First we must be aware that we have sinned and have the courage to deal with it.  As we come before God to confess and repent our sins, we need to do it from the heart.  We need to mean business with God.  What does true repentance look like?  I want us to read Psalms 51 where David’s repentance for his sin with Bathsheba is recorded and look at his open honesty and regret that he displays.  Notice who David states that he has sinned against.

 

Psalms 51:1-17

            David fully realizes that his sin separates him from God; “against You, You only have I sinned.”  He pleaded for his cleansing from his sins, the renewal of their relationship and the return of joy into his life.  The offering he brought to God was his own broken and contrite spirit.  He came with a “broken and a contrite heart” confessing his sin and asking for forgiveness.  What do you think was God’s reply to him?

 

1Jn 1:9  If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

            David later wrote this in Psalms 103

 

Psa 103:8-12  The LORD is merciful and gracious, Slow to anger, and abounding in mercy.  (9)  He will not always strive with us, Nor will He keep His anger forever.  (10)  He has not dealt with us according to our sins, Nor punished us according to our iniquities.  (11)  For as the heavens are high above the earth, So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him;  (12)  As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us.

            David knew he had been forgiven and rejoiced in it.  He did not live a perfect life, as he certainly made his share of mistakes, but he always returned to God with a humble and repentant heart.  It was said of David that he was after the very heart of God.  He greatly valued a right relationship with God.

 

 That relationship needs to be the foundation of our spiritual journey.  We know God has paid the awful price for our sin and He is also on our side.  He values you greatly and will not give up on you, so don’t you give up on Him.   When you fall to sin own it and then confess it before our merciful Lord and ask His forgiveness and He will deliver.  This cycle of sin and forgiveness keeps us aware of our weakness and how much it is that we need a loving Savior.  A big part of our journey with Christ is the “putting off of the old” sinful actions that separate us from God and the “putting on the new” righteous actions that draw us closer to Him.  Don’t give up because He is still working on you and has a purpose for you to fulfill; press on.

 

Heavenly Father, thank You for Your plan of forgiveness and may we humbly embrace it at our times of failure to sin.  Restore and renew our relationship a fresh every time.