Busting the Myths of Sin

2 Kings 5:20–27 NASB95

But Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, thought, “Behold, my master has spared this Naaman the Aramean, by not receiving from his hands what he brought. As the Lord lives, I will run after him and take something from him.” So Gehazi pursued Naaman. When Naaman saw one running after him, he came down from the chariot to meet him and said, “Is all well?” He said, “All is well. My master has sent me, saying, ‘Behold, just now two young men of the sons of the prophets have come to me from the hill country of Ephraim. Please give them a talent of silver and two changes of clothes.’ ” Naaman said, “Be pleased to take two talents.” And he urged him, and bound two talents of silver in two bags with two changes of clothes and gave them to two of his servants; and they carried them before him. When he came to the hill, he took them from their hand and deposited them in the house, and he sent the men away, and they departed. But he went in and stood before his master. And Elisha said to him, “Where have you been, Gehazi?” And he said, “Your servant went nowhere.” Then he said to him, “Did not my heart go with you, when the man turned from his chariot to meet you? Is it a time to receive money and to receive clothes and olive groves and vineyards and sheep and oxen and male and female servants? “Therefore, the leprosy of Naaman shall cling to you and to your descendants forever.” So he went out from his presence a leper as white as snow.

INTRO: Dads, I don’t know that the sermon today could be accused of being a typical Father’s Day sermon. But, I don’t think you need a typical Father’s Day sermon. No, I believe each of you here knows the absolute gravity of your role- that you will give an account to God for how you lead your family. This is a weighty responsibility and it’s my hope to encourage you and help equip you for this role. I’ve prepared this message with you in mind.

How many of you ever watched the Discovery channel show “Mythbusters”? I always enjoyed that show because they would go find some obscure myth or legend and then apply science to see if it was plausible or not. I never knew that I was curious about whether or not cheese fired from a cannon could really sink a ship! I had never even considered the possibility until this show.

Anyway, I mention that because as we examine our passage today, we will be taking on the role of a myth-buster. Allow me to explain- the last part of 2 Kings 5 follows Gehazi, Elisha’s helper.

If you were here last week, we took a look at the healing of a foreign military captain, Naaman. Naaman had leprosy and made his way to Elisha for healing. Following his healing, Naaman returned to Elisha and offered to pay him, but Elisha refused.

Naaman became convinced that Yahweh, the God of Israel, the God of the Bible, was the ONE TRUE GOD. He was overjoyed and even took dirt back home to Aram so he could build a place to worship Yahweh in his own land. At the end of our study last week, we see Elisha sending off Naaman in peace… all is well. Naaman is cured, God is glorified, Elisha is satisfied.

BUT Gehazi is struggling a bit. He does not like the way this went down. And so, what we see in our text is Gehazi going after Naaman in secret, lying to him, and taking some of the treasures that Elisha had refused. When he returns he hides them and even lies to Elisha about his whereabouts.

Certainly, we can easily see how greed got the best of Gehazi. But how did Gehazi reach this point of egregious sin? Well, I believe he fell captive to the myths of sin, taking his eyes off the Creator and gazing into the lies of Satan.

What I’d like to do in our time together is look at three myths about sin that Gehazi fell for and in fact are still prevalent in the church today. Now, I hate to spoil the ending for you, but you probably already know that these myths are gonna get BUSTED.

The surprise is not that these are myths, but rather that it is so easy to buy into them. So, it is my hope that as we put on our safety goggles and prepare to put these myths to the test, that we ask of ourselves, “Have I fallen for this myth?”

The sermon is titled, “Busting the Myths of Sin”- you can find a sermon guide in your bulletin. I invite you to follow along, take notes, and tap into your inner detective.

Let us begin by examining Myth #1.

Myth 1: It’s not a sin if I can rationalize it (20; 27b)

Have you fallen for this one? I am sure that we all have. This is one of those myths that I think we all know is a myth, but that doesn’t stop us from getting sucked into it.

Well, Gehazi got sucked into this myth- let’s read v. 20 (READ)

Gehazi did not agree with Elisha’s decision to refuse payment. And we could argue about whether or not it would’ve be appropriate for Elisha to accept something, but at this juncture, that point is moot.

Elisha swore in v. 16 that he would not accept anything. Yet, Gehazi reasoned that it was only right for Naaman to have to pay something. After all, he was not even an Israelite! Plus, he had all these riches and he did, in fact offer them. Ultimately, Gehazi rationalized that it would be ok and perhaps even right to catch up to Naaman and take some sort of payment.

This is the same thing that happens to us.

I’ve heard men rationalize an adulterous relationship because their wife was not meeting his needs.

I’ve heard people rationalize drugs and alcoholism because they needed something to ease the emotional pain.

I’ve watched young couples rationalize sex outside of marriage because they love each other… you get the idea.

Folks, there’s a big problem here. When we rationalize our sin, we are in effect saying that we know better than God. Let’s consider Gehazi again:

Gehazi figured that he knew better that Elisha, but by going to Naaman in this way he actually was robbing God of glory. You see, Elisha sent Naaman away with the understanding that Naaman could not buy what God gives. But Gehazi’s actions undermined this- perhaps Naaman now feels like he earned his healing. Would he remain devoted now that he can feel good about himself?

Here’s the thing folks- Even if we rationalize it so that we feel better about our sin, God still condemns it. This lesson came suddenly and severely upon Gehazi. In v. 27, we see that this sin was judged through Naaman’s leprosy being placed upon Gehazi. The last part of verse 27 reads,

“So he went out from his presence a leper as white as snow.”

Busted.

My appeal this morning is that we step back and do some detective work in our own lives. Are we rationalizing sin? Are we telling God that we know better than Him?

God defines sin- It’s clear in His Holy Word. That’s one reason it’s so important to study Scripture and to memorize it- as the Psalmist wrote in:

Psalm 119:11 NASB95

Your word I have treasured in my heart, That I may not sin against You.

Now let’s look at Myth #2.

Myth 2: It’s not a sin if nobody gets hurt (21-23; 26b-27a)

This myth is both a myth and a lie… let me read v. 21-23 again. (READ)

Gehazi tells a lie in order to get some of the riches. It appears that he is trying to be inconspicuous. I guess he figures he’d just ask for a mere 1/10th of the silver and a couple sets of clothes that this would impact nobody negatively.

After all, Naaman is really rich- he won’t miss these things and it never hurts to build a little nest egg, right? What’s the harm?

We can see how this permeates the minds of men and women today.

People think there are no victims if they lie about their experience or plagiarize their work.

People think that stealing from a corporation doesn’t hurt real people

People think that watching explicit videos or sending such images will not hurt anyone.

Or lately, people believe the lie that nobody gets hurt when they just peacefully agree with the sexual revolution that urges children and teenagers to rebel against their God-given design.

You see, people always get hurt. Sin always has an impact. Let’s look at how this played out for Gehazi. Let’s read 26b-27a. (READ)

Elisha points out that this greed was more than this single act. That’s how sin works… there is always more. Gehazi’s heart lusted after much. He himself was being hurt by this compounding sin in his heart. Greed led to lies and feeding the lust of his heart. Listen to:

James 1:15 NASB95

Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death.

The term “slippery slope” doesn’t exist for nothing!

But further, Gehazi’s sin caused harm in his family line. Because of his sin, his family would have an ongoing curse of leprosy. Generations down the line would be reminded of his failure and with every case of leprosy would speak contempt towards his name. Talk about a legacy...

Our sins can have a similar effect.

You see, that sin of stealing can result in a lack of trust for the family name.

That sin of lust will damage relationships and ruin the intimacy that God intended in a marriage… yes even for your kids.

The sin of apathy towards God and going along with culture wrecks the lives of generations to come.

Myth 2 is that it’s not a sin if nobody gets hurt. BUSTED. Sin always destroys.

2 Myths down- the final one is:

Myth 3: It’s not a sin if nobody finds out (24-26a)

This myth is a doozy because at some point we all fall into this trap as well. Let’s see our man Gehazi get tripped up in this myth. (READ 24-25)

Gehazi was hiding his sin. The goods that he received from Naaman were hidden and Gehazi was sure to send away the men who helped carry the silver right away. He thought all this went unnoticed.

But he went even further. Elisha asked him where he had been- obviously he wasn’t at Elisha’s side. But Gehazi LIED! He looked at Elisha and said, I’ve not been anywhere...

ILL: This reminds me of a small child who has swiped a cookie. When mom asks if he took a cookie, he looks at mom with chocolate all over his face and says: “No!”

Elisha didn’t ask that question so Gehazi would lie- he already knew! (READ 26a) This was a chance for Gehazi to come clean! But he chose to lie and thus his punishment would be severe. (Kids, teens- are you paying attention here?)

We often choose to buy into this same myth that nobody will find out. In fact, we seem to think we can hide from God! That’s what Adam & Eve did in the garden- they tried to hide from God in their sin. But folks, God is all-knowing. You cannot go anywhere where He is not sovereignly and assuredly present.

Numbers 32:23 NASB95

“But if you will not do so, behold, you have sinned against the Lord, and be sure your sin will find you out.

Listen here, you cannot close the door and hide your sin.

You cannot leave town and hide your sin.

You cannot pay cash and hide your sin.

You cannot use an incognito web browser and hide your sin!

That’s like the old ostrich who sticks his head in the ground. Folks, our sin is against God and you cannot hide from God!

Myth 3 - BUSTED.

Now, I spoiled this for you at the start- we busted all 3 myths. But our purpose is deeper. Have you fallen for any of these myths? Yeah- I am sure we all have. But, I want you to see this:

We are followers of Christ and the temptations to rationalize our sin, hide our sin, and blow off our sin are constant. So, let me close by pointing you to God’s Word on final time.

2 Corinthians 5:17 NASB95

Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.

This is the truth. This is who you are. We are A Great Commission Church and the Great Commission starts in you.

If you are entertaining one of these myths today, now is your opportunity to repent. You might fool me, but you won’t fool God. Come, turn from your sin and embrace the life that God has called you to.

Let’s do this together.

Discuss: In what ways do we tend to rationalize our sin?

Discuss: How can our sin impact others?

Discuss: Why do we believe the myths of sin?