Sins
Notes
Transcript
How many of you have been to an escape room? I’ve been to two and technically I am still stuck in them both. I’ve never escaped. The last one I went to we solved several puzzles and opened a few doors, but didn’t quite make it out. We opened a secret door, dropped a key from the ceiling, arranged strange statues so that we could do complicated math, and many other complicated things, but it still wasn’t good enough.
Have you ever been to a place where it seemed like there was no way out? I have always been a little bit claustrophobic. When I was a kid I had nightmares about crawling through those tubes on the playground as they got smaller and smaller until I was finally stuck.
A few months ago we installed a wood stove in a house that had the most cramped attic I have ever been in. Fortunately Chris was able to crawl through this tiny hole to get into the part of the attic where the chimney would go, because there was no way I would have been able. I poked my head through that hole to see the attic space, which was just tall enough to only be able to crawl through. Simply looking through that hole flared up my claustrophobia and gave me a panic attack.
If you have ever felt that way, you know how terrible it is to feel trapped. That’s how we should feel about our sin. Sin traps us and there is no escaping it. Our sins separate us from God and they cannot be removed by good deeds. There is no way out! This is the inescapable escape room, the maze, the haunted house, the tight space that God allows us to go through before we know Christ.
Today we are going to talk about how “Sins cannot be removed by good deeds.” In other words, there is no escape from sin in our own power. Last week we talked about the bad news that “our sins separate us from God.” This week the news gets worse. There is no amount of deeds we can do that can help us escape from the ultimate haunted house, “sin.” Look with me at our driving scripture for today…
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Because we are sinful by nature, we are naturally self-centered. It should come as no surprise then, that our natural, sinful tendency is to think that we must play a role in our own salvation. However, the truth is that there is nothing we can do to rid ourselves of our sins. There is nothing we can do to fix our own sin problem. We can’t outweigh our bad with good to tip the scales. No amount of good can make us good enough. Sin separates us from God and any tiny little amount is all that it takes to be unable to be in His presence.
In other words, if the bad news is that we are sinners separated from God, the worst news is that there is absolutely nothing we can do about it, and we are doomed unless we are rescued by someone who is able and willing. The Good News is that God sent someone to us who could. Not a single person will be in heaven boasting of how they got there because of their good deeds. Only those who trusted in Christ alone are there and will be there, and the boasting will be in Christ alone.
Why can’t sin be removed by good deeds? Why can’t we just tip the scales or confess our way to freedom? Today we are going to look at three truths from scripture that show us why we can’t “good deed” our way out of the sin trap. Three reasons why the only answer to the sin problem is Jesus. If you are taking notes, the first is that we could never be good enough to enter God’s presence.
Because we could never be good enough to enter God’s presence.
Because we could never be good enough to enter God’s presence.
Has anyone here ever been to Florida? What about the Bahamas? Who would like to go?
What about after seeing this picture? Are you sure you still want to go? Let’s say I really want to go to the Bahamas and someone says, “I know you want to go to the Bahamas, so here is what I will do. If you can jump from Florida to the Bahamas you can stay there. I’ll pay all of your expenses and you can live there forever. The only thing is that you have to jump and you can’t get wet.”
Well, I really want to go to the Bahamas, so of course I am going to give it a try. So I think about it for a while, find the closest point from land to land, map out my route, and start doing some training. After several months of leg workouts and planning, I find a pier that is pretty close to my target. It’s only about 50 miles away. I know its a long shot, but I’ve been training and doing some of my best work.
Finally the day comes to make the jump. I’ve told you guys about it, so you all came down to support me and cheer me on. The news got wind of it so many local people lined the streets to see me attempt this jump. I start at the back of the pier so I can get a good run up to the jump and as I pass by all of you you are cheering and clapping! “Go Chad! Run! WOOO!” I run as fast as I can and get to the end of the pier and jump! I soar through the air with this big grin on my face for about six feet before splashing down into the water.
Okay. Okay. That wasn’t bad, but I have a long way to go. I’m not giving up after one try, so this time I back up a little bit further. In fact, the street leading up to the pier has a little bit of slope to it, so I climb to the highest point on the road so that I can build up all sorts of speed. Now I’ve got about a half a mile lead up to the pier and even more people get to cheer me on.
They see the determination on my face and it sparks something in them too. They yell and cheer, some of them are holding up signs, and some are even wearing hats that say, “Bahamas or bust!” I was excited before, but this really gets my adrenaline pumping. People are screaming, I am feeling motivated, y’all are exited about the idea that in a matter of minutes you can finally hire a new preacher.
I’m running down this pier and everything feels like it’s in slow motion. I know I can do this. I take the last step on the pier and launch off the ground. This is the highest and furthest you have ever seen me jump, but I still didn’t quite make it the fifty miles. This jump was better though. Somewhere between 9.5 and 10 feet. Splash!
No matter how hard I tried, I was never good enough to make it to the Bahamas.
Our attempts to get to heaven compare to jumping to the Bahamas. No matter how hard we try, we will always come up short.
27 But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
Good deeds are important for a follower of Christ to exhibit, but they could never save us. Our good deeds are not a representation of our own strength, but the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Good deeds are vital to glorifying God and being a witness to those around us, but the must FLOW from an existing relationship with God, not be the force which FORMS that relationship.
That’s worth writing down.
Good deeds do not FORM our relationship with God.
Good deeds flow FROM our relationship with God.
Sins cannot be removed by good deeds because we would never be good enough. Secondly, sins cannot be removed by good deeds because the law is a mirror, not a ladder!
Because the law is a mirror, not a ladder.
Because the law is a mirror, not a ladder.
If you try to climb the law like a ladder, you are guaranteed to fall off. Why? See thought #1! We end up looking like Clark Griswald in Christmas Vacation, clutching to each rung in an attempt to hang on and survive.
20 For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are.
Someone once put it this way: You wake up in the morning and you look into the mirror and you see the mess — unshaven, eye boogers, ear hairs, matted hair. Then you take the mirror down and try to clean up with the mirror, wash your face with the mirror, comb your hair with the mirror, try shaving with the mirror and so on. It doesn’t work! The mirror shows us the mess, it’s not how we fix the mess. But we are “shaved by grace!”
The law exposes how messed up we are, but we are saved, cleaned up, transformed by God’s grace. Like the mirror, the law was never meant to save anyone. Think about the story of the rich young ruler in the last half of Matthew 19. He came up to Jesus and asked what good deed he needed to do to have eternal life. Jesus tried to get the man to understand his true need rather than attempting to obtain salvation by a good deed.
Jesus “pulled out the mirror” to reveal the rich young ruler’s heart. In his conversation with Jesus, the rich man implied that he was able to meet the perfect standard of God’s Law, but as we know none of us are able to do that, including him. Jesus was showing him his sins and his need for a savior. Before we can respond appropriately to God’s call to salvation, we must realize our need and God’s solution to the problem. The law is the mirror that shows our need.
Sometimes dentists like to point out our sins. Some dentists will use a dye that “exposes” where you have missed the mark in cleaning your teeth. They use the dye so you can look into the mirror and see where your teeth have not been brushed and flossed properly. “The dye doesn’t lie, and you are a sinner in the hands of an angry dentist!” Just like the dye, the law does not lie. It shows us our faults.
In chapter 5 of Matthew, Jesus made the intent of the law clear. He said that He didn’t come to abolish the law, but to fulfill it. This is when He told the people, “You have heard it said ‘don’t do this’, but I say unto you that you have to be even better than that!”
You have heard it said, ‘Don’t commit murder.’ But I say to you that everyone who gets angry will be liable to judgement. (Matt 5:21-26)
You have heard it said, ‘Don’t commit adultery.” But I say to you that if you look at a woman lustfully you have already committed adultery. (Matt 5:27-30)
You have heard it said, ‘Love your neighbor.” But I say to you love your enemies. (Matt 5:43-48)
The law gives us God’s standard. It reflects the character, perfection, and righteousness of a holy God. The law shows us what is required. According to Jesus…
48 You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Why can't we remove sins with good deeds? The law doesn’t show us how to be good enough, it is a mirror that shows us that we could never be good enough to enter God’s presence. Our final thought for today is this…
Even our good deeds come from selfish motives.
Even our good deeds come from selfish motives.
Imagine for a moment that you figured out a way to do the impossible and you have mastered the law. Not only that, but when Jesus said, “Not only avoiding murder, but also avoiding anger,” you said, “Anger? What’s that? I don’t even know what lust, lying, and retaliation are.” You have already jumped to the Bahamas, but you didn’t see what all the fuss was about so you jumped back.
Let’s say that you have mastered good deeds. What about your words? Have they always been uplifting? What about your thoughts? Have they always been pure? What about your motives? God will not just judge us for our actions, He will judge us for everything…
According to Matthew 5:27-28, He will judge our thoughts!
According to 1 Corinthians 4:5, He will judge our motives!
According to Matthew 12:36-37, He will judge our words!
According to Revelation 20:11-15, He will judge our actions!
According to Isaiah, all of our righteous acts are like filthy rags. For whatever reason, the ESV tries to be even more polite with this statement by translating this statement to “polluted garment…”
6 We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.
Isaiah is giving us a vivid and quite disgusting illustration of how God sees our attempts to be righteous on our own. The sin, or the pollution and filth in the illustration, is there and has separated us from God. Our attempt at cleaning ourselves up just pollutes the very deeds we use to clean the mess. Even our good deeds are filthy. In God’s eyes, the “righteous acts” that we do are soiled. Polluted. Filthy. Repugnant.
When it comes to believing, receiving, and sharing the Good News of Jesus, the idea that “sins cannot be removed by good deeds” sets Christianity apart from all other religions. Most religions agree that there is a problem with humanity that needs to be fixed, the difference is in how to fix it.
Mormonism: It’s the Laws and the Covenants.
Hinduism: Salvation is achieved in one of 3 ways; the way of works, the way of knowledge, or the way of devotion.
Buddhism: It’s the Four Noble Truths.
Islam: It’s the Five Pillars of Islam.
There is a ladder to heaven, paradise, Nirvana, or wherever in EVERY world religion, except Christianity.
Christianity doesn’t offer a ladder, but a cross.
The solution to our sin problem is not trying, but trusting. Truly trusting Jesus to save us starts with giving up on trying to save ourselves and taking Him at His Word. The good deeds come FROM sanctification, not FOR sanctification.
Refuse to be legalistic, trying to gain favor with God or impress others by doing certain things or avoiding them without regard to the condition of our hearts before God. Legalism is when we take the grace the God offers for FREE and then we add a FEE. The only way to please the Lord and produce good works is by relying on the presence of Christ in our lives. Even Jesus said that there is only ONE who is good.
Good works flow out of faith. Let’s look at the passage that we started with in Ephesians again.
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
Notice that Paul did NOT say that we were created in good works for Christ Jesus, but that we were created in Christ Jesus for good works. Who remembers the movie, “City Slickers”? That was one of my dad’s favorite movies. In the movie the main character, Mitch, goes on a cattle drive in search of the real meaning of life. In one scene he is out riding with the gritty trail boss, Curly. Curly realizes why Mitch is on the trip and confronts him with it.
When Mitch asks what the meaning of life is, Curly holds up one finger and says “This”. Mitch asks what that means. Curly told him, that it is one thing. With great anxiety of finally finding out what “The One Thing” is, Mitch asks what is the “One Thing.” Curly’s reply… “That’s for you to figure out.”
Curly was the unlikely angel that leads Mitch to look for the “One Thing” in his life that’s missing. There’s one thing for you to figure out as your calling. One thing that is missing from all of our lives. When you find Him, God will show you the many many good works that He has created you for.
God created us to be with Him, but sin separated us from Him and created a God shaped hole in our hearts. The world will teach you about all sorts of things you can squeeze into that empty space in your heart in an attempt to find happiness and peace, but until we realize that there is no good deed or thing that could ever complete us except God, we will always be searching in vain. Always be training to make an impossible jump across an ocean. Always trying to work out our own salvation. And we will always end up standing on the same shore staring out at a vast ocean.
The sin that separates us from God cannot be removed by good deeds. God’s grace alone through faith. It’s God’s free gift.
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