From Scandal to Savior

Introduction

Well, good morning.

If you have your Bible — and I hope that you do — go ahead and open it up with me to Genesis chapter 38. Genesis 38…we’ll be there together this morning.

Now, before we jump in, let me just remind you where we are.

We’re picking up right where we left off in our journey through the book of Genesis. Last week, we began the fourth and final series in this book — a series we’ll be walking through all the way until Palm Sunday. We’re calling it “Plot Twist.” And the heartbeat of this series is this: what man intends for evil, God uses for good.

Last week, we were introduced to Joseph — the favored son, the dreamer, the one carrying promises from God. And almost immediately, we watched those dreams collide with jealousy, and betrayal, and silence. Joseph’s thrown into a pit, he’s sold into slavery, he’s carried off into Egypt — and through all of it, God says almost nothing.

But here’s what makes today feel…different.

Because if Genesis 37 is painful, Genesis 38 is dark.

In fact, this is one of those chapters that most preachers kind of just skip over. It’s uncomfortable. It’s messy. It deals with sexual sin, and deception, abuse of power, broken families, public scandal. And if we’re being honest, it doesn’t feel like it belongs right in the middle of Joseph’s story…It almost feels like it doesn’t belong in Scripture altogether.

And yet — here it is.

Not by accident. Not as filler. Not as a footnote.

The same God who inspired Genesis 37, He’s also the same God who inspired Genesis 38. And because of that, we believe what Scripture itself tells us — that all Scripture is God-breathed and profitable for teaching, for correction, for shaping us in righteousness.

And listen, that’s exactly why we walk through books of the Bible chapter by chapter, verse by verse. Not just the encouraging chapters. Not just the clean ones. But even — and especially — the hard ones. Because God meets us in those places as well.

Amen?

Genesis 38, it pulls back the curtain and it shows us what unchecked sin really looks like. It doesn’t stay contained. It spreads. It exploits. It destroys. It leaves real people wounded in its wake.

And yet — here’s the plot twist — even right here, God’s still at work.

Even in scandal, even through broken people, even when the chapter feels uncomfortable to read out loud…God’s guarding His promise and He’s moving the story of redemption forward.

Genesis 38, its essential to the story God’s telling us through His Word concerning our own redemption. Because what we’re gonna see this morning is this simple truth: Where sin brings scandal, God brings salvation.

This chapter, it reminds us that God doesn’t sanitize the story of redemption (He doesn’t just give us the clean parts) — He redeems sinners inside of the dirty parts. Genesis 38 isn’t just about Judah’s failure or Tamar’s suffering — it’s about how God preserves the line that’ll one day bring forth Jesus Christ, the true and better Savior.

Some of you came in here this morning carrying the weight of someone else’s sin. Some of you came in carrying the shame of your own sin…And maybe you’ve wondered, “Can God still work after all of this?”

Genesis 38 answers that question for us with a resounding yes.

Not because sin isn’t serious — but because grace is even greater.

And so this morning, we’re gonna walk carefully, honestly, humbly through this chapter. And listen, as we do that, my prayer, its that we won’t just see the depth of human sin, its that we’ll see the power of divine redemption — that we’ll be reminded once again that no scandal’s too great, no failure too deep, no story too broken for God to bring about salvation.

And so, with all that in mind, let’s read this together from Genesis chapter 38, beginning in verse 1. You can remain seated.

Genesis 38:1–30 ESV

It happened at that time that Judah went down from his brothers and turned aside to a certain Adullamite (A-Dull-La-Mite), whose name was Hirah (Here-Ra). There Judah saw the daughter of a certain Canaanite whose name was Shua (Shoo-Ah). He took her and went in to her, and she conceived and bore a son, and he called his name Er. She conceived again and bore a son, and she called his name Onan (Oh-Nan). Yet again she bore a son, and she called his name Shelah (Shay-La). Judah was in Chezib (Ca-Zee-emb) when she bore him. And Judah took a wife for Er (Err) his firstborn, and her name was Tamar. But Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord put him to death. Then Judah said to Onan, “Go in to your brother’s wife and perform the duty of a brother-in-law to her, and raise up offspring for your brother.” But Onan knew that the offspring would not be his. So whenever he went in to his brother’s wife he would waste the semen on the ground, so as not to give offspring to his brother. And what he did was wicked in the sight of the Lord, and he put him to death also. Then Judah said to Tamar his daughter-in-law, “Remain a widow in your father’s house, till Shelah (Shay-La) my son grows up”—for he feared that he would die, like his brothers. So Tamar went and remained in her father’s house. In the course of time the wife of Judah, Shua’s (Shoo-Ah’s) daughter, died. When Judah was comforted, he went up to Timnah (Tim-Na) to his sheepshearers, he and his friend Hirah (Here-Ra) the Adullamite (A-dull-La-Mite). And when Tamar was told, “Your father-in-law is going up to Timnah (Tim-Na) to shear his sheep,” she took off her widow’s garments and covered herself with a veil, wrapping herself up, and sat at the entrance to Enaim (A-Nay-iam), which is on the road to Timnah (Tim-Na). For she saw that Shelah (Shay-La) was grown up, and she had not been given to him in marriage. When Judah saw her, he thought she was a prostitute, for she had covered her face. He turned to her at the roadside and said, “Come, let me come in to you,” for he did not know that she was his daughter-in-law. She said, “What will you give me, that you may come in to me?” He answered, “I will send you a young goat from the flock.” And she said, “If you give me a pledge, until you send it—” He said, “What pledge shall I give you?” She replied, “Your signet and your cord and your staff that is in your hand.” So he gave them to her and went in to her, and she conceived by him. Then she arose and went away, and taking off her veil she put on the garments of her widowhood. When Judah sent the young goat by his friend the Adullamite (A-dull-la-mite) to take back the pledge from the woman’s hand, he did not find her. And he asked the men of the place, “Where is the cult prostitute who was at Enaim (A-Nay-iam) at the roadside?” And they said, “No cult prostitute has been here.” So he returned to Judah and said, “I have not found her. Also, the men of the place said, ‘No cult prostitute has been here.’ ” And Judah replied, “Let her keep the things as her own, or we shall be laughed at. You see, I sent this young goat, and you did not find her.” About three months later Judah was told, “Tamar your daughter-in-law has been immoral. Moreover, she is pregnant by immorality.” And Judah said, “Bring her out, and let her be burned.” As she was being brought out, she sent word to her father-in-law, “By the man to whom these belong, I am pregnant.” And she said, “Please identify whose these are, the signet and the cord and the staff.” Then Judah identified them and said, “She is more righteous than I, since I did not give her to my son Shelah (Shay-La).” And he did not know her again. When the time of her labor came, there were twins in her womb. And when she was in labor, one put out a hand, and the midwife took and tied a scarlet thread on his hand, saying, “This one came out first.” But as he drew back his hand, behold, his brother came out. And she said, “What a breach you have made for yourself!” Therefore his name was called Perez. Afterward his brother came out with the scarlet thread on his hand, and his name was called Zerah (Zer-ah).

[Prayer]

If you’re taking notes, I have four points for us this morning…Number 1, Separation leads to sin…Number 2, Sin leads to Exploitation…Number 3, Exposure leads to repentance…and then Number 4, Repentance Leads to Redemption…Again, just like last week…there’s progression in this story…and its intentional here.

And so, with that, let’s jump into this first thing together.

I. Separation Leads to Sin (vv. 1-11)

Separation leads to sin.

Just look at how this chapter begins. Moses sets this up intentionally for us — he slows the story down a bit so that we can see what’s really happening here.

Verse 1:

“It happened at that time that Judah went down from his brothers…”

That verse is so important….its the hinge to this whole thing. Judah went down. Not just physically — spiritually. He separates himself from his family, from the covenant community, from the people through whom God’s working His promises through.

Judah doesn’t stumble into sin overnight. He steps away first.

And notice this — the text doesn’t give us any argument here, there’s no explanation, no justification. Moses doesn’t tell us Judah was offended. He doesn’t tell us Judah was hurt by anything. He doesn’t tell us Judah was mistreated. He just tells us Judah left “at that time.”

And guys, that silence is very loud. Because separation rarely announces itself with a scandal. Most of the time, it starts quietly. Slowly. Respectably.

But also, what’s it mean “it happened at that time?” Judah left after the Joseph incident. He leaves after he sins…he runs from what he did instead of facing it.

…

Judah goes down to Adullam (Ad-dull-lam), he meets a Canaanite man named Hirah (Here-Ra), and before we know it, Judah does exactly what his forefathers were repeatedly warned not to do — he takes a Canaanite wife. Outside the covenant. Outside the promises of God.

And once separation happens, compromise follows very quickly.

Verses 2 through 5 tell us that Judah had three sons, right? Er, Onan, and Shelah (Shay-La). Life moves on. Judah settles in. He builds a life disconnected from God’s revealed will — and at first, everything looks normal.

But then verse 7 hits us like a Ric Flair thunderslap:

“But Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the LORD, and the LORD put him to death.”

We aren’t told the specifics of Er’s sin — which I think’s intentional here. Moses wants us to see the pattern, not obsess over the details. Wickedness didn’t start with Er. It started with Judah’s departure.

And then Onan follows — but his sin, its made a little bit clearer for us. He uses Tamar for his own pleasure while refusing the responsibility God required of him. He wants the benefits without obedience. Intimacy without covenant. Pleasure without sacrifice.

Verse 10 tells us:

“What he did was wicked in the sight of the LORD, and He put him to death also.”

And so now, Judah, he’s down two sons.

And instead of repentance and reflection… instead of asking what God might be exposing here… Judah does what every other sinner does — he protects himself.

Verse 11:

“Then Judah said to Tamar… ‘Remain a widow in your father’s house, till Shelah (Shay-La) my son grows up’ — for he feared that he would die, like his brothers.”

And so, Judah blames Tamar. Not his sin. Not his compromise. Not his separation from God.

Don’t miss this — Judah’s fear here, its not reverent fear of the Lord. It’s self-preserving fear. Fear that refuses to face truth. Fear that says, “The problem, its not me, it has to be someone else.”

And this is where Genesis 38 connects us all the way back to Genesis 3.

Because this is the same pattern we saw in the garden…its the same pattern we’ve seen all through the book of Genesis.

Before Adam ever eats the fruit, he listens to another voice, right? Before rebellion and sin, there’s distance from God’s word…there’s separation from truth.

And once sin enters, what happens? They hide. They blame shift. They protect themselves instead of confessing what they’ve done.

Separation always precedes sin — and sin, it always produces more separation.

Isaiah says it very plainly: “Your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God.”

Judah’s not unique here. He’s just human. And that’s part of Genesis’s purpose. It’s meant to remind us of who we are…to remind us of the problem. To caution us, like the Israelites in the wilderness.

Remember who they were…they were God’s chosen people, saved by His power from the hands of the Egyptians. Genesis was written for them to remind them of their history…But guys, its used for us today to remind us of our human nature.

Some of us, we’re walking the same road Judah walked.

You didn’t wake up one day and decide to rebel against God. You just slowly distanced yourself…From the church. From accountability. From submission to God’s Word.

And listen, when that happens — you’re not mad at the church. You’re not confused about truth. You’re not hurt as much as you say you are.

Deep down, you know exactly what God’s saying to you. But like Judah, you don’t want repentance or transformation…you don’t wanna grow in holiness — you want control. You want permission to keep on living the same exact way you’ve been living. Its why some of us argue or get upset…not with me…but with God’s Word.

And so you separate yourself. And you justify it. And you call it peace — when in reality, all it is, its just avoidance.

Guys, that’s why people leave biblical churches. They don’t want accountability. They don’t wanna face what they already know to be true.

But pay attention to the text here, separation doesn’t make you safer, it doesn’t protect you from sin — it makes you weaker. It positions you for horrible consequences.

Judah ran from his sin — and guys, that sin, it catches up to him.

Separation leads to sin…And listen, sin, it’ll always cause you to exploit the people and the things around you.

Which is our second point this morning.

II. Sin Leads to Exploitation (vv. 12-23)

Sin leads to exploitation.

And so now, the story, it gets even uglier.

Verse 12:

“In the course of time the wife of Judah, Shua’s (Shoo-ah’s) daughter, died. When Judah was comforted, he went up to Timnah (Tim-na) to his sheepshearers…”

Now pay attention to how understated that is. Time passes. Judah grieves. Life keeps moving. And once again, Judah moves away instead of dealing with what’s unresolved.

He goes up to Timnah (Tim-na) — a place of celebration, of festivity, of indulgence. Sheep-shearing wasn’t just work; it was a party. And Judah doesn’t go alone. He brings Hirah (Here-Ra), the same friend that he met when he first separated himself from his brothers.

We’re seeing the same separation. The same influence. Same trajectory.

And then verse 14 shifts the camera to Tamar.

She’s been waiting…Waiting faithfully. Waiting obediently. Waiting while Judah does nothing for a family redeemer.

Verse 14 tells us:

“She saw that Shelah (Shay-La) was grown up, and she had not been given to him in marriage.”

Now, let’s pause right here — because if we don’t understand why this is so devastating, we’ll miss what’s really happening in this whole chapter.

In our world today, this doesn’t sound like its that big of a deal. It’s just a broken engagement. Like, it’s painful — but it’s survivable, right?

But in Tamar’s world, this is catastrophic.

Tamar’s a widow in a patriarchal (pay-tree-aar-kl) society. She has no husband, no children, no income, no land, no legal protection. Her entire future depends on the family of Judah doing what God’s law required of ‘em…she depended on him providing a kinsman-redeemer, someone who would marry her, and give her offspring, and preserve her place in the covenant community.

This wasn’t about romance or preference. This was about survival for her.

God had built protection for women just like Tamar into His law — so that death, and sin, and injustice wouldn’t erase them. The redeemer was God’s way of saying, “I see you. You’re not disposable.”

And Judah knows this.

Judah’s not ignorant here. He’s not confused. He’s just disobedient.

When Judah withholds Shelah (Shay-la), he’s not just breaking a promise — he’s cutting Tamar off from life…and provision…and dignity. From hope.

William Philip puts it bluntly in his commentary: Judah’s failure here isn’t passive negligence; it’s active injustice. He protects himself at Tamar’s expense.

And guys, that’s where sin turns dark.

Because Judah’s earlier separation, its now producing real victims. Tamar’s done everything right here — and yet she’s still paying the price for Judah’s sin.

And listen — that’s what makes verse 14 so devastating. She realizes that Judah never intended to keep his word. And from this moment on, Tamar understands something painful but true: no one’s coming to rescue her.

She’s been forgotten.

Judah promised provision — and he withheld it. He used delay as a disguise for disobedience. And Tamar’s left powerless, and childless, vulnerable in a culture, again, where those things meant survival.

Judah’s sin, its now created a victim. And that’s what sin does when it’s left unchecked — it always leaves someone holding the cost.

…

And then verse 15:

“When Judah saw her, he thought she was a prostitute, for she had covered her face.”

Guys, notice how quickly Tamar’s reduced to a category. She’s not a person. Not family. Not someone Judah owes protection to. She’s just an object now.

Judah doesn’t ask her name. He doesn’t ask her story, or how she ended up there.

He just asks:

“Come, let me come in to you.”

That’s it. No relationship, or responsibility. Just consumption.

And listen — Judah’s not drunk here. He’s not tricked like his dad was. He’s not confused. This is calculated sin.

And Tamar, wisely, makes him put something on the line.

Verse 18:

“Your signet and your cord and your staff.”

That’s not pocket change. That’s Judah’s identity. It’s his authority. His reputation. Sin always costs you more than you think — and Judah hands it over willingly…almost like Esau, right?

Then verse 19 — she leaves.

And Judah immediately tries to clean it all up.

Verse 20:

“Judah sent the young goat…to take back the pledge… but he didn’t find her.”

And so, what’s Judah say in verse 23?

“Let her keep the things as her own, or we shall be laughed at.”

Do you hear that?

Judah isn’t concerned about righteousness. He’s concerned about reputation. He doesn’t want embarrassment or exposure.

And church, that’s exploitation in its purest form.

Judah used Tamar to satisfy his flesh…And then he tried to use money to erase the evidence… And then he decided silence was safer than confession.

Sin doesn’t just break God’s law — it breaks people.

This goes all the way back to the garden.

When sin entered the world, people stopped loving God and they started using each other. Adam uses Eve as a shield. Eve uses the serpent’s lie to justify desire. And ever since then, sin’s trained the human heart to ask one question: “What can I get?”

Judah doesn’t see Tamar as someone to protect — He sees her as someone to take from. And that’s something we need to think about seriously today — especially as believers.

Because unchecked sin, it’ll always turn people into tools.

It’ll turn relationships into transactions

Or intimacy into entitlement

Or leadership into leverage

Some of us aren’t “struggling” with sin — we’re managing it. And in the process, we’re using people.

We’re using grace to excuse our behavior. Or forgiveness to avoid change. We’re using others to meet needs that we refuse to bring before God.

And we justify it just like Judah: “No one got hurt.” “It’s private.” “It’s not that big of a deal.”

But sin, its always quieter than we think — until it’s exposed. Judah thought this moment was over. That it was handled. Forgotten. But sin never stays buried. It always comes back for the truth.

Which brings us to the next part in the story — because what sin hides, God exposes.

III. Exposure Leads to Repentance (vv. 24-26)

Point number 3, Exposure leads to repentance.

Look at verse 24 with me again:

“About three months later Judah was told, ‘Tamar, your daughter-in-law, has been immoral. Moreover, she is pregnant by immorality.’”

And so Judah’s response here is immediate. He doesn’t investigate, or show compassion. There’s no self-reflection here.

He says:

“Bring her out, and let her be burned.”

That’s it!

Judah — the same man who withheld Shelah (Shay-la)…the same man who slept with a woman he thought was a prostitute…the man who used his power and position to avoid responsibility…

All of a sudden, he’s now turned into some kind of moral crusader.

Sin loves hypocrisy.

Judah’s furious at Tamar…And guys, not because he loves righteousness, but because her sin is visible, and his, its still hidden.

That’s how sin works. We’re most outraged by the sins in others that resemble the sins we refuse to confront in ourselves.

Jesus said it this way in Matthew 7: “Why do you see the speck that’s in your brother’s eye, but don’t notice the log that’s in your own eye?”

Judah sees Tamar’s pregnancy — but he’s blind to his own guilt.

And then verse 25 changes everything.

“As she was being brought out, she sent word to her father-in-law, ‘By the man to whom these belong, I am pregnant.’ And she said, ‘Please identify whose these are—the signet and the cord and the staff.’”

Listen, Tamar’s not accusing him here. She’s not shouting. She doesn’t expose him publicly. She simply presents the evidence. And in that moment, Judah’s exposed.

There’s nowhere to run now. No one else to blame. No narrative to spin…The same man who demanded judgment, he now stands under judgment.

Verse 26:

“Then Judah identified them and said, ‘She’s more righteous than I, since I did not give her to my son Shelah (Shay-La).’”

That statement’s massive.

That’s the first time in this entire story that Judah tells the truth…Not just about Tamar — but about himself.

“She’s more righteous than I.”

That’s not repentance yet — but it is the beginning of it. Because repentance always starts with exposure.

Before a heart can change, excuses have to collapse. Before sin’s confessed, it usually has to be uncovered. Truth has to be faced.

Proverbs 28:13 says: “Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.”

Judah prospered while his sin stayed hidden — but he could never be healed.

And that’s something a lot us need to hear this morning: Some of us aren’t stuck because God’s silent — we’re stuck because we refuse to be exposed.

We avoid accountability. We avoid community. We avoid people who ask hard questions. We manufacture these appearances while nurturing private sin.

And then we call that peace — but it’s not peace. It’s just silence before judgment.

…

Exposure’s not cruelty — it’s mercy. God exposes sin not to destroy us, but to stop us from destroying ourselves.

Judah’s repentance doesn’t happen in private prayer — it happens when his sin is dragged into the light.

And for many of us, the most loving thing God could do is allow what we’ve hidden to finally come out. Because until sin’s exposed…it’ll always remain in control.

Which leads us directly into the next part of the story — because unchecked sin doesn’t stay contained.

It spreads. It uses. It gets exposed.

Which brings us to our final point…

IV. Repentance Leads to Redemption (vv. 27-30)

Repentance leads to redemption.

Look at verse 27 with me again:

“When the time of her labor came, there were twins in her womb.”

Out of a story marked by death, God brings about life. Out of exploitation, God brings fruitfulness. Out of shame, God brings a future.

That’s what repentance does when God meets it with grace.

And notice here the detail that Moses gives us about the birth. One child reaches out his hand first. The midwife ties a scarlet thread around it — marking him as the firstborn. But then, unexpectedly, the other child comes out first.

Verse 29:

“What a breach you have made for yourself!”

And they name him Perez — which literally means breakthrough.

And that’s not accidental.

The entire chapter, its been about brokenness — broken promises, broken trust, broken people. And now, at the very end, God names the child Breakthrough.

Remember this text, its inspired, right? And so, this is God saying something to us.

Redemption doesn’t come through human order or human morality or human effort. It comes through God breaking in where no one expected Him to.

Remember the pattern we’ve seen all through Genesis. Abel instead of Cain. Isaac instead of Ishmael. Jacob instead of Esau. Joseph instead of his older brothers.

And now — Perez instead of Zerah (Zer-Ah).

God keeps overturning human expectations to show us the same truth: salvation’s by grace, not by merit.

John Calvin said it this way: “God so regulates all things that nothing takes place without His deliberation, and yet He so moderates His providence that He does not defile Himself with the sins of men.”

Judah sinned. Tamar suffered. Evil was real...But God was never absent.

…

But listen, here’s where things should get breathtaking for us.

If you fast forward with me in your Bible to Matthew chapter 1.

Matthew’s giving us the genealogy of Jesus — the family line of the Promised Messiah, right? And listen, if you’re familiar with how genealogies were depicted in the ancient world, they were always clean. They left out scandal. They highlighted honor. But Matthew doesn’t do that here.

Matthew chapter 1, verse 3 says: “Judah the father of Perez and Zerah (Zer-Ah) by Tamar…”

Did you catch that?

Tamar’s name, it’s mentioned on purpose.

Out of all the women Matthew could’ve included, he includes her — a woman who was widowed, a woman who was exploited, falsely accused, nearly executed, a woman who was publicly shamed.

And God says, “That’s the line I’m going to use to bring about My Son into the world.”

Guys, that should undo us.

God didn’t erase the story. He didn’t rewrite it. He redeemed it. The Messiah didn’t come in spite of Genesis 38 — He came through Genesis 38.

As another pastor put it: “Grace doesn’t run from scandal; it conquers it.”

Jesus Christ — the spotless Lamb, the sinless Savior — entered human history through a family tree that included incest, and prostitution, and betrayal, and injustice.

Why? So that no one could ever say, “My story’s too broken for God.”…So that no sinner could ever say, “I’m beyond redemption.”…So that no shame could ever say, “I have the final word.”

Judah’s repentance didn’t just restore him — it placed him back into God’s redemptive purposes. His failure didn’t nullify the promise. God’s grace overruled it.

And notice this: Judah doesn’t disappear after this chapter.

Later on in Genesis, Judah becomes a changed man. He offers himself in place of Benjamin. He takes responsibility. He leads with humility.

Repentance changed him — not instantly, but truly.

And guys, that’s how redemption works.

Redemption doesn’t mean the past didn’t happen. It means God now uses it all for His glory.

Romans 5:20 says: “Where sin increased, grace abounded all the more.”

Not because sin’s small — but because Christ is greater.

…

And so let that be a reminder for us this morning: God can redeem anything — and guys, He delights in using redeemed sinners all for His glory.

Your past doesn’t disqualify you, your failures don’t cancel God’s promises, your shame, it doesn’t scare God away.

Some of you, you’ve been living like Genesis 38’s the end of your story. But God’s saying to you right now, “I’m still writing.”…If He can bring Jesus through Judah and Tamar, He can bring beauty out of whatever it is you thought was irredeemable.

Repentance doesn’t just lead to forgiveness. It leads to restoration. It leads to purpose and redemption. The same God who redeemed this story — He’s the same God redeeming stories today.

Closing

And so listen, as we close this morning, I just want us to step back and look at the whole story one more time — because Genesis 38 isn’t just history… it’s a mirror. And more than that, it’s a picture of the gospel.

We watched the progression unfold, step by step.

It started with separation. Judah went down from his brothers. He distanced himself from God’s people, from God’s promises, from God’s word. And that separation didn’t feel dramatic — it felt subtle. Quiet. Reasonable.

And that separation led to sin. Compromise followed distance. What began as a step away, it turned into a settled pattern of disobedience. Judah built a life disconnected from the will of God — and it didn’t take very long for wickedness to take root.

And then sin led to exploitation. Judah stopped loving people and started using ‘em. Tamar became collateral damage. Sin always does that — it consumes, it takes, it leaves victims in its wake. What Judah thought was private ended up costing someone else everything.

And then came exposure. What was hidden didn’t stay hidden. The evidence came out. The truth was forced into the light. And in that moment, Judah stood face to face with his sin — no more excuses, no escape routes, no one else to blame.

And exposure led to repentance. “She’s more righteous than I.” For the first time, Judah owned his guilt. He stopped justifying. He stopped deflecting. He stopped protecting himself. He told the truth.

And repentance — real repentance — led to redemption. Not just forgiveness. Not just survival. But God bringing life out of death… a future out of scandal…ultimately, a Savior out of this very family line.

That’s the gospel.

Because this isn’t just Judah’s story — it’s ours.

Every one of us starts with separation. The Bible says we’re all born separated from God by sin. We don’t drift into sin — we’re already bent toward it the moment we’re born. And that separation always leads to the same place: brokenness, and guilt, shame.

And like Judah, our sin never stays contained. It affects our relationships. It warps how we treat people. It trains our hearts to take instead of love. And eventually, whether in this life or the next, sin’s exposed. We stand before the truth of who we really are.

But here’s the good news of the gospel: exposure doesn’t have to end in judgment — because Jesus stepped in.

Where Judah deserved judgment, God brought grace. Where we deserve judgment, God sent His Son.

Jesus lived the life Judah didn’t live. He obeyed where we rebelled. He remained faithful where we failed.

And on the cross, Jesus took the exposure we deserve. He bore the shame. He carried the guilt. He paid the full penalty for sin — not partially, not temporarily, completely.

Isaiah says: “The LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.”

That’s why repentance leads to redemption — because Jesus already paid for sin.

…

And so let me just challenge you this morning.

Don’t underestimate what God’s doing in your life — even through your failures. Don’t believe the lie that your past disqualifies you. Don’t resist conviction — run to it.

Where God’s exposing, He’s also inviting. And where God’s correcting, He’s also redeeming.

Let Him work. Let Him change you. Let Him use even the broken chapters of your story for His glory.

…

If you’re here this morning and you’re not a believer — What you need, its to repent and believe. Turn from your sin. Stop justifying it. Stop managing it. Trust in Christ — the only One who can save you. The only One who can forgive you and give you new life.

Where sin brings scandal, God brings salvation. And where repentance meets grace, redemption always follows.

…

Would you bow your head and close your eyes with me?

Listen, Wendy’s gonna come back up, the deacons are gonna come and prepare communion for us…how do you need to respond this morning before we come around the table?

Listen, whatever it is, do that…Recognize His work in your life…and turn to Him in repentance and faith.

.…

You take this time and we’ll come together for the Lord’s Supper in just a moment.

[Prayer]

Matthew 26:26 (ESV)

Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.”

Matthew 26:27–29 (ESV)

And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.”

[Prayer]