How to Kill Your Sin
Notes
Transcript
A few weeks before I arrived here, there were news reports of a revival on the campus of Asbury University in Wilmore, Kentucky. It began on February 8th 2023, when students remained in the chapel after the conclusion of the service to continuing praying and singing.
This continued about 16 days until the university had to shut it down for logistical reasons. Somewhere between 50-70 thousand visitors arrived at the university to see what was happening on this campus.
Because of social media news of the revival spread all over the world. This lead to similar types of revival events spreading to other universities as well. There was a lot of excitement surrounding these revival events.
At the time of the revival at Asbury, many questions poured out:
“is this sincere?”
or “is this just an excuse for students to get out of class?”
Or “is this just a marketing scheme by the university to increase enrollment?” (Their enrollment has increased in the past 3 years following the revival.)
When it comes to revival, the only way to truly judge it, is to look for the enduring fruit of the revival. What happens when the “revival” ends?
If this was an example of a generation of students truly seeking the Lord, believing in the gospel of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins and responding by obedience to God’s commands then praise God - if it’s just a way for students to delay their midterms - or an enrollment scheme - then it’s a sham.
Samuel Sey, a Christian writer and speaker, called several churches near Asbury University one year after the revival. He asked them if they had significant additions to their churches, or major changes in the lives of their church members because of the revival. They all said no.
It seems that every week or so I am hearing some sort of commentary concerning revival among Gen Z, or something of that nature.
There were many statements concerning revival following the assassination of Charlie Kirk.
And while I wont dismiss that many have asked more questions, and many have turned to looking for answers from the Bible - and that’s a good thing - but true revival is more than just an increased curiosity for a couple weeks, because of a major event.
True revival is marked by what the Bible tells us in this text. Looking to Christ, Putting Sin to Death and Putting on Love. For the sake of time, this morning we will focus on looking to Christ, and Putting our Sin to death - and next week putting on Love.
Look To the Risen One
Look To the Risen One
Paul uses a series of important illustrations in this text. He begins by using the illustration of resurrection. By applying Christ’s resurrection to us - he uses a conditional statement… IF you have been raised with Christ THEN look to him. If you have experienced true revival… then look to Jesus.
1 If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.
Paul is returning to the language from 2:13 where he teaches us that we were dead in our sins.
But through faith in Jesus and his atoning death and triumphant resurrection, we have been raised with Christ.
So then forsake the things of this world - the ideals, the desires, the goals, of this world - and instead set your eyes upon Christ.
Where Paul tells us to seek the things that are above. He wants us to set our focus on Jesus. In the same manner in which a camera lens focuses on it’s subject - the subject becomes clear, while the things around it - or the things outside of the focus are unimportant. In photography you direct all attention on the subject of the photo. You remove distraction and you keep the object sharp. (Thank you Andrew Jones.)
Our focus should be on the things that are above where Jesus is. Paul also reminds us where it is that Jesus is - he is seated at the right hand of the Father. This of course reminds us of Psalm 110:1 - the Lord said to my Lord sit at my right hand. This is not simply a statement of location, but it is also concerning identity. The statement is fundamentally about the rule and reign of Jesus as the long promised Davidic King. This is a reminder that Jesus is the King who will reign forever, so walk in him.
He reminds us who Jesus is and what he has done for us. This includes a reminder that Jesus will return to judge the living and the dead, and a reminder of the promise of future glory. That one day all who place their faith in Christ Jesus as Lord will be presented as holy and blameless before God. Paul then following this moves into a section concerning The appropriate attitudes and actions of a Christian and holy living.
The first aspect of holy living is appropriately defining your life. It is really common for people to make statements like “If I ever lost my child, spouse, job, dog, status, etc. I don’t know what I would do. They are my life.” If you are a Christian - your life is Christ.
If the center of your universe is anything but Jesus - what happens when they are gone? Allowing anything other than Jesus to be your life is a recipe for disaster. Jesus is the good shepherd. He never loses his sheep, and he will never leave you nor forsake you.
Since Jesus is the one who raised you up out of the grave - gave you a new heart of flesh and removed your heart of stone - therefore put to death what is earthly in you. You have been raised with Christ and thus you must lay the sinful attitudes of the flesh in the grave - and leave them there.
Lay Your Sin in the Grave
Lay Your Sin in the Grave
Following Paul’s reminder of the resurrected Christ, and the instruction for us to keep our eyes on the risen one, he then tells us that we need to kill our sin. He proceeds to list sins - which we need a lot more than we think we do.
Paul doesn’t use gentle language here. We often like to coddle our sin, we hide it. Pretend like it isn’t bad.
The Bible tells us to kill it.
The 17th Century English Puritan John Owen wrote a book called The Mortification of Sin, in that work he writes “Do you mortify; do you make it your daily work; be always at it [while] you live; cease not a day from this work; be killing sin or it will be killing you”.
It’s not often that a pastor instructs you to kill something - but today, I am.
Owen in his book is careful to remind the reader that the work of killing your sin is a work of the Spirit. You cannot do it on your own.
13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
5 Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.
In our text for this morning, Paul gives two different lists for sins that Christians should cast off. In the first list, Paul lists five sins here - the first four all pertaining to sexual immorality, and the fifth covetousness.
Sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire.
In the first four sins that we are told to put to death Paul covers pretty much all of it. He is referring to sorts of sexual sin.
Rather than list what it condemns, I will say that the language here is is describing, and forbidding anything other than the marital union of a husband and wife.
As much as our society continues to tell us that “love is love” and all forms of love should be accepted - the Scriptures show us that the context in which God created marital love is exclusive to one man and one woman who are confined by a marital covenant, for the entirety of one life.
The Biblical sexual ethic are far more strict than simply objecting to perversion. The Christian community should be marked by marital fidelity, marital support and marital encouragement.
This language from Paul here condemns not only infidelity and vile acts of sexual misconduct but also the lingering thoughts of past relationships, the improper double take when in public, visits to websites in the middle of the night that no one else would know about, trashy romance novels, - all of these and anything in between are inappropriate for the life of a believer - and they should not be named among you.
Next up on the list, Paul instructs us to put covetousness to death. Which he identifies as idolatry.
Paul's definition of greed identifies it as a false religion. Idolatry was seen as horrendous in the Old Testament, and yet Israel was over taken by it. Covetousness, or the sinful desire for other’s things is also condemned in the last two of the 10 Commandments.
When you covet you seek to acquire things for yourself that do not belong to you this either makes the things that you desire to be god, or you seek to make yourself god.
When we covet, our focus is no longer on Christ but upon ourselves, and others. We look at their things and want them for ourselves. The Lord has told us to seek first the kingdom of God, but when we covet we are thinking about building up our kingdom, filling our own castles by mentally (or literally) pillaging our neighbor’s homes. And putting covetousness to death, would also in turn put theft to death as well.
The Lord is not only concerned with what you do physically but also mentally and spiritually.
And in verse 6, Paul gives incentive to put these things to death, by reminding us of their heinousness. When we forget how sinful our sin is - we make excuses and coddle it rather than crucify it.
6 On account of these the wrath of God is coming.
As tough of a truth as this is to swallow God is glorified in his punishment of sin and bringing wrath upon those who live sinful lives.
Because He is holy, and he cannot tolerate willful transgression. He cannot ignore injustice and lawbreaking - this is why he pronounces such a heavy indictment upon Israel in the Old Testament for ignoring injustice.
As a holy and righteous judge- he rules fairly and he rules well. He is good.
A holy and righteous judge must also be a wrathful judge. Paul reminds us of this so that we appropriately put our sin to death. But he also reminds the Christian that this is not their life anymore. This is where they once walked.
7 In these you too once walked, when you were living in them.
Outside of Christ you are lost and deserving of the wrath of God. This was once your life.
But for those who have faith in Jesus, you are not to walk in, or live in those sins anymore. You either put your sins to death or you live in them. And if you are a follower of Jesus, if you believe that he is Lord and that God raised him from the dead - then you have died with Christ - and you ought to leave your sins in that grave.
8 But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth.
There is no place among the Lord’s redeemed for these attitudes. You must put them away.
Have you ever heard someone give their testimony and their life as a Christian and it sounds as if they are describing their sins and immorality more like a romantic love letter or stories of war victories, rather than a things that were put to death? We cannot allow the idea that our life before Christ was more fun, or exciting as our life after Christ to endure.
From this in verse 8, Paul gives a second list of sins to put to death. Three of these sins involve anger, and the last two speech.
In verse 6, the wrath of God is mentioned to come upon those who dwell and rejoice in earthly desires. Here we are told to put off wrath… we don’t get to be wrathful, because we are not God. When we become wrathful we put ourselves in the place of God, and it is as if we don’t trust God to judge sin.
obscene talk from your mouth is not simply using profanity… but rather how do you use your words? Is your speech used to tear others down? This is not just about what words you use as much as it is how you use the words that you use. This is also why Paul follows with lying.
You can fail to honor God with your language even if you never allow any swear words to leave your lips.
We pat ourselves on the back because we never say certain “four letter words” words… and then not bat an eye when our language is abusive, or slanderous because they deserved it, or because they wouldn’t listen, or you’re concerned and it’s a “prayer request”, or whatever excuse you might make for failing to tame your tongue.
The charge to cast off lying is followed by the main idea of chapter 3 - cast off the old self (the sinful flesh), and put on the new self.
In the the new self we see some of the image of God restored. At the fall in Genesis 3 a part of the image of God in man is marred. In Christ, when we put on the new self, that marred image of God in us begins to be renewed - every human being has been created in the image of God - and every human that you encounter though sinful maintains some of that image even though it may be marred. That image is what gives people worth. That image is what sets us apart from animals and the rest of creation.
And verse 11 is connected to this, as it demonstrates a breakdown of social distinctions. Be reminded that everyone you speak to is a person who was created in the image of God.
11 Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.
This text is the breakdown of racism, and prejudice. But no one group maintains any sort of moral superiority - in Christ any social superiority is worthless.
This verse is the end of superficial cultural distinctions. Jew and Gentile. Circumcised and uncircumcised, Barbarian, Scythian, slave, free. Cultural distinctions are nothing. The ground is level at the foot of the cross.
Christ is all and in all… those who are part of the community of faith all belong to Christ. Do not need to create, or find superficial divisions where there are none.
(IF there is time you can discuss how racism is increasing in the church/world/US right now.)
How do I kill my sin?
How do I kill my sin?
With the help of God. Prayer. Meditation on the word of God.
Recognizing the sin.
You cannot put a sin to death, that you refuse to admit is sin.
Taking Sin Seriously - Recognizing the sinfulness of sin.
Remember what it cost Jesus to forgive your sins.
We do not put our sins to death to earn a right standing with God. We’re not good enough for that. We
Daily Committing to forsake that sin.
With accountability.
Remembering the cross.
Keep your eyes focused on Jesus, as you drive the stake through your sin’s heart.
This will be the subject for next, week but a key to putting your sin to death, is to also put on love.
So put off the old self and it’s deeds - and put on love. Be reminded that Christ is your life - he has redeemed you by canceling the record of your debt by nailing it to this cross.
True Christian repentance doesn’t hold on to one aspect of life stating “God, I’m not ready to give this over to you yet.” True Christian repentance abandons everything that the Lord calls you to abandon in order to seek to glorify God. The truest and best version of you and your life is one that seeks to submit to Christ and do all things for his glory.
The longing test of time for this revival that is happening in Kentucky at Asbury University will demonstrate by if they put to death the things of the flesh. The test of authenticity will be shown by their repentance. Any revival that lauds the things of this world - and fails to put those things to death is not a revival that God is part of.
And yet for us, it is really easy to see a spectacular event on the other side of the country and desire that and miss the revival happening in our own homes. If you are faithfully preaching the gospel to your kids, grandkids, great grandkids. If you are supporting parents who are faithfully doing those things.
Sometimes revival happens in very mundane ways. God often works in the mundane setting of homes and generations continuing to endure in raising kids in the faith - and while it may not be as exciting as hundreds or thousands of people singing - seeing a child, or a teenager, or a relative profess faith in Jesus, set their minds on the things of Christ, put to death the things of this world and put on Christ is beautiful. While a revival might be exciting the regular gathering of the saints each Sunday morning is beautiful.
What does it look like to seek the things that are above?
Are you putting your sin to death?
What does it look like to mortify your sin?
BENEDICTION
Ephesians 2:13-21
