Killing Sin

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Sin is a complicated topic to tackle from the Old Testament. When we look at the Old Testament and at ancient cultures it’s easy to see sin as mere rules; rules you keep to appease your god.

In the morning of the earth tribal nations worked tirelessly to appease the gods. The earth groaned under the duress of sin’s consequences—the earth refused to bring forth grain, and the skies refused to bring forth rain, by the sweat of his brow man labored, not to thrive, merely to survive.

The gods must be angry.

Ancient people worked tirelessly to keep the rules to appease their gods.

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We know that the Bible has a more sophisticated view of sin.

Doesn’t it?

The Bible isn’t so barbaric. Certainly sin is not merely the breaking of arbitrary rules. And righteousness isn’t merely the keeping of arbitrary rules to appease God.

And that’s precisely where I personally struggle with rules of all kinds; when they are arbitrary.

Rules are only beneficial when the add value to life.

Rules are only good when they keep people from suffering.

Rules are only righteous when they deter people from evil.

Rules cannot be arbitrary. Certainly the Bible gives us rules that are more than arbitrary. Certainly the rules in the Bible have purpose.

When God forbids an action and calls it sin, I must believe that…

… it robs life from myself and others.

If it is sin it adds to my suffering and the suffering of others.

If it is sin it causes my heart to yearn for evil things.

So, we return to a passage that has someone been a theme passage for our series Killing Stuff. It’s .

The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. So the Lord said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them.” (, ESV)

The Lord saw that humanity had become thoroughly evil on the earth and that every idea their minds thought up was always completely evil.

The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. So the Lord said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them.”

(, CEB)

(, ESV)

When sin was rampant on the earth, bleeding life from the people God had created, characterized by perpetual suffering, and evil waged war against the heart of the creation, God stepped into the battle. He blotted out humanity from the face of the land.

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Why?

Because God is in the business of killing sin.

God hates sin. Not out of pride or arrogance.

God doesn’t make arbitrary rules like we do as Father’s sometimes, like where you have to leave the clicker when you’re done watching TV—that’s one of my arbitrary rules.

God’s rules don’t have something to do with His personal comforts. God’s rules have everything to do with life, providence, and righteousness.

God’s rules give life.

God’s rules relieve suffering.

God’s rules breed righteousness.

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But sin is not so simple. It’s not as if you can simply agree and say, ‘Yes, God’s rules seem good to me; I think I will live by them.’

There is a battle waging between human flesh and God’s righteousness.

The iniquities [sins] of the wicked ensnare him,

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and he is held fast in the cords of his sin.

Killing Sin

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Anthony Delgado / General

Sin is a curious thing, lurking in the shadows, waiting until you look the other way and it springs on you like a trap. Sin seeks to bind you as with a cord, that you would ever be tied to your sin.

Killing Stuff

Though you pray for deliverance, sin infects your mind. Though you desire righteousness, lust, anger, and envy consume your hearts desires. And although you may find you have deliverance for a time, the moment you let your guard down, the enemy lies in wait to drag you again into his trap, to drag you again into the filth of your sin.

God is in the business of killing sin. And lest we be bound by our sin, we must be ever present in the battle to kill our sin.

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So, today, I’d like to look at three characteristics of sin from the Old Testament that will help us to identify our sin and provide along the way some tools for killing sin. Let us not be a conflicted people who profess the righteousness of Christ and yet remain in the bonds of the enemy.

The first characteristic is that…

Sin never delivers what it promises.

By offering polluted food upon my altar. But you say, ‘How have we polluted you?’ By saying that the Lord’s table may be despised. When you offer blind animals in sacrifice, is that not evil? And when you offer those that are lame or sick, is that not evil? Present that to your governor; will he accept you or show you favor? says the Lord of hosts. And now entreat the favor of God, that he may be gracious to us. With such a gift from your hand, will he show favor to any of you? says the Lord of hosts. Oh that there were one among you who would shut the doors, that you might not kindle fire on my altar in vain! I have no pleasure in you, says the Lord of hosts, and I will not accept an offering from your hand. For from the rising of the sun to its setting my name will be great among the nations, and in every place incense will be offered to my name, and a pure offering. For my name will be great among the nations, says the Lord of hosts. But you profane it when you say that the Lord’s table is polluted, and its fruit, that is, its food may be despised. But you say, ‘What a weariness this is,’ and you snort at it, says the Lord of hosts. You bring what has been taken by violence or is lame or sick, and this you bring as your offering! Shall I accept that from your hand? says the Lord. (, ESV)

(, ESV)

Malachi 1:7–13 ESV

By offering polluted food upon my altar. But you say, ‘How have we polluted you?’ By saying that the Lord’s table may be despised. When you offer blind animals in sacrifice, is that not evil? And when you offer those that are lame or sick, is that not evil? Present that to your governor; will he accept you or show you favor? says the Lord of hosts. And now entreat the favor of God, that he may be gracious to us. With such a gift from your hand, will he show favor to any of you? says the Lord of hosts. Oh that there were one among you who would shut the doors, that you might not kindle fire on my altar in vain! I have no pleasure in you, says the Lord of hosts, and I will not accept an offering from your hand. For from the rising of the sun to its setting my name will be great among the nations, and in every place incense will be offered to my name, and a pure offering. For my name will be great among the nations, says the Lord of hosts. But you profane it when you say that the Lord’s table is polluted, and its fruit, that is, its food may be despised. But you say, ‘What a weariness this is,’ and you snort at it, says the Lord of hosts. You bring what has been taken by violence or is lame or sick, and this you bring as your offering! Shall I accept that from your hand? says the Lord.

The Jews were coming to the alter to offer a gift, a sacrifice to God. God had commanded that their sacrifices be the best of their flock, a pure unblemished animal.

Doesn’t God deserve our best?

God asked the Israelites for the first fruits of their harvest. He wanted the cream that rises to the top. God asked the Israelites for a day of their time to focus on Him. He wanted their trust. And God asked that their sacrifices be from the best of their flock.

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And you understand, if you’ve been a Christian very long, what the temptation is. You understand the deceit of sin. You understand that voice that tells you—not to full out reject God; not to refuse to give wealth to God; not to refuse to serve God with your time—but you understand the voice that says, you don’t really have to give your best.

We’re tempted to give, not when we get paid, but if there is anything left over at the end of the month. That’s the deceit of sin. We’re tempted to serve God if there’s a day in our schedule that isn’t already full, but we often don’t prioritize service to God when we schedule out time. We often read the Bible and pray when it’s convenient, but we wouldn’t get up early or stay up late or watch less TV to get that done. These are the deceits of sin.

And Israel was deceived. Malachi said that they were offering lame and sick animals to God. They were saying to themselves, we can’t eat this lamb anyway. It’ll never grow into a good herd animal, so who cares, at least we are offering something. They didn’t refuse God’s gift, but they were deceived and bent the rules a bit here and there.

And it gets worse, because it always gets worse. They were deceived so much that they resorted to theft and violent means to procure their sacrifice. They didn’t want to give God something they rightfully worked so hard for, so they robbed and stole to get their sacrifices.

And I hope you see the issue. The issue isn’t that God has rigid rules about what he could accept. That’s not the point at all. The point is the heart of the person who gives in this way. The issue is the half-heartedness of the Israelites heart. The issue is that they were deceived by the temptations of sin.

Sin entices us to give just a little, and just a little more, and just a little more.

The sacrifices of the Israelites were polluted first by the heart of the one making the offering. The pollution didn’t come from the animal it came from the depraved mind and the deceived heart of the giver.

Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi: An Introduction and Commentary a. Indictment (1:6–14)

these sacrifices are polluted in the first place by the attitude of mind of the offerers, and only secondarily by ritual imperfections.

And there’s a warning in here. Notice again verse 9.

Malachi 1:9 ESV

And now entreat the favor of God, that he may be gracious to us. With such a gift from your hand, will he show favor to any of you? says the Lord of hosts.

And now entreat the favor of God, that he may be gracious to us. With such a gift from your hand, will he show favor to any of you? says the Lord of hosts. (, ESV)

Malachi is concerned about the favor returned to the Israelite based on their lame gift. Sin deceived them into thinking that they can still receive God’s favor if they gave a half-hearted effort. And that may be offensive to you to think that they were giving gifts to God in order to procure favor from God, but that’s the way the Old Covenant worked.

(V. 9)

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The Israelite offered gifts not only to acknowledge the kindness received from God, but also to secure favour in the future.

And to offer unworthy presents is to invite trouble. And I don’t think it’s any different for us. When our convictions shift just a little here and there, when we are deceived by sin and enticed by sins pleasures, we invite trouble into our lives.

To illustrate, let’s look at one particular virtue, honesty.

Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi: An Introduction and Commentary a. Indictment (1:6–14)

The Easterner offers gifts not only to acknowledge kindness received but also to secure favour in the future (Prov. 18:16), but to offer unworthy presents is to invite trouble.

A Gallup survey taken over the past decade demonstrated that people rarely expect others to be completely honest with them. By and large people only expect accountants to be mostly honest. Mechanics and advertisers are only expected to be somewhat honest. Members of congress are expected to be somewhat dishonest.

*** Sin is deceitful in this way; sin beckons us, not first to break the rule entirely, but to be somewhat faithful. We realize this is how Americans live. Americans by and large value honesty. Realize though, that merely means that people like when you are honest with them.

A Gallup survey taken over the past decade demonstrated that people rarely expect others to be completely honest. By and large people only expect accountants to be mostly honest. Mechanics and advertisers are only expected to be somewhat honest. Members of congress are expected to be somewhat dishonest.

Honesty is not a core value of our society. So, it’s very easy to get by being only somewhat honest in our world. And for a Christian, I think that’s wholly unacceptable. But, it’s how sin works. Sin deceives you into thinking you can be a good and honest Christian and still be somewhat dishonest—withhold a little truth here, stretch the truth here, exaggerate the truth over here. And that’s ridiculous. But, that’s the deceit of sin.

That’s one example. Here’s some other deceits.

Sin’s deceit says, ‘You can look, you just can’t touch.’ But Jesus says…

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. (, ESV)

You can’t intentionally look at another person with lustful intent. Any argument is the product of sins deceit.

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Sin’s deceit says, ‘You don’t have to forgive someone if they did something really, really bad.’ But, …

If you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. (, ESV)

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You can’t refuse forgiveness. You can be careful and wise in reconciliation. But, you can’t refuse forgiveness. Any argument against that is sins deceit.

Sin’s deceit says, ‘I worked for my paycheck, why should I give it to others?’ But the Psalmist says,

The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein. (, ESV)

the world and those who dwell therein,

The earth is God’s and everything in the earth belongs to God, including you and including your paycheck. When we give we give God’s things to carry out God’s purposes. And when we refuse to give, either as a blessing to others or we refuse to support the work of our local church, we fall prey to sins deceit. God is a generous God and God’s people are generous people.

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Licensed to Kill: A Field Manual for Mortifying Sin Four: With Muderous Intent

Sin also assaults the mind by disassembling the components of theological truths from one another. It tries to separate justification (right standing before God) from progressive sanctification (increasing holiness in our actual lives). It seeks to highlight our pardon from guilt, yet obscure our freedom from slavery. It wants the removal of sin’s curse, without the cleansing of sin’s stain.

It’s our job as the people of God to be always in the battle to kill sin, always watchful for sins deceits, and always humble enough to admit when we have fallen prey to the deceit of sin.

TRANSITION

But sin is not just an issue between you and God. Sin is an issue between you and your fellow people. Sin is deceitful, but sin is also dehumanizing.

TRANSITION

Sin is deceitful Sin is dehumanizing since we were made in gods Image Sin is damning cf Ecclesiastes

Licensed to Kill: A Field Manual for Mortifying Sin Two: Toward Life or Death

Sin is dehumanizing. Sin dismantles human relationships and corrupts the human soul. This is implicit in Scripture, which describes the new creation work of Christ and the Spirit as the restoration of human beings in the image of God. The less we bear the image of God due to the presence of sin, the less human we really are. We call some crimes savage, beastly, and brutal because they are so debased, so inhuman and inhumane, that we have to reach down for words to describe them. Sin dehumanizes us. And this is true for both believers and unbelievers. Sin, wherever it is present, always tends towards the deforming of the divine image within us, the dismantling of our relationships, and the distortion of our souls.

Since we were made in gods Image

Brian G. Hedges, Licensed to Kill: A Field Manual for Mortifying Sin (Adelphi, MD: CruciformPress, 2011).

Since we were made in gods Image

Sin is dehumanizing. Sin dismantles human relationships and corrupts the human soul.

We see this play out in the creation of humanity in the first place, where humankind was created in the image of God, .

Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” (, ESV)

(, ESV)

To be human is to reflect the character, the wonder, and the righteousness of Christ. And sin is like a veil draped over the image to make humanity appear less than godlike.

The less we bear the image of God due to the presence of sin, the less human we really are. We call some crimes savage, beastly, and brutal because they are so debased, so inhuman and inhumane, that we have to reach down for words to describe them, because sin dehumanizes us.

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We call some crimes savage, beastly, and brutal because they are so debased, so inhuman and inhumane, that we have to reach down for words to describe them. Sin dehumanizes us. And this is true for both believers and unbelievers. Sin, wherever it is present, always tends towards the deforming of the divine image within us, the dismantling of our relationships, and the distortion of our souls.

Sin, wherever it is present, always tends towards the deforming of the divine image within us, the dismantling of our relationships, and the distortion of our souls.

I can’t think of any story better to illustrate this than the story of Amnon and Tamar from . It goes like this.

King David had a son named Amnon by one wife and a daughter by another wife named Tamar. They were half siblings. And Amnon wanted to marry Tamar. Everyone knows it’s inappropriate to marry your half-sister, but Amnon couldn’t get her out of his mind.

One day Amnon was upset over this and his friend Jonadab asked him about it.

Have you ever got, just, really bad advice from a friend?

Jonadab gave Amnon some really bad advice.

It went something like this. Jonadab figured that if Amnon could get Tamar to go to bed with him, then King David might allow them to marry in order not to bring shame upon his household.

So, they put together this rouse, where Amnon pretended to get sick and sent to the King requesting Tamar come and make him some food to make him feel better. That’s pretty normal, really. They were family after-all and probably grew up together, playing together and were friends and all that.

But, when Tamar came to the house, Amnon wouldn’t eat. Instead he sent all the servants out of the room and begged her to lie with him in his bed. And that’s a euphemism of course, so Tamar begs him,

Now Absalom, David’s son, had a beautiful sister, whose name was Tamar. And after a time Amnon, David’s son, loved her. And Amnon was so tormented that he made himself ill because of his sister Tamar, for she was a virgin, and it seemed impossible to Amnon to do anything to her. But Amnon had a friend, whose name was Jonadab, the son of Shimeah, David’s brother. And Jonadab was a very crafty man. And he said to him, “O son of the king, why are you so haggard morning after morning? Will you not tell me?” Amnon said to him, “I love Tamar, my brother Absalom’s sister.” Jonadab said to him, “Lie down on your bed and pretend to be ill. And when your father comes to see you, say to him, ‘Let my sister Tamar come and give me bread to eat, and prepare the food in my sight, that I may see it and eat it from her hand.’ ” So Amnon lay down and pretended to be ill. And when the king came to see him, Amnon said to the king, “Please let my sister Tamar come and make a couple of cakes in my sight, that I may eat from her hand.”

Then David sent home to Tamar, saying, “Go to your brother Amnon’s house and prepare food for him.” So Tamar went to her brother Amnon’s house, where he was lying down. And she took dough and kneaded it and made cakes in his sight and baked the cakes. And she took the pan and emptied it out before him, but he refused to eat. And Amnon said, “Send out everyone from me.” So everyone went out from him. Then Amnon said to Tamar, “Bring the food into the chamber, that I may eat from your hand.” And Tamar took the cakes she had made and brought them into the chamber to Amnon her brother. But when she brought them near him to eat, he took hold of her and said to her, “Come, lie with me, my sister.” She answered him, “No, my brother, do not violate me, for such a thing is not done in Israel; do not do this outrageous thing. As for me, where could I carry my shame? And as for you, you would be as one of the outrageous fools in Israel. Now therefore, please speak to the king, for he will not withhold me from you.” But he would not listen to her, and being stronger than she, he violated her and lay with her.

No, my brother, do not violate me, for such a thing is not done in Israel; do not do this outrageous thing. As for me, where could I carry my shame? (, ESV)

But, he wouldn’t listen to her and got angry and forced himself on her. He forced her to marry him. But, then he does this even more horrible thing to Tamar. She realized that the best thing to do is stay and be Amnon’s wife, but he doesn’t want a wife who doesn’t love him, so he sends her away.

ugh and kneaded it and made cakes in his sight and baked the cakes. And she took the pan and emptied it out before him, but he refused to eat. And Amnon said, “Send out everyone from me.” So everyone went out from him. Then Amnon said to Tamar, “Bring the food into the chamber, that I may eat from your hand.” And Tamar took the cakes she had made and brought them into the chamber to Amnon her brother. But when she brought them near him to eat, he took hold of her and said to her, “Come, lie with me, my sister.” She answered him, “No, my brother, do not violate me, for such a thing is not done in Israel; do not do this outrageous thing. As for me, where could I carry my shame? And as for you, you would be as one of the outrageous fools in Israel. Now therefore, please speak to the king, for he will not withhold me from you.” But he would not listen to her, and being stronger than she, he violated her and lay with her.

Then Amnon hated her with very great hatred, so that the hatred with which he hated her was greater than the love with which he had loved her. And Amnon said to her, “Get up! Go!” But she said to him, “No, my brother, for this wrong in sending me away is greater than the other that you did to me.” But he would not listen to her. He called the young man who served him and said, “Put this woman out of my presence and bolt the door after her.” Now she was wearing a long robe with sleeves, for thus were the virgin daughters of the king dressed. So his servant put her out and bolted the door after her. And Tamar put ashes on her head and tore the long robe that she wore. And she laid her hand on her head and went away, crying aloud as she went.

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And her brother Absalom said to her, “Has Amnon your brother been with you? Now hold your peace, my sister. He is your brother; do not take this to heart.” So Tamar lived, a desolate woman, in her brother Absalom’s house. When King David heard of all these things, he was very angry. But Absalom spoke to Amnon neither good nor bad, for Absalom hated Amnon, because he had violated his sister Tamar.

After two full years Absalom had sheepshearers at Baal-hazor, which is near Ephraim, and Absalom invited all the king’s sons. And Absalom came to the king and said, “Behold, your servant has sheepshearers. Please let the king and his servants go with your servant.” But the king said to Absalom, “No, my son, let us not all go, lest we be burdensome to you.” He pressed him, but he would not go but gave him his blessing. Then Absalom said, “If not, please let my brother Amnon go with us.” And the king said to him, “Why should he go with you?” But Absalom pressed him until he let Amnon and all the king’s sons go with him. Then Absalom commanded his servants, “Mark when Amnon’s heart is merry with wine, and when I say to you, ‘Strike Amnon,’ then kill him. Do not fear; have I not commanded you? Be courageous and be valiant.” So the servants of Absalom did to Amnon as Absalom had commanded. Then all the king’s sons arose, and each mounted his mule and fled.

While they were on the way, news came to David, “Absalom has struck down all the king’s sons, and not one of them is left.” Then the king arose and tore his garments and lay on the earth. And all his servants who were standing by tore their garments. But Jonadab the son of Shimeah, David’s brother, said, “Let not my lord suppose that they have killed all the young men, the king’s sons, for Amnon alone is dead. For by the command of Absalom this has been determined from the day he violated his sister Tamar. Now therefore let not my lord the king so take it to heart as to suppose that all the king’s sons are dead, for Amnon alone is dead.”

But Absalom fled. And the young man who kept the watch lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, many people were coming from the road behind him by the side of the mountain. And Jonadab said to the king, “Behold, the king’s sons have come; as your servant said, so it has come about.” And as soon as he had finished speaking, behold, the king’s sons came and lifted up their voice and wept. And the king also and all his servants wept very bitterly.

And she begins to mourn as if someone had died, because in a way, she died that day. She knew she would never marry and never have children, because that’s how that society worked. So, Samuel concludes the story this way, he writes,

But Absalom fled and went to Talmai the son of Ammihud, king of Geshur. And David mourned for his son day after day. So Absalom fled and went to Geshur, and was there three years. And the spirit of the king longed to go out to Absalom, because he was comforted about Amnon, since he was dead.

(, ESV)

So Tamar lived, a desolate woman. (, ESV)

Amnon was deceived by his lust and when sin is acted upon, sin dehumanizes people. Amnon dehumanized himself, no longer a man, but a monster. But, notice what he did to Tamar. He ripped the image of God from her. She became an outcast of society. She never married, never got to raise children—and that was everything to women in her day. She didn’t get to reflect the creativity of God by having children. She didn’t get to reflect the love of God by unconditionally loving her husband. Amnon even denied her the opportunity to reflect the mercy of God by taking a sinful husband when he sent her away.

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Sin always makes us less than God intended us to be. And sin makes others less than God intends them to be. Sin deceives, and dehumanizes, and it’s just a short stones throw to see that...

Sin results in damnation in life and damnation in eternity.

There was a man named Asaph who was a temple musician. He was sort of like what we call a worship leader. Asaph led the procession of singers and musicians when the Ark of the Covenant was brought into Jerusalem. Asaph was appointed by David as the chief musician for the tabernacle. He was a man who knew and loved God. And he wrote a Psalm about those who oppose God.

In , Asaph confesses that he almost fell to sins deceits. He says,

Psalm 73 ESV

A Psalm of Asaph. Truly God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart. But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled, my steps had nearly slipped. For I was envious of the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. For they have no pangs until death; their bodies are fat and sleek. They are not in trouble as others are; they are not stricken like the rest of mankind. Therefore pride is their necklace; violence covers them as a garment. Their eyes swell out through fatness; their hearts overflow with follies. They scoff and speak with malice; loftily they threaten oppression. They set their mouths against the heavens, and their tongue struts through the earth. Therefore his people turn back to them, and find no fault in them. And they say, “How can God know? Is there knowledge in the Most High?” Behold, these are the wicked; always at ease, they increase in riches. All in vain have I kept my heart clean and washed my hands in innocence. For all the day long I have been stricken and rebuked every morning. If I had said, “I will speak thus,” I would have betrayed the generation of your children. But when I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task, until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I discerned their end. Truly you set them in slippery places; you make them fall to ruin. How they are destroyed in a moment, swept away utterly by terrors! Like a dream when one awakes, O Lord, when you rouse yourself, you despise them as phantoms. When my soul was embittered, when I was pricked in heart, I was brutish and ignorant; I was like a beast toward you. Nevertheless, I am continually with you; you hold my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. For behold, those who are far from you shall perish; you put an end to everyone who is unfaithful to you. But for me it is good to be near God; I have made the Lord God my refuge, that I may tell of all your works.

— Asaph knows that he will spend eternity with the Lord, but sinners will be condemned forever.

For I was envious of the arrogant

when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

(, ESV)

Asaph laments that the unrighteous go through life with luxuries and no pains. He says they are fat and sleek—which means they are prosperous. He says they are prideful, violent, foolish, malicious scoffers. They oppress others and they even speak out against God. And yet, he says he almost became like them, because they prosper.

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But, Asaph is thankful that he kept his heart pure. That he didn’t fall to sins deceits. He’s thankful because he saw what happened to these wicked people.

Truly you set them in slippery places;

you make them fall to ruin.

How they are destroyed in a moment,

swept away utterly by terrors!

(, ESV)

God allowed the wicked to indulge in their sin and to slip into complete ruin. Sin is always a slippery slope leading to complete ruin. But, it’s not just a ruined life. Asaph continues in the Psalm,

My flesh and my heart may fail,

but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

For behold, those who are far from you shall perish;

you put an end to everyone who is unfaithful to you.

(, ESV)

Asaph knows that he awaits blessing forever with the Lord because he kept himself right with God and he kept himself free from sin. But, he knows that those who continue to indulge in sin will slide into ruin until the day when they perish, when they are eternally, forever separated from God. God will put an end to those who are unfaithful to Him.

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cf ; ; ,

Sin separates us from the God who gives us life.

Sin is damning. Sin is eternally damning. Because sin separates us from the God who gives us life.

For me, the worst part about this isn’t believing how damaging sin is. I think most people—even Christians—don’t realize the the severity of sin. Paul wrote:

What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? (, ESV)

In other words, ‘If God forgives sin, then why should we stop sinning?!’

(, ESV)

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I think it’s pretty clear that the people in Paul’s day didn’t see sin as a real big deal. And I just don’t think it’s much different today. But, like I said, the hardest part for me is not understanding how deceitful, dehumanizing, and damning sin is. It’s not even a struggle for me to identify the utter depravity of my own flesh. The hard part for me is, what to do about it.

How do we battle sin? How do we kill sin and live for Christ in every area of life?

And I’ll answer that question with a story as we move towards our next steps.

In Greek mythology there’s a story about a man named Ulysses. He on a perilous journey home following the Trojan War. He faced many dangers. One of the dangers Ulysses and his crew faced were the alluring Sirens. The Sirens were beautiful, dangerous women, who lured sailors with their beguiling beauty, enticing voices, and enchanting songs. Desiring to hear them sing, yet leery of their seductive power, Ulysses filled the ears of his fellow sailors with wax and had himself lashed to the mast of the ship so that he could hear the Sirens’ voices without succumbing to their mesmerizing music. Had it not been for the ropes, Ulysses would have perished.

Licensed to Kill: A Field Manual for Mortifying Sin Six: Transforming Grace

Greek mythology tells the fascinating story of Ulysses and his perilous journey home following the Trojan War.[20] Among the dangers Ulysses and his crew faced were the alluring Sirens. The Sirens were beautiful, dangerous bird-women, who lured sailors to shipwreck and death through their beguiling beauty, enticing voices, and enchanting songs. Desiring to hear them sing, yet leery of their seductive power, Ulysses filled the ears of his fellow sailors with wax and had himself lashed to the mast of the ship so that he could hear the Sirens’ voices without succumbing to their mesmerizing music. Had it not been for the ropes, Ulysses would have perished.

But another story is told about the Sirens, this one involving Jason, leader of the Argonauts. Like Ulysses, he too faced the alluring beauty and enticing music of the Sirens. But his strategy didn’t involve wax or ropes. Instead, Jason brought Orpheus, a musician so talented that he could tame beasts and move mountains. The more alluring music of Orpheus broke the spell of the Sirens, so that Jason and the Argonauts were unmoved by their enchantments.

Some people try to fight sin by metaphorically filling their ears with wax or strapping themselves to the mast with the ropes of external rules and regulations. But their hearts are still captivated by the Siren song of sinful pleasure. The gospel commends a better way: the expulsive power of a new affection. By setting our hearts on Christ, we can be captivated by a sweeter, more satisfying song. As Matthew Henry wrote, “The joy of the Lord will arm us against the assaults of our spiritual enemies and put our mouths out of taste for those pleasures with which the tempter baits his hooks.”[21]

And the Sirens show up in other stories. Another story is the story of Jason, leader of the Argonauts. Like Ulysses, he too faced the alluring beauty and enticing music of the Sirens. But his strategy didn’t involve wax or ropes. Instead, Jason brought a man named Orpheus, a musician so talented that he could tame any beast. The more alluring music of Orpheus broke the spell of the Sirens, so that Jason and the Argonauts were unmoved by their enchantments.

This is why I tell the story. Some people try to fight sin by metaphorically filling their ears with wax or strapping themselves to the mast with the ropes of external rules and regulations. But their hearts are still captivated by the Siren song of sinful pleasure.

I once asked a group of teenage boys what it takes to repent of sin. Innocently one of the boys responded, ‘Stop doing it!’

But, that’s not the Gospel way. Rigid adherence to rules and regulations isn’t the Gospel way. The gospel commends a better way. The Gospel provides freedom through the power of a new affection. And that affection is Christ. By setting our hearts on Christ, we can be captivated by a sweeter, more satisfying song.

Transition to NS with a statement about how Christ is our Orpheus who gives us a far more alluring song than the song of the sirens.

The Apostle Paul tells us pretty succinctly how to be captivated by the power of Christ’s affections. He says,

And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. (, ESV)

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NEXT STEPS: (Say a bit…)

☐ MAKE Peace with one another.

☐ COMMIT to Jesus for the First Time

Don’t allow yourself to be consumed with the pride and arrogance that you deserve something and so you won’t settle for anything less or you won’t forgive.

Peace wants to rule your heart if you are a Christian. Let it. Make peace at any cost with one another.

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Sin is a complicated topic to tackle from the Old Testament. When we look at the Old Testament and ancient cultures it’s easy to see sin as mere rules; rules you keep to appease your god.

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FOCUS On God’s Word

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And we know Christ, through the word of Christ.

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Sin is a complicated topic to tackle from the Old Testament. When we look at the Old Testament and ancient cultures it’s easy to see sin as mere rules; rules you keep to appease your god.

@ SonrisePalmdale.com

Get to know these songs as a means to let the word dwell in you.

STYLE: …with thankfulness in your heart to God.

[BLANK]

In the morning of the earth, tribal nations worked tirelessly to appease the gods. The earth groaned under the duress of sin’s consequences—the earth refused to bring forth grain, and the skies refused to bring forth rain, by the sweat of his brow man labored, not to thrive, merely to survive.

...

The gods must be angry.

Ancient people worked tirelessly to keep the rules to appease their gods.

› [PAUSE]

The Bible must have a more sophisticated view of sin.

Christianity has to be more sophisticated than the tribal religions of old. Certainly, sin is not merely the breaking of arbitrary rules set by God. And righteousness isn’t simply the keeping of arbitrary rules to appease God.

And that’s precisely where I struggle with rules of all kinds; when they are arbitrary.

Rules are only beneficial when they add value to life.

Rules are only good when they keep people from suffering.

Rules are only righteous when they deter people from evil.

Rules cannot be arbitrary. Indeed the Bible gives us rules that are more than arbitrary. The rules in the Bible are purposeful.

When God forbids an action and calls it sin, I must believe that…

…it robs life from myself and others.

If it is a sin, it adds to my suffering and the suffering of others.

If it is a sin, it causes my heart to yearn for evil things.

So, we return to a passage that has somewhat been a theme passage for our series Killing Stuff. It’s .

The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. So the Lord said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them.” (, ESV)

When sin was rampant on the earth, bleeding life from the people God had created, characterized by endless suffering, and evil waged war against the heart of the creation; God stepped into the battle. He blotted out humanity from the face of the land.

Why did God kill all humanity?

Because God is in the business of killing sin.

God hates sin. Not out of pride or arrogance.

God doesn’t make arbitrary rules like we do as father’s sometimes, like where you have to leave the clicker when you’re done watching TV—that’s one of my arbitrary rules.

God’s rules don’t have something to do with His personal comforts. God’s rules have everything to do with life, providence, and righteousness.

God’s rules give life.

God’s rules relieve suffering.

God’s rules breed righteousness.

› [PAUSE]

Obedience to God’s rules is good for us and we should want to follow them. But it’s hard to get away from sin. It’s not as if you can agree and say, ‘Yes, God’s rules seem good to me; I think I will live by them.’

There is a battle waging between human flesh and God’s righteousness.

The iniquities [sins] of the wicked ensnare him,

and he is held fast in the cords of his sin.

(, ESV)

Sin is a curious thing, lurking in the shadows, waiting until you look the other way and it springs on you like a trap. Sin seeks to bind you as with a cord, that you would ever be tied to your sin.

Though you pray for deliverance, sin infects your mind. Though you desire righteousness, lust, anger, and envy consume your hearts desires. And although you may find you have deliverance for a time, the moment you let your guard down, the enemy lies in wait to drag you again into his trap, to drag you again into the filth of your sin.

God is in the business of killing sin. And lest our sin bind us, we must be ever present in the battle to kill our sin.

So, today, I’d like to look at three characteristics of sin from the Old Testament that will help us to identify our sin and provide along the way some tools for killing sin. Let us not be a conflicted people who profess the righteousness of Christ and yet remain in the bonds of the enemy.

The first characteristic is that…

Sin never delivers what it promises.

By offering polluted food upon my altar. But you say, ‘How have we polluted you?’ By saying that the Lord’s table may be despised. When you offer blind animals in sacrifice, is that not evil? And when you offer those that are lame or sick, is that not evil? Present that to your governor; will he accept you or show you favor? says the Lord of hosts. And now entreat the favor of God, that he may be gracious to us. With such a gift from your hand, will he show favor to any of you? says the Lord of hosts. Oh that there were one among you who would shut the doors, that you might not kindle fire on my altar in vain! I have no pleasure in you, says the Lord of hosts, and I will not accept an offering from your hand. For from the rising of the sun to its setting my name will be great among the nations, and in every place incense will be offered to my name, and a pure offering. For my name will be great among the nations, says the Lord of hosts. But you profane it when you say that the Lord’s table is polluted, and its fruit, that is, its food may be despised. But you say, ‘What a weariness this is,’ and you snort at it, says the Lord of hosts. You bring what has been taken by violence or is lame or sick, and this you bring as your offering! Shall I accept that from your hand? says the Lord. (, ESV)

The Israelites were coming to the altar to offer a gift, a sacrifice to God. God had commanded that their sacrifices be the best of their flock, a pure, unblemished animal. And they were bringing Him lame and sick animals.

Doesn’t God deserve our best?

God asked the Israelites for the first fruits of their harvest. He wanted the cream that rises to the top. God commanded the Israelites for a day of their time to focus on Him. He wanted their trust. And God determined that their sacrifices be from the best of their flock.

And you understand their struggle if you’ve been a Christian very long, what the temptation is. You know the deceit of sin. You know that voice that tells you not to reject God altogether; not to refuse to give wealth to God; not to refuse to serve God with your time. But you understand the voice that says, you don’t necessarily have to give your best.

We’re tempted to give, not when we get paid, but if there is anything left over at the end of the month. That’s the deceit of sin.

We’re tempted to serve God only if there’s a day in our schedule that isn’t already full, but we often don’t prioritize service to God when we plan our time. That’s the deceit of sin.

We often read the Bible and pray when it’s convenient, but we wouldn’t get up early or stay up late or watch less TV to spend time with God. That’s the deceit of sin.

And Israel was deceived. Malachi said that they were offering lame and sick animals to God. They were saying to themselves, “We can’t eat this lamb anyway. It’ll never grow into a healthy herd animal, so who cares, at least we are offering something.” They didn’t refuse God’s gift, but they were deceived into giving a half-hearted gift.

And it gets worse because it always gets worse. The Israelites were deceived so much that they resorted to theft and violent means to procure their sacrifice. They didn’t want to give God something they rightfully worked so hard for, so they robbed and stole to get their sacrifices.

And I hope you see the issue. The issue isn’t that God has rigid rules about what he could accept. That’s not the point at all. The point is the heart of the person who gives. The issue is the half-heartedness of the Israelites. The issue is that they were deceived by the temptations of sin.

Sin entices us. And we give in just a little, and just a little more, and just a little more. Until we are completely consumed by our sin.

The sacrifices of the Israelites were polluted by the heart of the one making the offering. The pollution didn’t come from the animal it came from the depraved mind and the deceived heart of the giver.

And there’s a warning in here. Notice again verse 9.

And now entreat the favor of God, that he may be gracious to us. With such a gift from your hand, will he show favor to any of you? says the Lord of hosts. (, ESV)

Malachi is concerned about the favor returned to the Israelite based on their lame gift. Sin deceived them into thinking that they can still receive God’s favor if they gave a half-hearted effort. And that may be offensive to you to believe they were giving gifts to God to procure favor from God, but that’s the way the Old Covenant worked.

The Israelite offered gifts not only to acknowledge the kindness received from God but also to secure favor in the future.

And to provide unworthy gifts is to invite trouble. And I don’t think it’s any different for us. When our convictions shift just a little here and there, when sin deceives us and we are enticed by sin's pleasures, we invite trouble into our lives.

To illustrate, let’s look at one particular virtue, honesty.

A Gallup survey taken over the past decade demonstrated that people rarely expect others to be completely honest with them. By and large, people only expect accountants to be mostly honest. Mechanics and advertisers are only supposed to be somewhat honest. Members of Congress are meant to be somewhat dishonest.

Honesty is not a core value of our society. So, it’s very easy to get by being only somewhat honest in our world. Even as a Christian, it’s very easy be more honest than most people and yet remain somewhat dishonest.

And for a Christian, I think that’s wholly unacceptable.

But, it’s how sin works. Sin deceives you into thinking you can be a good and honest Christian and still be somewhat dishonest—withhold a little truth here, stretch the truth here, exaggerate the truth over here. And that’s ridiculous. But, that’s the deceit of sin.

That’s one example. Here are some other deceits.

Sin’s deceit says, ‘You can look, you just can’t touch.’ But Jesus says…

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. (, ESV)

You can’t intentionally look at another person with lustful intent. Any argument is the product of sins deceit.

Sin’s deceit says, ‘You don’t have to forgive someone if they did something really, really bad.’ But…

If you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. (, ESV)

You can’t refuse forgiveness. You can be careful and wise in reconciliation. But, you can’t deny forgiveness as a Christian. Any argument against that is sin’s deceit.

Sin’s deceit says, ‘I worked for my paycheck, why should I give it to others?’ But the Psalmist says,

The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein. (, ESV)

The earth is God’s and everything in the land belongs to God, including you and including your paycheck. We give we give God’s things to carry out God’s purposes. And when we refuse to give, either as a blessing to others or we refuse to support the work of our local church, we fall prey to sins deceit. God is a generous God, and God’s people are generous people. To say otherwise is sins deceit.

It’s our job as the people of God to be always in the battle to kill sin, always watchful for sin’s deceits, and always humble enough to admit when we have fallen prey to the deceit of sin.

But sin is not just an issue between you and God. Sin is a matter between you and your fellow people. Sin is deceitful, but…

Sin is dehumanizing. Sin dismantles human relationships and corrupts the human soul.

We see this play out in the creation of humanity in the first place, where humankind was created in the image of God, .

Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” (, ESV)

To be human is to reflect the character, the wonder, and the righteousness of Christ. And sin is like a veil draped over the image to make humanity appear less than godlike.

The less we bear the image of God due to the presence of sin, the less human we are. We call some crimes savage, beastly, and brutal because they are so debased, so inhuman and inhumane, that we have to reach down for words to describe them because sin dehumanizes us.

Sin, wherever it is present, always tends towards the deforming of the divine image within us, the dismantling of our relationships, and the distortion of our souls.

I can’t think of any story better to illustrate this than the story of Amnon and Tamar from . It goes like this.

King David had a son named Amnon by one wife and a daughter by another wife named Tamar. They were half siblings. And Amnon wanted to marry Tamar. Everyone knows it’s inappropriate to marry your half-sister, but Amnon couldn’t get her out of his mind.

One day Amnon was upset over this, and his friend Jonadab asked him about it.

Have you ever got, just, awful advice from a friend?

Jonadab gave Amnon some really awful advice.

It went something like this. Jonadab figured that if Amnon could get Tamar to go to bed with him, then King David might allow them to marry in order not to bring shame upon his household.

So, they put together this ruse, where Amnon pretended to get sick and sent to the King requesting Tamar come and make him some food to make him feel better. That’s pretty typical, really. They were family after all and probably grew up together, playing together and were friends and all that.

But, when Tamar came to the house, Amnon wouldn’t eat. Instead, he sent all the servants out of the room and begged her to lie with him in his bed. And that’s a euphemism of course, so Tamar asked him,

No, my brother, do not violate me, for such a thing is not done in Israel; do not do this outrageous thing. As for me, where could I carry my shame? (, ESV)

But, he wouldn’t listen to her and got angry and forced himself on her. He forced her to marry him. But, then he did this even more horrible thing to Tamar. She realized that after such an event the best thing to do was stay and be Amnon’s wife.

In that culture she was seen as defiled and would never marry and never have children, so she wanted to stay with him. That was her only hope.

But he didn’t want a wife who didn’t love him, so he sent her away.

And she began to mourn as if someone had died because, in a way, she died that day. She knew she would never marry and never have children because that’s how that society worked. So, Samuel concluded the story this way, he wrote,

So Tamar lived, a desolate woman. (, ESV)

Amnon was deceived by his lust, and when sin is acted upon, sin dehumanizes people. Amnon dehumanized himself, no longer a man, but a monster. But, notice what he did to Tamar. He ripped the image of God from her. She became an outcast of society. She never married, never got to raise children—and that was everything to women in her day.

She didn’t get to reflect the creativity of God by having children.

She didn’t get to reflect the love of God by unconditionally loving her husband.

Amnon even denied her the opportunity to reflect the mercy of God by taking a sinful husband when he sent her away.

Sin always makes us less than God intended us to be. And sin makes others less than God intends them to be. Sin deceives and dehumanizes, and it’s just a short stone's throw to see that...

Sin results in damnation in life and damnation in eternity.

There was a man named Asaph who was a temple musician. He was sort of like what we call a worship leader. Asaph led the procession of singers and musicians when the Ark of the Covenant was brought into Jerusalem. King David appointed Asaph as the chief musician for the tabernacle. He was a man who knew and loved God. And he wrote a Psalm about those who oppose God.

In , Asaph confessed that he almost fell to sins deceits. He said,

For I was envious of the arrogant

when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

(, ESV)

Asaph lamented that the unrighteous went through life with luxuries and no pains. He said they were fat and sleek—which means they are prosperous. He said they were prideful, violent, foolish, malicious scoffers. They oppressed others, and they even spoke out against God. And yet, he said he almost became like them, because they prospered.

But, Asaph was thankful that he kept his heart pure, that he didn’t fall to sin’s deceits. He was grateful because he eventually saw what happened to those wicked people.

Truly you set them in slippery places;

you make them fall to ruin.

How they are destroyed in a moment,

swept away utterly by terrors!

(, ESV)

God allowed the wicked to indulge in their sin and to slip into complete ruin. Sin is always a slippery slope leading to total destruction. But, it’s not just a ruined life. Asaph continues in the Psalm,

My flesh and my heart may fail,

but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

For behold, those who are far from you shall perish;

you put an end to everyone who is unfaithful to you.

(, ESV)

Asaph knew that he awaited blessing forever with the Lord because he kept himself right with God and he kept himself free from sin. But, he knew that those who continued to indulge in sin would slide into ruin until the day when they would perish, when they would be eternally, forever separated from God.

God will put an end to those who are unfaithful to Him forever.

Sin is damning. Sin is eternally damning. Because sin separates us from the God who gives us life.

For me, the worst part about this isn’t believing how damaging sin is. I think most people—even Christians—don’t realize the severity of sin. Paul wrote:

What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? (, ESV)

In other words, ‘If God forgives sin, then why should we stop sinning?!’

I think it’s pretty clear that the people in Paul’s day didn’t see sin as a real big deal.

And I just don’t believe that it’s much different today. But, like I said, the hardest part for me is not understanding how deceitful, dehumanizing, and damning sin is. It’s not even a struggle for me to identify the utter depravity of my own flesh. The hard part for me is, what to do about it.

How do we battle sin? How do we kill sin and live for Christ in every area of life?

And I’ll answer that question with a story as we move towards our next steps.

In Greek mythology, there’s a story about a man named Ulysses. He was on a dangerous journey home following the Trojan War. One of the dangers Ulysses and his crew faced were the alluring Sirens. The Sirens were beautiful women, who lured sailors with their beguiling beauty, enticing voices, and enchanting songs. They would lure the sailors close to the shore so their ships would crash on the rocks.

Desiring to hear them sing, yet leery of their seductive power, Ulysses filled the ears of his fellow sailors with wax and had himself lashed to the mast of the ship so that he could hear the Sirens’ voices without succumbing to their mesmerizing music. Had it not been for the ropes, Ulysses would have perished.

And the Sirens showed up in other stories. Another story is the story of Jason, leader of the Argonauts. Like Ulysses, he too faced the alluring beauty and enticing music of the Sirens. But his strategy didn’t involve wax or ropes. Instead, Jason brought a man named Orpheus, a musician so talented that he could tame any beast. The more alluring music of Orpheus broke the spell of the Sirens so that Jason and the Argonauts were unmoved by their enchantments.

This is why I tell the story. Some people try to fight sin by metaphorically filling their ears with wax or strapping themselves to the mast with the ropes of external rules and regulations. But their hearts are still captivated by the Siren song of sinful pleasure.

I once asked a group of teenage boys what it takes to repent of sin. Innocently one of the boys responded, ‘Stop doing it!’

But, that’s not the Gospel way. Rigid adherence to rules and regulations isn’t the Gospel way. The gospel provides a better way. The Gospel offers freedom through the power of a new affection. And that affection is Christ. By setting our hearts on Christ, we can be captivated by a sweeter, more satisfying song.

The Apostle Paul tells us pretty succinctly how to be captivated by the power of Christ’s affections. He says,

And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. (, ESV)

NEXT STEPS: (Say a bit…) – three steps you can take to kill sin in your life.

☐ MAKE Peace with one another.

Don’t allow yourself to be consumed with the pride and arrogance that you deserve something and so you won’t settle for anything less, or you won’t forgive.

Peace wants to rule your heart if you are a Christian. Let it. Make peace at any cost with one another.

☐ SIGN UP For Sonrise Daily Devotional

At sonrisepalmdale.com or on NS card.

If we want to have the peace of Christ, we need to know Christ.

And we know Christ, through the word of Christ.

DD is one way. Commitment to Life Groups (box) and Sunday mornings are even more important.

☐ LISTEN To Sonrise Radio (Psalms Hymns…)

@ SonrisePalmdale.com

Get to know these songs as a means to let the word dwell in you.

STYLE: …with thankfulness in your heart to God.

[BLANK]

...

Killing Sin

Sin is Deceitful

Sin is Dehumanizing

Sin is Dehumanizing

Sin is Damning

Conclusion

Sin is Deceitful

Sin is Dehumanizing

Sin is Damning

Conclusion