38) Sin Beyond Measure
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Pastoral Reminder: Head Heart Hands
16 All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, 17 so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
Please turn with me to the 7th chapter of Romans and turn to verse 12.
12 So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and just and good. 13 Therefore, did what is good become death to me? Absolutely not! But, sin, in order to be recognized as sin, was producing death in me through what is good, so that through the commandment, sin might become sinful beyond measure. 14 For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold as a slave under sin.
In this chapter Paul is asking rhetorical questions related to the Christian Jews being released from the Mosaic Law. The covenant that God made with them at Mt. Sinai between God and the nation of Israel. This covenant could not be broken and even Jews today still believe they are under it. But Paul here teaches that because they have died with Christ that they have been set free from the obligations and requirements of the Mosaic Law.
Through the death of Christ, they have been set free from the law because they have died and are now free from that which held them captive so that they may live for another and may live a new.
6 But now we have been released from the law, since we have died to what held us, so that we may serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the old letter of the law.
If they needed to be released from the law to serve in the Spirit and to produce fruit for God, then is the Law sin? This was the question we looked at last week. The law revealed what sin was. Showed that man was incapable of not sinning and that is deceived him and killed him.
He concluded that it was through the good and holy law that sin killed him.
11 For sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me, and through it killed me.
God’s Standard
God’s Standard
12 So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and just and good.
The law is not bad it is the opposite. It is holy and pure, just - it aligns with God’s will and character, and it is good.
8 But we know that the law is good, provided one uses it legitimately.
The law and instruction was good and seen as good by the Israelites. David would write much about the instructions of God
7 The instruction of the Lord is perfect, renewing one’s life; the testimony of the Lord is trustworthy, making the inexperienced wise. 8 The precepts of the Lord are right, making the heart glad; the command of the Lord is radiant, making the eyes light up.
105 Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light on my path.
The Jews knew the righteous laws of God. As he has always shared with his people what he desires of them. To Adam it was do not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. To Cain and Abel it was proper worship and offering. Over the history of the scriptures we see God give his commands in different ways to different people. Enoch would walk right out of this world because he walked with God and pleased him.
5 By faith Enoch was taken away, and so he did not experience death. He was not to be found because God took him away. For before he was taken away, he was approved as one who pleased God.
How did he please God, by following God’s instructions.
But to the nation of Jacob, the nation of Isreal God would give the most comprehensive and detailed set of instructions to follow to please him. After they were delivered out of Egypt they would arrive at the mountain where God would give these instructions.
1 In the third month from the very day the Israelites left the land of Egypt, they came to the Sinai Wilderness. 2 They traveled from Rephidim, came to the Sinai Wilderness, and camped in the wilderness. Israel camped there in front of the mountain. 3 Moses went up the mountain to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain: “This is what you must say to the house of Jacob and explain to the Israelites: 4 ‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. 5 Now if you will carefully listen to me and keep my covenant, you will be my own possession out of all the peoples, although the whole earth is mine, 6 and you will be my kingdom of priests and my holy nation.’ These are the words that you are to say to the Israelites.”
This was the beginning of the covenant and instruction given as that the law. God promises that they would be his possession, his kingdom of priests and a Holy nation. THese are great things. The God that just sent the 10 plagues parted the red sea. This God has made these promises.
But there was that little tricky condition, If you will carefully listen to me and keep my covenant. If, the promises depended on their works.
They would respond in acceptance of the instruction.
7 After Moses came back, he summoned the elders of the people and set before them all these words that the Lord had commanded him. 8 Then all the people responded together, “We will do all that the Lord has spoken.” So Moses brought the people’s words back to the Lord.
God would continue to provide the laws as he gave the ten commandments. Laws about altars, slaves, restitution, community, the Sabbath and Festivals,
7 He then took the covenant scroll and read it aloud to the people. They responded, “We will do and obey all that the Lord has commanded.” 8 Moses took the blood, splattered it on the people, and said, “This is the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you concerning all these words.”
For much of the remainder of Exodus and the Book of Leviticus God would continue to give them the ceremonial and judicial laws. Laws how to worship God through the sacrificial system and how to live with one another. He would make this wonderful promise to them if they followed the laws.
3 “If you follow my statutes and faithfully observe my commands, 4 I will give you rain at the right time, and the land will yield its produce, and the trees of the field will bear their fruit. 5 Your threshing will continue until grape harvest, and the grape harvest will continue until sowing time; you will have plenty of food to eat and live securely in your land. 6 I will give peace to the land, and you will lie down with nothing to frighten you. I will remove dangerous animals from the land, and no sword will pass through your land. 7 You will pursue your enemies, and they will fall before you by the sword. 8 Five of you will pursue a hundred, and a hundred of you will pursue ten thousand; your enemies will fall before you by the sword. 9 “I will turn to you, make you fruitful and multiply you, and confirm my covenant with you. 10 You will eat the old grain of the previous year and will clear out the old to make room for the new. 11 I will place my residence among you, and I will not reject you. 12 I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be my people.
The promise was to have God walk with them if they faithfully observed the commands that God had provided. Eight verses of great blessing for simple obedience as laid out by God himself. But …
14 “But if you do not obey me and observe all these commands—15 if you reject my statutes and despise my ordinances, and do not observe all my commands—and break my covenant, 16 then I will do this to you: I will bring terror on you—wasting disease and fever that will cause your eyes to fail and your life to ebb away. You will sow your seed in vain because your enemies will eat it. 17 I will turn against you, so that you will be defeated by your enemies. Those who hate you will rule over you, and you will flee even though no one is pursuing you. 18 “But if after these things you will not obey me, I will proceed to discipline you seven times for your sins. 19 I will break down your strong pride. I will make your sky like iron and your land like bronze, 20 and your strength will be used up for nothing. Your land will not yield its produce, and the trees of the land will not bear their fruit.
There were more dire warnings after this for disobedience that anyone would want to stay away from. God even gave them provision for repentance and turning back to God. But the center of the covenant was based on following the laws God had given them.
We do the same thing as parents? Promising a reward for following your instruction. Do this and I will give you that? Be good, be quiet, be helpful, be kind, and I will reward you. But also promises of cures. If you do not do you will have this taken away or you will receive this punishment.
We think that this will work, that for some reason they will behave if we make the right promises of reward or punishment. But alas we all find the the same thing, that behavior might change for a moment, it does not last. Our children and our own lives prove that we cannot follow the rules all of the time. We are rule breakers and so was Israel. Looking through the Old Testament what do you see. Disobedience, curse, God’s promise fulfilled and Israels promise broken. God proved faithful, Israel proved unfaithful. This is why Israel is many times pictures as and adulterous nation, as an unfaithful covenant breaker.
So if the law provided only curse is it the problem?
Sin Beyond Measure
Sin Beyond Measure
13 Therefore, did what is good become death to me? Absolutely not! …
Was it the law that killed him? Absolutely not. May it never be. Instead.
… But, sin, in order to be recognized as sin, was producing death in me through what is good, so that through the commandment, sin might become sinful beyond measure.
When I was a younger father in my frustration I would set forth great consequences for simple behavior requests only to find that it didn’t matter. And what was worse is that in order to be a man of my word I had to follow through with the punishment.
Much like our kids, for Israel it didn’t matter how big of a reward or how dire a consequence that God put before them, the result is that they would not follow the commands in the covenant.
31 “Look, the days are coming” —this is the Lord’s declaration—“when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. 32 This one will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors on the day I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt—my covenant that they broke even though I am their master”—the Lord’s declaration.
Day after day they would have to take offerings to the priests to give sin offerings to the God. Each one was to remind them of their sin and challenge them to turn from their selfish and sinful ways and to turn back to the lord.
3 But in the sacrifices there is a reminder of sins year after year.
and
1 Since the law has only a shadow of the good things to come, and not the reality itself of those things, it can never perfect the worshipers by the same sacrifices they continually offer year after year.
The sin offering was to be a reminder of their inability to follow the law. A visual reminder to turn away from sin and to walk with God and follow his commands. The law was put forth as the standard of right behavior and proper treatment of others.
It was the standard that God made clear to them. A standard is used to very something meets the expectation. If you have ever had a performance evaluation in the military you find that there are those that meet the standard and others that don’t. How many pushups, situps, how fast can you run your mile.
There were certified weights used to verify that people were selling good fairly. There are standard for quality. One of the hats I wear at work is a welding inspector. We are given a standard code book, that if followed saves lives. Every welder in a short time will get familiar with the expectations. But the inspector still goes out with gages and flash lights to make sure it meets the expectations. but what is always found it that there are areas that need repair. I work on a project once where where I could see from 10 feet away that the welds were bad.
The law was the standard and from miles away they could see that they did not meet the standard that God had provided.
13 Therefore, did what is good become death to me? Absolutely not! But, sin, in order to be recognized as sin, was producing death in me through what is good, so that through the commandment, sin might become sinful beyond measure.
Because the Law is holy good and just, it stands against men calling them out for their inability to meet the law. Because the law was pure it showed that men were filled with sin and impurity, corruption, that is beyond measure. It is so overwhelming that it cannot be measured in relation to the standard. Extraordinarily over abundant. How many cups of water are in the Sea? How many drops of rain are filling? How many grains of sand are on the shore?
The good law that was set forth in the covenant with God and Isreal showed that there was no man that could even attempt to meet the standard. That when their life was measured against the law that there were so many times that they missed the mark that it could not be measured.
20 The law came along to multiply the trespass. But where sin multiplied, grace multiplied even more
But why? Why didn’t a single man or woman just sit down and do it? Wasn’t there one person that wanted the blessings of God so bad that they devoted their life to doing what was right. Was there no person that was so afraid of God’s punishment that they obeyed every rule of God?
19 This is the judgment: The light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil. 20 For everyone who does evil hates the light and avoids it, so that his deeds may not be exposed.
The love for darkness was so great that they didn’t care to follow and it is Sin personified here as the source of his death. It is sin that works out the spiritual death that he experienced.
I remember as a kid I would break the rules of our home. I would disobey or do something wrong and I vividly remember the question that my mother would ask.
Why would you do that? I would look back into her face and I would answer very honestly “I don’t know” what do you mean you don’t know. I don’t know. Didn’t you know it was wrong. Well yes but I didn’t remember until I saw you. I would sit there almost dumfounded that I couldn’t see the obvious outcome the my behavior would lead too? Looking back I could see that if I just did what I was supposed to do, life would be much better.
I had broken the rules of the home, the law of my parents. I have violated their standard. So as I grew I found that even if I knew right and wrong I still choose to do the opposite.
This is the image that Paul is making here. Knowing the law did not keep him from sinful actions and thoughts, instead it proved that in the flesh he is in bondage to sin.
Sold as a Slave to Sin
Sold as a Slave to Sin
14 For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold as a slave under sin.
The law is spiritual. It’s source is the Holy God, The one who was and is and is to come. The perfect spiritual being is seen in the spiritual laws of God as they reflect the character of God himself. There is that which is spiritual and of God and there is that which is of the flesh. In chapters seven, eight, and nine Paul will speak of the flesh 19 times in relation to the work of the spirit. In the flesh man is sold as a slave to sin.
30 As he was saying these things, many believed in him. 31 Then Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you continue in my word, you really are my disciples. 32 You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” 33 “We are descendants of Abraham,” they answered him, “and we have never been enslaved to anyone. How can you say, ‘You will become free’?” 34 Jesus responded, “Truly I tell you, everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin. 35 A slave does not remain in the household forever, but a son does remain forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you really will be free.
The Jews did not believe they were slaves to anyone. Even while under Roman oppression they did not see themselves as slaves. They rejected the word of Jesus as the truth that will set them free. He promised to set them free from the bondage of sin.
False teachers use this to their advantage as they promise freedom but cannot deliver.
19 They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption, since people are enslaved to whatever defeats them.
To be a slave to something is to have no freedom to act of your own accord. And here it is, the sin that has bound the flesh and is bound in the flesh. The flesh and sin are never truly separated. But those that have died to sin, have crucified their desires, putting them to death, and have been joined into union with Jesus as he delivers the one who was a slave to sin under the law to being a slave of God under grace.
3 Or are you unaware that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 Therefore we were buried with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too may walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been united with him in the likeness of his death, we will certainly also be in the likeness of his resurrection. 6 For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be rendered powerless so that we may no longer be enslaved to sin, 7 since a person who has died is freed from sin. 8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him, 9 because we know that Christ, having been raised from the dead, will not die again. Death no longer rules over him.
But those that are saved are called out of this way of living.
3 For we too were once foolish, disobedient, deceived, enslaved by various passions and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, detesting one another.
There is a battle of the mind and the flesh. There are those that have not heard the commands of God and live accordingly but even those that do know that God’s commands are good will find that they are not free to do them. The mind knows the law is spiritual but the flesh is unable to live it out. The law reveals that man cannot be right under the law. In its goodness the law shows the man what is right, and sin is right there showing the man that he cannot achieve it. That his sin is beyond measure.
Conclusions
Conclusions
There has been no time that there have not been command of God given. Today we have the full revelation of what God has provide in his commands and instructions. When we look at our own lives as professed believers we can ask ourselves:
Do we want to know the commands of God? What does he call good? What is right? what is just? What pleases him?
When we do this we will find our sinfulness to be beyond measure that we are constantly doing the opposite that God commands. We come to see that we cannot save ourselves and must have the work of God on our lives. But just knowing the scriptures will not save us from the consequences of the sin in our flesh. Through the life, death, burial, and resurrection we are set free, if we believe and have faith.
We must believe that Christ set us free from the bondage of sin. That we are no longer a slave that will be in the household for a time but a son that will never leave. If we still see ourselves as slaves we will not look to the Spirit that allows us to serve in the newness of life.
Over time the inability to follow the rules causes rebellion, conflict, escape, hardness to the commands. If we trust in our own works and attempt to follow the commands of God on our own we will find that we will rebel against God as we him as the enemy. We will create conflict with people trying to justify our actions. We will escape in an attempt to hide from the conviction and accountability of God’s word and his people. Or we will become hard to the commands and life in this duality of professing what is good, doing what is evil, and content in doing so.
God the father has spoken his will through the commands of scripture, the sin of man has condemned him before these commands, the son of God has died in sinful mans place to fulfill the commands of God. The Spirit of God dwells in the believer to give new desires that are contrary to sin so that a believer may live in a new way and live under the commands of God.
Each person will not live perfectly but will have what he need to live in a good and godly way.
3 His divine power has given us everything required for life and godliness through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4 By these he has given us very great and precious promises, so that through them you may share in the divine nature, escaping the corruption that is in the world because of evil desire.
The us see God’s word as holy and good, let us see our sin and evil and corrupt, let us see Jesus as life giving, and let us live in the newness of the Spirit.
Let us pray.
Let us pray.
Prayer
Blessing/Benediction
16 Indeed, we have all received grace upon grace from his fullness, 17 for the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
