Untitled Sermon (47)
Sermon • Submitted • Presented
0 ratings
· 3 viewsNotes
Transcript
Gods hatred for sin
Gods hatred for sin
Here are a few quick opening jokes tailored to transition well into a message about sin, human nature, or high-stakes preaching:
Self-Deprecating / Preacher Jokes
"I asked my wife this morning if she thought my sermon was going to be any good. She looked at me and said, 'Well, dear, it wouldn't be the first time you surprised us.'"
"A preacher was standing at the back door shaking hands after service, and a lady walked up and said, 'Pastor, your sermon today was like the mercy of God—it endured forever!'"
"I promise to keep my sermon short today. I read a study that said the brain can only absorb what the seat can endure, and I know how hard those pews are."
Jokes About Sin & Temptation
"A man went to his doctor and said, 'Doc, I’ve got a terrible problem. Every time I eat, I get a sudden urge to steal things.' The doctor thought about it for a second and said, 'Well, take these pills three times a day. If that doesn't work... grab me a new watch.'"
"A guy was trying really hard to stay on a strict diet, but his drive home took him right past his favorite bakery. He prayed, 'Lord, if you want me to buy a dozen donuts, let there be an open parking spot right in front of the shop.' Sure enough, on his seventh time around the block, a spot opened up!"
"Three guys were talking about what they wanted people to say at their funerals. The first guy says, 'I want them to say I was a great father and husband.' The second guy says, 'I want them to say I was a honest businessman who gave back.' The third guy says, 'I want them to look down in the casket and say, Hey, look, he’s moving!'"
To give you an idea of what happened on July 8th, 1741, in Enfield, Connecticut, picture a church full of churchgoers who had grown comfortable, quiet, and pretty self-satisfied in their faith. The First Great Awakening was sweeping across New England, but this particular congregation hadn’t been moved by it. So, they invited a guest preacher named Jonathan Edwards.
Edwards stepped up to the pulpit, pulled out his handwritten notes, and began to speak. He didn't shout. He didn't pace back and forth, wave his arms, or pound the pulpit. In fact, history records that he spoke in a calm, almost quiet monotone voice. But the words he delivered—his famous sermon, "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God"—shook the room to its foundation.
His core text was Deuteronomy 32:35: "Their foot shall slide in due time." Edwards laid out a stark, sobering reality: nothing keeps any person out of Hell for a single second except the pure, sovereign mercy of God. To make them feel the weight of that truth, he painted pictures they couldn't forget.
He told them they were walking across a slippery slope on a dark path, or standing on a rotten wooden cover over a pit of fire, completely unaware of how thin the wood was. He described God holding a sinner over the fires of judgment the way someone might hold a spider or a crawling bug over an open flame—completely dependent on the thread of His mercy not snapping.
The reaction in that room was immediate and overwhelming. People didn't just listen quietly; they began to weep, groan, and cry out in terror, asking, "What must I do to be saved?" It got so loud that Edwards had to stop several times just to ask for quiet so he could finish speaking. Eyewitnesses wrote that grown men and women literally grabbed hold of the church wooden pillars and the backs of pews, feeling as though the floor were slipping right out from under them and opening up into eternity.
Edwards wasn't painting that terrifying picture just to scare them for the sake of scaring them. He ended by reminding them that the door of Christ's mercy was still wide open, urging them to run to grace while they still had breath. It became the single most famous sermon in American history, not because of a flashy delivery, but because it confronted people with the sheer urgency and weight of eternity.
Vengeance is mine, and recompense,
for the time when their foot shall slip;
for the day of their calamity is at hand,
and their doom comes swiftly.’
WHY IS THE WORLD SO HOSTILE?
The World Before Sin: Paradise Lost Through Disobedience
Creation’s Original Harmony
God’s initial creation reflected perfect order and peace. All creatures—humans and animals alike—were given green plants for food (Gen 1:29–31,
And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
establishing a vegetarian ecosystem where predator and prey coexisted without conflict. God surveyed everything He had made and declared it very good (Gen 1:29–31). Animals were brought to Adam to be named (Gen 2:19–20), suggesting a relationship of dominion without fear or hostility. The creation operated in complete harmony under God’s design.
Now out of the ground the Lord God had formed every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him.
The Curse: Sin’s Catastrophic Consequences
Adam’s disobedience fundamentally altered creation itself. Because Adam ate from the forbidden tree, the ground became cursed, producing thorns and thistles, and he would eat only through painful labor (Gen 3:17–19).
And to Adam he said,
“Because you have listened to the voice of your wife
and have eaten of the tree
of which I commanded you,
‘You shall not eat of it,’
cursed is the ground because of you;
in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life;
thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you;
and you shall eat the plants of the field.
By the sweat of your face
you shall eat bread,
till you return to the ground,
for out of it you were taken;
for you are dust,
and to dust you shall return.”
This curse extended beyond human suffering—it transformed the entire created order. After the flood, God established that animals would fear humanity and become food for human consumption (Gen 9:2–3), marking a dramatic shift from the original peaceful coexistence.
The fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth and upon every bird of the heavens, upon everything that creeps on the ground and all the fish of the sea. Into your hand they are delivered. Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. And as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything.
Creation’s Ongoing Groaning
The apostle Paul reveals that sin’s effects persist throughout creation. Creation was subjected to futility and corruption, and the entire creation has been groaning together in pain (Rom 8:19–22). The hostile natural world—disease, predation, decay, and death—stems directly from humanity’s rebellion against God.
For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.
The Future Restoration
Scripture reveals God’s intention to restore creation’s original peace. In the coming kingdom, the wolf will dwell with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the young goat, and the lion will eat straw like the ox (Isa 11:6–9). God will make a covenant with the beasts of the field and abolish war and violence (Hos 2:18). This restoration demonstrates that God’s hatred of sin includes its corrupting effects on all creation—and His redemptive plan encompasses the entire universe’s renewal.
The wolf shall dwell with the lamb,
and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat,
and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together;
and a little child shall lead them.
The cow and the bear shall graze;
their young shall lie down together;
and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra,
and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder’s den.
They shall not hurt or destroy
in all my holy mountain;
for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord
as the waters cover the sea.
And I will make for them a covenant on that day with the beasts of the field, the birds of the heavens, and the creeping things of the ground. And I will abolish the bow, the sword, and war from the land, and I will make you lie down in safety.
COSMIC TREASON
But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”
Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might,
And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than with two hands to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire. And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame than with two feet to be thrown into hell. And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell, ‘where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.’
So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
most asked question when fallen man wants to judge God and deny that He is worthy of worship why so much suffering
There are six things that the Lord hates,
seven that are an abomination to him:
haughty eyes, a lying tongue,
and hands that shed innocent blood,
a heart that devises wicked plans,
feet that make haste to run to evil,
a false witness who breathes out lies,
and one who sows discord among brothers.
For you are not a God who delights in wickedness;
evil may not dwell with you.
The boastful shall not stand before your eyes;
you hate all evildoers.
You destroy those who speak lies;
the Lord abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man.
The Lord tests the righteous,
but his soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence.
For I the Lord love justice;
I hate robbery and wrong;
I will faithfully give them their recompense,
and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.
You who are of purer eyes than to see evil
and cannot look at wrong,
why do you idly look at traitors
and remain silent when the wicked swallows up
the man more righteous than he?
you have loved righteousness and hated wickedness.
Therefore God, your God, has anointed you
with the oil of gladness beyond your companions;
You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness;
therefore God, your God, has anointed you
with the oil of gladness beyond your companions.”
The thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to the Lord,
but gracious words are pure.
Those of crooked heart are an abomination to the Lord,
but those of blameless ways are his delight.
He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous
are both alike an abomination to the Lord.
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.
The way of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord,
but he loves him who pursues righteousness.
We have all become like one who is unclean,
and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment.
We all fade like a leaf,
and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.
as it is written:
“None is righteous, no, not one;
no one understands;
no one seeks for God.
All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;
no one does good,
not even one.”
“Their throat is an open grave;
they use their tongues to deceive.”
“The venom of asps is under their lips.”
“Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.”
“Their feet are swift to shed blood;
in their paths are ruin and misery,
and the way of peace they have not known.”
“There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
The heart is deceitful above all things,
and desperately wicked;
who can understand it?
For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.
And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the flesh and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.
Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”
Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him.
And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet went to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.
Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your steadfast love;
according to your abundant mercy
blot out my transgressions.
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
and cleanse me from my sin!
For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is ever before me.
Against you, you only, have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight,
so that you may be justified in your words
and blameless in your judgment.
Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,
and in sin did my mother conceive me.
Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being,
and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart.
Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones that you have broken rejoice.
Hide your face from my sins,
and blot out all my iniquities.
Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and renew a right spirit within me.
Cast me not away from your presence,
and take not your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and uphold me with a willing spirit.
Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
and sinners will return to you.
Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God,
O God of my salvation,
and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness.
O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will declare your praise.
For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it;
you will not be pleased with a burnt offering.
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
Do good to Zion in your good pleasure;
build up the walls of Jerusalem;
then will you delight in right sacrifices,
in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings;
then bulls will be offered on your altar.
The Cost of God’s Hatred for Sin: Christ’s Suffering on the Cross
The Physical Agony
God sent His Son to die at a time when Rome occupied Israel and crucifixion was the most inhumane, awful, hideous, and painful method of execution ever devised by man.[1] Crucifixion was ingeniously designed to inflict maximum pain for a maximum length of time—sometimes days—before eventual death.[2] The mechanics of this torture were devastating: Metal spikes five to seven inches long were inserted through the victims’ wrists into the crossbar, then the body was hoisted up on the vertical beam and impaled through the feet.[2] Victims had to push up with their arms and legs to open the chest cavity to breathe, and when their strength failed, they would suffocate.[2]
Beyond asphyxiation, Christ endured compounding torments. Other suffering included the possibility of crows pecking out the eyes of still-living victims, excruciating nerve pain from the impalements, muscle spasms, and shoulder dislocations.[2] There was searing, trauma-induced thirst, and the grind of the writhing victim’s flogged back against the rough timber of the upright beam.[2] The pain began with flogging,[1] and Jesus was likely too weak to carry his cross, which is probably why Simon of Cyrene was forced to carry it for him.[1]
The Spiritual and Emotional Devastation
Yet the physical torment paled before deeper anguish. The pain Jesus suffered was threefold: physical, mental, and spiritual.[1] Jesus’ mental anguish began in Gethsemane as he anticipated the cross, sweating what appeared to be drops of blood.[1] He experienced the humiliation of being stripped of all his clothes—all crucified victims were naked—while his mother and other women were forced to watch.[1]
Most profoundly, the spotlessly innocent One chose to take all the guilt for all the sins of all the people who would ever be saved, and the trauma for the sinless One of taking ownership of such an immeasurable tonnage of sin is unthinkable.[2] Entailed in the Son’s choice to take on His people’s guilt was His absorption of the Father’s righteous, burning fury for that guilt—He was facing holy, divine, exploding rage for all of the sins that His countless millions of people in history would ever repent of.[2] Finally, these agonies meant the existential suffering of Jesus’ isolation—the sudden, violent dislocation of His earthly relationship with His Father. “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” came His jagged scream. The One who had known only joyful intimacy with His beloved Father from eternity past was suddenly, brutally severed from Him, suffering with an aching intensity of aloneness which we will never understand.[2]
This is what God’s hatred for sin demanded—and what Christ willingly paid.
[1] R. T. Kendall, Why Jesus Died: A Meditation on Isaiah 53 (Oxford, England: Monarch Books, 2012).
[2] Will Dobbie, From Everlasting to Everlasting: Every Believer’s Biography (Ross-shire, Scotland: Christian Focus, 2022), 72–73.
