The Weight of Sin
Notes
Transcript
Good morning church! So good to be here with you this morning. I hope you brought your Bible. If so, go on and open up to the same passage we looked at last week: Matthew 5, starting in verse 21.
Last week, we focused on the two commandments that Jesus reinterprets for his disciples: do not murder and do not commit adultery. We saw Jesus making it clear that sin is not first an action that we take. It is a desire of the heart. We have to take this understanding into the message today. So let me recap it by reading you a quote I read this week…
“It is not the lustful looking that causes the sin in the heart, but the sin in the heart causes the lustful looking. The lustful looking is but the expression of a heart that is already immoral and adulterous.
Sin exists in our heart and affects our desires. As I said last week, our prayers must begin to shift as believers. Our first prayer shouldn’t be keep me from temptation. It should be change the desires of my heart so that they are after you!
This week, we are gonna look at the other verses that come right after these two reinterpretations by Jesus. They give us more insight into sin and its effects and seriousness.
Let me read the whole passage again, pray, and then I will come back and we will break this guy down, alright?
“You have heard that it was said to our ancestors, Do not murder, and whoever murders will be subject to judgment.
But I tell you, everyone who is angry with his brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Whoever insults his brother or sister, will be subject to the court. Whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be subject to hellfire.
So if you are offering your gift on the altar, and there you remember that your brother or sister has something against you,
leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled with your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift.
Reach a settlement quickly with your adversary while you’re on the way with him to the court, or your adversary will hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the officer, and you will be thrown into prison.
Truly I tell you, you will never get out of there until you have paid the last penny.
“You have heard that it was said, Do not commit adultery.
But I tell you, everyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of the parts of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.
And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of the parts of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.
Pray
I have a men’s group that meets every Thursday at 11:30 at Casa Blanca in Madison. I love hanging out with them and talking Jesus and life! It’s open to any guys who want to join us, even if it’s just for one week. Come eat with us!
I love Mexican food. Kelly and I both do. And there is one thing that you often hear at the Mexican Restaurant when they sit your food down on the table. What is it? HOT PLATE! I’m disappointed if my plate’s not hot in all honesty!
There are two types of people who hear that, those that trust and those that don’t. I’m a truster. If they say it is hot, I believe them. But I have seen many people not trust and wind up underestimating the intensity of that heat. Underestimating can lead to a burned finger or if they are bold enough to try to pick it up, it can lead to a spilled plate.
Today, Jesus is warning his disciples about something they most often underestimate, and so do we: SIN! And the underestimation is a lot more dangerous than a burned finger!
Let’s walk through this...
First thing Jesus drives home is...
1. Sin affects our worship V. 23-24
1. Sin affects our worship V. 23-24
This probably isn’t that shocking to you, but hang with me, because Jesus says some things that will catch you offguard if you haven’t study this passage deeply.
So if you are offering your gift on the altar, and there you remember that your brother or sister has something against you,
leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled with your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift.
Alright, so two things really stuck out to me as I was studying. Jesus is addressing here two major misconceptions.
Misconception number 1
a. Sin is just a big-ish deal
a. Sin is just a big-ish deal
Most of us here Jesus say that sin affects our worship and think DUH! RIght? But within his cultural context, Jesus shows his disciples the intensity of the effect sin has on worship!
At it begins with geography...We naturally think of a Christian church here. We think of this altar and we think of a Sunday morning worship service. We think, I need to be forgiven before I sing in worship or give an offering at church. But remember that Jesus is speaking to JEWS. 1st century Jews at that. Knowing this, it ups the ante a whole lot!
Let me ask you… Where were sacrifices made? The Temple.
And where was the Temple? IN Jerusalem.
OK, I was reading one scholar this week that said where Jesus is believed to have delivered this sermon from was 80 miles north of Jerusalem. So, those who were going to make sacrifice would probably take 4 days to travel that far.
Think about that! Jesus says, after you have traveled 80 miles on foot over 4 days, you make it to the temple. And then you remember some sin you committed back home, it is better for you to stop right there and travel back 160 miles round trip over 8 days to reconcile that sin with your neighbor.
Church, we have greatly underestimated our sin!
We downplay greatly the effect sin has on our worship. If it was worth going 8 days out of your way in the first century, it is worth us taking very serious what Jesus is saying here.
But that’s sadly not what we do. We know of sin in our life and we act like it’s not a big deal. We know that everyone does it, so we act like it’s not a big deal!
And before we think that we do take it seriously, let’s remember the context here. Jesus is speaking not necessarily of outward, evident sin but inward desires and feelings that are sin. These are the things that we can downplay. However, it’s in those moments when we begin to think that our sinful desires are not a big deal that we need to be reminded of Isaiah’s prophetic words about Jesus… “He was pierced because of our rebellion, crushed because of our iniquities.
Will anybody ever know of the desires in your heart? Maybe not. Do they affect the lives of other people? Not necessarily. So, are they a big deal? YES! My sinful desires were bad enough that the son of God had to lay down his life for me! You get that right?
This is what Jesus is trying to get across! Sin is a hot plate! Don’t underestimate it!
The second thing I noticed for the first time studying this is...
b. We only need forgiveness from God.
b. We only need forgiveness from God.
This is a tough one here folks!
Jesus says that acts against a brother from anger that include murder, insults, and name calling actually but your soul in danger! That’s what Jesus says in verses 21-22!
“You have heard that it was said to our ancestors, Do not murder, and whoever murders will be subject to judgment.
But I tell you, everyone who is angry with his brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Whoever insults his brother or sister, will be subject to the court. Whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be subject to hellfire.
And it’s not ok to just ask God for forgiveness and not deal with each other. That’s the point! The person in the story is making a sacrifice for their sins, but Jesus says that they should first go and pursue reconciliation with their neighbor before making this sacrifice to God.
We don’t typically go to those lengths!
I have seen myself at different times fit into three different molds of worshipers. Every person who steps into a church building on a Sunday fits into one of these three every week!
a. Those who show up.
These folks haven’t thought much about their own sin. They are strolling into church without much thought towards anything spiritual.
b. Those who show up right with God.
This is how I have often thought in my life. “Worship is about me and God. So long as I am good with Him, that’s all that matters.” Yeah, I can’t stand that person over there and I told him off last week. But, “God, forgive me of those sins.” Good to Go! Let’s get our worship on!
RIght? That’s not right! Jesus says that your relationships with others greatly affect your worship! (remember? 8 day walk?)
c. Those who show up right with God and man.
These are those who are truly worshiping God! They have sought forgiveness from God but also reconciliation from others in their life.
Notice here that Jesus doesn’t say that you are guilty of anything. Only that a brother has something against you! This means that even if a brother THINKS you have done something wrong but you are innocent, Jesus says to his disciples to leave their worship at the altar and make it right!
This is a much bigger problem in the church than any of us are willing to admit!
Often, we can feel distracted or disconnected from worship and blame it on everything but our own heart and our lack of reconciliation with others! I found this quote in a commentary on these verses this week...
“True worship is not enhanced by better music, better prayers, better architecture, or even better preaching. True worship is enhanced by better relationships between those who come to worship.”
Isn’t that different from what we typically think about worship?
If you are coming in with difficulties and grudges and relationship issues with other people here, don’t expect to truly worship God today! Jesus says that your sin affects your worship! And not just because it is a sin against God, but because it is a sin against others.
We try to remedy this worship problem in all the wrong ways without dealing with our sin as Jesus prescribes here. But reconciliation is hard. That’s why John Piper said
“Reconciliation is harder than donation.”
It is very hard to live peaceably with everyone, but it’s what God has called the church to do. When we don’t we are not following God but the Evil One.
But this isn’t the only thing that Jesus says about sin of the heart. He also says that…
2. Sin intensifies when unchecked (25-26)
2. Sin intensifies when unchecked (25-26)
Jesus goes on in his sermon with another hypothetical story with a BIG POINT. But it’s important to keep it in light of the previous one.
He’s just talked about dealing with issues between you and others, and he says this...
Reach a settlement quickly with your adversary while you’re on the way with him to the court, or your adversary will hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the officer, and you will be thrown into prison.
Truly I tell you, you will never get out of there until you have paid the last penny.
Jesus compares sin of the heart to a financial issue you have with someone that leads to a lawsuit and eventually an incarceration. Jesus’ advice here, “DEAL WITH IT” before it gets out of hand, right? Take care of that, before you find yourself in a mess!
Have you seen this in your life? I can’t tell you how many times I have in my own! There’s a sinful desire in my heart that I allow to go unchecked, because it’s not hurting anyone, right? But then it takes up residence and finds its way out! It can then bring about physical consequences.
This is the nature of sin that we have all seen in our lives, yet seem to ignore when we are facing it.
An impure desire leads to a lingering thought which becomes a developed plan, and given enough time, an opportunity will arise to act on that plan in an outward, physical sin that may or may not have major earthly consequences.
Remember here, Jesus is speaking directly about anger and lust in light of other people. And so, he is pleading with his disciples to MAKE THINGS RIGHT WITH ONE ANOTHER QUICKLY!
Spiritual maturity is not proven by how little we sin. Spiritual maturity is proven by how quickly we repent and seek reconciliation. Show me someone who harbors ill will against people with regularity, I’ll show you someone with a lot of maturing to do! Right?
Our sin naturally intensifies when it goes unchecked in our lives.
Third thing...
3. Sin blinds us to eternity (29-30)
3. Sin blinds us to eternity (29-30)
This is where Jesus has been carrying the conversation from the beginning. Let me read it again...
If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of the parts of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.
And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of the parts of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.
Jesus seems to be saying that someone facing temptation should self-mutilate to end it. If your eye causes you to sin, cut it out! Hand? off with it! Jesus in another place in Matthew mentions a foot too! So, is that what Jesus is saying?
No. It’s not. Put your knife up and calm down.
This is where it can, first, be helpful to know some cultural context. The “right” parts of the body were seen as the most important and dominant.
That’s why the Old Testament talks about God’s “right hand.”
You have a mighty arm; your hand is powerful; your right hand is lifted high.
The Psalmist doesn’t think that God is right handed. In the Hebrew culture, the right hand was the symbol of strength and functionality.
So, when Jesus references the right hand and the right eye, he is referencing the best and most important parts of our body. And he challenges his disciples to recognize that sin is more dangerous to them than losing such important parts of their body because sin has affected ETERNITY!
When a human does nothing for their entire life but give into every desire of even the best parts of themselves, what stands awaiting them? HELL! That’s what Jesus says here. HELL!
So Jesus seems to be saying that there is no part of our flesh even the best parts that are worth that ending to life! Yet, our natural drive to give into our deepest sinful desires blinds us to the very eternity that awaits us! That feeling we get when we consistently give into sin keeps us thinking in the short term. We are always looking for that next “fix” to our sinful desire. It may be drugs or alcohol for some. For others sex. But for some anger, bitterness. Gossip and any number of things!
We are BLINDED TO ETERNITY! And that’s a dangerous thing. Those that do not accept Christ and allow him to begin changing their desires, they are not doing that because they are mastered by their sin. And it has blinded them to the fact that this temporal earth is not all there is.
Sin affects our worship. It intensifies when unchecked. And it blinds us to eternity. Sin is a big deal, and Jesus says it all begins in our heart.
Church, I may not have shared anything with you that you didn’t know today. But I pray that the reminder that sin is a big deal is enough to shake us up! May we be reminded that even the secret sins of our hearts were enough to put Christ on the cross! RIGHT?
So, maybe some of you have issues with other people in our church. Or you know someone has an issue with you. Jesus says to make those things right! Please don’t come back in next Sunday until we have reconciled these things! Let’s move together towards unity in our church because it is affecting our worship.
Maybe some of you have sin in your heart that you haven’t dealt with! It may not seem like a big deal now, but sin intensifies and multiplies when it goes unchecked. you need to pray a prayer of repentance today and ask God to forgive you and change your desires!
And some of you may have recognized today that you are still enslaved to your sin. You recognize that your sin has blinded you and you stand unable to rid yourself of those things. Today, I have good news! Christ died so that you could be set free from the bondage of sin! You can turn from your sin with God’s Help today, calling out to him to save you and he will! And your eternity will finally and fully secure in Christ! Hell is off the table for you. A life and eternity worshiping in the presence of God is the gift that tis given.
RESPONSE TIME
“You have heard that it was said to our ancestors, Do not murder, and whoever murders will be subject to judgment.
But I tell you, everyone who is angry with his brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Whoever insults his brother or sister, will be subject to the court. Whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be subject to hellfire.
So if you are offering your gift on the altar, and there you remember that your brother or sister has something against you,
leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled with your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift.
Reach a settlement quickly with your adversary while you’re on the way with him to the court, or your adversary will hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the officer, and you will be thrown into prison.
Truly I tell you, you will never get out of there until you have paid the last penny.
“You have heard that it was said, Do not commit adultery.
But I tell you, everyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of the parts of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.
And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of the parts of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.