Our Sin Problem
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How many of you saw the video
On Facebook of the sheep in the ditch
This sermon is kinda like that
The biggest lie
I’m a good person
I know I know
Not exactly how you expected me to open up the sermon
But its the truth
I can’t tell you
How many times
I’ve heard it
I’m just trying to make it to heaven
Or God will accept me I haven’t done anything wrong
There are people worse than me
I mean seriously think about it,
Ask yourself a simple question
If there is a standard to get in
What is that standard?
Where is it written down?
Because don’t you think
If there was a standard that it would be plastered everywhere
How evil do you think pastors are
Why would we keep it a secret
If there was a check list of things you had to do to gain entrance
Score!!
But thats the catch isn’t it
The Bible clearly lays out a standard
But most of us don’t want to hear it
Because it requires surrender
It requires sacrifice
It requires a change of heart
But I’m still going to argue
The reason a majority of us don’t understand the Gospel
Is that we don’t understand the Garden
I mean think about it
Adam and Eve had achieved everything you and I want
They were in perfect relationship with God
They walked with God
They talked with God
They lived in perfect harmony with God
Until one day
They sinned
From that point on God separated Himself from us
God’s perfect righteous nature cannot be in the same space as sin
And thats just it
Adam sinned and passed down that sin to everyone of us
Its like a relationship you have here on earth
Everything is perfect
Until someone slips up
Until the trust is violated
Its never the same
And thats the catch isn’t it
Each of us is doomed
We have broken that trust
We have sinned against God
If God cannot be in the presence of sin
If our God is so pure and holy that His very presence would kill us on the spot
Then how is it possible for us to be with Him?
You say well I can get to heaven by doing good things?
OK
Whats the standard
How many good things?
What type of good things?
What makes yours better than others?
Seriously think about it
In order for us to be with God, we have to be as pure as Adam and Eve prior to the fall
That would mean we have to be sin less
Thats the standard
Thats the requirement
Thats the issues because how many sins does it take to make a sinner?
For the person who keeps all of the laws except one is as guilty as a person who has broken all of God’s laws.
It didn’t take Adam to sin multiple times to initiate separation
One sin
When you comprehend the seriousness of sin
It’s always been sin
It was sin that separated Adam and Eve from God
It’s sin that was passed down to every person ever born
It’s the very reason we are all doomed to go to hell
It’s the very reason we look to the cross
It’s the very reason we need a savior
For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.
The question is then How do we get back to the Garden?
How do we get right with God
Because lets face it
That right IS THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION
HOW DO WE GET RIGHT WITH GOD?
Once you start asking that question
You begin to recognize the need for the cross
You begin to fall in love with Jesus
So the trouble is not with the law, for it is spiritual and good. The trouble is with me, for I am all too human, a slave to sin. I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate. But if I know that what I am doing is wrong, this shows that I agree that the law is good. So I am not the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it.
And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can’t. I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. But if I do what I don’t want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it.
I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God’s law with all my heart. But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin.
So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.
Lets pray
By show of hands
How many of us have problems with sinning
How many of us have issues with temptation
Should be everyones hand going up right now
Thats the beauty of this chapter
While it is a terrible things that we are slaves to sin
The reality is that it levels the playing field
Every single on of us struggles
Every single of us needs a savior
No one is better than the other
And thats the whole point of Pauls argument in the opening verses
Look again at
I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate. But if I know that what I am doing is wrong, this shows that I agree that the law is good.
How many times have you set out to do the right thing?
How many times have you said this is the last time
How many times have you made that goal to quit
How many are hiding that secret sin
That one thing that we know could destroy us if we are found out?
Made that goal to do better
Been absolutely determined to do the right thing
But then low and behold the slightest temptation
The slightest inconvenience
The slightest deviance from the original plan
You give up!
This war within
This constant battle
Its not easy
It never has been and it never will be
Thats what a lot of people don’t get
There is this nature about you
This sin living within you
That has complete control over you
Paul says here it makes us a slave to sin
And here is what I really find fascinating
The author of Romans is Paul
For those that don’t know Paul is a knowledgable man
probably one of the holiest men in the Bible
For goodness sake he wrote 13 books of the bible
But here is saying I can’t stop myself
These are his words!
These are the words of man who knows all the rules
Knows exactly how to play the game
But continues to fail
Day in a day out
Can’t do it.
Its as if there is a wall blocking him from success
And thats the entire point Paul is trying to make here.
He is saying
what I was saying at the beginning
We have literally been born into sin
We are sinners from the very beginning
And the only way to get around this issue
Is through the power of God
Through the power of His word
Look guys we have to be in the Word daily
Look with me at
Oh, the joys of those who do not
follow the advice of the wicked,
or stand around with sinners,
or join in with mockers.
But they delight in the law of the Lord,
meditating on it day and night.
They are like trees planted along the riverbank,
bearing fruit each season.
Their leaves never wither,
and they prosper in all they do.
But not the wicked!
They are like worthless chaff, scattered by the wind.
They will be condemned at the time of judgment.
Sinners will have no place among the godly.
For the Lord watches over the path of the godly,
but the path of the wicked leads to destruction.
Then again in
I have hidden your word in my heart,
that I might not sin against you.
Look its hard to sin when you have
Scripture floating in your mind
Its like a wall
Its the answer here
The way around such temptation
The more you understand this
The more you get this point right here
The more you’ll understand your own salvation
Look at Romans 7:17
So I am not the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it.
That’s it
We are infected with this disease called sin
Its a serious issue guys
Its the one thing that prevents us from being with God
Its the one thing that levels the playing field
Its the one thing that requires us to have a savior
Its the one thing that forces the relationship
forces the dependency
forces us to trust
In Jesus
The Bible is saying that sin is in your DNA
meaning if it wasn’t for the cross
We would be doomed from birth
That point is so clear
So cut and dry that I truly hope you’re getting it
Look with me at verse
And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can’t. I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. But if I do what I don’t want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it.
Anyone find that incredibly relatable?
Comforting in a sense isn't it
Knowing that a man like Paul suffered with sin also
Some of you know
I do a lot of counseling
A lot of drug counseling
Alcohol counseling
You name it
When you take this passage right here
It is so beautiful to see
Cause I don’t even know if you guys realize this
This verse right here is used in the first step
of the twelve step process
1. We admitted we were powerless over our addictions and compulsive behaviours. That our lives had become unmanageable.
I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. (Romans 7:18)
Why do you think this is
Because its a battle
I mean its a war every day
And then to get someone to admit they have a problem
Thats the catch isn’t it
You have to admit you have a problem first
This is exactly what Romans is trying to get you to do
Once you admit your sin
Once you admit your nature
Healing can begin
Why?
Because once you admit you’re a sinner
You admit you need a savior
Do you see what it doing?
It Forces that relationship
Really think about it
Why don’t people come to church?
They tell me all the time
I don’t need God
I’m not that bad
thats for those really bad people
But Romans is saying
You’re infected with sin
Nothing good lives in you
I mean look at this one more time
I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. But if I do what I don’t want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it.
I don’t know about you
But i find this passage so relatable
So comforting
All my efforts
All my righteousness
All my guilt
All my pain
for nothing
I get to rely on the saving work of Jesus
I get to look at that cross and say thank you
I am saved
I get to live eternally
In Gods love
Because of Jesus
Thats the point
Its dependency on Christ out of our inability to save ourselves
AND
its a life spent saying thank you
A life in service to Christ for saving us
What did I ask last week?
What did he gain by dying on that cross
You
He gained you
He gained that relationship
Don’t get me wrong
Not saying he couldn’t survive without you
But I am saying
that he loved you so much
He died to save you.
Which leads me to my final point.
I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God’s law with all my heart. But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin.
So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.
Guys
I don’t know if you realize who Paul is
I don’t know if you know his back story
So let me explain for just a moment
Before Paul became Paul he was Saul
He persecuted the church… hunted down Christians, murdered, them cast them into prison.
Look what is says here
Saul was one of the witnesses, and he agreed completely with the killing of Stephen.
A great wave of persecution began that day, sweeping over the church in Jerusalem; and all the believers except the apostles were scattered through the regions of Judea and Samaria. (Some devout men came and buried Stephen with great mourning.) But Saul was going everywhere to destroy the church. He went from house to house, dragging out both men and women to throw them into prison.
But when Paul found Jesus, Something changed
Something happened
Something changed within him
Thats the whole point here
When he says
Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death?
Paul see this
He sees his need for a savior
He understands where he came from
He dedicates his life to telling this story
Look here at
But God had mercy on me so that Christ Jesus could use me as a prime example of his great patience with even the worst sinners. Then others will realize that they, too, can believe in him and receive eternal life.
Paul is a man that fully acknowledges his past and spends a life paying it back
Hes a man that gets it
Let me ask you today
Have you fully acknowledged your sin?
Do you realize your position before God?
Thats the point of Jesus’s words on the sermon on the mount
Remember I read them to you a couple weeks ago?
“God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for him,
for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.
Our sin
Its why we so desperately need him
Look one more time cause I want to drill this home
Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin.
So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.
I find this interesting
Paul see a savior
He visualizes
He actualizes
He devotes himself entirely
Paul is a man who gets it.
Paul is a man who says
My sin is destroying me
My sin is dominating me
The only answer I have is Jesus
But then look at Romans 12
Because Paul gives us an answer
He instructs us on how we are to respond to Christ
And all that He did for us
And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.
Are you living your life in total devotion to God?
Or do you still think this is all a game?
This is as real as it gets
Its as real as an Article 15
Its as real as you getting chewed out for breaking the rules
Its as real as anything you can imagine
Are you living a life that screams thank you for the cross?
Look guys
If there is any point of application here
If there is anything you take away from this
You were doomed if it were not for the cross
You were on your way to hell if it were not for the cross
And because of what Jesus did for you
Your life needs to be spent in total dedication to him
Out of thankfulness for saving you from your own sin!
Finally, I know some of you are hurting
I know some of you are struggling
I know some of you feel like you’re unforgivable
But guys thats a lie from the pits of hell
If the blood of Jesus can save a man like Paul
If the blood of Jesus can turn a murder into on of the most influential men in history
Then he can save you too.
I want to close with one final Scripture
And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Lets pray.