1 John 1:8-9. The Three Description of Man - Part 2
The Fall of Man—Genesis 3:1-7
Question God’s Word – Genesis 3:1
Denial of God’s Word or Character – 3:2-3
1. The Devil is able to hide the consequence of sin
2. When we start to think we can get away with sin, go back to Galatians 6:7 – Sowing & Reaping
3. The Law of Gravity: throw something up it will come down – Anytime we sin there will be an affect.
Eve Desired and ate – Eve was decieved.
1. Genesis 3:5 – Satan wants to destroy God’s character
2. Eve was deceived into thinking “God was keeping or hiding something from her and that is the real reason why God didn’t want her to have it.” Satan tries to distort the true image, character, and nature of God.
1 John 2:15-16
The Fall: Man is Choosing to be independent rather than depend on God – Genesis 3:7-10
1. Instead of seeking God for a remedy, they run from God, trying to fix it themselves.
2. First act of religion.
The Effects of the Fall
1. Genesis 2:17 – Physical & Spiritual death – Separation.
2. Genesis 3:14 – The serpent is cursed to crawl on its belly.
3. Genesis 3:15 – Enmity between the Serpent, his seed and her Seed
a. A prophecy of Jesus Christ – Galatians 3:16
b. There will be a conflict between Christ & the Devil
c. The result is “He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel” which many would see as a prediction of the Cross. Christ is going to experience a “bruising” that “physical death” but Satan’s head will be “crushed.”
Hebrews 2:14 – Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil,
Hebrews 2:15 – and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.
Colossians 2:15 – Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.
1 John 3:8 – He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.
4. Genesis 3:16 – The judgment of the woman
5. Genesis 3:17-19 – The judgment of man
6. Judgment on creation – Genesis 3:17-18 cf. Romans 8:19-21
7. When Adam sinned we all sinned-Original \ Imputed Sin – Romans 5:12
The Nature of Sin
From Bad to Worse
1. Romans 6:19 – I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness.
a. Because of lawlessness the love of many will grow cold – Matthew 24:12
b. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work, v.3 the falling away comes first – 1Thess2:7
c. But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. (2 Timothy 3:13 NKJV)
Sin Has Eternal Consequences
1. Hebrews 10:26-31 – Must Read
Five Words For Sin
1. Sin: (harmartia) -To miss the mark, and archer's term, which means to fall short:
2. Trespass (paraptoma) - a false step, a blunder: to slip or fall, deviations from the path of truth and righteousness.
3. Transgression (parabosis) - to step across a line. Example. - wet paint or keep off the grass. A willful violation.
4. Lawlessness (anomia) - without law, from nomos-law. Flagrant and rebellion against God's law. This person does not want anyone telling them what to do in the area of right or wrong.
5. Debt (ophelemayna) - the idea of a debt or to owe a debt (used in Matthew 6:12). Sin is a debt, which needs to be paid to God; you owe God a consequence to Him.
Spurgeon "Sin is worse that the Devil, for sin is what made the devil the devil. He would have been a angel if it had not been for sin."
Illustration: we are sinners by nature: a rat caught in a trap and still eats the cheese.
Sin is a transgression of the Law.
1. God gave the Mosaic law to heighten man’s understanding of His standard and the seriousness of transgressing that standard (Romans 4:15 cf. Romans 7:7-11). When God said, “You shall not bear false witness,” a lie was seen to be what it is: an overstepping or transgression of the law of God (Romans 2:23; 5:14; Galatians 3:19).
2. Sin is not only an act, but also an attitude we can possess.
a. Matt. 5:21-22, 27-28, 48; Examples Gen. 4:5-6; 37:8; Esther 3:5
Sin is a failure to conform to the standard of God – Roman 3:23; 14:23
1. All people have missed God’s standard and continue to fall short – Romans 3:23
2. God’s glory is His standard – Matthew 5:48
Matthew 5:20 – Our standard to whom we compare ourselves to, is not others, but Christ!
1. The Sermon on the Mount is supposed to knock you into a state of humility where you would be that one who is “Poor in spirit,” saying, “there is no chance for me.” “I can’t be more holy than the scribes and Pharisees, these are the most righteous people on the face of the earth.” “I can’t be perfect like God is perfect.”
2. The Sermon on the Mount is there to drive me to despair, so that I would say I fall short.
3. Therefore, I must seek a solution, which is Christ the righteousness that God provides
a. 2 Cor 5:21; Phil. 3:8-9.
Sin is a principle, wrong desire within man – Galatians 5:17 cf. Romans 7
Galatians 5:17
1. The flesh is talking about that fact that we were born with a sinful nature, and those desires are still residing within us.
2. The Spirit is in contrast to the flesh, there is a battle going on in side of us.
a. Matthew 26:36-46 – Jesus pays in the Garden of Gethsemane
b. Romans 7:15, 17-20 illustration of a empty, stinky vinegar bottle, 23-25
c. Works of the flesh – Galatians 5:19-20
d. Fruit of the Spirit – Galatians 5:22-25
e. This battle will continue until the day I die. This is the Christians experience.
Sin is rebellion against God-disposition – 1 John 3:4
1. All unrighteousness is sin – 1 John 5:17
2. anomia denotes lawless deeds – Titus 2:14
3. Is a sign of the last days, meaning “without restraint” – Matthew 24:12
Sin is wrongful acts toward God & man – Exodus 20
1. Commandments relating to God – 20:3-8
2. Commandments relating to Man – 20:12-17
3. Romans 1:18 refers to “ungodliness and unrighteousness of men.”
a. Ungodliness refers to man’s failure to obey God and keep His commandments
b. Unrighteousness is seen in man’s failure to live righteously toward his fellow man
ORIGINAL SIN
Definition “The sinful state or condition in which men are born.
1. It is the inward root of all the actual sins that defile the life of man.
2. It is derived from the original root of the human race (Adam).
3. It is present in the life of every individual from the time of his birth.
Are all men born sinful?
1. Genesis 8:21 – man’s heart is evil from his youth
2. Job 14:4 – we are born from unclean, therefore, you are not going to come out clean
3. Psalm 51:5 – right from birth we are sinners
4. Psalm 58:3 – every man is a liar - Romans 3:4
5. Proverbs 22:15 – this is a natural inclination
6. Romans 5:8-10 – we were at enmity toward God, enemies of the Creator!
Are all men sinful by nature?
1. Jeremiah 13:23 – can man save or convert himself? Can man who is evil all of a sudden do good? Can a leopard change its spots? Neither can man change his sinful nature.
2. Ephesians 2:2-3 – by nature children of wrath
The Depravity of Man
What it is not:
– Every man is as thoroughly depraved as he can possibly become – Genesis 15:16; 2 Timothy 3:1
Not everyone is going to be at the same degree of sinfulness-
– The sinner has no inner knowledge of the will of God on good or evil – Romans 2:15
The unbeliever still has a degree of knowing that certain things are right and wrong
The law is written on their heart-
– Sinful man is incapable of good acts toward men – Mark 10:21; Matthew 7:11; 5:46, 47
Sinners can do something nice for another individual
– Every unregenerate man will indulge in every form of sin
Some people live a relatively good life on a human scale-
What it does mean:
– Corruption extends to the whole of man’s natural nature.
Every facet of man’s being is affected by this sin nature-
1. Intellect: (2 Corinthians 4:4)
2. Conscience: (1 Timothy 4:2)
3. Will, mind: (Romans 1:28)
4. Heart: (Ephesians 4:18)
5. Total being: (Romans 1:18-3:20)
– There is no spiritual good in relation to God in the sinner at all – Romans 7:18, 3:12
There is nothing in anyone that can commend himself to a righteous God-
No amount of reading, church attendance or anything, can make him right before God (Is. 64:6)
– Total inability to correct his corrupt nature – Jer. 13:23; Romans 7:24; John 6:44; John 1:12-13
No matter how hard I try, I cannot undo my sinfulness, and merit a right standing before God-
The Struggle Between the New Nature & the Physical Members
Part of yourself wants to please Christ.
1. Longs for spiritual food.
2. Is drawn toward Christ.
Other part wants to please self.
The Conflict According to 1 John 2:15-16
1. Hungers after the world.
2. Gravitates toward the world.
3. It is possible for a Christian to stay away from questionable amusements and doubtful places and still love the world. Worldliness is a matter of the heart. REMEMBER LOTS WIFE
4. God’s Grace teaches us to deny all worldly lusts, & to live soberly, righteously and Godly – Titus 2:12
The Old Man crucified and the New Man made alive – 2 Corinthian 5:17
1. 1 John 1:8-10
a. If we say that we have no sinful root within us.
1) This is a deception.
2) The truth is not in us.
2. Hidden sins of the spirit.
Sins of Self-Worship
a. Boasting.
1) Proverbs 27:1-2 – do not boast about tomorrow…let another praise you, and not your own mouth.
2) Jeremiah 9:23 – boast about this, that I know the Lord!
b. Pride.
1) Pride is the great sin – Deuteronomy 8:1-20
2) We are warned against pride – Proverbs 16:5, 18
3. Sins of Omission as well as Commission – Failure to do what is right is sin – James 4:17
4. The old man cannot
a. Know God – 1 Corinthians 2:14
b. Obey God – we need the power of the Spirit to live the Christian life.
c. Please God – So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God (Romans 8:8)
5. The New Man cannot sin, it can-
a. Know God.
b. Obey God.
c. Please God.
d. Because we have the Spirit of God.
And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. (Romans 8:10-11 NKJV)
6. God makes not attempt to improve the old man
7. Inevitable conflict – Romans 7:24-25
Paul’s Cry for Help, “O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?
a. Paul is not able to serve the Lord completely or wholeheartedly because of due to the fact that sin still resides in him.
b. This condition leads him to hate the condition he is in and cries out to God for help.
c. He tries so hard but falls over and over again.
d. He now looks forward to the point when God will deliver him from this condition.
“Thanks be to Christ”
a. Our inner man yearns to be free from this body of death where sin had taken residence.
…even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body (Romans 8:23).
b. The future is bright, but the present if full of conflict & battle.
c. And although this conflict exists, there is still no condemnation for those in Christ.
The Victory Over the Flesh—Psalm 51 cf. 1 John 1:9
Confession – Psalm 51- this prayer can serve as a pattern to the Christian when he is guilty of sin in his life today.
Only God can forgive sins (Mark 2:1-12 cf. Acts 5:31) not some Priest in a Catholic Church.
1. David began his prayer freely admitting & confessing his sin – v.1-4
Confession means “to say the same thing about sin as God does.”
a. Honesty is vital; we must be true in our confession of sin.
b. Continual confession of sin is an indicator of genuine salvation.
c. This verb occurs more often in 1 John than in any other book (1:9; 4:2, 3, 15).
2. David then displays real sorrow over his sin – v.17
a. The main characteristic of true confession is godly sorrow produces repentance 2Cor7:10.
b. God will forgive any repentant sinner who truly turns away from his sin and turns to God and confesses his sin.
3. David asks God for forgiveness – v.1, 7-9.
To forgive our sins means that God forgives the guilt of sin.
God counts the death of Jesus Christ as our punishment; Jesus bore our guilt of sin.
To cleanse us from all unrighteousness means that God cleanses us from all the dirt, filth, pollution, and contamination of sin. Not a single spot or stain remains on us!
4. Cleansing has two sides to it: & The Personal
a. The blood of Jesus Christ delivers us from the guilt of sin and gives us a right standing before God (justification). God is able to forgive because Jesus’ death has satisfied His law.
b. God is also interested in cleansing a sinner inwardly – “Create in me a clean heart”
c. When our confession is sincere, God does cleansing work in our hearts by His Spirit.
5. How do we know that God will forgive us our sins?
a. Because God is faithful and just.
b. Faithful means that Christ can be trusted to grant us forgiveness each time we ask Him.
c. God is Holy, Perfect, & Just, therefore He will not let sin go unpunished.
d. God is also Love & Mercy, therefore, He must demonstrate His love and mercy & provide a way of forgiveness for man.
e. This is exactly what He did in Jesus Christ – Romans 5:8
Recognize the total inability of the flesh. Condemn it – Philippians 3:3 – Put your name in the place of love in 1 Cor. 13:4-5.
C. Consent to the crucifixion of the Old Man.
1. You cannot crucify Him, already done – Romans 6:6
D. Cooperate with the Holy Spirit in putting to death the deeds of the flesh – Romans 8:13
1. Reckon yourself dead to sin – Romans 6:11
2. Do not let sin reign in your body-Present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead – Romans 6:12
3. Make no provision for the flesh – Romans 13:14
a. Don’t feed him things that make him fat; starve the flesh.
b. Galatians 6:8 – “For he who sows to the flesh will of the flesh reap corruption”
c. Romans 8:5 – “For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh.”
4. Submit to Christ as Lord.
Realize the provisions God has given us.
1. The Word of God
There is power in the Word – read, memorize, and meditate
2 Timothy 3:16-17; Ps. 119:9-16; Eph. 5:26; John 15:7
2. The Intercession of Christ
Romans 8:26; Hebrews 7:25; 1 John 2:1; John 17
3. The Indwelling of the Holy Spirit – Romans 8:9; Acts 1:8; Galatians 5:16
a. The Holy Spirit frees us from sin and death – Romans 8:2-3
b. The Holy Spirit enables us to fulfill the law – Romans 8:4
c. The Holy Spirit changes our nature – Romans 8:5-11
d. The Holy Spirit Empowers for Victory over sin – Romans 8:12-13
e. The Holy Spirit Confirms our Adoption – Romans 8:14-17
f. The Holy Spirit Guarantees our Glory – Romans 8:18-25
g. The Holy Spirit Assists in our Prayers – Romans 8:26-27
h. A Praise to God for this Security – Romans 8:28-39
Ps 32:5 in my bible
2 cor 13;1-5
Application – (Romans 8:5; Galatians 5:16 –Do we walk in the Spirit 24 hours a day? James 3:2 says, “that we all stumble in many things,” 24,25; Romans 6:8-18; Philippians 3:12-14)
The Christian and Sin
The Conflict According to 1 John 2:15-16
The World
Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. (1 John 2:15 NKJV)
The World is the organized system that is under the Devil’s control and leaves out God and Christ. 1 John 5:19 says, “the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one.”
Worldly in an evil sense are the lusts or strong desires that Paul teaches us to deny – Titus 2:12
The Rulers in Ephesians 6:12 are evil forces the believer has to contend with.
It is possible for a Christian to stay away from questionable amusements and doubtful places and still love the world. Worldliness is a matter of the heart. REMEMBER LOTS WIFE
To the extent that a Christian loves the world system and the things in it, he does not love the Father.
Worldliness also affects your response to the will of God. And the world is passing away… but he who does the will of God abides forever. (1 John 2:17 NKJV)
Jesus said, “If you love Me, keep My commandments.”
When a believer loses the enjoyment of the Fathers love, he finds it hard to obey the Father’s will.
Jesus chose us out of the world, therefore the world hates us – John 15:19
Do not let this world squeeze you into it’s mold – Romans 12:2, remember we once walked according to course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience – Ephesians 2:2
Are you hungry?
Jesus said, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me shall never hunger.” John 6:35
Are your thirsty?
Jesus said, "Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.”
Christ has quenched our thirst, we have partaken of the “living water” therefore, let us never go back to the sewer in which we came from.
Are you laying up for yourselves treasure on earth or in heaven? Matthew 6:19
Are you seeking first the kingdom of God or of yourself?
Do you seek to please men or God?
If you seek to please men you are not a bondservant of Christ – Galatians 1:10
Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. (Colossians 3:2 NKJV)
The lust of the flesh
As a destructive influence, the flesh can be our must treacherous enemy because it is inside the believer and ever present with its depraved cravings.
Victory over the flesh is to starve the flesh.
Nu 11:4,34; Ps 78:18,30; Pr 6:25; Mt 5:28; Ro 13:14; 1Co 10:6; Ga 5:17,24; Eph 2:3; Tit 2:12 3:3; 1Pe 1:14 2:11 4:2,3 4:2,3; 2Pe 2:10,18; Jude 1:16-18
The lust of the eyes
Ge 3:6; 6:2; Jos 7:21; Job 31:1; Ps 119:36,37; Ec 5:10,11; Mt 4:8; Lu 4:5
The pride of life – Daniel 4:30-37 cf. James 4:6-7; 1 Peter 5
Es 1:3-7; Ps 73:6; Da 4:30; Re 18:11-17
The Devil is a personal enemy who is opposed to God, His people, and His plans. The Christians defense against the Devil is “the whole armor of God.” The Devil has already been defeated, Christ conquered him at Calvary. Even though he is the “god of this world” and is still active, we must not fear him for “He who is in you in greater than he who is in the world” 1 John 4:4.
1. Only God can forgive sins Luke 5:21
a. Isaiah 1:18 "Come now, and let us reason together," Says the LORD, "Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool.
b. Psalm 32:5 I acknowledged my sin to You, And my iniquity I have not hidden. I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD," And You forgave the iniquity of my sin.
God will forgive any repentant sinner who truly turns away from his sin and turns to God and confesses his sin.
c. Isaiah 1:18 "Come now, and let us reason together," Says the LORD, "Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool.
d. Psalm 32:5 I acknowledged my sin to You, And my iniquity I have not hidden. I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD," And You forgave the iniquity of my sin.