Our Rebellion Against God

1. Because of the sheer number of your sins. If you were to sin only 10 times a day for one year, you would disobey God 3,650 times. But if you sinned 10 times a day for 15 years, you would sin 54,750 times! You are a professional sinner! Yet, how many times did Adam sin before he was cursed by God?

2. Because you have sinned against such an infinite God and high command. There are different levels of sin and punishment (Luke 10:12; 12:42-48). A crime is weighed according to the seriousness of the command and the stature of the person who is sinned against. It is one thing to disobey your coach at school. It is another thing to disobey a judge. It is one thing to turn in a late term paper. It is another thing to murder the president. The highest command is to “love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength.” The greatest being is God. Each time you sin, you commit the highest crime against the greatest being! God ought to be angry.

3. Because you have sinned against God’s greatest act of love. Christ was sent into the world of men and women out of love (John 3:16). But many of your friends, and perhaps you also, have rejected Christ up to this very moment. This rebellion is a sin against compassion. Is it any wonder that God is angry with those who think little of His love? Jim Elliff Is God Angry Anymore?, Christian Communicators Worldwide, www.CCWtoday.org. Used by Permission.

The wrath of God is present reality.

A reality made so in light of our sin and rebellion.

It is no gospel that excludes this.

Today, we need to consider OUR REBELLION against this good creator and ruler of the world.

But before we do...

In what way(s) did we rebel against God?

Rejected his authority

Disobeyed his command

Distrusted his character

Elevated ourselves over him by declaring we knew better.

In what way(s) do we rebel against God in our daily lives? Be specific.

Same as above. :)

When we do not trust him to be good

When we do not trust him to be right

When we do not submit to his will

When we do not accept his right to rule

When we look for pleasure and satisfaction outside of him and his will.

Review

Vision for Gospel

A vision for the gospel is not something that I can teach or force. A vision for the gospel is something that the Spirit must impart to us. As we begin, let us take a moment to pray for God to give and deepen our vision as a local assembly for the gospel.

With those around you, pray that God would give to us such a vision for the gospel that we would say with Jeremiah..

Jeremiah 20:9.

Jeremiah 20:9 ESV

If I say, “I will not mention him, or speak any more in his name,” there is in my heart as it were a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I am weary with holding it in, and I cannot.

May the vision for the gospel be such that we CANNOT remain silent and must speak it!

How is a vision captured and deepened?

Ask God for it.

Spend much time immersed in the thing we desire to have or deepen a vision for....in this case, the word/God.

To have a deeper vision for God, we must spend MORE time with God, in His word, around his body (especially those passionate for and who have a vision for God). We must forsake other desires, practices, habits, etc choosing to spend more time with God and his word so that our vision and passion can grow.

BUT ultimately, it is about asking God to give us a vision for that which matters to him…about wanting what he wants so much that we are willing to surrender all for it.

God, the Good Rule and Creator

Revelation 4:11.

Revelation 4:11 ESV

“Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.”

The foundation of the Christian message is that God is the one true and living ruler of all things. He is lord and king of everything that exists. Unlike many human rulers, God is not corrupt or self-serving. He is a thoroughly good and loving ruler, who continues to provide for his world generously, and to rule it with justice.

God is the ruler of everything because he created everything. God is the source and maker of all that exists, including the good and beautiful world that we live in. This is his world. He made it, and he is in charge of it.

He also made us.

God created humanity, and gave us a unique place in his good world. He commissioned us to rule over the world, to care for it, and to be responsible for it - all the while honoring and obeying him as our ruler, and thanking him for his generosity.

God is the ruler of the world

He made the world

He made us to rule his good world, giving thanks and honor to him.

This is how God created things to be. But’s fairly obvious that is not our experience of the world now. What happened?

Outline

Big Idea: The good news of the Gospel is dependent on first acknowledging the bad news.

Our Rebellion Against God

Why This Matters

Helping Them See

Why This Matters for Believers

Sermon Body

Our Rebellion Against God

Having established the point that God is THE good creator and ruler of the world....

And having been equipped with the tools to help argue for that....(Which I may add)

…You do not need to be overwhelmed or proficient in them.

…There are a plethora of arguments one can use. Use those that you are most comfortable with and/or those that fit the person you are talking with best.

…Realize that none prove definitely the existence of God. There will ALWAYS be an element of faith…as evolution also requires. BUT there is sufficient evidence to support a creator and ruler. Know that every argument may have its own strengths and weaknesses…but do not let that frighten you away.

Having established this point and being equipped with the means to argue for it....

The second point of our outline deals with our rebellion against this good creator and ruler.

The first point establishes our relationship to him....

The first point establishes our purpose and responsibility....

The second now exposes the problem...

The second exposes why we are even in need of the Good News.

Two key passages you should memorize and use...

Romans 3:10-12.

Romans 3:10–12 ESV

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.”

Isaiah 53:6.

Isaiah 53:6 ESV

All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

What is immediately obvious to you from these texts?

What needs to be emphasized based on these texts?

Why are these texts so hard for people to accept?

They have come to think of themselves as basically good (in part because they are comparing themselves to wrong standard)

They expose our sin and failures, which none of us are excited to expose and see.

What potential negative responses might result from someones sin and rebellion against God being pointed out?

Denial

Anger

Defensiveness

Comparison of self to others

Justification of their goodness

Physical lashing out

How do you respond if someone responds negatively to message of their sin and rebellion against God?

If anger - back off.

If defensive - back off

Do not push. Share only what they are willing to hear and receive. Pray for the Spirit to make them ready and return when you sense they are.

If they are defensive or trying to justify their sin BUT still seem willing to hear and listen with caution. Ask questions. Rather than accuse, get them to see their own sin by answering questions (See Hell’s Best Kept Secret).

Why is it important though to point out that left to ourselves, to our flesh, none of us seek God and all of us seek our own way?

Because it points the complete accomplishment of salvation as an act of God.

Nothing in us is responsible for it.

Ephesians 2:8-9.

Ephesians 2:8–9 ESV

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

John 6:44.

John 6:44 ESV

No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.

Salvation is totally of grace because it must be.

There are many things I am uncertain of in life, but this is not one of them.

And we have to be reminded ourselves, and we must point out to others that there is no hope to be found in ourselves.

In this culture, we may have to define terms....

Sin - Sin is described in the Bible as transgression of the law of God (1 John 3:4) and rebellion against God (Deuteronomy 9:7; Joshua 1:18). (Gotquestions.org)

Sin is not weakness, it is a disease; it is red-handed rebellion against God and the magnitude of that rebellion is expressed by Calvary’s cross. Oswald Chambers

Sin means to miss the mark. We have missed the mark of God’s holy and righteous standard through our rebellion of him.

What was the first sin?

Where does all sin originate from? What is all sin rooted in?

Isaiah 14:13-15.

Isaiah 14:13–15 ESV

You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’ But you are brought down to Sheol, to the far reaches of the pit.

Ezekiel 28:11-19.

Ezekiel 28:11–19 ESV

Moreover, the word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, raise a lamentation over the king of Tyre, and say to him, Thus says the Lord God: “You were the signet of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering, sardius, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, emerald, and carbuncle; and crafted in gold were your settings and your engravings. On the day that you were created they were prepared. You were an anointed guardian cherub. I placed you; you were on the holy mountain of God; in the midst of the stones of fire you walked. You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created, till unrighteousness was found in you. In the abundance of your trade you were filled with violence in your midst, and you sinned; so I cast you as a profane thing from the mountain of God, and I destroyed you, O guardian cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. Your heart was proud because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor. I cast you to the ground; I exposed you before kings, to feast their eyes on you. By the multitude of your iniquities, in the unrighteousness of your trade you profaned your sanctuaries; so I brought fire out from your midst; it consumed you, and I turned you to ashes on the earth in the sight of all who saw you. All who know you among the peoples are appalled at you; you have come to a dreadful end and shall be no more forever.”

Both of these passages, we believe bear a doubling meaning. They do refer to real human kings but they also bear a tone and reference that cannot possibly refer to man, especially the men they are directed at, and seem to serve as a double meaning to refer to Satan’s sin and fall.

The first sin was Lucifer’s/Satan’s.

Pride

And it is THE sin that continues to rage in our hearts and lives today.

The sin of thinking more highly of ourselves than we ought.

Notice how this works for Adam and Eve...

Genesis 3:1-7.

Genesis 3:1–7 ESV

Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ” But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.

What did Satan tempt them with?

Deity.

Eat this…and be like God.

Rather than trust their maker....they wanted to be LIKE their maker…to BE THEIR maker.

Adam and Eve were both complicit. Though his words were directed Eve, Adam was with Eve when she was tempted and he did nothing. He took the bait all the same and did not stop her because he too wanted what the adversary offered.

Why are all sins ultimately rooted in pride?

If sin is breaking God’s law and violating his will....it is about authority and right.

Sin ultimately is a denial of God’s authority or right to set the standard and WE decide instead what standard we are to live by.

It is about making OURSELF the authority and being in charge of the standard.

This is pride. This is the origin of all sin. When we deny THE creator and rule maker, when we decide he has no right to determine right and wrong and set that standard for ourself.

We all have sinned.

We all have rejected our creator and ruler.

Romans 1 makes that point explicitly clear.

Romans 1:21–23 ESV

For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

Our rebellion was rejecting God as God and setting up a more preferable god in his place.

We have rejected him and chosen to go our own way.

The gospel calls us to return to our maker, our creator, our ruler.

The gospel call us to return to the purpose for which we were created.

The gospel calls us to see us as we are WITHOUT God....miserable, hopeless, wretches who rebelled against God in arrogance.

The rest of the message depends on this this?

Why?

Why This Matters

Big Idea: The good news of the Gospel is dependent on first acknowledging the bad news.

Why does this matter? Why is the good news of the gospel dependent on first acknowledging the bad news?

Review : Why does this matter? Why is the good news of the gospel dependent on first acknowledging the bad news?

What IS the gospel? What is the essence of the message?

The message of salvation from God’s wrath.

AND

The message of being reconciled to right relationship with him.

This cannot be understood if we do not understand WHY we need saving.

NOR

Can this be understood if we do not realize we are meant to be in relationship to God and that the relationship is broken.

Trying to convince someone that they need salvation is impossible, and laughable, to them unless they realize that they are in need of saving.

Trying to convince someone that something needs fixing when they do not even know it is broken is ineffective.

If they do not see any danger, any problem, the message of the GOOD NEWS of salvation will be meaningless to them.

To appreciate the good news of salvation, one must first understand the danger of God’s wrath.

John 3:36.

John 3:36 ESV

Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.

Ephesians 5:3-6.

Ephesians 5:3–6 ESV

But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.

Romans 5:6-11.

Romans 5:6–11 ESV

For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

Our rebellion puts us at odds with God, makes us enemies, breaks our relationship and MERITS his righteous wrath and anger.

Next time we will look God’s response to our rebellion and we will consider his wrath and justice further but for now note this....Our rebellion invokes God’s wrath

Even Revelation speaks vividly about the WRATH of God that will be poured out on the earth, on man in those last days for the sins of man.

Revelation is THE final outpouring of wrath.

This wrath IS UPON those who have not repented and believed.

This WRATH is coming to finally and totally obliterate those who refuse to repent and believe

This wrath which is the result of our rebellion against Him.

So man, in their birth state are at odds with God....they fall under his wrath....

The question is, how do we help them see?

Helping Them See

How do we help them see their sin? How do we pop the bubble that they are basically good people?

Using the Ten Commandments - Hell’s Best Kept Secret

Ask if they know any of the ten commandments

Common ones you will hear...

Do not lie

Do not commit adultery

Do not steal

Do not murder

Ask if they have ever lied....even if it was well intended

As if they have ever stolen anything, even if it is was a pen from work

Ten commandments say to not commit adultery. But Jesus said in Matthew 5:28 that if you look at a woman with lustful intent, you have already committed adultery.

When asked if they have done any of these things, they will be forced to admit that yes.

So, by their own admission, they have confessed to being a lying, thieving, adulterer.

Ask: If God were to judge you by this standard, would you be guilty or innocent?

This is ONE simple way to get them to see their sin and wrongdoing.

Why does the Ten Commandment (Hell’s Best Kept Secret) method work so effectively?

It does not accuse.

It asks questions and draws them to see the conclusion of the matter through their own words, their own answer.

Jesus used the question and answer method frequently.

What happens if they contend that, sure they have done these things, but they are not that bad…there are worse things....

Remind them that we are not the creator and ruler. We do not have the right to determine what is right and wrong or what the consequences of those sins are.

You can also point out....

Proverbs 6:16-19.

Proverbs 6:16–19 ESV

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.

What do you note about these verses? What does God hate?

Haughty eyes - Pride

A Lying Tongue

Hands that shed innocent blood - murder

A heart that devises wicked plans

Feet that make haste to run to evil

A false witness who breathes out lies - lying again

One who sows discord - slander, gossip, dissension.

3 out of the 7 have to do with use of tongue

Lying is placed next to murder

Pride is top of the list

Would this be the list you and I would write? Would we place these things on the list in this order?

Another truth you can point out....

James 2:8-11.

James 2:8–11 ESV

If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well. But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it. For he who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” If you do not commit adultery but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law.

Even if you have never done any of the “REALLY BAD” things....even the small things are enough to break the law, hold you accountable to it all, and condemn you.

Remember, we already ARE under the wrath of God unless we repent and believe.

You can always point them back to these....

Romans 3:10-12.

Isaiah 53:6.

Let me take a moment and apply this to ourselves.

Why This Matters for Believers

What impact ought the truth of God’s wrath against sin and our rebellion against him have for us as devoted followers of Jesus?

Understanding God, understanding ourselves before him…deepens are worship, enjoyment, and service for God.

Deep gratitude and thankfulness for his grace to save us from ourselves.

Listen, follower of Jesus....the reality of our rebellion and our state of salvation....ought to a constant, present reminder that we are ONLY HERE IN FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD due to HIS grace.

It ought to invoke for us a daily dependence upon him through abiding intimacy and passion.

It ought to drive us to Him to be our refuge and fortress from the greatest enemy we face…ourselves.

Joe Rigney, a writer for Desiring God shared his meditation on Psalm 16. Permit to share a few excerpts.

Psalm 16:1 ESV

Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge.

This verse has become the most common prayer that I pray. I pray it both for its simplicity and its profundity. The logic of the prayer is that of a child’s: “Save me for no other reason than that I’m in danger and I’ve run to you for help.” “Keep me because I seek safety and protection in you.” Not, “Keep me because of my past or future faithfulness.” Not, “Preserve me because I’m useful or because I’m worthy.” Just, “Preserve me, because I’m frightened and I’m here and my eyes are looking to you.”

King David’s prayer implies perils we must seek refuge from. There are threats, dangers, hostile forces, challenges. And there are. In the world. In the church. In your life and mine.

The psalm does not specify the dangers. But we can imagine. The dangers could be external. Enemies who plot and scheme and set traps. Wicked men who lie in wait and pursue the innocent. Liars and slanderers who utter false things against us. Disease and sickness which lay us low. The loss of wealth or job or other forms of earthly security.

All of these (and more) could be in the mind of the psalmist. More importantly, the absence of specificity allows us to fill in the gap, to supply our own dangers and threats and challenges so that David’s prayer becomes our own.

To seek refuge means to find the place where we can let down our guard, where we don’t have to be on high alert. To find refuge is to find rest, a place where we can sleep because someone strong and secure is keeping watch.

The prayer of Psalm 16:1 poses challenging questions to us. When we face dangers and threats, where do we turn? When our self-sufficiency is proved to be the lie that it is, where do we run? When we sense danger, we all seek refuge. But do we seek refuge in God? Do we run to him? Do we hide in him? Or do we run to earthly shelters, to worldly fortresses, to false idols?

I am daily sensible, though, that the greatest threat to my being kept and preserved is not external opposition, or persecution by non-Christians, or physical threats, or relational conflict among former friends and colleagues, or misrepresentations and slander. The greatest threat to my being kept is my own unbelief. Not things out there; something in here. Unbelief is the greatest threat and danger and challenge that I face. Which means when I pray, “Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge,” I mean, “I take refuge in you from me.” My thoughts. My passions. My sinful desires. My doubts. My moods. My unbelief.

In our flesh, we lived in rebellion to God.

We are ONLY NOT in that state because of HIS grace.

Even in our new creation state, we continue to contend with the flesh and at times find ourselves living by the power of the flesh.

THUS, as followers of Christ, when we meditate upon this truth of our rebellion in ought to invoke both worship and gratitude that we are not still in that state AS WELL AS a commitment to live in constant communion with him, running to him to be our refuge from ourselves and from anything in the world that would seek to destroys.

Though we are still not in that state, we are STILL in desperate need of him. FOR IF WE DO NOT WALK IN THE SPIRIT, we will walk in the flesh.

Why do we as believers need to mediate on this truth (of our rebellion) as well?

Reminds us of what God saved us from. Creates gratitude and thanksgiving for what we have.

Reminds us of our propensity in the flesh and keeps us on guard.

Keeps us humble and dependent.

Conclusion

Big Idea: The good news of the Gospel is dependent on first acknowledging the bad news.

Our Rebellion Against God

Why This Matters

Helping Them See

Why This Matters for Believers

The gospel MUST expose the bad news of our sin and we must lovingly and compassionately seek to draw out an awareness of their sin SO THAT the good news makes sense.

As followers of Christ, we must meditate upon and dwell on this truth and permit it to affect our love and devotion to God in rich and real ways.

I pray that as we reflect upon these truths, admonishing one another with them that we will be growing together to become more like Jesus for the glory of God.

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