Truth about Sin

Recap

We will continue our series titled, Truth Matters.

We looked at

What is Truth?

Truth about God

Truth about Mankind

(Today) Truth about Sin

The foundation that we must accept:

first and foremost is that God is who He says He is through the Bible

Second, that you and I are just as He says we are.

If you don’t believe these truths, and if truth doesn’t matter to you, you will not get much from this sermon.

Original Sin - El Pecado Original

Let’s start at the beginning.

Genesis 3:6–7 NKJV

6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.

Genesis 3:6–7 RVR60

6 Y vio la mujer que el árbol era bueno para comer, y que era agradable a los ojos, y árbol codiciable para alcanzar la sabiduría; y tomó de su fruto, y comió; y dio también a su marido, el cual comió así como ella. 7 Entonces fueron abiertos los ojos de ambos, y conocieron que estaban desnudos; entonces cosieron hojas de higuera, y se hicieron delantales.

In this same chapter, God charges them with disobedience and forces them to leave the garden.

What is sin? - ¿Qué es el Pecado?

So what is Sin?

The Zondervan Bible Dictionary defines it as

“That condition and activity of human beings that is offensive to God, their Creator.”

The condition refers to our sinful state because of Adam and Eve in the garden.

The activity refers to our actions that dishonor, disobey, or rebel against what God says is true.

Eve in the garden wanted something God told them was bad for them. Something that God said “NO” to.

By doing so, Eve rejected God’s authority, and followed her own desires.

It was not the devil! The serpent only sowed doubt and lust for something Eve wanted but could not have.

Adam and Eve both sinned when they placed their desire above God’s, and acted in disobedience.

Quote: Sin will take you further than you wanted to go, and keep you longer than you wanted to stay! - Steve Couch

Truth 1: Everyone has sinned - Verdad 1: Todos han pecado

Romans 3:23 NKJV

23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

Romans 3:23 RVR60

23 por cuanto todos pecaron, y están destituidos de la gloria de Dios,

1 John 1:8 NKJV

8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

1 John 1:8 RVR60

8 Si decimos que no tenemos pecado, nos engañamos a nosotros mismos, y la verdad no está en nosotros.

Isaiah 64:6 NKJV

6 But we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; We all fade as a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, Have taken us away.

Isaiah 64:6 RVR60

6 Si bien todos nosotros somos como suciedad, y todas nuestras justicias como trapo de inmundicia; y caímos todos nosotros como la hoja, y nuestras maldades nos llevaron como viento.

James 4:17 NKJV

17 Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.

James 4:17 RVR60

17 y al que sabe hacer lo bueno, y no lo hace, le es pecado.

Truth 2: Sin is progressive - Verdad 2: El pecado es progresivo

James 1:14–15 NKJV

14 But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. 15 Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.

James 1:14–15 RVR60

14 sino que cada uno es tentado, cuando de su propia concupiscencia es atraído y seducido. 15 Entonces la concupiscencia, después que ha concebido, da a luz el pecado; y el pecado, siendo consumado, da a luz la muerte.

Eve desired the fruit. That was not sin, that was a temptation to sin.

Eve heard the serpent. That was not sin, Satan spoke to Jesus in the desert - yet Jesus did not sin.

So when did Eve sin?

Was it the action of eating the fruit? Yes, but it was before that too.

Eve sinned when the decision to rebel against God was accepted within her heart.

Jesus declared in Matthew 5:27-28 that adultery and murder back in vs 21 began in the heart. That the sin of having sex with someone you are not married to, or unjust killing begins before the action is ever carried out.

You can be guilty by God for murder simply by hating them in your heart and wishing they were dead. That is because desire and temptation, when they are received in the heart, sin is born in their life.

Truth 3: Sin Consequences are Earthly and Eternal - Verdad 3: Las consecuencias del pecado son terrenales y eternas

We read in the beginning that God declared Adam and Eve guilty of Sin.

If you read Gen 3, you see that God gives Adam and Eve earthly consequences for their sin.

Romans 6:23 NKJV

23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 6:23 RVR60

23 Porque la paga del pecado es muerte, mas la dádiva de Dios es vida eterna en Cristo Jesús Señor nuestro.

We live in a world that has been under the consequence of sin - generation upon generation.

Truth 4: In Jesus, we have Freedom from sin - Verdad 4: En Jesús, tenemos Libertad del pecado

John 14:6 NKJV

6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

John 14:6 RVR60

6 Jesús le dijo: Yo soy el camino, y la verdad, y la vida; nadie viene al Padre, sino por mí.

Acts 4:12 NKJV

12 Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

Acts 4:12 RVR60

12 Y en ningún otro hay salvación; porque no hay otro nombre bajo el cielo, dado a los hombres, en que podamos ser salvos.

1 John 2:2 NKJV

2 And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.

1 John 2:2 RVR60

2 Y él es la propiciación por nuestros pecados; y no solamente por los nuestros, sino también por los de todo el mundo.

Propitiation: Appeasement or Regaining Favor from.

See Romans 3:23 again for the second part

1 John 1:9 NKJV

9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

1 John 1:9 RVR60

9 Si confesamos nuestros pecados, él es fiel y justo para perdonar nuestros pecados, y limpiarnos de toda maldad.

Application - Aplicación:

Sin is as bad as God says it is

Sin is as deadly as God says it is.

Bow heads

Any unrepentant sin?

This was the letter to the Laodiceans where Jesus tells them they are lukewarm.

This is such an important message for us. Many of us have found things that are “little sins” that we keep in our life, but it makes us luke warm. Where we have lost our passion for God and our love for Jesus. We replace our love and passion for Him - with the things that satisfy our flesh desires.

Revelation 3:19–20 NKJV

19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. 20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.

Revelation 3:19–20 RVR60

19 Yo reprendo y castigo a todos los que amo; sé, pues, celoso, y arrepiéntete. 20 He aquí, yo estoy a la puerta y llamo; si alguno oye mi voz y abre la puerta, entraré a él, y cenaré con él, y él conmigo.

Let’s Pray.