Tag: Sin

Repentance and Restoration

This month, we have been discussing how to deal with sin in our lives as believers in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  The following points represent some of the things that we must seek to do to overcome sin and live in the newness of life through the power of the Gospel.

1. Repent with godly sorrow and seek after holiness and righteousness through obedience to Christ.

Do you have sorrow for your sin?  This must be the first step that drives us to Christ and to restoration.  As 2 Corinthians 7:8-11 tells us, there are two types of sorrow.  There is a worldly sorrow that merely seeks relief from guilt and/or escape from punishment.  This is not the sorrow of true repentance.  Then there is godly sorrow, which comes from the gracious work of conviction by the Holy Spirit.  Godly sorrow creates a desire to put the deeds of the flesh to death and to turn from sin and seek holiness and righteousness.

If you struggle with sin and do not feel you have godly sorrow, then ask the Lord in prayer for it!  Turn in the Word of God and read of the enmity of sin…read how sin is contrary to God, to the glory of Christ, to your fellow believers, and it is contrary to your soul.  See that sin is heinous and it is the shameful expressions of hatred of the holiness of Christ.

2. Rest in the Gospel.

Realize that your restoration and your assurance of your faith in Christ must not stem from your ability to personally overcome sin.  You have sinned and no amount of obedience will make up for it.  No amount of tears will cover it.  Your sins can only be covered with the blood of Jesus Christ and your restoration will only occur if you are in union with Him by faith.  As Galatians 3:3 says, “Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?”

Perhaps it is made most clear by Paul in Romans 6:

Romans 6:4-11 Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; for he who has died is freed from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him. For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.

It is by the power of the Gospel that we find not only forgiveness of sins, but also the power of sanctification from sin. As Paul states in Colossians 3:1, “Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.”  The rest of the chapter deals with the mortification of sin and the obedience of holiness and righteousness that comes through faith and union in the Gospel with the resurrection of Christ.

– Excursus –

On a related note, I have found that there are many who do not believe in the power of the Gospel to overcome sin.  Many will look at the condition of the masses of people who attend churches and yet their lives are full of unrepentant sin.  They arrive at the conclusion that these people have believed the Gospel and yet the power promised in the Scriptures has not come to pass.   I think this attitude has created a dangerous misunderstanding of the Gospel and a failure to examine the so-called faith of these people.

I have found that in virtually every case where a person’s life is filled with unrepentant sin, with a little bit of questioning, you will find that these are not believers of the Gospel that lack the power of the Gospel, these are people who do not believe the Gospel according to the Scriptures.  Ask them what they believe the Gospel is, and you will find in most cases that they cannot begin to explain it.  If they have a basic understanding of the person of Jesus, the virgin birth,  and the deity of Jesus, ask them if they believe the resurrection of Jesus, His Lordship at the right hand of God, and the coming Day of the bodily resurrection and the Day of Judgment.  Are they still with you?  Ask them if they believe that Jesus alone is the way, the truth and the life and that only those who trust in Him will be saved from the wrath of God and an eternal punishment of damnation.  No other faith will do.  All other religions are false and lead to damnation.

I think when you get to this point, you will find in most cases, a person who does not care to repent of sin and seek holiness will deny the Gospel of Jesus.  Hopefully, you will be there to ask them to repent and believe the Gospel that you have just described to them.

– End of Excursus –

3. Ask for the power of the Holy Spirit and the new life through the resurrection of Christ.

As discussed above, there is no power to overcome sin apart from faith in the Gospel, and there is also no power apart from the work of the Holy Spirit.  Therefore, in order to effectively ask for the power to overcome sin, ask the Lord specifically to defeat the sin in your life through the wonderful gift of the Holy Spirit.  Paul discusses in Romans 8:1-14 that it is only by the Spirit that we can overcome the deeds of the flesh.  In Galatians, it is the Spirit that produces the fruit of righteousness.  This passage does not mean that the Spirit just makes these things possible, it is by the continual work of the Spirit that we live out this fruit in our deeds, words, and thoughts.

I am not saying that Christ’s power will not operate in you if you do not specifically ask for the Spirit.  However, I do believe that we will be better at overcoming sin if we acknowledge the source of power (the Holy Spirit) to overcome sin and we seek this power in faith.  I fear that our tendency to not ask for the power of the Spirit is because we do not realize that it is only by the Spirit’s power that we will find the power to overcome sin.

4. Do not let sin drive you away from participation in the Body.

Apart from all the other things that must be done throughout our struggle with sin, I have noticed over and over again that those who withdraw themselves from the Body of Christ are often overcome by sin. I am not saying that it is hopeless if a person withdraws from the Body of Christ, but it is dangerous.  More times than not, such a person does not end up being restored in the faith of Christ…and they depart the faith.

Hebrews 10:25 is not simply a exhortation to “go to church”, it is a command to be followed, especially in light of those who may stop meeting with others in the Body of Christ and may fall into apostasy.

We are to be encouragements to one another.  This doesn’t mean we just say “Good job!” to each other…it means that we help one another when we are in sin!  Notice the connection with the “confession of our hope” of the Gospel (Hebrews 10:23) and the commands to “stimulate ourselves to love and good deeds and not forsake gathering together.”  The Body of Christ is critical to overcoming sin in our lives.

5. Examine your love.

There are two points that I am shocked to see are often missed in the discussion of repentance and restoration.  The first is to ask the Lord for the power of the Spirit to overcome sin, as discussed above.  The second is to examine your love.  If you are sinning, it is a heart issue and you are not loving the Lord or your fellow brethren in Christ as you should.

1 John deals with sin and even says in 1 John 3:4 that “Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness.”  How does this relate to love?  The NET Bible’s exegetical notes for the verse state the following:

The Greek word ανομία  is often translated “iniquity” or “lawlessness” and in the LXX refers particularly to transgression of the law of Moses. In Jewish thought the ideas of sin and lawlessness or iniquity were often equated because sin involved a violation of the Mosaic law and hence lawlessness.  For the author [of 1 John], it is not violation of the Mosaic law that results in lawlessness…The ‘law’ for the author is the law of love, as given by Jesus in the new commandment of John 13:34-35. This is the command to love one’s brother, a major theme of 1 John and the one specific sin in the entire letter which the opponents are charged with (3:17). Since the author has already labeled the opponents “antichrists” in 2:18, it may well be that he sees in their iniquitous behavior of withdrawing from the community and refusing to love the brethren. (NET Bible – Notes on 1 John 3:4)

John 13:34-35:

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.

And Paul states in Romans 13:8-10

Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. For this, “YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY, YOU SHALL NOT MURDER, YOU SHALL NOT STEAL, YOU SHALL NOT COVET,” and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this saying, “YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

Therefore, if we are struggling with sin, we ought to examine our hearts to see how our self-love is trumping our love of Christ and the love of our brethren.  As we do this, we can deal with the root of our sin that is often clouded by the various manifestations of our sinful deeds.

7. Seek Guidance from the Word of God

There are many reasons to study the Word of God.  In the context of seeking to overcome sin, the Word becomes essential to obtaining wisdom, which is necessary to be victorious in your life.  Search the Scriptures to find the godly things that you should be seeking.  Seek the Scriptures to find the wisdom that has been demonstrated throughout history by the people of God.  Here you will find that the lusts of the flesh, the pride of life, the pursuit of money and hedonism have all been proven to be the vanity of vanities.  You will learn that we must therefore fear God and obey His commandments.  You will see examples of how sin how brought destruction and despair.

Beyond all of the specific exhortations to forsake sin and live in holiness, you will also see the majestic character of our merciful God.  The more you know, the less you will be able to be comfortable sinning against the holy and loving Lord.

8. Implement godly disciplines.

Now, with all of the discussion above still in our minds, we must also seek to implement godly disciplines to help us in our struggle with sin.  Godly disciplines are of tremendous value, but they should never be viewed as a means to conquer sin apart from faith in the Gospel, the work of the Spirit, etc.

Prayer – Prayer is vital, and is involved with almost every step above.  It is beyond just including it as a “step” to deal with sin…it is essential throughout the entire process.  Your prayers must earnestly seek the power of the resurrection of Christ from the source of all life…Christ Himself.

Studies in the Word of God – We have already discussed the value of the Word to overcome sin, but we must also must make this a discipline, and not just a resource.

Service and devotion – Do not simply stop your sin, but replace the time, the energy, and the desire that you once had for sin with time, energy and desire for godly service and pure worship.

Environment – Examine the things that you are surrounded with…who you are with, what you listen to and watch.  Do everything possible to put a shield of protection around you to keep sin from gripping you.  For example:

• If you struggle with anger or gossip, avoid the situations that tempt you to become enraged or frustrated with other people.
• If you struggle with lust, don’t put yourself within arm’s reach and eye’s sight of the objects of your sin.
• If you struggle with laziness or are too tired to exercise spiritual disciplines, avoid the things that drag you down by doing things like getting a good night’s sleep as much as possible, throwing a brick through the television screen, or doing something out of the ordinary to break your bad habits.

Surround yourself with godly music.  Make time  for Christian fellowship.  Replace your television time with a good Christian book.

Accountability – Seek help!  Share your weakness with your spouse, a trusted friend, your pastors, etc.  Seek their prayer and their wisdom.  Ask for them to “check up” on you.  Study the Word together.

The things that you can do go on and on.  I by no means intend to be exhaustive with everything written above.  However, I hope that it helps us all to overcome sin and seek to honor our glorious Lord.  May we bring glory to the name of Jesus Christ!

The Believer’s Struggle with Sin

During our Bible Study hours over the past few weeks, we have been addressing the issues that believers struggle with when we sin.  We first established two very important facts.

First, the Scriptures do not teach that a believer in the Gospel is made perfectly holy in deed, word, and thought.

Every believer will sin.  We will struggle with sin.  Paul addresses the issue even after he makes the bold statement in Romans 6 that states:

Romans 6:17-18 But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed, and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.

We are no longer under the authority and dominion of the horrible slavemaster of sin.  Instead, we are slaves of righteousness!

Now, this is a grand statement indeed.  It is a statement that Paul makes in his argument against the Judaizers who are trying to argue against the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  In the Judaizers’ minds, a Jew needed the Law of Moses to restrain sinfulness.  However, Paul argues that the Law doesn’t bring righteousness, it is the Spirit that guides a believer into righteousness (Romans 8:3-14) in connection with the resurrection of Jesus.

Just a little later in Romans, Paul leaves his argument against the Judaizers (and those who may be influenced by them) and begins his exhortation to believers.  There, he makes it clear that even though we have died to the slavemaster of sin, who previoulsy owned and controlled us, we are not free from the remnants of sin.  We still struggle with sin, but we must now be about the business of overcoming sin by putting to death the deeds of the flesh by the power of the Spirit (Romans 8:13)!

Therefore, Paul speaks from chapter 12 on giving very practical commands which we must seek to follow to put to death the things of sin, and live in holiness.

Second, grace is not a license to sin.

This is fundamental to the Gospel.  When Paul sees the Judaizers arguing that the Jews who came to faith in the Gospel will now live comfortably in sin because they are no longer under the Mosaic Law, he retorts “Absolutely not!”  Grace, mercy, and forgiveness are not an excuse or a license to sin.  As believers, we must never forget this.

I heard a Christian radio program some time ago that came to mind as I prepared this study.  It was a very honest discussion with a married couple that was recovering from the devestation of adultery.  The guilty spouse had broken the trust, the love, and the purity of their marital union.  But through the mercy of Christ, the other spouse showed forgiveness and allowed the process of reconciliation to take place.  It took many years, but now both husband and wife give testimony that their marriage is stronger than ever, and their love for one another is a picture of the love between Christ and His Bride.

Let me pose this question.  In light of this story, should both the husband and wife realize that it is okay to commit adultery again?  After all, they have alread demonstrated that forgiveness can overcome such sin.

The answer is clear.  Mercy and forgiveness in Christ is not an encouragement to sin.  It actually drives us to realize that we should avoid sin with all earnestness to avoid trasngressing against the One whom we love.

So, how do we deal with sin as believers?  I hope to address these issues over the next several weeks.

May God grant to us the power to overcome temptation.

The Deception of Sin

I’ve been reading a lot in Ralph Venning’s book lately and thought this was worth sharing…

It is impossible to count up all the ways in which the deceitful hearts and sins of men abuse them. I will, however, give a few examples as a warning to sinners and a witness against sin, and so conclude this section of our book.

(1) Sometimes sin persuades us that such and such a thing is not a sin, though it looks like a sin. Thus the Devil dealt with Eve in the beginning and so deceived her. She was a little suspicious and shy, that what the Devil urged her to do was evil, but he cunningly insinuated that however it seemed to her, yet it was not so. In this way the pride and wantonness of people is maintained–that though these things appear to be evil, they are not evil. But, alas, it is the next thing to being a sinner to look like a sinner; appearance in good is too little and in evil it is too much. It is a very hard thing to look like a sinner and talk and dress like a sinner and not to be one. It is more than likely that what the Devil grants to be like a sin, is a sin. Those who are persuaded otherwise are deceived by him, as Eve was. If we like the picture, the odds are great against us not liking the thing. Though an idol is no God, nor even like him, yet God has utterly forbidden graven images for they are of the Devil’s carving.

(2) Sin would persuade that what may be sin in another cannot be sin in you, all things considered, because you are necessitated. For example, a poor man is forced to steal. But no man is necessitated to sin, even though under necessity; sin is sin in any or in all. Though temptations may mitigate and excuse somewhat, yet they cannot excuse totally from its being a sin, and they cannot un-sin sin.

(3) It is one sin only, and this only once, says Sin. But if sin is good, why only once, and if evil, why once? One sin though committed but once is one and once too much. Besides when the Serpent’s head is in, it is hard to keep out the whole body; one makes way for the other. It is almost impossible to sin once and only once.

(4) It is only a little one, says Sin. But that which is against a great God and deserves so great a punishment as death cannot be a little sin; for the wages of sin and of every single sin is death (Romans 6.23).

(5) It is in secret and no-one will see it, says Sin. But this is a cheat, for it is impossible to sin so secretly but there will be at least two witnesses. God and conscience know all the sins that man can commit.

(6) Yes, but you will hate it and dread it ever after, says Sin. Thus some go to Mass to show their distaste of it, and to plays to see the folly of them. But who would be a burnt child to learn to dread the fire? Such costly experiments may indeed cost us the loss of out souls. It is dangerous to meddle with that which is an appearance and may be an occasion of evil, and much more to parley and tamper with sin itself.

(7) But I promise you that you shall gain by it, says Sin. You will have so much profit, so much pleasure and so much honour. Sin’s gain is loss, however; for he who gains even the world by sin pays too dearly for it. It means the loss or at least the hazard of his soul. The pleasures of sin are grievous, and its honours are disgraces and shame. Did not our first parents find it so, and do not we (Romans 6.21)? The precious substance promised by sin ends in a pernicious shadow, and the spoils we get by sin only spoil us. Sin promises like a God but pays like a Devil. Sin tells us that we shall not die but live like gods, but we find nothing but death and such a life as they have in Hell. Sin’s performance is altogether contrary to its promises; it promises gold and pays dross. If any man, then, has a mind to have true miseries, let him pay heed to sin’s false promises.

(8) But others do it, says Sin, and why may not you? It is not what others do, however, but what they ought to do that we are to follow. We must not follow any man or a multitude of men to do evil. If others will risk their damnation, what is that to us? It will be no comfort to have had companions in sin and to meet them again in Hell.

(9) But you have only to repent, says Sin, and God will forgive you. To this we must say that he who promised forgiveness to them that repent has not promised repentance to them that sin. Besides, even if sin were to cost no more than repentance, anyone in his right mind would be loath to buy repentance at so dear a rate; for repentance, though it may free them from greater, puts men to more grid and pain than ever sin could afford them pleasure.

(10) Yes, but you have escaped well enough hitherto, says Sin. No evil has befallen you. If this is so, however, it may be so much the worse for us. Not to be punished may be the worst punishment (Isaiah 1.15; Hosea 4.14,17). What will it cost if God does awaken me, and if not, what will it cost when God shall damn me?

(11) It is only your infirmity, says Sin. You cannot help it. Tell sin that this is a thing that none but fools and children can accept. Besides, to plead for infirmities is more than an infirmity. That which is only an infirmity today may become a disease tomorrow, if not prevented. Once the will is engaged, it is past an infirmity and has become a sin.

Now if these and other arguments do not succeed, then Sin speaks more openly. It says, there is no such thing as sin. There is no difference between good and evil. As all things come alike to all, so all things are alike. And also, says Sin, evil is good in God’s sight, or he would judge it (Malachi 2.17); his silence makes you think that he is such an one as yourself (Psalm 50.21). But tell Sin that this defeats and refutes itself and proves nothing so clearly as that sin is exceedingly sinful. If there is no sin, and no difference between good and evil, to what purpose are these different words used by Sin to prove that there is no difference? To say that it is only in imagination and not real is to deny that there is any such thing as sense and conscience, which every man admits, and no-one can deny without denying himself and God. Between good and evil there is more difference than between light and darkness, life and death, ease and pain, food and poison, and these are real, and not differences made by our fancy only. That all things come alike to all is not always true; there are contrary examples. To say that all things are alike is never true but is a manifest contradiction. To say that evil is good in God’s sight and that he is such an one as a sinner is to deny God to be, for if he is not good and just, he is not God. But this bespeaks man to be woefully ignorant, for the flood which drowned the old world, the fire which fell from Heaven on Sodom, the judgments which God executes in the earth continually, witness that God is displeased with and the avenger of sin, just as his giving us rain from heaven and fruitful seasons is witness that he is good and does good. The fact that his sun shines and his rain falls on the unjust as well as on the just is to persuade men of his goodness which calls for repentance and which also witnesses that sin is evil.

But if sin were not exceedingly sinful, what need would it have to use all these tricks and subterfuges? If it and its deeds were not evil, why does it seek to avoid the light? Why, like a maker of counterfeit money, does it put the King of Heaven’s stamp on its base metal? Why does Jacob call himself Esau and counterfeit his brother if sin were not abominable? Why did the Gibeonites pretend to have come from afar if they did not wish to be unknown? If sin were not false and a robber, why does it creep in unseen, climb up a narrow way and avoid the door? Why does it flatter and deceive? Why does it never keep its promises, but break all it ever made? It is because it is sinful sin.

- Ralph Venning, The Sinfulness of Sin.

The Most Convicting Table of Contents Ever

In a couple of weeks, I hope to start a series at Heritage on the topics of Sin, Ungodliness, and Weakness in the lives of Christians. This has reminded me again that there may be no book written that does a better job bringing to light the nature and danger of sin than just the table of contents from the Puritan work by Ralph Venning’s called “Sin, the Plague of Plagues”. It has been reprinted by Puritan Paperbacks under the title, “The Sinfulness of Sin”. I have attempted to copy the table of contents for this work below. I apologize if anything is not true to the original or if my numbering / indenting is not accurate.

I encourage you to take time to view these convicting headings as you consider your struggles with sin.

1) SECTION ONE – What Sin is

2) SECTION TWO – The Sinfulness of Sin

a) Sin’s Contrariety to God

i) To the nature of God

ii) To all the names and attributes of God

iii) To the works of God

iv) To the law and will of God

v) To the image of God

vi) To the people of God

vii) To the glory of God

viii) To the being of God

b) Sin’s Contrariety to Man

i) Sin is against man’s present good in this life

ii) In a natural sense

(1) It is against man’s well-being in this life

(2) It is against man’s very being

iii) In a moral sense

(a) It has degraded man

(b) It has darkened man’s understanding

(c) It has made man a fool

(i) In relation to his chief and ultimate end

(ii) In relation to the means leading to happiness

(iii) As to the non-improvement or misimprovement of means

(iv) Examples of man’s folly

(d) It has made man a beast

(i) Like a beast

(ii) Like the worst of beasts

(iii) Worse than the beasts

(e) It has separated man from God in a moral sense

(i) Effects of this separation from God

c) Sin is against the good of man in the life to come

i) Privative damnation

(1) Sinners will be deprived of all the good things they had in this life

(2) Of the pleasure they had from them

(3) All their peace

(4) Their hopes of Heaven

(5) All good company

(6) Heaven

(7) God himself

(8) They shall be incapable of any alteration for the better

ii) Positive damnation

(1) The torment of Hell

(a) The place with its names

(b) The thing itself

(2) The quantity and the quality of the torments of Hell

(a) They will be exceedingly great and terrible

(b) They will be universal

(c) They will be without intermission

(3) The duration of these torments

(4) The tormentors

(a) The Devil

(b) Conscience

(c) God

(5) The aggravations of these torments

(6) The effects of these torments

3) SECTION THREE – The Witnesses Against Sin

a) God himself bears witness against sin

i) He has forbidden sin and made a law against it

ii) He will not allow us to do evil that good may come

iii) By threatening man

iv) He is angry with the wicked

v) Sin alone made God repent that he had made man

vi) By many great and severe judgments

(1) On sinners

(2) On his own people

(3) On his own Son

vii) He sent his Son into the World to condemn sin and destroy it

(1) Christ’s sufferings were for sinners

(2) They were exceedingly great

(a) He suffered all kinds of suffering

(b) He suffered from all kinds of persons

(c) He had all kinds of aggravating circumstances united in his sufferings

(3) Their greatness is a full witness against the sinfulness of sin

b) Angels bear witness against sin

i) Good angels

ii) Evil angels

c) The Witness of Men

i) Good men

(1) Against other men’s sins

(2) Against their own sin

(3) Objections against the witness of good men answered

(a) They abhor sin as sin

(b) They still sin

(c) But they hate sin nevertheless

ii) Wicked men

(1) They are ashamed of sin before and when they commit it

(2) They are ashamed after they have committed it

(a) They dare not own their sin

(b) They dare not look into their actions

(c) They decry and punish in others sin which they themselves are guilty of

(d) They usually fly to forms of godliness

(e) They desire to die the death of the righteous

(3) The most hardened sinners at one time witness against sin

d) The Whole Creation witnesses against sin

i) As having done it a great deal of wrong

ii) With respect to God and man

(1) The creatures teach man his duty

(2) They convince men of many sins

iii) The creatures are instruments in the hand of God to punish sinners

e) The Law witnesses against Sin (Before and after it is committed)

i) The law will not pardon the least sin

ii) It cannot justify any man

iii) It makes sin abound

iv) It has become as a schoolmaster

v) It silences man from making any complaint

vi) It leaves a man without hope

f) The Gospel bears witness against Sin

g) The Witness of Sin itself

i) Sin’s names

(1) The work of the Devil

(2) All filthiness of flesh and spirit

(a) Sin is Ioathsome

(b) It is polluting and infectious

(i) In its universality

(ii) How suddenly it infects

1. How it increases in ourselves

2. How it increases in others

(iii) Its infection is almost incurable

(iv) It lives in its effects when we are dead

ii) The arts sin uses to disguise itself

4) SECTION FOUR -The Application and Usefulness of The Doctrine of Sin’s Sinfulness

a) Sin is the Worst of Evils

i) It is worse than any affliction

(1) Worse than death

ii) Worse than the Devil

iii) Worse than Hell

iv) In every way the worst of evils

b) Inferences from the Sinfulness of Sin against God

i) The patience and long-suffering of God with sinners is wonderful

ii) The judgments of God are just

iii) How precious a mercy is the forgiveness of sin!

iv) Sin is not to be committed on any account what-soever

v) How transcendently and incomparably beautiful a thing is holiness!

c) Inferences from the Contrariety of Sin to the Good of Man

i) They who seek for any good in sin are miserably mistaken

ii) There is no profit to man by sin

(1) There is no honour to be gained by sin

(2) There is no pleasure to be had from sin

(3) Time spent in sin is worse than lost

iii) Those who mock at sin are worse than fools and madmen

iv) It can never be well with a man while he is in his sins

v) Men should become religious without delay

vi) How welcome should the Gospel be!

d) Exhortation and Counsel

i) Repent

ii) Believe the Gospel

iii) Sin no more

iv) Take heed of living in any sin

(1) Take heed of sinning in thought

(a) Sinful thoughts defile a man

(b) They are an abomination in the sight of God

(c) Thought-sins are root-sins

(d) We must beg pardon for them

(e) The Gospel is to bring thoughts to the obedience of Christ

(f) Conversion is in the thoughts of men

(g) God keeps an account of thoughts

(h) Directions

(i) Humbly make your address to God

(ii) Hide the Word of God in your heart

(iii) Begin the day with thoughts of God

(iv) Chide and check vain thoughts

(v) Turn away from beholding vanity

(vi) Beware of idleness

(vii) Love God and his law much

(2) A warning against sinful words

(a) Sinful words are wholly forbidden

(b) Unless a man take heed to his words his religion is vain

(c) They evidence sinful hearts

(d) They corrupt men and manners

(e) The tongue is man’s glory or shame

(f) God will judge us for and by our words

(g) Directions

(i) Let your words be few

(ii) Let us speak as we ought

(3) Beware of sinning in deed

(a) Take heed of sins of omission

(i) Some of the best men have been guilty of this

(ii) It is a great affliction to good men to be forced to omit duties

(iii) It is a sin to be willing to omit a duty

(iv) One omission makes way for another

(v) The more knowledge we have of a duty, the worse is the omission of it

(vi) Sins of omission are bad examples

(vii) They are sins which God has judged and will judge

(b) Take heed of sins of commission

(i) Of your besetting sin

(ii) Of sins as relatives

(iii) Of the sins of the age and place where you live

(iv) Of the sins that attend your callings

(v) Of `little’ sins

(vi) Of secret sins

(vii) Of the occasions and appearances of sin

(viii) Of being guilty of other men’s sins

1. In giving occasion for them before

2. As co-helpers of them

3. As accessory after they are committed

5) Conclusion

PTTS: Ephesians 2:1-3

Praying Through the Scriptures

Ephesians 2.1-3: And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.

My Savior and my God,
Thank you for rescuing your people from the death of sin. We have sinned greatly against you. We were bound to sin and controlled by it, but this was in accordance with our depraved will. We have loved the things of darkness, served the ruler of sin and lived to satisfy sinful lusts. We cared nothing for you or your ways of righteousness, rejecting the Lord of Lords in pride and hatred.

Let us be reminded of this again. For now we have been rescued from sin by the grace of Jesus and by his atoning work, but we never ought to forget the depth of our despair. Let us never look to others who have not be redeemed and think that they are different than we once were, and still would be if not for your sovereign grace. Prevent us from looking upon others as if we care not to see them saved!

May you send forth the Gospel in the power of the Spirit! It grieves us to see those whom we love still in the grips of sin. We long to see them rescued by the Gospel and ask now that you would extend your saving hand of mercy to them.

Teach us Father how to communicate the reality of sin and enmity to others who reject your Son. Help us to speak words of truth in a sober, but loving and graceful manner. As Paul now understood his sinfulness though he once considered himself righteous, let us show others that they are in great peril – they are children of Your wrath – and let us plead with them, in a manner that shows that You yourself were appealing to them through us to trust in the righteousness of Jesus.

And Lord, please continue to sanctify us by the power of the risen Lord Jesus. Deliver us from sins and trespasses and from the temptations of our lust, our greed, and our pride. We have no strength alone, but we trust in the power of the resurrection through our union with Christ through faith.

Cleanse us we pray,

Amen.

Proclaiming the Doctrine of Sin

Mark Dever writes the following on page 148 of the book “Telling the Truth” edited by D.A. Carson…

“Sometimes we share the Gospel with people while secretly only half-believing it’s true, wondering what they will concede to us, and not wanting to say much more than that lest we look ridiculous…Don’t be put off by the current fad of the times. People need to grasp not only the theoretical concept of evil and wrong, but also the fact that they are evil and wrong. They need to experience their own consciences. This is difficult in postmodernism, because the self tends to dissolve away, to disappear. in many ways, that may be the biggest problem we have when we try to communicate the idea of sin today. Postmodernism encourages the evacuation of the responsible self.

But the real reason people don’t acknowledge the legitimate moral claims of God is not because of any philosophy; it is simply because it is not in their self-interest to do so.”

Sin and evil are two of the most difficult topics to discuss, especially when sin and evil become personal. But if there are certain things that we as Christians are absolutely convinced of, it is that sin is real and that the heart of sin is unrighteousness and ungodliness. Sin is opposition to God. This leads us to the reason for our evangelism; namely that as certain as we are that sin is real, we are certain that there is Good News and redemption from the power of the slavemaster of sin and reconciliation with God through Jesus, the Messiah.

So far in our study in Acts, we have seen Peter bring the charge of sin against Israel for crucifying the Prince of Life. Let us prayerfully consider how we may effectively communicate the depths of sin to those whom are around us today.