Sermon – “What is Sin?”

4 Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness. 5 And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin. 6 Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him. 7 Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. 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. 9 Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God. 10 In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother. 11 For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another, 12 not as Cain who was of the wicked one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil and his brother’s righteous. 13 Do not marvel, my brethren, if the world hates you. 14 We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother[a] abides in death. 15 Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.

12 “How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer,[a] son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, You who weakened the nations! 13 For you have said in your heart: ‘I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation On the farthest sides of the north; 14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.’ 15 Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, To the lowest depths of the Pit.

¹² Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned—¹³ (For until the law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law.  14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come.

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

19 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery,[a] fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21 envy, murders,[b] drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. 20 Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin. 21 But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, 22 even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all[a] who believe. For there is no difference; 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, 26 to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

²⁰ He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you ²¹ who through Him believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.

²² Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit^[a] in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart, ²³ having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever,^[b]24 because

Now this is the word which by the gospel was preached to you. 

26 For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27 but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries. 28 Anyone who has rejected Moses’ law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 29 Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace?

So the title message today. What is sin and you might say man here we are in a Christmas season and what are you talking about what is sin. Well. If that isn’t the Christmas thing. Why did Jesus come right. He came because of sin to free us from our sins Amen. It might seem like a silly question that some and bring it up here in church because I’m sure that all of you know what sin is. But I truly think that there are many many in our society today that do not know what sin is. And I have when I was sent Rizana the information is weak. I put in there. I know this is a lot of scripture. It is a lot of scripture. So you may want to take a few notes because there’s a lot of scripture to help us to help others know what sin is. So that’s the goal of this message to help us be better informed on how we can reveal what sin is to others and encourage them to come to Jesus and turn from their sin if you look up the definition of sin is my mike working. OK if you look up the definition of sin depending on what source you use you’re probably going to find a definition similar to this. I looked up several and they had a lot of them that were just saying it is an immoral act considered to be a transgression against divine law all a sin in the eyes of God That’s what sin is transgression against the law all sin in the eyes of God Cinnamon’s sin a sin a mom’s. Butcher the language sin synonyms immoral act wrong doing acts of evil or wickedness transgression crime. Offense missed. Deed misdemeanor or invites evilness wickedness transgressions crime a back up a little bit offense missed the misdemeanor or advice and as I got to the part where said vice. I got to thinking I have a does everybody know what a vice is a big metal vise. I have a big metal device in my garage my workbench. Vice buys vice I and I can take that vise and it’s you know you got a handle on where you crank get thing open. And you can put an object in that voice I mean you can put it in his gut. Teeth on the jaws of that voice and you can put whatever object in error. Whether it be a part a piece of pipe or whatever and you crank on at hand or you can crank at thing so tight and you can do whatever you want to to that object you have an advice you can bend it. You can destroy it. You can break it. Parents as I can break it. I can do whatever I need to do that vice. But that vice has such a grip on out object that it will not let go. It’ll hold it firmly and that’s what sin does in the lives of people today. It gets a grip on them and it won’t let go. But there is good news. I can tell you how to get loose so that bites that bites a sin and that’s a cry of the Jesus. All you’ve got to do is say Jesus help me free me from this vice free me from this sin that I’ve been walking in. And he will hear that cry he will hear the cry of the repentant heart and he will free you from that vice I can assure you that because he freed me from the vices Amal life. Set me free. Now if you want to go to the most reliable support source the supreme authority as to what sin is of course we go to the Bible. The Bible says it is the transgression of the law of God it means. Lawlessness. That’s what sin is in one word is lawlessness. So now we get our scripture for today. First John Chapter three verses four thru fifteen whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness. And sin is lawlessness and you know that he was manifested. So he is a Christmas message he was manifested to take away our sins and in him. There is no sin. Whoever abides in him. Now this is not my words this is his words. Whoever abides that means to remain in him. Does not sin. Whoever sends has neither seen him nor known him. Little children let their Let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous just as he is righteous. He who sends is of the devil for the devil has sinned from the beginning for his purpose for this purpose the Son of God was manifested that he might destroy the works of the devil. Whoever has been born of God does not sin for his see remains in him and he cannot sin because he has been born of God in this the children of God and the children of the devil or manifest. Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God nor is he who does not love his brother for this is the message that you heard from the beginning that we should love one another not as Cain who was of the wicked one and murdered his brother and why did he murder him because his works were evil and his brothers were righteous do you not marvel my brother and if the world hates you. We know that we have passed from death to life because we love the brother. He who does not love his brother abides in death. Who. Ever hate his brother is a murderer and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in Him Do not marvel if the world hates you. You know that you’ve passed from death to life because if you preach the truth. If you preach against sin. I’m going to tell you right now the world’s going to hate you but you can say hallelujah. I know that I’ve now passed from death to life. Amen. Sins origins we all know we’re sin had its beginning in the beginning actually wasn’t with Adam is with Lucifer. Who Serve was probably the most one of the most beautiful and powerful Angels there was. But he was not content with his position he desired to be higher than God and that was his downfall. That was the beginning of sin. Is a of fourteen twelve through fifteen reveals this truth here. The words of Isaiah how you are fallen from heaven. Lucifer son of the morning. How you were cut down to the ground you to weaken the nations for you have said in your heart. I was sent into heaven. I would solve my throne above the stars of God I will also sit on the Mount of the congregation on the farther side of the north. I will send the above the heights of the clouds. I will be like the most high. Yet we shall be brought down to the soul to the lowest depths of the pit. He was called the Son of the morning. You know I’m a morning person. I love morning and you think of that sun rising up over the mountains in the dark disappears and the light shines. It’s a beautiful time a day he was compared to that. That’s how glorious he was. But because of his heart because of his rebellion against God. Wanting to be higher than God he was brought to the lowest depths of the pit that is his destination the lowest depths of the pit. And he knows that he has destroyed. Lucifer was renamed Satan. So after his sin he brought sins of the human race in the Garden of Eden when he tempted Adam and Eve with the same enticement that he himself had in his heart in Genesis three Adam and Eve rebelled against God He used the same enticement he told them you will be like God you eat of the tree you will be like God knowing the difference between good and evil. But since the time of that sin when Adam gave in and rebelled against God It changed it changed his inside it changed in here from since that time. He inherited sin when he ate of that tree he inherited sin Romans five twelve tells us that through Adam sin entered the world and so death passed on to all men because a wages of sin is death because of the sin of Adam. It is passed on to generation to generation to generation to generation. It is called an hared sin through out of the inherit inclination to sin entered the human race. Human beings became sinners by nature. Who here had to teach their children to disobey. Come on. Nobody. I mean you didn’t have to say Come on little Susie. Now the next time I tell you to go clean your room I want you to say no I’m not going to do it. Nobody had to teach your little ones to do that right. Nobody. It came naturally. That’s the point it came naturally. It was born into them when Adam sinned his inner nature was. Transform to rebuy its nature bringing him to spiritual death and depravity which would pass on to all who came after him. We are sinners not because we sin rather we sin because we are sinners. This past on the Predator is known as inherited sin just as we inherit physical characters from our parents. I mean. Look at your children or look at your parents. I mean we will oftentimes resemble our parents look a lot like him. We might sound like them. We might act like them. We and hared characteristics from our parents we have inherited sin from our Father Adam. King David lamented this condition of fallen human nature and Psalms fifty one five. He said. Surely I was sinful at birth sinful from the time my mother conceived me another type of sin is known as imputed sin. This is used both in the financial and legal settings to Greek word translated imputed means to take something that belongs to someone and to credit to another’s account before the law of Moses was given sin was not imputed to man although the men were still centers because of the inherent sin. It was not imputed to them because there was no law now for today’s example of this if we were all to go out here and jump in my car and go down and get on Interstate sixty eight and if from Hancock all the way to Morgantown outsell for Interstate sixty eight goes if there was no posted speed limit whatsoever. We could jump in MA car and we could go one hundred fifty miles an hour. It wouldn’t go that fast. Karen shaking her head. But if our car would go that fast. We could get in our car we could go one hundred fifty miles an hour and guess what if a cop. See you employ you over. He is not going to be able to give you a ticket because there is no posted speed limit. There is no law against it. So he could not imputed to your account however if there was a posted speed limit you get in a cargo hundred fifty mile an hour. He’s going to post it to your account. You’re going to have to get this out and you’re going to have to pay a hefty fine if you’re going to hundred fifty Mounir actually they might haul you off to jail. You’re going under fifty miles an hour. You’re going to it will be imputed to you if there is a posted speed limit. So now you know what the imputed is when there was no law all they couldn’t put it on their account. But now there is a law it is imputed to your account Romans five thirteen says for Until will all sin was in the world but sin is not imputed when there is no law. However after the law was given it is put in our counts. Even though they were not imputed to those who sin before the law they still suffered the penalty of death there still was sin so there still was consequences to their sin even though it wasn’t put on their accounts Romans five fourteen says Death reign from Adam to Moses even over those who had not sin according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam who is a type of Him who was to come after Moses humans were subject to death. Both because of the inherited sin for Madame de imputed sin. From violating God’s waltz non-O. that everybody here has a pretty good knowledge of what is sin. What is sinful and what is not so why it is important. Why is it important that we dig into these things and have a thorough understanding of it for one thing we need to understand it so that we can. Can explain to others what is sinful and what is not you know no matter how good they think they are if they don’t have a relationship with Jesus. They’re lost. They’re lost. They’re still centers. We are sinners yes saved by grace. The apostle Paul says in Romans three twenty three all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. But the truth is that sin as defined in the original translation of the Bible means to miss the mark. The mark in this case is a standard of perfection established by God and evidence by Jesus Christ viewed in that light it is very clear that we are all sinners. We fall short of His Glory don’t we. Another reason we need to understand sin is because we live in a culture. We are definitely living in a culture today where you could say the waters have been muddied. Very muddied the concept of sin has become so entangled in legal mistake arguments over right and wrong and so complicated by this debate that many people don’t know what is right and wrong. Many people today are relying on a Supreme Court to let them decide what is right and wrong. If the Supreme Court says it’s OK what must be OK but the Supreme God if he says it’s not OK It’s not OK if the Supreme God says it’s a sin is a sin. This is our authority right here to complicate matters. There are many out there in the news media or celebrities or whatever whatever that will attack those that have conservative values they will attack those that say this is a sin. You should. Not be doing it even if they don’t have the evidence to do it they’ll still attack trying to destroy people or destroy their careers. I think I’ve shared before Karen likes the Watts H.D. T.V. Usually it’s night when I’m drifting off to sleep. She’s watching H.D. T.V. and just this past week one of the couples they you know they have different groups that do things well there’s a couple chip and Joanna Gaines and there are a couple that will people buy a house and will say OK let us will fix it up and they just completely transform the house and bring him back and show him the house while chip and Joanna are a Christian couple and they are not ashamed of it. They let people know there are Christian couple and they pray. Well there’s a liberal news out there called Buzz Feed and they posted or published an article this past week about this couple’s church they accuse the pastor which is Jimi Siebert his name. They accused him of being anti-gay homophobic they calling. Because he openly spoke that homosexuality is a sin. It is a sin and if you practice that lifestyle. You’re not going to enter into eternal life with God. Well they’ve taken that and they said well they attend that church. So they must believe the same thing. No evidence no proof they have not openly said that it was a sin. But they’re saying because they go there. Nat pastor says that they must believe that to try and to destroy them. Thankfully others have said this is a non-story. Because they haven’t publicly denied or said that is a sin and H.D. T.V. has not said that it is because they actually have. Same sex couples that are. Some of them are you know people to fix and houses for but that’s where we’re live and today that we have news media or actually society in a culture out there that if you are conservative. If you stand up and say this is wrong because it’s wrong in the eyes of God they’re going to call you a hater. They’re going to call you homophobic or whatever kind of phobic it is and make you look out and look to be the hater in the wrong person. So the devil is transformed and made that which is wrong. Look right and that which is wrong. Right. Wrong and wrong right. And we are living in a culture where many have a hard time distinguishing between right and wrong. So what is sin and what is not sin. Many studies today show that even in the among Christians or among churchgoers their view of sin has softened their allowing pressure from the outside to guide their values instead of the Word of God There are many have caved in on many issues not just one. It’s not all about one issue. As many many of us consider sin and was sin is we think of the violation of God’s Ten Commandments. We often tend to think that murder and adultery and these major sins are worse than line and cursing and idolatry. But there are many sins not just one I want to read a list of some from Galatians five thousand nine hundred twenty one now the works of the flesh are evident which are adultery fornication uncleanness lewdness idolatry sorcery hatred contentions jealousy outburst of Wrath. So peace ambitions dissensions. Heresies and the murder drunkenness revelries and the like of which I tell you before hand just as I told you in time past that those who practice such things practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God The very first group that we read from first John also had that important word practice in verse ten in this the children of God in the children of the devil are manifest whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God nor is he who does not love his neighbor practicing. I’m going to. Just out of the top of my head a little illustration and will use adultery because that we won’t be stepping on the feet of the other major saying We’re talking about. Let’s say that there was a couple in a church and they go to church every week and husband’s name is George Well George works in an office setting and there’s men and women there. Well. Sally and George are kind of cozying up a little bit at work and next thing you know they’re going to lunch and then lunch turns into something else and this continues because on and on and on they keep it a secret keep it secret from George’s wife don’t tell or there’s no repentance or there’s no remorse. There’s no conviction there it just goes on and on and on and on but in another church we have a man named Sam Sam also works in an office environment. Well. Cynthia comes up the salmon he too stumbles lunch leads into something else but after the very first time Sam is convicted in his heart. He’s broken in his heart he can’t believe that he did that to his wife. He’s sorrowful that he did that to God and his wife that he cheated on his wife. Sam goes home and he tells these were. What he did he begs for forgiveness forgive me let me prove myself let me prove myself to be faithful she forgives him and after time he build that trust back up. Sam did not practice on righteousness. He stumbled once. George practices and righteousness. There’s a difference between practice and maybe stumbling once. Do we practice these evil things that we practice our rebellion against God or on faithfulness to our spouses or families too. Most important things to define sin. It is rebellion. It is rebellion against God it’s rebellion against his loves Adam and Eve rebelled against God at Satan’s main goal to get people to rebel against God and it is lawlessness not obeying the word of God we must understand in no and be rooted in the Word of God practicing that which his word says to do and not doing what His word says not to do. Joshua one eight eighteen rather says whoever rebels against your command does not heed your words and all that you command him shall be put to death only be strong and be of good cheer. Here’s the good news in all of this there is hope there is forgiveness of sins Romans three nineteen through twenty six. Now we know that whatever the law says it says to those who are under the law that every mouth may be stopped and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law all no flesh will be justified in his sight. Yes we’re to obey the law all. We love him but by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified for by the law is the knowledge of sin but now the righteousness of God. Apart from the law is revealed being witnessed by the law in the province. Even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ to all. And on all who believe where there is no difference for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus whom God sent forth as propitiation by His blood through faith to demonstrate His righteousness. Because in his forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed to demonstrate at this at the present time his righteousness that he might be just and the justifier the one who has faith in Jesus. Amen. God uses the principle of imputation to benefit mankind. When Ian Pujas the sin of believers to the count of Jesus Christ. You understand that you get that we are sinners but he imputed all our sins to Jesus. The Count who paid the penalty for our sins by the death will not cross imputing our Since Jesus by doing that God treated him as he was as if he was a sinner. Even though he was not he allowed him to die for our sins for my sins for your sins for the sins of the entire world first John two two is where you’ll find it is important to understand that sin was imputed to him but he did not inherit it from Madame. You see he did not inherit sin from the seed of Adam because Mary’s with Tao never knew a man so. See he did not have that inherited sin as we do but he became sin for us but he never sinned not one sin he became sin. But the most important thing we get earth should understand from this exchange. Is that it God imputes his righteousness to us. God imputed our sin to Christ and then he turns around him. Putas Christ righteousness to us to our account. So when you look at our count before Christ sinner. After Christ righteous because we believe on the Lord Jesus Christ second grant the inspired twenty one for he made him who knew no sin to be sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God in him. That is what Christmas is all about. He came that we might be made righteous first Peter one vs twenty three twenty five for Indeed. He indeed was four days before the foundation foundation of the world but was manifest in these last times for you who through Him believe in God who raised him from the dead and gave Him glory. So that your faith and hope are in God since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the spear in sincere love with a brother in love one another fervently with a pure heart. Having been born again not of corruptible see but incorruptible through the Word of God which lives in abides forever because all flesh is as grass and all the glory of man as a flower of the grass the grass withers and its flowers fall flower falls away but the word of the Lord indoors forever. Now this. Is the word which by the Gospel was preached to you. When we are born again we no longer have that seed within us. That’s what it means to be born again that new C. of Christ is in us the old man is buried. I got I was on baptism last week the old man is buried behold we come up the New Man that new seed we should no longer even have the want to sin. Because we have his seed in us by nature. We were fallen but now by nature. We have him in us we should not want to even sin. We was Khana talking a little bit about this and Sabbath school and going out and you know I go back to what I was talking about sins calling sin what it is I don’t care if it’s homosexuality or adult or any of these things the world’s going to make me out a hater fast and up here and say it’s a sin and you’re not going to happen if you’re practicing that lifestyle. But in truth. I’m going to say I love you enough to tell you because I care about your soul. I want you to go to heaven. I want you to spend eternity with God. So I haven’t even though the world may say I’m a hater. No I love you I love you enough to tell you the truth and tell you that it is a sin and you ought to turn from it. We need to do it lovingly but if I stand up here and say well it’s OK I’m not so sure that’s a sin. It might be OK because God is a loving God Surely God wouldn’t send us let us go to hell because you know I just can’t help it. I’ve went that way because it was in my nature. Than I’m doing you an injustice I’m a hater if I’m not willing to preach the truth. That means I don’t care about you. If we preach a lie. They’ve got it all twisted around. We need to be warming up willing to say and strong enough to say love you and I want you to turn from that. Let me tell you about Jesus who can get you out of that bites. Hebrews ten twenty six twenty nine says Dear friends. If we deliberately continue sending after we have received the knowledge of the truth. There is no longer any sacrifice that will cover these sins. There is only the terrible expectation of God’s judgment and a raging fire that will consume his enemies. For anyone who refused to obey the law of Moses was put to death without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. Just think of how much worse the punishment would be for those who have trampled the Son of God and have treated the blood of the covenant which made us holy as if it were a common and non holy and have insulted and distain the Holy Spirit who brings brings God’s mercy to us. If we continue to sin after we say that we have confessed our sins and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. We are trampling his blood underfoot. If we truly have him in our hearts we will not continue to sin we will not make excuses to sin say well. It wasn’t me it was the flesh. It was you. We need to turn from it. I want to back up to a verse from our scripture reading this morning or first groups your reading he who sins of the devil for the devil has sin from the beginning for this purpose the Son of God was manifested that he might destroy the works of the devil. And some might say or think well you know when you look around society I see the works of the devil going on every day. Yes my friends it is going on every day for some reason God has allowed the evil in the wicked to co-habit together on the earth until such a time as Christ comes back one so that we can preach the Good News of Jesus Christ that they would have time an opportunity to come to that saving knowledge but some would say well then really the works is not destroyed. Yes it is the devil has been destroyed. When Jesus shed his blood and he rose up out of that grave the works of the devil are destroying and I want you to receive that receive that in this that he has no power and authority over you when you are in Christ. Whenever he comes along to suck beside to try to tempt you say I don’t have time for you because I’m a child of God you are already destroyed. Yes you’re roaming about here. But you have no power over the children of God we can say Get Behind Me Satan because he is destroying. It is sealed it is a absolute guarantee that he is destroyed because I believe this to be absolute truth. Absolute Truth Devil May we ought to start Shall Not every morning devil you are destroyed. You are a defeated already defeated enemy and say Get behind me take a thought for a detective story that Jesus has given you walk in it. Believe it every day. Amen amen.