V.
AWFULNESS OF SIN
A.
WE MUST TELL THE TRUTH ABOUT SIN. Sin
is so damaging that only the death of God's Son can take it away (John 1:29).
Sin
brought about the need for man's salvation.
Telling
the truth about sin will help others see the need for salvation.
It is vital that people understand that they are eternally lost without Jesus
Christ and they desperately need to be saved.
Sin
separates us from God. Modern
man has been brainwashed into thinking his problem is not himself. It is
his parents, friends, or the way he was treated as a child. It is
not inside him, but outside. If that were the case, man would be
without hope, for there would be no solution. But when he sees the
problem is sin, then there is hope, for that problem can be solved, and
that is good news.
B.
THE UNBELIEVER MUST UNDERSTAND THAT HE IS A SINNER AND DESERVES TO SPEND
ETERNITY IN HELL, because
the Bible says, "... we have all sinned ... and ... the
wages of sin is death..." (Romans 3:23 and 6:23).
1. Our Responsibility is not to “convict” the Unbeliever of His Sins.
It
is to share the plan of salvation.
2. The Holy Spirit is the One Who Convicts - John 16:7-11
The
Holy Spirit convicts the unbeliever of their sin of unbelief, the need
for righteousness and coming judgment.
By
bring to light their "sin of unbelief" because they have not believed
in the Lord Jesus Christ who died to remove their sin.
By
bring to light their "lack of righteousness" because the Lord Jesus
Christ has gone forth from the grave to the Father revealing the kind of
righteousness it takes to be received by God - nothing less than the
righteousness of Christ.
By
bring to light "judgment" because the Lord Jesus Christ has, through
His death and resurrection, conquered sin and death, leaving Satan and all who
are in a state of rebellion against God, powerless and doomed to eternal
damnation.
3. Never Make "Sin" the Issue.
The
issue is trusting Christ alone for eternal life. To win people to Christ,
present Him clearly.
John
3:18 - "He
that believeth on Him (Christ) is not condemned, but he that
believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believe in the name
of the only begotten Son of God."
4. Be Careful How You Point Out the Person is a Sinner.
Admit
you are, and he will be much more willing to admit he is. An effective
statement is, "God says everyone is a sinner --- I am, you are, we
all are.
C.
WHAT IS SIN?
The
New Testament employs at least a dozen words to describes sin. Two words in
the Greek New Testament that define "sin" is Hamartano and Parabasis.
1. Hamartano - "To Miss the Mark." We miss the
mark of God's perfection. He is Holy and Just. Compared to Him, we
fall short of His glory. His ways are not our ways. He is perfect and we
are not.
Sin
is anything contrary to the character of God.
2. Parabasis - "Transgressor, To Over Step a Forbidden
Line." Sin occurs when we deliberately or accidentally step over
the line of the law of God.
Sin
is anything contrary to the law of God.
Sin
is:
Failure
to be what
God wants us to be.
Failure
to do what
God wants us to do.
D.
THE ORIGIN OF SIN.
1. Began with the fall of Lucifer (Satan) - Ezekiel
28:11-19, Isaiah 14:12-17.
When
Lucifer said, "I will," sin began.
Satan's rebellion shows that the root of sin is pride. Only pride could make
the creature claim equality with God. Satan's pride and desire for independence
from God spread to others in the angelic world, and then to the human race when
the serpent (Satan) came to Eve in Eden.
2. Led to the fall of man - Genesis 3:1-7.
The
same sin (pride and a desire for independence from God) led to the fall of man.
Sin caused Adam and Eve to be separeted from God.
3. Continues in every man - Romans 5:17.
Just
as in the case of Adam and Eve it causes separation from God with us
today.
E. THE HUMAN
RACE HAS A PROBLEM.
1. We Are All Sinners.
Isaiah
53:6 - "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every
one to his own way..."
Romans
3:10 - "As
it is written, there is none righteous, no, not one."
a.
Sinners at Birth.
Imputed
Sin -
“Imputation”
means putting to someone else’s account that which may or may not be his.
The
“imputation of Adam’s sin to mankind” means that Adam’s first sin was
rightfully charged to the account of every other person. Someone may protest
that it doesn’t seem fair that others are charged with what Adam did. But the
Bible teaches that since all were “in Adam” we all unconsciously
participated in Adam’s sin (Romans 5:12; cf. Hebrews 7:9,10).
Sin
is presented in scripture as imputed or reckoned to our account. Adam's sin was
imputed to the whole human race. In Adam's fall, we all fell.
Romans
5:12 - "Wherefore, as by one
man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed
upon all men, for that all have sinned."
Inherent
Sin -
Inherited
sin is simply “the sinful state into which all people are born.. We have a
constant bent toward sin. Inherited sin is
also called the “sin nature” (it affected our entire being), and it is
called “original sin” (emphasizing that Adam’s sin caused the corrupted
nature we each inherit).
“Total
depravity” is a related term expressing our total lack of merit in God’s
sight. Total depravity does not mean we are as “bad” as we can be but that
we are as “bad off” as we can be because we all have a totally sinful
nature.
When
the word sin appears in the singular, it usually denotes the old sin
nature of humanity. Sin has contaminated our very nature.
Psalm
51:5 - "Behold, I was shapen (brought forth) in iniquity; and in
sin (old sin nature) did my mother conceive me."
Romans
5:19 - "For
as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of
one shall many be made righteous."
Ephesians
2:3 - "Among
whom also we all had our conversation in time past in the lust of the flesh, fulfilling
the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of
wrath."
When
Adam sinned, his very nature became corrupt; and thus, every
descendant of Adam inherited a corrupt, depraved, sinful nature. Man is totally depraved. He has a darkened mind, deprived emotions, and
a disobedience will.
The principle is that men do not sin and become sinners. They sin because they
are sinners.
b. Sinners by Choice.
Individual
Sins -
(Personal Sins) - Those sins all people commit, either intentionally or
unintentionally because we are sinful. Personal
sin is any thought or attitude, act or failure to act, that violates God’s
standard of perfect holiness
Romans
3:23 - "For
all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God."
The
essential idea is that man comes short, he misses the mark, and fails
to attain the standard of God's own character of holiness.
2. The Result of Sin is Death - Death is Separation from God.
Ezekiel 18:4 -"The soul that sinneth, it shall die..."
Romans
6:23 - "For the wages of sin is death... ."
Sin
demended separation from God. The penalty of our sin was spiritual and physical
death, failure to trust in Christ will ultimately result in eternal death.
a. There are Three Deaths Mention in the Bible:
1). Spiritual Death - Isaiah 59:1,2; Ephesians 2:1,5; 4:18,19.
Separation
from God.
2). Physical Death - Hebrews 9:27; Romans 5:12-14.
Separation
of the body.
3). Eternal Death - Revelation 21:8.
Separation
of the body, soul, and spirit from God in a conscious state for eternity in
the lake of fire.
b.
We all deserve to die and go to Hell because of our sins.
Our
sin makes us ineligible for Heaven, because God is holy and perfect. To enter
Heaven we must be perfect (Revelation 21:27).
BIBLICAL
TRUTHS:
God
is Love.
God
is Holy.
God
is Merciful, and
does not want to punish us, But
God
is Just, and
therefore must punish sin.
II
Thessalonians 1:8,9 -
"In flaming fire taking vengeance of them that know not God, and
that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: who shall be punished
with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the
glory of His power."
F. THE REMEDIES FOR SIN
