Answers To Five Big, Basic Spiritual Questions

Five Big, Basic Spiritual Questions:

1. What is our starting spiritual position? We are under condemnation because of the sin mess we’ve made.

- John 3:18.

- This is our default position. There is sin in the world; there is sin in us. The sin in the world came through human choice.

- Because of that, we start from the position of condemnation. And it is a deserved condemnation.


- This is a truth that is widely discounted today.

- Almost no one would admit that they are desperate wicked.

- We excuse our sin. We justify our sin. We compare our sin to others’ mistakes and render ourselves pretty good.

- But the question is not whether we’re a little better than the worst person we can think of. The question is whether we are perfect like Jesus. And I think few of us are brazen enough to say that.


- The Bible says that none of us are righteous. Not even one of us.

- We are all in need of help.


2. Why do people reject God? The biggest reason people reject God is that they don’t want to admit to their sin.

- John 3:19-20.

- Many argue that they reject God for theological reasons that come exclusively from intellectual concerns. That is possible, perhaps, but it certainly is not very common.

- The biggest reason that people reject God is that they don’t want their sins exposed. They would rather stay in the darkness and deal with the negative consequences of their sin in their own lives than to come clean.


- Coming to Jesus exposes our sin to God. (Not that He couldn’t see it before, but we’re opening up to it.)

- Some don’t want to do this because they’re sure that God is eager to condemn them.

- Some don’t want to do this because they’re embarrassed of their sin.

- Some don’t want to do this because they want to think of themselves as good people.

- Some don’t want to do this because they are managing the negative consequences of their sin adequately.


- We like the darkness because it hides our sins.

- The explosion of pornography with the advent of the internet is a perfect example. There are lots of men who want to look at smutty images, but they didn’t necessarily want to risk being seen walking into a store that sold porn. But now, thanks to the internet, they can look at the images without even having to leave their home.

- Same thing with some of the social sites that allow anonymous posting of comments. This is especially big among high school students. Without having to be accountable for what they say, there are some vicious things that are being said in what is already a difficult time in most of their lives.

- Beyond that, though, in almost all the ways we sin, we work to hide our sin. It may be because we’re ashamed. It may be because we don’t want a particular person to find out. It may be because it’s an embarrassing habit. But the bottom line is that we love the darkness.


- Now, of course, where we’re heading this morning is that God will help us to deal with our sin, but even knowing that many would rather not bring out their sin.

- But dealing with our sins requires that we acknowledge them and bring them before God. Repenting of our sin is a prerequisite for receiving grace. And for many of us we’d rather stay