Let's start this message out with a pop quiz. Don't worry you should already know the answer to all of the questions. Don't you wish the pop quizzes you took in school were that easy? The questions prove this message based on God's Word is true.
1) Is the Word of God true?
2) Is the Word of God perfect?
3) Does God use His Word to speak to you?
4) Did Jesus ever commit a sin?
5) Have you ever committed a sin?
Don't be afraid to admit you have gone against the will of God & sinned because that's something we have all done. The apostle Paul stated that in the book of Romans. Romans 3:23 says “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” In Ecclesiastes King Solomon, a man of great wisdom, writes, “Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins.” John the prophet also had something to write on this subject. In the Book of 1 John he tells us “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.”
The Bible makes it clear that we all miss the mark when it comes to following the will of God all the time. We have all fallen. Our loving Heavenly Father knew this would happen & graciously provided a cure for the disease of sin. He paid the ransom for our souls. What was necessary for our sins to be forgiven?
In Hebrews we are told “Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.” (Hebrews 9:22) Blood had to be shed for forgiveness of sin. God accepted the pure sin-free blood of His one & only Son as the atonement necessary for our sin. We were not created to live under the weight of sin. When we knowingly go against His Word the Spirit gives us a sense of conviction in our hearts & we feel heavy with regret & guilt. Do you want to go through life feeling guilty? He wants us to be free of that. In His great mercy & grace God forgives us when we fall short of His will.
God made the ultimate sacrifice by sentencing His sinless Son Jesus to die on the cross; one of the most cruel deaths imaginable. We are to come to Him for forgiveness. In 2 Corinthians Paul wrote, “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (1 Corinthians 5:21) When we accept Christ as our Savior God sees the righteousness of Jesus instead of our wickedness. 1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
The world we live in is full of sin & temptation. With that being the case we could fall to the same sin more than once. God will show love & mercy & forgive us for what we've done. But these repeated sins will affect our fellowship with our Heavenly Father.
If we repeat the same sin what does that show?
It hinders our relationship with God. The sin clouds our mind & takes focus away from where it should be. This is something that we should not take lightly. It will cost us. It is one of the greatest hinderances from clearly hearing the voice of God.
We all fight battles with sin & temptation. And we have all fallen to them. When we ask for forgiveness God covers us with the righteousness of His Son & sets us free from condemnation. (Romans 8:1) However, if we pass the point of committing a sin to harboring, or giving refuge, to a sin it is a major problem. It could get to the point we will accept this action as part of who we are; just something we do. When we accept this as part of who we are we still hear the Spirit speaking to us & telling us it is wrong but we ignore the warning & go ahead & do it. There is likely one area of life we are all guilty of doing this. I know there is for me. You'll know what it is for you because it will be the first thing that comes to your mind. You know it's wrong but you fall into the pit of sin regardless of the warning of the Spirit.
What is temptation, & how can we overcome it?
There are many cases in the Bible where people fell because of temptation. One of the most famous could be when David gawked at Bathsheba. Satan knows where you are weakest & he will lure you into his grasp with this temptation. Thankfully the Bible also tells us temptation is out there & we are to be on the lookout for it. In 1 Corinthians Paul wrote, “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.” (1 Corinthians 10:13) Did it say that God will keep the temptations away? No, but He will “provide a way of escape.” Matthew tells us a way to overcome this temptation. In Matthew 26:41 we read, “Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Matthew tells us to watch & pray. Be on guard from the evil temptations that are out there. Pray for the power to stay on the path of righteousness. Don't be tempted into repeating that same sin over & over. Take the way of escape.
Why is there so much temptation in the world today? Because we all want to satisfy desires of the flesh & that sells. We are willing to spend money to have what makes us feel good, even if it is only for a short while. We feel good now & that's all that matters. Sin sells. The thing with sin is you will always pay more than you ever wanted to pay & it will take you places you never wanted to go.
Let's take a few moments now to go to the Lord in silent prayer & ask Him to forgive us of this action & help us have the will & power to resist the temptation the next time it appears.
This harbored sin is clouding your vision, dividing your mind, & distracting you away from the abundant life God desires you to have. What He has is much better for you than the temporary pleasures of sin. What He wants to give you is never-ending peace & joy. Our Heavenly Father wants to fill your needs in a more profoundly satisfying way than you could ever imagine.
This leads us to the next thing we have to do to live the life God wants us to live. If we ask God to forgive us for the sin & then do the same thing minutes later we aren't living by the Spirit. What should we do after God has granted us forgiveness? When we are forgiven we should repent from this sin. What is repentance?
Repentance is a change of mind that leads to a change of direction in life. The concept of repentance is acknowledging the wicked way you are going then turning from this practice & back to God. It's when you view God as the most important factor in existence & you desire to obey His commands. A person who truly repents will take a 180o turn, detest & forsake all sin, & go in the direction of God. This complete change will be seen in relation to the person's lifestyle as well as relationships with others.
No Hebrew word is an exact translation for the English word “repentance.” The Hebrew words that most closely translate as “repentance” are Nacham (na-cham) & Shub. Nacham is a word that describes emotions of grief, sorrow, & regret for an action & desiring to turn around & take a different course. Shub expresses a radical change of mind & attitude toward sin & a decision to turn from it to live in agreement with the will of God. In the Old Testament repentance was expressed by a number of different actions that show a change in thinking and attitude toward sin. This turning to God was preached through the Old Testament prophets. The Lord sent the prophet Jonah to the land of Nineveh calling for them to repent & turn from their sinful ways back to the Lord. Ninevites did repent & were spared from the wrath of God. Three times Ezekiel told about God's call to the people of Israel. He wrote: "Repent! Turn from your idols and renounce all your detestable practices!" (14:6); "Repent! Turn away from all your offenses" (18:30); "Turn! Turn from your evil ways" (33:11).
In Greek the verb metamelomai (meta-melomy) is used to show a change of mind, regret, or remorse for sins committed. It indicated a change of mind but not necessarily a change of heart & actions. Metamelomai is used for the repentance of Judas after turning Jesus over to the rulers of the Roman empire. Another Greek word for repentance is Metanoeo (meta-nyo). Metanoeo is used for true repentance where one changes their mind AND their life as a result of knowledge gained. In the book of Revelation repentance is called for many times so the churches would realign themselves with God's will. Two actions that indicate repentance are the turn from evil, and turn (or return) to the Lord. It is the idea of returning to God & turning away from sin.
True repentance is more than being sorry for what we have done, or merely having a change of mind about our sins. Biblical repentance results in a complete change of heart & mind towards God & towards sins.
Repentance is composed of a sense of one’s own guilt and sinfulness, an apprehension of God’s mercy in Christ, an actual hatred of sin, then turning from it to God. It is a desire to have a holy life walking with God in accordance with His will. The call to repentance is absolute surrender to the will of God.
Let's take a look back at the sin of David we spoke of when he leered at Bathsheba. In Psalm 51 David models biblical repentance for us. The first thing David talks about in this Psalm is God's unfailing love. David acknowledges God's compassion toward His servant & asks Him to “blot out my rebellion. Completely wash away my guilt. and cleanse me from my sin. (Psalm 51:1-2) David then tells the Lord he will turn back to Him by doing things that are pleasing in the eyes of God. He writes, “my tongue will sing of your righteousness. Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise.” (Psalm 51:14-15) This Psalm begins by calling out for God's mercy which shows he is aware of the transgression he committed. He then asks the Lord to wash the sin away & cleanse him from the guilt he felt. As he closes this Psalm David gives the Lord his word that he will turn back to the righteousness of Christ. What jumps out to you about how David turned from the sin he had committed & back to the will of God?
Now lets talk about how sin that you've been forgiven for continues to hurt you. If you do not see it for the evil it is Satan will use the fact you have turned from God & didn't see any punishment happen to convince you that there's no reason you can't do the same thing again. He will whisper in your ear, “See, it's OK. I told you God doesn't mind you doing that. Everyone else is doing things even worse. It's no big deal. You won't be punished.” But following those whispers is dangerous.
One temptation drivers face is how fast they can get to the destination. Or they want to see how fast their car can go. Have any of you ever broken the speed limit? If you have then you've sinned. Romans 13:2 says, “those who refuse to obey the laws of the land are refusing to obey God, and punishment will follow.” Unless the laws of the land break God's law we are to obey them. If you've gotten a few speeding tickets you've repeated the same sin. You knew it was wrong but you did it anyway.
With the Holy Spirit living in us we have Him to tell us right from wrong. We hear His voice to tell us what is right to do. In the corrupt world in which we live it is so easy to walk off of the path of righteousness & commit a sin. A sin we might not be punished for in this lifetime. And without being punished for it we may commit this sin again.
You repeat that sin & it pulls you away from the Lord. Satan lays more temptation in front of you to pull you closer into his clutches. The devil has been doing this for a long time & knows the best tricks to get you to follow him instead of God. He knows the biggest weakness every individual has. We are weak & fall to the plan of the devil & commit the sin again.
When we harbor sins they pile up & hurt our relationship with the Lord. When we realize we've done wrong we must go to the Lord then to ask for forgiveness & repent of that sin. When we do this we can leave the wrongdoing at the foot of the Cross & not let it keep us from having a full & joyful relationship with our Heavenly Father!
What can we, as men of God, do to help each other through tough times of sin & temptation?
