“The Entanglement of Sin”
By: Rev. Kenneth Sauer,
Pastor of Parkview United Methodist Church,
Newport News, VA
www.parkview-umc.org
The entanglement of sin.
I don’t know about you, but I’m an expert on this subject…in a sense….
Why do I say, “In a sense”?
Because it seems that as soon as I feel I have mastered or gotten the problem under control in my own life….
….I let it get me messed up again!
Conquering sin is a life-long process, but it is not a process in which we are left to face on our own.
That is, if we are born again children of God.
If we were to have to completely rely on our own power to conquer the sin that invades and tempts to ruin our lives—we would have no chance whatsoever.
As Jesus puts it so correctly in John Chapter 8: “…if you do not believe that I am the one I claim to be, you will indeed die in your sins.”
In our Gospel Lesson for this morning a Pharisee named Simon has invited Jesus over to his home to have dinner.
Jesus is reclining at the table when a woman suddenly crashes the party uninvited.
She’s weeping, and when she sees that her tears have splashed onto Jesus’ feet—she wipes them up with her hair, kisses them and pours perfume on them.
Simon the Pharisee is incensed that Jesus is allowing this woman—obviously a well-known ‘sinner’ to touch—even His feet!
Jesus, knowing what Simon is thinking, says: “Simon, I have something to tell you.”
He goes on to tell Simon about two men who owed money to a certain moneylender.
One of the men owed five hundred denarii, the other owed fifty.
The moneylender forgave both men’s debts.
“Now which of them will love him more?” asks Jesus.
“Simon replied, ‘I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled.’”
“You have judged correctly,” Jesus says.
Later in our Lesson Jesus says: “Therefore I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little.”
Obviously, the Moneylender in this story is God…
…but who are the two men who owe the debts and cannot pay them back?
I was discussing this passage with a colleague of mine earlier this week.
He said, Ken, I think I’m going to stand up in the pulpit on Sunday and declare: “No person in this church deserves to go to heaven.”
In response, I said, “And probably not everyone is going.”
The two men in the story who owe the debts to God are you and me and the rest of the entire human race!
And the question is not who has sinned more….
…the question is: “Who realizes his or her sins for what they are?”
Walter walked into the church office, as he normally does on Wednesday mornings, and told Betty and I a joke.
It goes something like this:
A man dies and goes to heaven.
As he is being escorted down the hallway to his room, his escort warns him: “Now you must be very quiet when we pass a certain room. Don’t make a peep.”
“Why?” asked the man.
“Who’s in there?”
His escort replies: “That is the room for the people who think that they are the only ones’ here.”
This joke could apply to any one of us.
And I certainly do think it applies to Simon the Pharisee….
…except that Jesus doesn’t pull any punches.
He tells it like it is.
The sinful woman in our Lesson was no more of a sinner than Simon.
As a matter of fact, Simon may have been an even greater sinner.
The key is that the woman realized her sins, she was aware of them.
They tore at her very soul!
She realized how they had ruined her life and alienated her from God….
…and of a life of joy, and peace.
Simon the Pharisee wasn’t even aware that he was a sinner in need of repentance and salvation…
…and this my friends, is the greatest sin of all!
This keeps us in the dark as to the Light and Love of God—this keeps us from entering His kingdom…
…and this will eventually result in our eternal damnation.
For without the forgiveness of sins there is no salvation!
As the Bible reminds us in Romans Chapter 3: “There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…”
Are we aware of the sin in our lives?
And if so, what are we doing about it?
My mother has a real neat conversion story.
One night she went out on the town with some girlfriends—minus one particular friend who happened to be busy doing something else that night.
During the course of the night my mother and her friends gossiped about and basically ripped the friend who was absent up and down nine ways to Sunday.
When she returned to her apartment my mother was confronted—in her mind-- with what she had just done.
She had said some horrible things behind a friend’s back—she had spent the entire night doing this.
It was at this point that my mom realized that she was a sinner—in need of a Savior.
Do we realize that we are sinners in need of a Savior?
When I am feeling down—for no apparent reason—like the loss of a loved one, sickness or the like…
I tend to do a lot of introspection as to why I have lost the fruit of the Spirit: “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.”
And this introspection involves my relationship with Jesus Christ.
“Why do I feel this way?”
“What, God, have I done to get so off course?”…
…the answer that comes back is always the same…
…I have allowed myself to be entangled by sin.
Maybe I have sinned against another person in some way…and I didn’t even realize that this was a sin.
But anything we do that hurts another person—that desecrates another’s sacred worth—is a horrible sin.
Why is this such a horrible sin?
Because God loves that person more than any of us could possibly imagine…no matter who that person may be.
A sin against humanity is a great sin against God indeed!!!
And sin separates us from God.
It is our greatest enemy!
Therefore, I must come back to the Cross, repent of my sin—and press on.
In the meantime, I’ve realized a bit of the awesomeness of my sin…and rejoice in tears of thanksgiving to the Only One Who is able and willing to forgive me.
I said a few minutes ago that I am somewhat of an expert on sin…
…but Who is the greatest expert of all?
Some may answer: “Satan.”
Indeed, Satan is an expert on this subject.
After-all, he was the one who tricked Adam and Eve.
He is the Tempter.
He is the one who Peter warns us about: “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”
But Satan is not the greatest expert on sin…not even close!!!
It is the One Who was tempted for forty days and nights in the desert—never giving in to the devil’s attempts to destroy Him…
…it is the One Who “shared in our humanity”…
…and “suffered when he was tempted”…
… Who was “tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin”…
… it is the One Who conquered sin, death, hell and the devil by dying the death we deserve—crying out on our behalf: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”…
It is Jesus the Christ, the Son of the Living God, the One through Whom all things were made Who is the Master Expert on sin!!!
And He is the Only One Who can help us overcome the sin that entangles our lives.
The Pharisees didn’t much like Jesus.
They didn’t like the way He let certain people touch Him.
They didn’t like what He taught.
They were the experts on the Law,
…or so they thought…
but Jesus was the expert on both the Law and sin.
Listen to the Words of Jesus:
“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces…You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell?”
He told them that they were like whitewashed tombs that look beautiful on the outside, but on the inside they are just as dead—if not more so—than everybody else!
He told the crowds: “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not murder’….but I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgement.”
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Do not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, tooth for tooth.’ But I tell you…Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you…”
What is Jesus saying?
He’s saying you’re all sinners!
You’re all in the same boat!
So get over yourselves, you all need a Savior!!!
The woman in our Gospel Lesson for this morning knew the depth of her sin, and she knew how much she had been forgiven!!!
And oh, how she loved Jesus Christ for His forgiveness!!!
The Pharisees didn’t understand sin at all.
So, they plotted to have Jesus killed—they hated the man!
Do we know the depth of our sins?
Have we allowed Jesus Christ to forgive us?
Do we love Him because of the great love He has for us?
The greater we understand our sin, the greater we understand God’s love in Jesus Christ—and the more we love Him for it!
