UNDERSTANDING SIN
Romans 7:7-25
(Begin with the skit – “Do Not Touch” – chair)
1. What is it about being told “not to” that cause us to “want to?” For some, reason, just the knowledge that we are not supposed to do “a thing” is enough to motivate us to “do it”.
2. As children, we remember the old “dare you” game. Better yet, it was the “double-dog dare you” that got most of us. Think about that. We cannot explain what a “double dog dare” is, and yet it held huge sway over almost every person in this building. The pressure was more than one could bear. When someone dared us, it mattered not if ‘the act’ was right or wrong, good or bad, or if we even WANTED to do it or not, now it was a matter of pride, ego, mixed with determination. What was that about?
3. The teaching of Paul, in our text, reminds that this truth has been alive throughout the ages. From the time the law was given it has seemed that humankind’s default behavior was to break the law. Paul even suggests that the law excited, aroused, and certainly displayed our inner propensity to sin.
4. Sin. Let’s think about sin for a time. Most of us don’t really use the word, may not consider the concept, probably have a limited definition of it, and really have come to think of sin in the past tense. That is, it used to be a big deal—but not anymore.
5. Not too many years ago, I remember hearing someone, who claimed to be a believer, say this, “I’m so tired of hearing about sin. Everyone makes mistakes, nobody’s perfect.” While the last 2/3 of this statement may be true, the thought behind this statement is nothing but secular humanism at its best, or worst.
6. It was sin that sent Jesus to the cross. History records that He died a painful, bloody, and humiliating death; and the reason He died was for sin. For this reason and more, we need to understand sin.
7. Have you ever defined sin? May I suggest that sin is “breaking God law or word” and/or “disobeying God’s will.” Yet today, many believers flirt with sin, play with sin, wink at sin, and even sin intentionally. Why? Because they think, “It’s no big deal. No one got hurt so it’s no thing.”
8. The Bible teaches us in Galatians 6, “Don’t be deceived. God will not be mocked. For whatever YOU sow, that YOU will reap. If you sow sin, then you will reap the consequences.” From the text, consider a few things:
UNDERSTANDING SIN – Pg 2
9. SIN IS A PREDATOR – Have you ever given any thought to the predatory nature of sin? Think about it. An alligator lays in wait for his prey to come close enough to devour. A snake will charm the bird, squirrel, or rabbit until it’s too late for escape. A hawk is known for its speed in flying down, picking up its prey, and carrying it off to devour it at a later time. Predators watch their prey and strike when unexpected. (illustrate)
10. Verse 13 says, “Sin (the predator) seizes the opportunity.” The word seizes literally means ‘takes advantage’, ‘takes or finds an occasion’, and/or takes the opportunity’”. What a predator! It finds us when we are not expecting it, don’t have our guard up, and are not watching, and carries us away.
11. James knew this concept when he wrote, “Each person is tempted when he is carried away by his own evil desires.” You see, temptation doesn’t give us the desire to do wrong; it only hit’s our hot button.
12. For years I have preached that Satan knows our weakness and he knows when we are weakest, the accompanying truth is that he will exploit us as only a predator can.
13. In the USA we now attempt to protect our children from Sexual Predators. We have the “Registered Offenders List” available online to everyone. When an individual is convicted of a sexual crime they are required by law to register their address. This list was begun in an effort to protect our society from the ongoing tragedy of abuse and death. The intent was to identify people who would harm our children so that we can keep them away from those individuals.
14. I guess I wonder why we don’t do this in this matter of sin. Today we see to be afraid to call sin by its name. If adultery WAS sin, it still IS sin. If fornication WAS sin, it still IS sin. If gossip WAS sin, it still IS sin. If stealing WAS sin, it still IS sin. If homosexuality WAS sin, it still IS sin.
15. If from God’s word we can determine what sin WAS, then we know what it is. If we know what sin IS, why not identify it, register it, and then keep ourselves, our children, our friends, & our family as far from it as possible.
16. Sin is a predator which will devour anyone who gets close enough to it.
17. SIN IS A PRODUCER – What exactly does that mean? Sin will produce many things, none of which are good. The old saying, “You can’t play with fire and not get burned” expresses the concept of sin very clearly. When we allow sin in our lives, the end result will be less than desirable.
UNDERSTANDING SIN – Pg 3
18. Verse 8 tells us what we should know, that sin will take every opportunity to get us to break God’s law. Paul uses covetousness as an illustration, but it could have been any one of the Ten Commandments. At the very knowledge that an action is wrong before God, sin will be there offering you the temptation to violate God’s command.
19. Practically speaking the temptation may come soft and subtle at first because Satan knows he gets more with sugar than salt. But both Satan and Sin are very persistent in their pursuit.
20. Look at Paul’s attitude in verses 15-24. (READ) Please remember, this is the Apostle Paul. This is the guy who penned half of the New Testament. This is the church Planter par excellence. Yet, this is the guy who says, “What I want to do I don’t, and what I don’t want to do – that is what I do, and I don’t really understand why.”
21. Sin has a way of producing confusion in the life of a person. Once sin gets a toehold in your life, it will become a foothold, which ultimately will become a stronghold. Sin is both progressive and persistent.
22. King David loved God with all His heart. In one instance of laziness and avoiding his personal responsibility, he found himself with time to kill. (When you “kill time”, time may well respond by “killing you.”) So he went up on the roof top to sunbathe and Satan saw to it that Bathsheba was undressed and looking her best. You see, Satan knew that because David was not engaged in the Lord’s work of leading the nation, he was susceptive to temptation. Again, Satan knew David’s weakness and He knew when David was weakest and it was no accident that Bathsheba was in plain sight of the King.
23. Once David lusted after Bathsheba the rest of the story is like sliding down a greased pole. Sin has its hooks in David and would not easily let go. You can actually see the persistency and progression in David’s sin. Lust, action, adultery, deception, & ultimately murder (yes-death). Never forget that sin ultimately produces death. Paul has just written that the compensation schedule for sin is death.
24. In our congregation are many people who plant gardens. We plant tomatoes, squash, greens, peas, beans, and more. When we plant our garden, what do we expect it to produce? We expect to get exactly what we planted. We expect the 3 laws of sowing & reaping to take over. The same thing is true in this matter of sin. Sin produces death. That’s not all.
UNDERSTANDING SIN – Pg 4
25. SIN IS A PROBLEM – Duh! You think? A problem? For who? For one, Paul. After telling us about all that sin produced in his life (the “I don’t do what I want to do and I actually do what I don’t want to do”), He says, “What a wretched man I am.” That word wretched is translated in other translations as miserable and unhappy. In fact, one paraphrase put it this way, “I am at the end of my rope.”
26. There are many problems which come from sin. It makes you miserable, it makes you unhappy, and it will make you irritable and even defensive. If you are a believer who has a sin issue in your life, quite likely you’ll find yourself becoming all these things that you really don’t like. Why is this?
27. The main reason for this is the broken fellowship that you have with God. We are designed to have an ongoing and personal relationship with God through Jesus. Sin interrupts than ongoing, intimate connection with God.
28. Candidly most, if not all, of us know what it is to have a broken relationship. Mom, Dad, brothers, sisters, or friends, whom we love dearly, somehow doesn’t see things the way we do and the relationship is broken. Perhaps you (or they) feel wronged by the other and tension exists. Know what you do? You avoid each other. Why? Though we might not admit it, it’s because of the inner pain we feel when we see that individual. So they avoid you and you avoid them.
29. With sin present in a life God will be no where to be found. In fact, God is deeply offended by our sin. It was our sin that sent God’s son to a painful death. God is still holy and will not tolerate sin in His presence. Yes, you may still be saved, but you certainly won’t feel like it because God will turn His face from the one who sins. That is a real problem.
30. While for the believer the problem with sin is that it disrupts your intimacy with God, for the non-believer sin’s punishment is a place call hell. Sin makes a person wretched, miserable, unhappy, and hopeless for the days ahead. Sin is a big problem but there is one more thing.
31. SIN IS PERSONAL – Every time a message like this is preached someone will come by and say, “Preacher, if they’d been here, you’d got’em.” Let me give you my response to that thought, “THEY are here and THEY’VE been gotten.” While this is not particularly good English, it is accurate.
32. The Bible says, “All have sinned”, and “No one is righteous.” This means me and this means you. Sin is a predator who pursues us, seeks to produce the fruit of death in us, and ultimately seeks to destroy us.
UNDERSTANDING SIN – Pg 5
33. Some will ask, “How do you read the last part of Chapter 7 and come up with the point, conclusion, or thought that sin is personal?” Paul is a legal scholar. His mind is trained for the objective, logical, and legal ways of writing. Yet, from verses 14 to the end of the chapter, this struggle is very personal as he uses first person pronouns over 3 dozen times.
34. He literally says, “It’s not my brother, it’s not my sister, but it’s ME, O Lord, standing in the need of HELP.”
35. Sin is indeed personal and will personally destroy you and me. It is sin which sends us to hell. Our sin nature was inherited from our moms and dads who inherited from their moms and dads whose genetic dispositions can be traced back to Adam and Eve.
36. To close this message, consider how sin lured in Eve and Adam, how it lures us in, and the results. Eve was comfortable with the serpent. Obviously, she had interacted with him before and she trusted him completely. Now, possessed by Satan he comes with smooth words and tests her commitment to the God who created her, loved her, and watched over her. God had said, “Don’t touch the fruit, this means you.” Sound familiar? Just like our visual today.
37. When the girl saw the chair the sign said “Don’t touch, THIS MEANS YOU.” And she could not walk away, why? Because the same spirit prevalent in the garden is prevalent today.
