Sunday, December 16, 2018 am
DEALING WITH OUR SINS
(1)
Forgiveness
The
past two week, we have studied the subject of sin.
We have seen what sin is by how it is defined and described.
Last week, we talked about the deceptive nature of sin.
This is only one of the many things that sin does (it can also
divide us, destroy things, dominate you, cause disgrace and misery in
your life). Ultimately sin
is deadly, causing eternal separation from God unless you deal with it.
And that brings us to our lesson today – dealing with our sins –
receiving forgiveness. In
our next lesson we will notice some more practical things we can do to
overcome sin.
a.
Realize its origin and what it does – Romans 6:23 – the wages of sin is death.
In our previous lessons, we have addressed this.
We have noted that Satan is the
father of lies (and sin).
When we fully grasp the consequences of sin and what it does to us, it
ought to move us to take care of our sins.
b.
Many have an improper attitude toward sin
– they deny their
sinfulness, they mock at sin, they minimize or dismiss it, and many even
love it and take pleasure in sinful activities.
c.
Admit it
– we are foolish to deny our sinfulness when we are guilty.
1 John 1:8, 10 – if we say we have no sin, we lie.
Confession is a part of dealing with our sins.
It comes from a proper attitude toward sin – Psalm 32:1-5
describes David as he admits (confesses) his sins to God.
Proverbs 28:13, He who covers his
sins will not prosper, But whoever confesses and forsakes them will have
mercy.
James 5:16 speaks of confessing our trespasses to one another for
(spiritual) healing.
d.
Take personal responsibility for your sins
– James 1:13-15 – it is your desires that draw you away.
Far too many today make excuses and try to pass blame – Adam and Eve
(Genesis 3:12-13), King Saul (1 Samuel 15:13-15), etc.
While others may be complicit in your sinful activity, ultimately it is
on you.
NOTE: This is NOT saying
we HAVE TO sin, or that we are born sinners or with a sinful nature.
There is a big difference between the fact that we WILL sin and
that we HAVE TO sin. The
first and true one places the responsibility on us.
You will NOT adequately deal with your sins if you pass the
blame.
e.
Hate it – how
much do you despise sin? One
of the problems with the deceptive nature of sin (last week) is how it
seeks to lessen how terrible it really is (both in consequences and
identity). Far too many do
not appreciate this and therefore do not hate sin, OR do not hate it
ENOUGH!
We have talked about our need to despise the devil and what he has done.
We need to see him as our enemy and with a STRONG revulsion we
need to be sickened by sin.
But are we? Do we hate sin
enough that we are willing to take drastic steps to get it out of our
lives? (cf. Matthew 5:29-30)
God hates sin (cf. Proverbs 6:16-19 – 7 things God hates)
Jude 22-23 – hating even the garment defiled by the flesh.
Psalm 97:10, You who love the
Lord, hate evil! Proverbs
8:13, The fear of the Lord is to
hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way And the perverse mouth I
hate.
a.
Reverential fear – we must never forget who God is.
We serve Him with reverence and godly fear (Hebrews 12:28-29).
Let us remind ourselves to NOT trivialize God, or remove Him from
His holy throne.
Proverbs 1:7 says the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.
9:10 says it is the beginning of wisdom.
Proverbs 8:13, The fear of the
Lord is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way And the
perverse mouth I hate.
Romans 11:22, behold the goodness and severity of God…
b.
Remember you cannot hide from God – Psalm 139:5-12. He sees and knows everything, even if you
wish He didn’t. Ask
Jonah what happens when you try to hide from God?
c.
Be reminded, when you
sin, it is always against God
- Psalm 51:4.
d.
When we sin, we are dealing with our Creator, Judge and Savior.
a.
John 3:16, Ephesians
2:4-8 – He so loved the world, He gave His only begotten Son on the
cross. John 1:29, John the
Baptist introduced Jesus as the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of
the world.
b.
He accepted that
sacrifice – Romans 5:6-11.
Acts 13:38 – through Jesus is preached the forgiveness of sins.
Ephesians 1:7 -we have redemption through His blood, the
forgiveness of sins.
c.
Consider what happens
when God forgives us.
When He forgives:
i.
Acts 3:19 – He blots our
sins out
ii.
Hebrews 8:12, 10:17 – He
remembers them no more
iii.
Romans 4:7-8 – He covers
them, does not impute (charge us) them to us
iv.
1 Timothy 1:15 – Paul
was the chiefest of sinners, yet God forgave even him.
v.
Psalm 103:12,
As far as the east is from the
west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us
d.
There are so many terms
that describe God’s forgiveness that we ought to be humbled at what He
is willing to do and the DEPTH to which He is willing to do it.
Ephesians 3:17-19 – the depth of the love of Christ which passes
knowledge, with which we may be filled with all the fullness of God.
a.
Become a Christian –
consider God’s plan of salvation.
Hearing – Romans 10:17 –
faith comes by hearing; Mark 16:15 – preach the gospel
Believing – Mark 16:16 –
he who believes and is baptized, John 8:24 – if you do not believe I am
He, you will die in your sins.
Romans 10:10 – with the heart one believes unto righteousness
Repenting – Acts 2:38 –
repent and be baptized
Confessing Christ
– Romans 10:10 – with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
Cf. Acts 8:37 – the Eunuch confess Jesus as Christ.
Baptism – Acts 2:38 – for
the remission (forgiveness) of sins; 22:16 – wash away your sins; Romans
6:3-4 – raised to walk in newness of life; 1 Peter 3:21 – baptism saves
us; Galatians 3:27 – baptized into Christ and we put on Christ.
b.
As a Christian –
The scriptures teach the need to be faithful – Luke 9:62, Revelation
2:10, Hebrews 2:1-3, etc.
When we sin as Christians, we need to take care of our sins by:
Repentance – Acts 8:22 –
as Simon the magician was told to repent.
Confessing our sins in prayer to
God – 1 John 1:9, written TO Christians (believers) – we note we
confess our sins (to God) and He is faithful and just to forgive us.
Of course this is contingent upon our walking in the light as He
is in the light (1 john 1:7) which would include repentance when we do
sin.
James 5:16 – we can help each other deal with our struggles, as needed.
And at times there is need to make reconciliation before we
approach God – cf. Matthew 5:23-24
a.
We need to forgive
ourselves
– if God has forgiven us of our sins, we need to accept that
forgiveness. That means
forgiving ourselves.
Sometimes that is harder to do than God’s forgiveness.
We know that we don’t deserve it (if we truly understand sin and what we
have done), and perhaps we feel that self-degradation is a justified
form of punishment. But
that’s not what the Bible wants.
When we ask for forgiveness we must do wo with no doubting (cf.
James 1:6-8).
2 Corinthians 2:6-7 – Paul speaks of forgiving and restoring an offender
who has repented. He notes
that it is not good that he be swallowed up with too much sorrow.
1 Timothy 1:12-14 – Paul accepted God’s forgiveness and in so doing
forgave himself for his past.
Philippians 3:13 – he forgot the things behind and pressed toward the
goal.
b.
Forgive others
– crucial. We are clearly
warned that if we desire the forgiveness and mercy of God, we need to
forgive others. Matthew
6:14-15, Mark 11:25, Ephesians 4:32, James 2:13, etc.
We need to think about this, as we realize HOW much we have been
forgiven.
c.
Forgiveness does not remove consequences
– sometimes our actions come with consequences.
Even though we have been forgiven, the results of our behavior do
not go away.
We may need to make restitution, sever ungodly relationships, deal with
injuries and damage, etc.
Consider the example of David – His sin with Bathsheba resulted in a
snowball of sins and their effects – the child died, his family was
broken, he would be a man of war all of his life, God’s name was
blasphemed among the nations, etc.
Example: Matthew 19:9 – forgiveness for unfaithfulness does not remove
God’s penalty for adultery.
d.
Forgiveness does not
remove desires
– just because we’ve
been forgiven, doesn’t mean we no longer have ungodly desires.
We all have weaknesses we struggle with.
Sometimes the temptations become stronger as we try to overcome
them.
Even Paul had to continually discipline his body to bring it into
subjection – 1 Corinthians 9:27
BUT, this doesn’t mean we CANNOT overcome sinful desires.
But it takes hard work and
determination. In our next
lesson we will deal with some of these things.
And
thus we can see the need for forgiveness and how we receive it.
Understanding forgiveness is the first step to dealing with our
sins. Do you appreciate the
forgiveness of God? Are you
in need of it now?