is not that I did choose thee. Todd's Road Grace Church would
like to invite you to listen to a sermon by our pastor, Todd
Neiberg. We are located at 4137 Todd's
Road, two miles outside of Manowar Boulevard. Sunday services are
at 1030 a.m. and 6 p.m. Bible study is at
945 a.m. Wednesday services are at 7 p.m. Nursery is provided for all services.
For more information, visit our website at toddsroadgracechurch.com. Now here's our pastor, Todd Nybert. In Romans chapter 14, verse 23,
the Apostle Paul tells us, Whatsoever is not of faith is sin. Whatever does not proceed from
faith in Christ is sin. I've entitled the message for
this morning, What is Sin? And I want to answer that from
the Bible. I don't want to give you what my opinion is or to
give you some kind of definition from some kind of creed. What
is sin? What does the Bible say sin is? Now, if there is a God, there
is sin. Sin is disobedience to God. If God is, sin is. Now, if there is no God, who's
to say there's such a thing as sin? If evolution is true, why
we have the survival of the fittest. We have people trying to survive. There really isn't a right and
wrong. It's the evolving you do to survive. But everybody knows, intuitively,
deep down, that God is. We're born with that understanding
and we're born with that belief. Now, we may through sin convince
ourselves that there is not a God, but we're born knowing that God
is and that he will reward the righteous and punish the wicked. We're born with that knowledge
intuitively. We don't even have to be taught
it. It is part of being born, being created, in the image of
God, and we know there is a right and a wrong. There is such a
thing as sin. Now, God, while we can know things
about him through deduction and logic, creation tells us that
God is. It doesn't even make sense to
believe anything else. You know, it takes a far greater stretch
of blind faith to think that life just happened through some
kind of chemicals mixing or whatever took place rather than that God
created the heavens and the earth and God breathed breath into
Adam and he became a living soul. That's the only thing that makes
sense. And because God is, sin is, because sin is against God. Now, this book I'm going to be
speaking from, that tells what sin is, claims to be inspired
by God. 2 Timothy 3.16 says all Scripture
is given by inspiration of God. How much Scripture? All Scripture. the inerrant, verbally inspired
Word of God. Now, if somebody thinks, well,
how can I believe? That's so hard to believe that
the Bible is inspired by God when men were used to write it.
And there's so many errors that can creep in and men might want
to change things. And I can see why someone thinks
that. But if God is able to create the universe as an act of his
own will, He is able to inspire men to write a book, the Bible,
and to keep it preserved from error, from generation to generation,
and that is indeed what he's done. And the only way we can
understand what sin is is by what the Bible says sin is, not
what you say or what I say, but by what the Bible says. Now, I guess The first thing
I would think is, well, how'd sin get here? If God's holy,
if God's just, if God's righteous, if God's not sinful, how did
sin get here? How is there evil? I can't answer
that question other than to know that God permits it according
to His will, and it wouldn't happen if He didn't let it happen.
But He is in absolute control. But I know how sin got here.
I don't know where it was before this, but I know how it got into
this planet. Romans 5 12 says by one man sin entered the world
and death by sin So that death passed upon all men in that all
have sinned When Adam sinned he did so as a representative
man sin entered the world at that time It wasn't in the world
before that time Adam and Eve were created upright, but when
Adam ate that fruit and disobeyed God, sin entered the world and
death by sin. Because of one man's sin, you
and I are born into this world sinners. We don't become a sinner
when we sin. We sin because we're already
sinners. We were born that way, and we
really have no understanding of sin until we see it's against
God. The reason sin is so bad is because
it is against God. Now, somebody says, I'm not hurting
anybody by my sin. Well, that's debatable. That's
debatable. Matter of fact, it's not true.
But here's the problem. Sin is against God, even if you
weren't hurting anybody. Sin is against God. David said,
Against thee and thee only have I sinned and done this evil in
thy sight. Now, he's talking about the sin
with Bathsheba, where he committed adultery. He's talking about
the sin of murdering Uriah. He's talking about the sin of
using Joab to cover it all up. He sinned against Bathsheba.
He sure sinned against Uriah. He sinned against Joab. But He
still says against thee and thee only have I sinned and done this
evil in thy sight. When the prodigal returned to
his father, he said, Father, I've sinned against heaven and
in thy sight and am no more worthy to be called thy son. I've sinned
against heaven. Now, people have such superficial
views of sin. because they have such superficial
views of God. But if we see who God is, we're
going to see that sin is against Him. All sin has in it contempt
for, disrespect for, and hatred of the thrice holy God. It's a very low view of God that
has a low view of sin. Now, the reason for death, you're
going to die. Your parents are going to die.
Maybe they already have. Your children are going to die.
Everybody's going to die. And the reason for death is sin. By one man, sin entered the world,
and death by sin. People don't die because they
grow old. They die because they're sinners.
They don't die because they're sick. That's the means the Lord
uses, but they die because they're sinners. The only reason for
death is sin. And that is the wages of sin. The wages of sin is death. Now, let me give you some scriptures
that clearly define just what sin is. And then at the end,
we're going to consider the remedy for sin. But 1 John chapter 3
verse 4 says, sin is the transgression of the law. Now, he's talking
about the Ten Commandments. Sin is the transgression of the
law. Now, somebody may think, well,
the Ten Commandments were only given to the Jews. What about
the rest of the world? Is everybody under those Ten
Commandments? Many men have never heard or
read the Ten Commandments, don't even know they're in existence.
Are they responsible for that? Well, listen to what Paul says
in Romans chapter 2. He says in verse 14, For when the Gentiles,
which have not the law, they were never given a copy of the
Ten Commandments, do by nature the things contained in the law,
these having not the law are a law to themselves, which show
the work of the law written in their hearts. Everybody knows
it's wrong to murder. Everybody knows it's wrong to
steal. Everybody knows sexual sin is wrong. Everyone knows
it's wrong to lie. They have the work of the law
written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness,
and their thoughts that mean while accusing or else excusing
one another, either feeling a condemned conscience or looking up for
an excuse for why they sinned. But everybody has the Ten Commandments
written in their heart. Now think of the Ten Commandments,
thou shalt have no other God before me. What all have you
put? What all have I put before God?
What about the commandment against idolatry? How many times have
I made a false god that I felt more comfortable with? What about
taking his name in vain, not having the proper reverence for
his holy name, not resting in him, disobeying authority, not
honoring my mother and my father? The commandment against murder.
Well, I may not have physically murdered someone, I've murdered
their characters. I've murdered their characters,
which is the same thing. What about sexual sin? Well, the Lord
said to lust after a woman in your heart is to commit adultery.
Who's not guilty of that? Thou shalt not steal. Well, you
might not have shoplifted, but you stole time. You've robbed
God from glory. Thou shalt not bear false witness. Which of
us have not lied? Every time we open our mouth,
we lie in some sense. We're trying to present some
kind of image and some kind of projection to make people feel
a certain way. Even if we tell the truth, we
tell it in such a way that we cover things up. Thou shalt not
covet. Thou shalt not desire that which
God hath given you. Who is not guilty of coveting? I mean, sin is the transgression
of the law and all we have done is broken God's law. You and
I have not kept one commandment one time, not perfectly. Somebody
says, I've done my best. Well, for one thing, you haven't,
and for another thing, that's not good enough. All God accepts
is perfect obedience. Sin is the transgression of the
law. The law gives no power to obey. All the law does is expose
sin. Sin is the transgression of the
law. Now, at one time, the apostle
Paul thought he could keep the law. He said, touching the righteousness
which is in the law, I was blameless. But when God saved him, look
how his speech changes. We know that the law is spiritual,
but I am carnal, sold under sin. Sin is the transgression of the
law. And then John tells us in 1 John 5, 17, all unrighteousness
is sin. Any lack of perfect conformity
to absolute righteousness is sin, and God can accept nothing
less than perfect righteousness. All unrighteousness is sin. It would be against His nature
to accept anything short of perfection because He is holy. He's of two
pure eyes to behold His iniquity, to behold iniquity. The Scripture
says He charges His angels with folly. And they have not fallen,
but they could. They could if He didn't prevent
it. Therefore He charges His angels
with folly. Job said, Behold, He putteth
no trust in His saints. Yea, the heavens are not clean
in His sight. How much more abominable and
filthy is man which drinketh iniquity like water. All unrighteousness
is sin. And then we read in Romans chapter
3, verses 22 and 23, For there is no difference, for
all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. There's
no difference. Now you take the most moral man alive and you
take the most immoral man alive and before God, there's no difference. Oh, there's a difference between
me and I realize that, but I'm talking about what God sees.
God sees the moral man and God sees the immoral man in the same
light. all have sinned and come short
of the glory of God. Now, the glory of God, the perfections
of His person are such that to fall short of His glory is sin. What a definition of sin, simply
falling short of the glory of the divine being. Now, I've already
said this, but people have such superficial views of sin because
they have such superficial views of God. They've made a God they
feel comfortable with, but that's not the God of the Bible. To
fall short of His glory is sin. And then in James chapter 14,
verse 17, we read, to him that knoweth to do good, and he doeth
it not, to him it's sin. That's sins of omission as well
as sins of commission. To know to do what's good and
to not do it, that is sin before God. Somebody says, are sins
of omission not as bad as sins of commission? Maybe they're
worse. Maybe they're worse because you're sitting against such light
knowing what you ought to do. And then we read in Proverbs
24, verse 7, the thought of foolishness. The thought of foolishness is
sin. I can't be condemned for my thoughts. Yes, you can. The
scripture says God looks on the heart. He looks at the thoughts.
The thought of foolishness is sin. And then in James chapter
2, verse 9, we read, if you have respect of persons, you commit
sin. The respect of persons, to treat
people differently, to show favoritism to some as
opposed to others? What is that? Sin against God. And which of us is not guilty
of having respect for persons? Treating some people differently
because of some way they are, some way we could be advantaged
by them. And having a different standard for different people.
That is sin against God. And the only one who hadn't shown
respect for persons is God himself. And then in Romans chapter 14,
verse 23, we read, Whatsoever is not of faith is sin. Whatever doesn't proceed from
faith in Christ, actually trusting Him as all I need to be saved. Paul put it this way, I know
whom I have believed and I'm persuaded that He's able to keep
that which I've committed to Him against that day. Now, I
know whom I believe, and I'm persuaded he's able. I believe
in his ability to save me without any help from me, and I've committed
all my salvation to him. If he didn't do it all, there's
no hope for me. I'm totally resting in his last words, it is finished,
trusting that my salvation was accomplished by what he did and
who he is. And whatever doesn't proceed
from that is sin. You know what that means? You
don't have faith. All you do is sin. Everything you've ever done is
sin. Everything you've ever thought
is sin if it doesn't proceed from faith. Proverbs chapter
21 verse 4 says, A high look, a proud heart, and the plowing
of the wicked is sin. A high contemptuous look, a proud
heart, and the plowing. Now I think that's interesting,
the plowing of the wicked is sin. A man goes out and plows
a field, maybe to support his family, maybe to support the
poor, but a man goes out and plows a field and the scripture
says the plowing of the wicked is sin. If a wicked man does
it, it doesn't matter what he does, it is sin. The plowing of the wicked is
sin. Now I'd like to read a scripture
from 1 John 1, and I think this will give us some help and some
understanding in this thing of understanding something about
sin. In 1 John 1, verse 8, John makes this statement, if we say
we have no sin, if I say it, if you say it, if the preacher
says it, if the pope says it, if the next door neighbor says
it, if your mom and dad says it, If we say we have no sin,
we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. We've lost
all credibility. Somebody who claims to be without
sin is deceived and has no credibility whatsoever, you can't trust anything
they say. Watch out, they'll get you if
we say we have no sin. Now, there the word is a noun.
At all times, we have a sinful nature. And therefore, we cannot
say, I have no sin. Not as long as I'm alive. The
old man's alive. I've always got this sinful nature.
And to make some kind of claim of not having no sin, I deceive
myself. The truth is not even in me.
And then he says in verse 10 of 1 John 1, if we say we've
not sinned, Now there the word is a verb. If we say we've not
sinned, I give 20% of my income to the cause of Christ. You just
sinned when you said that. And when you did it, it was sin. Your motive wasn't totally, perfectly
pure. Now, I want to be generous. I
want to be committed to Christ. I want to be a faithful servant
of Christ. That's my great desire. But I
know whatever I do, if I did it, it's sin. When I'm preaching
this message to you, I'm sinning. Somebody says, well, how do you
expect me to listen to it? Well, I hope you can figure out a way,
because anybody that speaks to you is going to be that way.
That's what we are. And if I did it, I have sinned.
To say, I didn't sin in that action. Before God, you did. Before God, you did. It wasn't
perfect. It wasn't holy. It wasn't just like Christ. It's
sin. So if we say we have no sin,
we deceive ourselves. If we say we've not sinned, we
make him a liar because he says we have. But look at verse 9.
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive
us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Now,
what does it mean to confess your sins? Does that mean you
have to confess every single one of them? Well, if it does,
it means you're in trouble. Because many of our sins, we
don't even know what they are. We don't even know we've committed
them. And we don't have enough time in the day. If you confessed
every single individual sin, there would not be enough time
in the day. Now, the word confess means to
speak the same thing. You agree with God, with what
He says about your sin. You take sides with God against
yourself. Now, if we confess our sins,
He is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins. Not merciful
and gracious, although He is, but faithful. You see, He's determined
to do it already. And He's just. He does it in
a way that magnifies His justice. My sin was punished in Christ,
and His justice was satisfied, and I'm given the righteousness
of Christ. And now, through justification, He's just to forgive me of my
sins and to cleanse me from all unrighteousness. Now, I say this,
I hope, with fear and trembling, with reverence and all, but if
you want to understand what sin is, look at the cross. Look at the cross. Who was hanging
on the cross? The well-beloved Son. The Son of God. And yet, He's nailed to a cross. Why? He cries out, My God, My
God, why have you forsaken me? I know the answer to that question.
Because He was made sin. The sins of his people became
his sin. 2 Corinthians 5.21 says, For
he hath made him to be sin for us who knew no sin. that we might
be made the righteousness of God in him. Now, my sins became
his sins. He was guilty of those sins. And when God saw sin on his only
begotten and well-beloved son, he killed him. He forsook him. He poured his
wrath out upon him. That's how bad sin is. God didn't
look at his son and say, now I know these sins aren't yours,
but I'm going to punish you in somebody's place. That wouldn't
even be just. Those sins actually became his sins. And even when
God the Father saw sin in his son, on his son. The scripture
says, who his own self bear our sins in his own body on the tree. Now he never sinned in himself.
Don't think he did. He never sinned in himself. He
knew no sin. But when the sins of the elect became his sins,
God's wrath was poured upon him. And that's what God thinks of
sin. If you want to know the reality
of sin, look at the cross. Now I would like to close by
looking at Romans chapter 5 verses 20 and 21. Beginning in verse 20 we read,
moreover the law entered that sin might abound, that it might
overflow, that it just comes out everywhere. Now, if you've
heard with hearing ears what I've been saying about sin, and
you see it from the Word of God, you're convinced that you are
a person where sin abounds. Now, if you don't believe sin
abounds in you, I'm sorry. God hadn't spoken to you. He's
left you to yourself. I hope you one day find out that
sin abounds in you. if you are someone in whom sin
abounds, if you're a place that can be described as a place where
sin abounds. Listen to this scripture. Moreover,
the law entered that the offense might abound, but where sin abounded,
grace did much more abound. If you're a place where sin abounds,
grace does much more abound. Your sin can't keep God from
saving you any more than a lit match could stand before the
Pacific Ocean being dumped on it. Where sin abounded, grace
did much more abound. The freeness of God's grace,
verse 21, that as sin hath reigned unto death, Now, sin has this
much reign, you can't stop death. There's nothing you can do to
stop it. It has complete ability to kill you. You can't stop death. that as sin hath reigned unto
death, even so, in the same manner, might grace reign through righteousness."
Now, if God gives you grace, you can't mess it up. Your sin
can't stop it. He gives you the very righteousness
of His Son. His Son took your sin, put them
away. And He gives you the very righteousness
of Christ. For He hath made Him to be sin
for us who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness
of God in Him. That as sin hath reigned unto
death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal
life. This is righteous grace that
leads to eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord. He's the one
who put away my sin. He did it all. Thank God. This is Todd Niebuhr praying
that God will be pleased to make himself known to you. That's
our prayer. Amen. To request a copy of the sermon
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