Would you turn back to Romans
Chapter 14? Tonight, after the services,
we're going to honor the high school graduates. We have five
of them. Audrey Grace Hacker, Aaron Lapisto, Jacob Rigsby,
Carter Steves, and Elizabeth Vincent. And that's a real special
time. I can remember when I graduated
from high school, I remember thinking, what now? What am I
going to do? I had no idea. Still don't, I
guess. Romans chapter 14, I'd like to
read the last phrase of verse 23. For whatsoever is not of
faith is sin. I've entitled this message, What
is Sin? I'd like to know the answer to
that, wouldn't you? What is sin? And I want to answer that question
from the Bible. To answer that question, we first
have to be settled with this, there is such a thing as sin. There is such a thing as sin. If God is, sin is. Think about that. If God is, sin is. If there is no God, if evolution is true, Who's to say
that there's such a thing as sin if there's no God? Hey, survival of the fittest. Everybody's just trying to survive.
Whatever somebody's doing, they're doing to survive. But you know,
everyone knows intuitively that God is. Even an atheist knows deep down
that God is. Somebody may say, well, I don't
believe that. Well, it's okay. God is, and
he will reward the righteous and punish the wicked. We're
born believing that. It's in our DNA. Everybody is
born with that understanding. Creation tells us that God is. And really, it's the only thing
that makes sense. It takes a greater leap of blind faith to believe
things just happened somehow than to believe that God is. It's the only thing that makes
sense. But I'm so thankful that we don't have to speculate about
these questions because God has given us something called His
Word. Aren't you thankful for that?
What if you had to depend on me to know the truth? We'd be
in trouble, wouldn't we? Thank God He has given us a book
called the Bible. Listen to this scripture, 2nd
Timothy chapter 3 verse 16 says, all scripture is given by inspiration
of God. How much scripture? All scripture. Old Testament, that passage of
scripture we just read from Exodus 15 is given by inspiration of
God. The passage I just read from
Romans chapter 14 verse 23, Whatsoever is not of faith, that is God-breathed
and God-inspired. Now, I realize that many people
would say, how can you think that a book that so many men
have been involved in and with the way men change things and
with men's agendas, how can you actually believe that there's
a book that is completely inspired by God without error? Well, I
can believe that the same way I believe in creation. If God
can create the universe, he can inspire men to write a book and
preserve it without error. It's not hard for God. Thank
God for the scriptures of truth. Now, men grapple with the problem
of evil and sin. I had someone just this week
say, if there really is a God, why would he let tornadoes hit
towns and kill innocent men and women and children? Why wouldn't
he divert a hurricane or a tsunami? And why does he let all these
horrible things happen? Well, for one thing, there are
not any innocent men and women and children. There are not any
innocent people. You're not innocent. I'm not
innocent. Why God does what he does, he's in control. And I
trust him. That's all I can say about that.
Whatever God does is right, and I trust Him. He's in control
of everything. But to think of men sitting in judgment on God,
how could God let this happen? How could God let that happen?
You're going in the wrong direction if all of a sudden you become
God's judge and start disagreeing with what He does and saying,
I think this is wrong and I think this is right. Who are you to
sit in judgment on God? Do you think you have the moral
fiber to set in judgment upon God and say, I agree with this
and I don't agree with that. No, don't do that. May God give
us grace to not be his judge, but be listeners to find out
what he says regarding himself in his word. Now, sin is, how
did it get here? Romans 5, 12 says, by one man,
sin entered the world. and death by sin. So death passed upon all men
and that all have sinned. Because of that one man's sin,
we're born into this world sinners. You're born that way. Your children
are born that way. Your parents were born that way. You don't become sinner when
you sin. You sin because you're already
a sinner. That's the way you were born. That's the way I was born. Now we really don't have any
understanding of sin until we see that it is against God. Let me repeat that. We really
don't have any understanding of sin until we see that sin
is against God. Somebody says, well, I'm not
hurting anybody with what I do. Well, that's debatable. That's
debatable. Matter of fact, it's not so.
But your sin, the problem with your sin and my sin is it's against
God. David said with regard to his
sin against thee and thee only. Have I sinned and done this evil
in thy sight? Now, ask Bathsheba. He sinned against Bathsheba.
Ask Uriah. He murdered Uriah. Ask Joab. He implicated Joab in this crime.
I mean, there were other people affected by David's sin, but
David still said against thee. Thee only have I sinned and done
this evil in thy sight. I think of what the Prodigal
said. When he returned, he said, Father, I've sinned against heaven
and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son.
And the reason sin is so evil is it is against God. All sin
has in it contempt for, disrespect of, and hatred of the thrice
holy God. The reason for death is sin. You're going to die, and there's
a reason. Sin. Your children are going
to die, and there's a reason. Sin. We had a funeral here a
few years ago. I can't remember whose funeral
it was, really, but there's been a number. But I remember saying
the reason this person died is because of sin. And the funeral
director said to me afterwards, I've never heard anybody say
that. He'd been through thousands, I guess, of funerals. He said,
I've never heard anybody say that. The reason this man died
is because of sin. Yeah. The reason for death is
sin. 1 Corinthians chapter 15, verse
56 says, the sting of death is sin. And the strength of sin
is the law. Now, with that in mind, I want
to give you eight scriptures that actually give a definition
of sin. Now, these are not my opinion. These are the scriptures that
actually define what this thing of sin actually is, our great
enemy. The first scripture is 1 John
3, verse 4. Sin is the transgression of the
law. And do you want to know what
the Bible calls sin? Sin is the transgression of the law. And that's a reference to the
Ten Commandments. Somebody says, well, only the
Jews had the Ten Commandments when they were given. The rest
of the world didn't. That's true, but according to the scriptures,
that law is written in everybody's heart. Turn with me to Romans
chapter 2 and let me show you that. Verse 14, for when the Gentiles,
people who never had a copy of the Bible, People who never heard
the Ten Commandments, not even once. When the Gentiles, which
have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law,
these having not the law, are a law unto themselves, which
show the work of the law written in their hearts. The thou shalts
and the thou shalt nots, their conscience also bearing witness,
and their thoughts, the meanwhile accusing or else excusing one
another in the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus
Christ according to my gospel." Now that passage of Scripture
tells me that everybody is born into this world knowing thou
shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not commit
adultery. thou shalt not lie, thou shalt not covet. Everybody
knows, born into this world, that those things are sin. And
that's one of the reasons it always bothers me when preachers
talk about we need to teach people how to live. People already know
how to live. You already know how to live.
People know that. No, we need to teach people how
to die. That's what I want to teach people,
how to die, not how to live. You already know that. How do
you die and how do you enter glory when you've got all this
sin? What's to be done about your sin? Sin is a transgression
of the law. Now, the Ten Commandments. Thou
shalt have no other god before me. What have men you put before
God? Every day, all the time. The commandment against idolatry.
How many times? Have you and I made a false image
of God that would fit our agenda, make us feel better about the
way we were going? What about taking his name in vain? When
have you ever not taken his name in vain and spoke with the proper
reverence due his holy name? What about the Sabbath? When
have you ever completely rested? Honor your father and mother.
Respect all authority. Thou shalt not kill. I've never murdered anybody.
You killed somebody's character, I guarantee you that. You murdered
somebody by innuendo. Thou shalt not commit adultery. Now remember the scripture says
to look at a woman, the Lord said this, to look at a woman,
to lust after her in your heart. You have committed adultery.
Anybody not guilty of that? Thou shalt not bear false witness. Thou shalt tell the truth, the
whole truth and the nothing but the truth. Thou shalt not steal. That's not just talking about
shoplifting. You can rob God of glory. Thou shalt not covet. You know, all the law does is
expose sin. If you have any light at all,
every one of those commandments, all they do is condemn you. And you really believe that you
haven't kept one of them even one time. If you know what they
mean. Now if you, there was one time where Paul said this about
himself. He said, touching the righteousness which is in the
law, I was blameless. He felt like he kept the law.
But when God saved him, you know what he said? He said, I'm sold under sin. The law is spiritual, but I am
carnal, sold under sin. Now, if you ever find out what
God's law really means, you'll know that's true about you. Sin
is the transgression of the law. Number two, 1 John 5, verse 17,
John says, all unrighteousness is sin. That's a good definition, isn't
it? All unrighteousness is sin. Any lack of conformity to perfect
righteousness is sin. God is holy and he will accept
nothing less than perfect righteousness. And all unrighteousness is sin. He's of two pure eyes to behold
iniquity. The scripture says he even charges
his angels with folly. And the angels never had a sin,
but he knows they could if he didn't prevent it. That's how
holy God is, to even have the potential to sin. He charges
the angels with folly. Listen to this scripture from
Job. 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. That's what the Bible says. All,
all unrighteousness is sin. Third scripture, Romans chapter
3, verses 22 and 23. For there is no difference, for
all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Now did
you hear what that said? There is no difference. You know
what that means? You take the most moral man walking
the faith of this planet and you take the most immoral, evil,
wicked person You know how much difference there is between the
two of them in God's sight? No difference. No difference. For all, A-double-L,
all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. We have all fallen short of His
glory. The glory of God, the perfections
of His person are such that to fall short of God's glory is
sin. That's the definition of sin.
It's to fall short of the glory of the blessed God. Now the reason
men have such superficial views of sin is because they have such
superficial views of God. They've made a God they feel
comfortable with, but He's not the God of the Bible. The God
of the Bible is the God of glory. and to fall short of God's glory
is sin. The fourth scripture, James chapter
4 verse 17, to him that knoweth to do good and doeth it not,
to him it is sin. That's James chapter 4 verse
17. To him that knoweth to do good
and to not do it, That's sins of omission. You didn't do what
you know you should have done. Or sins of omission, as bad as
sins of commission, when you actually commit the sin, yeah,
yeah, they're just as bad. But that's sin, to know to do
good and to not do it. To him it is sin. Proverbs chapter 24, verse 7. The thought of foolishness is
sin. I can't be condemned for my thoughts.
You'll find out. Can't do. God looks at the thoughts
and the scripture says the thought of foolishness, just the thought
of foolishness is sin. James chapter 2 verse 9, James
chapter 2 verse 9, I read it, you can turn and look at these
as I'm reading them, but they're all important. James chapter
2 verse 9 says, if you have respect of persons, you commit sin. To treat people differently,
different standards for different people, To show favoritism to
some as opposed to others is sin. You ever done that? The
only one who's never shown respect to persons is God himself. We're
guilty of that all the time. Our text in Romans chapter 14,
verse 23, whatsoever is not of faith is sin. whatsoever does not proceed from
faith in Christ, simply resting in Him, looking to Him as everything
in your salvation, relying completely on Him. Whatever doesn't proceed
from that is sin. You know what that means? That
means if you're an unbeliever, all you have is sin. All you've
done is sin. The good stuff you've done, it's
sin. Because whatsoever does not proceed of faith is sin.
Now that's what God says. That's what God says. Remember,
we're looking at how God defines sin. Whatsoever is not of faith
is sin. And I love this scripture. This
is the last one we're going to consider as far as the definition
of sin. Proverbs chapter 21, verse 4.
A high look and a proud heart. and the plowing
of the wicked is sin. Now, I can't think of a more
wholesome activity than plowing. Can you? I mean, what if you're
plowing the ground to raise food, to feed your family, maybe even
to feed the poor, kind of back to whatever, you know, it just
seems like a good thing to do. Scripture says the plowing of
the wicked is sin. Now turn with me to 1 John chapter
1. Verse 8, If we say that we have no sin, and there, I pointed this out
before, the word is a noun. It's a noun. If we say we have
no sin, this is a reference to our sinful nature. If we say
we have no sin, at all times, any time I say, well, I have
no sin, at least right now I'm not doing anything. If we say
we have no sin, what? We deceive ourselves. It's a
willing self-deception. We deceive ourselves. You know,
what I'm going to preach on tonight, actually, is when the disciples
asked the Lord when he was going to return and when all these
things would happen when he would return, he said, take heed that
no man deceive himself. That's what I want to talk about
now. If I say I have no sin, I deceive myself. And the truth is not in us. We've lost all credibility. Whenever
someone claims to be without sin, listen to me, they're liars. They've deceived themselves.
You can't believe anything they say. They're dishonest to the
core. They cannot be trusted. Look
at verse 10. If we say that we've not sinned,
and they're the words of verb, regarding anything I do. While I'm preaching, I'm sinning. Because it's me. Well, how do
you expect me to listen to you then? I don't know. You're going
to have to figure out a way. But that's, any man you listen to,
that's the same thing's true about them. If I did it, It's
sin. I have motives of self. I have
self-promotion. I have fear. I have all these
things. It's always mixed up in everything
I do. And if I did it, it's sin. When I put my gift back in that
offering box, it's sin. Now, there's a part of me that
wants to give. That's the new man. But I've
still got the old man. And so everything I do since
I have that old man is sin. If we say we've not sinned, we
make him a liar. Because he says we have. and
His Word is not in us. How thankful I am for verse 9.
If we confess, if we confess our sins, oh, the
confession of sin, if we confess. Now, number one, that doesn't
mean you audibly speak every one of them. Well, you've got
to confess it and name it and so on because Number one, most
of the sins you and I have committed, we don't even know. And number
two, there's not enough time in the day for that to take place.
If that means confess every one of your sins individually, you
might as well forget doing anything else. Can't go to sleep, can't
eat, it's not going to happen. What confession of sin means
is you take sides with God against yourself. You agree with what
God says regarding your sin. You agree with what God says,
and your only definition of sin is what God says. Here's what
I think sin is. Nobody cares what you think sin is. What does
God say sin is? And when you confess your sin,
you are in complete agreement with God, taking God's side against
yourself. Have you ever done that? Have
you ever really confessed your sin before God? Oh, if you have,
look what it says. If we confess our sins, He is
faithful and just to forgive us our sins. Not merciful and
gracious, although He is, but faithful and just. You see, the
reason He's forgiven your sins is because you've already been
forgiven, and He's faithful to make sure it takes place. And
He's just to forgive your sins, because His justice has been
satisfied through the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. I love
that. If we confess our sins, He's
faithful. He's just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us
from all unrighteousness. Now, I want to say this statement,
and I believe this is the most important statement I'm going
to make while I'm here, most important statement I could make
about anything. If you want to know the reality
of what sin is. Don't look within your own heart.
Don't look at the things you've done and that you've been guilty
of doing, as bad as those things may be. But if you want to know,
would to God that I could say this the right way, if you want
to know the reality of what sin is, look to the cross. Now what do I mean by that? Who
is that one hanging on the cross? He's the well-beloved of the
Father. He's the Son of God. And He never stopped being the
Son of God even when He was on the cross. He was still God the
Son, blessed forever, the God-Man. And what happens to Him when
sin is found on Him? Now understand this thing about
this sin being found on him. He didn't commit that sin, but
God took the sins of the believer and placed it upon his son so
that his son actually became guilty of those sins. God didn't look at his son and
say, I know you didn't commit it, but I'm punishing you in
the place of somebody else. He didn't do that at all. That
wouldn't be right. Would it be right for me to have
to die for your sins? No. You can only die for your
own sins. And on Calvary's tree, my sin
became His sin. He took my sin and my sorrow. He made them His very own. He
bore the burden to Calvary and suffered and died alone. And
when God saw sin on His Son, what did He do? He completely
forsook him and poured out His holy wrath upon him to punish
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. Just as truly
as my sin became his, his righteousness is mine. And we're warned about
the deceitfulness of sin. And it is so deceitful. The only
place you're going to find out, and I'm going to find out what
sin really is, is a look at the cross of Christ. God's hatred
of sin. God's punishment of sin. Now,
there's something called the law of first mention. You've
heard of that before. If you want to find out what
something means, look where it's first mentioned in the scripture,
and then carry it out, and you'll see what it means. Now, I want
to look at sin with light of the law of first mention, so
would you turn with me to Genesis chapter 4. Verse 1, and Adam knew Eve, his
wife, and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I've gotten
a man from the Lord. Now, this is the first story
we have after the fall, and they were driven out of the garden.
And when she said, I've gotten a man from the Lord, she thought
she got the promised seed. You know, the Lord had promised
the seed of woman shall bruise the serpent's head, and she thought,
I've got the promised seed. I've gotten a man from the Lord.
And she gindered his brother Abel, and Abel was a keeper of
the sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. And in process
of time it came to pass that Cain brought of the fruit of
the ground an offering unto the Lord, and Abel he also brought
of the firstlings of his flock, and of the fat thereof. And the
Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering, but unto Cain
and to his offering he had not respect. Now, I suppose the thing
that probably troubles us the most if somebody treats us in
a way that we feel is not right is when we're treated disrespectfully. And we feel like that person
has no respect for us. Well, Cain felt that way about
God. He has no respect for me. And
Cain was right. God did not have respect for
him because of the offering that he brought. He didn't bring the
offering that God commanded, a blood sacrifice, the only way
you can come into my presence is through the sacrifice of my
son. He brought his best. He brought the fruit of the ground.
God had no respect for it. But in Abel and his offering,
God had respect. Oh, the respect God has for Jesus
Christ, the respect he has for his precious blood, for his sacrifice,
for his righteousness, for all those in him, to Abel and to
his offering, the living God had respect. And Cain, verse 5, was very wroth. And his countenance fell, this
is not fair. And the Lord said unto Cain,
Why art thou wrath? And why has thy countenance fallen?
If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? If you come
the way Abel did, you'll be accepted. And if thou doest not well, sin
lieth at the door. The first time sin is mentioned
is with reference to bringing the wrong sacrifice. Your works instead of the works
of Christ. Elihu said to Job, speaking of
God, He looketh upon men and if any say, I have sinned and
have perverted that which was right, and it profited me not,
he will deliver his soul from going down to the pit, and his
life shall see the light of life. If any say, I've sinned, and
I perverted that which was right, and it didn't do me a bit of
good. I didn't profit from it. All
it did is make me more like the devil. If anybody do that, The Lord will deliver his soul
from going down to the pit and give him light. Now, what kind
of light? You know, that's spoken light. Well, the Lord said in John chapter
8 verse 12, I am the light of the world. Now, right before
he said that was when he said to that woman, taken in adultery,
taken in the very act, there was no doubt about her guilt.
He said to her, Woman, where are those unaccused? Hath no
man condemned thee? She said, No man, Lord. He said,
Neither do I condemn thee. Neither do I condemn thee. How? Because there's nothing to condemn
her for. That is the gospel. He's the
light as to how that can be. The Lord can look at me, and
I'm very conscious of my sin, and the Lord can look at me and
say, where are your accusers? Has no man condemned you? I'm
not condemning you. Why? Because there's nothing
to condemn you for. This is the glorious truth regarding
justification. Now one final scripture. Turn
with me, well two final scriptures. Turn with me to Romans chapter
5. Romans chapter 5 in verse 20. Moreover the law entered that
the offense might abound, overflow. Now, we need to put people under
the law. You know what you do by putting people under the law?
You'll make them worse than they were before. That's it. The law
entered that the offense might abound and overflow. That's what
God's Word says. The law entered that the offense
might abound, but where sin abounded. Where has to do with where. Are you one of those places where
sin abounds? How do you fit in here? Where
sin abounds. Where it overflows and bubbles
over and it's in everything you do. Where it abounds. Where sin abounded. What's next? Grace did much more
abound. You find me a place where sin
abounds, and I'll show you a place where grace always abounds and
overflows like the Pacific Ocean dumped on a match. It abounds. That, verse 21, as sin hath reigned
unto death, Now here's how much control sin has. How much power
do you have to not die? Can you keep off death? I'm going
to live forever. I'm not going to give in to death.
Oh yeah, you will. You have no choice. You will
die. That's how much power sin has
over you. You can't prevent death. That a sin hath reigned unto
death, in the same manner even so might grace reign. If God gives you grace, there's
nothing that can prevent it. Just like you can't prevent death,
you can't prevent grace. Grace reigns through righteousness,
through the righteousness of Christ unto eternal life by Jesus
Christ our Lord. Now what is the believer's attitude
towards sin? I've been talking about sin and
how evil it is and all that stuff I've said from the scriptures.
What's the believer's attitude towards sin? Well, John put it
this way in 1 John 2 These things write I unto you, that you sin
not." I don't want to ever sin again. And I say that knowing that I
have a nature that's going to prevent that from happening right
now. One of these days, I will never sin again. And I don't
want to now. But this is the final scripture
I want you to look at. Turn with me to Jeremiah chapter
50. You know, with regard to our sin, before I read this scripture,
I think of what Joseph said to his brethren with regard to their
sin. He said, you've been in for evil,
and you think about what they did. It was as bad as, I mean,
they sold her brother as a slave, told their dad he was dead, gave
him the coat of many collars with blood, and said, here's
your man. And when Joseph sees him, he
says, you meant him for evil. But God meant it for good. It was the will of God that that
took place to save much people alive. You see that wicked action
of their brother? He went down to Egypt and he
ended up saving them all. God is in control of everything.
But listen to this scripture. Jeremiah chapter 50 verse 20. In those days and in that time,
saith the Lord, the iniquity of Israel shall be sought for And there shall be none. The sins of Judah, and they shall
not be found. For I will pardon them whom I
reserve. Now on judgment day, when the
thrice holy eye of God looks me over and looks for my sin, there'll be none because Christ has put them away. Everybody who looks to Christ
as their only salvation, your sin will not be found because
there is none. Let's pray. Lord, we thank you for this revelation
of what sin is. We confess our sins. We confess
our sin. We confess our sinfulness. We
pray that we might be found in Christ. And Lord, we pray that
we would go and sin no more. Lord, we're such sinful hypocrites
in and of ourselves. We pray that you'd forgive us
and cleanse us, and oh, that we might be found in Christ.
Bless this word for your glory and for our good. In Christ's
name we pray, amen.