Sermon Tone Analysis

Tainted Saints

Romans 7:18-25

 

There is an awesome book that was written by Jay Kessler that is entitles “Being Holy, Being Human.”

In the book he talks about the tension that is involved with being holy and likewise being human.

And I think today as we discuss this matter that it is very important that you understand that I am not suggesting to you that sin ought to be gotten into at will.

My pastor back home would suggest that it ought not to be premeditated.

But I think that all of us can agree today that no matter how long you’ve been in church (and I know that you didn’t come today to get me to help you to raise your hand to this question) but I think that you would have to agree that after your salvation you have sinned.

As a matter of fact, I don’t won’t to, but I guess I should, I really didn’t come here to do it but I guess I ought to…  Just to make sure that I am not the only one, maybe you ought to raise your hand too if you sinned *after* salvation.

And the reason that I wanted to do that today is because we’ve got to become very sensitive to those who find themselves in sin, yes even after salvation.

We have got to learn how not to become so critical of others who fall along the way.

Because I am thoroughly convinced that we have lost the mandate of the Master – to be a place where we can reclaim, restore, and redeem those who have, yes fallen even after salvation.

Oh what tension there is in trying to be holy and human.

Oh what a war that goes on in all of our minds and all of our bodies day in and day out.

And if Satan is not bothering you that is a good sign that he’s already got you.

But some of us today, every morning when we wake up Satan is waiting by the bed side.

On our way to the job he’s riding in the car with us, we go to church and he’s already there staking out territory.

And so my brothas and sistahs today I wanted to talk about /Tainted Saints/ because really all of us are tainted!

Are you walking with me?

As a matter of fact if you are human you are tainted.

As a matter of fact we have to redefine what it means to be a hypocrite.

When I read this word hypocrite many people think that it’s church folks acting like sinners but it’s really sinners trying to act like church folks.

Help me somebody.

We all know a lot of folks who will say that I am not going down to that church with all of those hypocrites.

You don’t stop going to work there are some hypocrites down there.

You don’t stop shopping at the mall there are some hypocrites there.

As a matter of fact some people are living with hypocrites and you keep on going there.

I have come to the conclusion that either I’m gone have to do my time with hypocrites in hell or in the church.

And I am going to do all of my time with them in the church because at least when I go home I can go to sleep.

Help me somebody.

Tainted?

Yes.

You don’t have to tell me that I am tainted when I went to bed last night, I knew I was tainted.

All night long I was wrestling with some tainted-ness and then early this morning when I woke up I looked in the mirror to see if I was still tainted and then I looked at Romans 3:23 to make sure that it hadn’t changed to y’all have sinned it had remained all have sinned.

When I read the pages of the Bible I become thoroughly aware that God uses even tainted saints for there are stories in the Bible that you would not find in Christian literature today.

They might not be found in Moody Press, maybe in the Globe, maybe in the National Enquirer, maybe in the Star but not in the local Christian book store.

For when you read about Adam and Eve, the first man and woman that God gave life to.

He sets them in the lap of luxury  in the Garden of Eden and it was after he blesses them then they disobeyed God.

Not only would we discuss Adam and Eve, there is Noah.

We know him as the one who builds the ark.

We want our children to know him as the one who saved mankind with that ark which is a symbol of Christ with its pitch.

But we must come to grips with the fact that he did get drunk on the eve of reconstruction.

You might know Abraham as the Father of the faithful and the friend of God.

Oh but he did lie about Sarah.

I hear you talking about Moses as that great emancipator of Israel.

He marches out of Egypt with a million Israelites walking behind him but he did kill that Egyptian.

I hear you talking about Jacob and I know about him.

He was a trickster.

He was a cheat.

He was a stealer for the writer declares that he supplanted his brother twice.

When you look at Tamar, Judas’ daughter in-law; she was a prostitute.

You all remember David don’t you, Beersheba and the killing of Uriah?

But he did write the 23rd Number of the Psalm and you don’t throw him away, as a matter of fact, when somebody dies somebody says we have got to get the 23rd Number of the Psalm.

…when you think about Solomon and all of his strange women?

What about Peter who was a curser and a cutter?

When you think about all of these individuals who impacted the kingdom of God we have got to admit there was some tainted-ness in them.

But not only was there some tainted-ness in them there is some tainted-ness in all of us.

And I know that you don’t want to admit it but turn to somebody and say “I’m tainted!”

And really you are!      Born in sin!  Shaped in iniquity!

That’s our lot!

When you look at the lineage of the Christ.

When you look at this lineage you will notice that there are some names that are in the lineage of the Christ that are unlikely candidates for this lineage.

When you look you will find David’s name in that lineage.

As a matter of fact take a look at Matthew the 1st chapter, verses 1-16 just in case you think that I am making it up.

You’ll find Abraham’s name there (it’s right there!).

Jacobs name is right there, Tamar’s name is right there, Rahab’s name is right there.

Tainted saint!!!

So contradictory.

There’s constant tension between trying to be Holy and trying to be human.

Tainted-ness, yes many believe that we are without our sins and that is why there are not more folks in the church than there should be.

Because somehow or another we have walked around as if there is nothing wrong with us but there is.

And so when some people see us outside the church and we fall as some of us will do along the journey, then they look at us as though we are hypocrites.

But we are not hypocrites we are just human.

Again, not to suggest to you today that this sermon is so you can go do whatever you wanna do, that is not the purpose of this sermon.

The purpose is so that you can come into contact with your tainted-ness so that the Lord can shed light on it and the closer you get to God the more your flaws begin to show.

1st Corinthian 10:12 says this “Let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.”

Let me work a little bit, turn to 1st John 1:6, because there is something very powerful here this morning that you and I ought to understand and when we come to the understanding  of our own tainted-ness then we become able to respond better to the tainted-ness in other people.

Now there are no big sins and little sins.

The Bible says that if you have sinned in this part that you have sinned in all.

So sin is just sin.

I don’t care what kind of label you put on it, I don’t care what kind of package you put it in, it doesn’t matter how the container looks… sin is just what?

SIN!  1st John says what?

If we say that we have fellowship with Him and walk (which implies a constant or a consistent walk) in darkness, we lie and the truth ain’t in us.

…yet we put on a façade and the folks on the outside of the church never want to get in.

You see, I am sick but every Sunday morning I know where I am going, I am going to the hospital trying to get well.

Some of you need ICU, some of you need intensive care, some of you need cardiac care some of you just need to get in a room but everyone of us needs to go to the divine hospital!

Now it might not be one thing it might be another.

You know we have got to be very careful you know that in the baptist church we don’t just get caught up in the regular 3 sins of the baptist church… You know drinking, whore-mongering, stealing, and now homosexuality is the 4th.

But there are some other sins you know.

Are you walking with me?  Lying is a sin.

Eating too much, gluttony, that’s a sin.

Wrath and malice are sins.

Gossiping is a sin.

Clamor is a sin.

Talking other folks down that’s a sin.

Drive-by shootings in the church that’s a sin.

Murder is a sin.

So there are not only three sins there are a whole lot of other sins that we don’t deal with.

Yes, there is some tainted-ness in all of us.

It might not be excessive drinking but it’s something else!

There are sins of omission and there are sins of commission.