Understanding Sin
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Why preach on sin?
Robert Schuller’s feel good approach to preaching
Understanding sin is necessary for understanding grace
What sin is not?
What sin is not?
Sin is not illusion
Sin is not illusion
Some seek to relativize sin saying that sin is nothing more than human perception
But as John Murray once said “sin is real evil”
Y vio Jehová que la maldad de los hombres era mucha en la tierra, y que todo designio de los pensamientos del corazón de ellos era de continuo solamente el mal. Y se arrepintió Jehová de haber hecho hombre en la tierra, y le dolió en su corazón. Y dijo Jehová: Raeré de sobre la faz de la tierra a los hombres que he creado, desde el hombre hasta la bestia, y hasta el reptil y las aves del cielo; pues me arrepiento de haberlos hecho.
Sin is not about human perception but about God’s perception
Jehová miró desde los cielos sobre los hijos de los hombres, Para ver si había algún entendido, Que buscara a Dios. Todos se desviaron, a una se han corrompido; No hay quien haga lo bueno, no hay ni siquiera uno.
Sin is not an eternal reality
Sin is not an eternal reality
Worldy philosophies posit an essential dualism where good and evil always co-exist. Eastern philosophies speak of a ying-yang
The Bible teaches that sin entered the world through one man
Por tanto, como el pecado entró en el mundo por un hombre, y por el pecado la muerte, así la muerte pasó a todos los hombres, por cuanto todos pecaron.
Sin is not physical evil
Sin is not physical evil
Sin doesn’t consist of unpleasant things
John Murray said that sin is moral evil, a violation of God’s command
Sin is an offense against the Lord as righteous judge
Now the men of Sodom were wicked, great sinners against the Lord.
Sin is not merely external action
Sin is not merely external action
Sin resides in the inward thoughts. Christ taught that sinful actions have their source in an evil heart
Porque de dentro, del corazón de los hombres, salen los malos pensamientos, los adulterios, las fornicaciones, los homicidios, los hurtos, las avaricias, las maldades, el engaño, la lascivia, la envidia, la maledicencia, la soberbia, la insensatez. Todas estas maldades de dentro salen, y contaminan al hombre.
Sin is not merely hurting others
Sin is not merely hurting others
Sin is at its core a violation of the Creator-creature relationship. As Berkouwer says: “sin is always against God”
Contra ti, contra ti solo he pecado, Y he hecho lo malo delante de tus ojos; Para que seas reconocido justo en tu palabra, Y tenido por puro en tu juicio.
Biblical words for sin
Biblical words for sin
The Bible speaks of sin in a variety of ways
Missing the mark
Missing the mark
The Hebrew word chata and the Greek word hamartia mean to miss the mark or to fail in duty. The word could be used to describe a person shooting a bow and arrow and missing the target. When it is used to describe sin, it means that the person has missed the mark that God has established for the person’s life
Overstepping limits
Overstepping limits
The Greek word parabasis and similar Hebrew words such as abar describe sin as transgression or rebellion. It is the picture of overstepping limits that God sets to man’s freedom.
Three chief aspects of sin
Three chief aspects of sin
Breach of law
Violation of relationships
Rebellion against God
What is sin?
What is sin?
In trying to define sin we might ask ourselves what is the central thrust of sin that makes it sinful?
Sensuality
Sensuality
In Greco-Roman culture it was common to view the soul of humans as closer to God than the body. In Medieval times this gave way to the idea of carnival - a time to give oneself over to the lusts of the flesh. While we often sin with our bodies, the outward bodily sin is really just a symptom of a sinful heart. Augustine in his Confessions wrote that his earlier slavery to sinful desires was just a consequence of his proud rebellion against God.
That is why Paul urges the church at rome to
Así que, hermanos, os ruego por las misericordias de Dios, que presentéis vuestros cuerpos en sacrificio vivo, santo, agradable a Dios, que es vuestro culto racional.
Pride
Pride
The Bible clearly teaches of the danger of pride.
Pero él da mayor gracia. Por esto dice: Dios resiste a los soberbios, y da gracia a los humildes.
Pride lifts a person up against God
El malo, por la altivez de su rostro, no busca a Dios; No hay Dios en ninguno de sus pensamientos.
But Calvin argues that pride is more of a symptom than a cause. He writes: “la ambición y el orgullo de Adan fluyen de su deseo de tener mas de lo se le había dado y asi mostró desden a la generosidad de Dios.”
Selfishness
Selfishness
The Bible teaches that sin is connected to selfishness
Porque habrá hombres amadores de sí mismos, avaros, vanagloriosos, soberbios, blasfemos, desobedientes a los padres, ingratos, impíos,
Porque todos buscan lo suyo propio, no lo que es de Cristo Jesús.
In Augustine’s The City of God he describes two cities - the City of God and the city of man. The inhabitants of the City of God are lovers of God and the inhabitants of the city of man are lovers of self.
If we define sin in terms of selfishness or pride we run the risk of defining sin on our own terms and not in terms of God. Sin is always sin against God.
Idolatry
Idolatry
The Bible teaches that idolatry is linked to human wickedness
porque lo que de Dios se conoce les es manifiesto, pues Dios se lo manifestó.Porque las cosas invisibles de él, su eterno poder y deidad, se hacen claramente visibles desde la creación del mundo, siendo entendidas por medio de las cosas hechas, de modo que no tienen excusa.Pues habiendo conocido a Dios, no le glorificaron como a Dios, ni le dieron gracias, sino que se envanecieron en sus razonamientos, y su necio corazón fue entenebrecido.Profesando ser sabios, se hicieron necios,y cambiaron la gloria del Dios incorruptible en semejanza de imagen de hombre corruptible, de aves, de cuadrúpedos y de reptiles.
But even here we see that idolatry is again a symptom rather than a cause. In the Ten Commandments only the second commandment deals specifically with idolatry. Thinking about the sin that brought death into the world here in Genesis 3, it is interesting to note that it is not fundamentally a sin of idolatry
Opposition to God
Opposition to God
The Bible teaches that sin is lawlessness
Todo aquel que comete pecado, infringe también la ley; pues el pecado es infracción de la ley.
What is meant by law? Jesus was asked to name the most important law - his answer was that we love God with all our mind soul and strength
To transgress the law is to not love God - it is to oppose God.
Sin is always opposition to God. Every tendency previously mentioned - sensuality, pride, selfishness and idolatry - can be reduced to opposition to God. When you debase your body, when you think more of yourself than you ought, when you put yourself first or when you put other things before God, at the core you are opposing God.
Conclusion
Conclusion