Results
of sin
“death”
Introduction
1. Universal human experiences seem to include a
sense of right and wrong and a sense of moral failure. How are we to understand
this phenomena?
2.
It is easy to deny the presence of sin but not the results
of sin.
b. How can a Christian draw a link between the
results of sin and the Biblical concept of sin?
3.
Are all sins individual
(personal) or are there corporate sins? Are there systemic sins?
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Spiritual
idolatry |
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Political
conflict |
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Economic
injustice |
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Social
discrimination |
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Sin |
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Insecurity
& defensiveness |
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Psychological
despair |
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Family abuse |
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Flight
from reality |
A. Gen.3, Sin is the process of
gaining independence from God with the separation from life that such
independence initials.
1. Deception
- Eve is confused as to what is true. The first step is one of wrong thinking
about the nature of reality. That which is seen (the physical) is to be
preferred to that which is not seen (the spiritual).
2. Disbelief
- Eve rejects what God reveals. The second step is one of misplaced commitment.
God’s goodness is not believed.
3. Disobedience
- Eve seeks to do things her way. The third step is to act out the disbelief
with the following results.
a. Discernment
- The eyes of Adam and Eve are opened and a new level of consciousness is born.
A whole new world is opened to their consciousness.
b. Death
= Broken relationships with GOD, ENVIRONMENT, OTHERS & SELF which
perpetuate man’s sin.
c. Darkness
= Inability to see the truth which perpetuates man’s sin.
d. Despair
= Psychological hopelessness which perpetuates man’s sin.
B. The results of sin must be understood if we are to fight
against it.
1. An
enemy of God (the picture here is one of a combatant status) - Jas.4:4
“whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.”
2. The wrath of God (the picture is one of
strong disfavor) - Jn.3:36 “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; he who
does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the WRATH of God rests upon
him.” Rom.1:18 “the WRATH of God is
revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and wickedness of men who by their
wickedness suppress the truth.” (Rom.2:5, 9:22).
3. Guilt (the picture here is one of
delinquency & indebtedness) - Jas.2:10 “For whoever keeps the whole law and
yet stumbles in one point, he has become GUILTY of all.” The sacrificial system of the Old Covenant
suggests that there are degrees of guilt. (Lev.4-7).
a. Outward sins and sins of the heart.
b. Sins of ignorance and sins of knowledge - I
Tim.1:13
c. Sins of 3rd degree and sins of 1st degree -
Ps.19:13
d. Sins not unto death and sins unto death - I
Jn.5:16-17
4. Punishment
(the picture here is one of painful effects).
a. JUSTICE - Heb.10:30 “Vengeance is mine, I
will repay, says the Lord.”
b. DETERRENCE - I Cor.10:11 “Now these things
happened to them as an example.”
c. DISCIPLINE
- Heb.12:10 “He disciplines us for our good, that we may share His holiness.”
d. NATURAL
CONSEQUENCES - Gal.6:7-8 “whatever a man sows, this he will also reap.”
e. SPECIALLY ORCHESTRATED EVENTS - Israel’s
history.
5. Death
(the picture here is one of broken relationship).
a. PHYSICAL - separation of soul from body. I Cor.12:30 “For this reason many among you
are weak and sick, and a number sleep.”
b. SPIRITUAL
- temporal separation of soul from God.
Rom.6:23 “the wages of sin is death.”
c. ETERNAL
- eternal separation of soul from God. II Thess.1:9 “And these will pay the
penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the
glory of His power,”
6. The
effects on the sinner:
a. DEATH - a deep longing for life that is
frustrated.
1. Insensitivity
2. Self-centeredness
b. DARKNESS - flight from reality. Rom.1:21 “they became futile in their
speculations,” Gen.3:11 “the woman gave
me fruit of the tree, and I ate.”
Jer.17:9 “The heart is deceitful above all things,”
1. Denial of sin. Gen.3:11-12.
2. Self-deceit. Jer.17:9.
c. DESPAIR
- a hopelessness. Ps.38:3 “There is no
health in my bones because of my sin”
1. Enslavement to sinful thoughts and deeds.
Rom.6:17; 8:2.
2. Restlessness
7. The
effects on relationships with others:
a. DEATH - broken relationships.
1. Inability to empathize. Phil.2:3-5.
2. Inability to love.
b. DARKNESS - rejection of authority. II Thess.2:7 “the mystery of lawlessness.”
c. DESPAIR -
social conflict. Jas.4:1-2 “you
fight and wage war”
1. War.
2. Class discrimination.
C. The social dimensions of sins must not be neglected by
evangelicals.
1. If
we view the personification of evil as THE
DEVIL and the inborn personal depravity as THE FLESH, then the corporate social dimension of sin can be
described as THE WORLD.
a. The
World is a spiritual force that works against the Kingdom of God.
1. The world as a whole organized system of
spiritual force is a fact.
• II
Cor.7:10 “worldly grief produces death”
2. The world is under Satan’s control.
• Eph.2:2-3
“once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the
power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience.”
• I
Jn.5:19 “the whole world is in the power of the evil one.”
3. The world is clearly evil.
• Jn.7:7
“The world . . . hates me because I testify of it that its works are evil.”
4. The world stands in opposition to the people
of God.
• Jn.15:18-19
“If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If
you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of
the world, but I chose you out of he world, therefore the world hates you.”
• I
Cor.1:21,27 “The things of God are foolish to the world.”
• I Cor.2:12
“Now we have recieved not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is from
God,”
• Jn.14:17
“the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot recieve, because it neither sees
him nor knows him;”
5. Powerful as are the world’s system and ruler,
they are doomed.
• I
Cor.6:2 Believers will someday judge the world.
• Jn.16:33
“I have overcome the world.”
• Jn.12:31
“Now is the judgment of this world, now shall the ruler of this world be cast
out.” - vs.32-33 speak of the cross.
b. Principalities
and Powers are elemental spirits of institutions and social structures in
the world that are corrupted by the fall. Col.2 is a key chapter.
1. Paul distinguished “powers” from
“principalities” and from “angels” in Rom.8:38-39
2. Paul refers to “elemental spirits” in
Col.2:8, 20.
3. Paul
describes the principalities and powers as having control of persons.
Col.2:14-15.
4. Christ is said to have disarmed the powers,
made a public example of them, and triumphed over them. Gal.3:1-5; I
Cor.15:24-26; Rom.8:18-25.
2. Social sins often go unclaimed by
individuals.
a. People feel that they do not have an active
choice in corporate sins.
b. People’s group identity can shape their world view so
as to render them insensitive to social injustices.
c. People fail to see that group selfishness may
involve individual unselfishness.
d. There is a tendency to “group think” so as to
lose sight of our weaknesses.
e. The further removed we are from the actual
evil, the less real it seems.
3. We are not the only people responsible for some
of our sins.
a. Lk.17:1-4; Matt.18:6-7 suggest that we can
cause another to stumble.
b. The
responsibility of the stronger brother in I Cor.8 suggests that he will bear
responsibility for the sins of those that they lead astray by example.
c.
Teachers are warned in
Jas.3:1 that their judgment is strict because of their influence over others.
d.
In I Cor.15:33 we read
that the choices we make with respect to the company we keep can result in
putting us in harms way, causing us to sin.
d. I
Tim.5:22 “Do not lay hands upon any one too hastily and thus share responsibility for the sins of
others;”
Pastoral advice
How should we view the
results of sin?
1.
Just as Jesus’ healing ministry was a sign of his authority and God’s
compassion so our commitment to social reform is but a sign of the Kingdom of
God and His love. It is not assumed that education, economic justice,
psychological therapy, and political reform will solve the sin problem.
2. We
will never out grow our need for grace. Our condition is far worse than we can
fathom and God’s grace is far more powerful than we could imagine.
3.
Christians have the ability, more than anyone else, to understand the
highest aspirations of humanity and to empathize with the deepest pains of
human experience. This is because we understand the nature of man’s dignity and
his depravity.
Questions that you should be able to answer.
1. Specific facts you should know.
a. What is
the meaning of death?
b. What
texts of Scripture express the results of sin?
2. Issues that you should be able to discuss.
a. How is
corporate sin to be understood?
b. What are
some of the social dimensions of sin?
c. How
should Christians expect to impact society?
d. How are
we convicted of sin?
3. Questions you should wrestle with.
a. What constitutes
proper legislation with regard to social injustice?
b. How
deeply committed should a believer be to social reform? What are some of the
wise and unwise expressions of social concern?
c. Are
political conservatives more enlightened with respect to social reform than
political liberals?
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