It Still Pays The Same!
Part Two
5/7/06
Rom. 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift
of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
If you take all of the world’s
problems and boil them down to one word--that word is SIN!
The whole world has a sin
problem!
Rom. 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
There are three attitudes
about sin.
The first one is to ignore it
or laugh it off.
Pr.
14:9 Fools mock at making
amends for sin,
but
goodwill is found among the upright.
The second attitude about sin
is a religious attitude. This has two
aspects.
The first one is “God’s
good--I’m OK--You’re OK.”
Is.
5:20 Woe to those who call evil good
and good evil,
who put darkness for light
and light for darkness,
who put bitter for sweet
and
sweet for bitter.
The second aspect of having a
religious attitude is the “stiff arm” idea about God. As if God delights in seeing people sin so He can punish them.
This is where people are
hammered to death! Yes we have a sin
problem, but Jesus is the remedy!
The third attitude about sin
is a righteous attitude. Sin is taken
serious and the mercy and grace of God is taken serious!
Gal. 1:3 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord
Jesus Christ, 4who gave himself for
our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our
God and Father, 5to whom be glory
for ever and ever. Amen.
It takes the Spirit of God to
open our eyes to our sin.
Pr. 21:2 All a man’s ways seem right to him,
but the LORD weighs the heart.
David understood
this....
Ps. 19:12
Who can discern his errors? Forgive my hidden faults.
and beyond cure.
Who can understand it?
It is beyond self cure,
the only cure is a new heart....
Ez. 36:26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I
will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my
decrees and be careful to keep my laws.
On the day of Pentecost
the Spirit of God cut to the core of their hearts!
Acts 2:36 “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made
this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.”
37When the people heard this, they were cut
to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we
do?”
38Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized,
every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.
And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Now we understand in a
more clear way why the apostle John wrote what he did....
1 Jo. 1:8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the
truth is not in us. 9If we confess
our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us
from all unrighteousness. 10If we
claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no
place in our lives.
We do have a responsibility
to address sin....
Is. 59:19 So shall they fear the name of the LORD from the west,
and his glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in
like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him.
Lam. 2:14 The visions of your prophets
were false and worthless;
they did not expose your sin
to ward off your captivity.
The oracles they gave you
were false and misleading.
The
word “Sin” is not politically correct--even in a lot of churches!
When the Church abandons
“hard” teachings for soft words, the salt loses its savor and is trampled
underfoot.
We had some seminary students
yesterday with their signs "Pro Prayer" "Pro Faith"
"Pro Choice."
These students were from Eden
Theological Seminary. Eden is a
graduate school preparing women and men for ordained Christian ministry. One of
the seven seminaries of the United Church
of Christ, Eden is approved by the University Senate of the United Methodist Church to prepare United
Methodist students for ministry.
Paul
warned Timothy....
2 Tim.
4:1 In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who
will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his
kingdom, I give you this charge: 2Preach
the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and
encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. 3For the time
will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their
own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say
what their itching ears want to hear.
The United Church of Christ
boasts in the fact that they are on the cutting edge of homosexuality!
1969--The UCC's Council for Christian Social Action
declared opposition to all laws criminalizing private homosexual relations
between adults; also opposed the exclusion of homosexuals from the military.
1972--William Johnson became the first openly homosexual
person to be ordained by a mainline denomination. He was ordained by the Golden
Gate Association in Northern California.
1973--The UCC Executive Council recommended that sexual
orientation should not bar candidates from ordination. The General Synod also gave
official standing to the UCC Gay Caucus.
1977--In Virginia, Anne Holmes became the first openly
lesbian woman ordained in the UCC.
1983--The UCC General Synod passed a resolution
recommending that sexual orientation should not be grounds for denying ordination.
1984--Diane Darling became the first openly lesbian woman
to pastor a UCC congregation, the College Avenue United Church of Christ,
Modesto, California.
1987--The UCC General Synod declared opposition to all
sodomy laws.
1991--The UCC General Synod "boldly affirms,
celebrates and embraces the gifts of ministry of lesbian, gay and bisexual
persons."
1993--The UCC General Synod voted by a wide margin to
denounce the ban on homosexuals in the military.
1994--UCC leaders, including its president, Paul Sherry,
joined the "March on Washington for Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Equal Rights
and Liberation."
1996--It was reported that more than 180 UCC congregations
affirm homosexuality. There are three which are predominately lesbian and gay:
Liberation United Church of Christ in Cleveland, Spirit of the Lakes United
Church of Christ in Minneapolis and Phoenix United Church of Christ in
Kalamazoo, Mich.
We have done a good job in
using pillow talk with sin!
We don't use the word
adultery--it's an affair.
We use the word embezzlement
for stealing.
Murder is replaced with
prochoice.
Sexual perversion is now
called sexual preference.
Sexual perverse material is
called adult material.
Adult language for blasphemy
using God’s name in vain.
How can we guard ourselves
from sin?
By His Word....
Ps. 119:11 I have hidden your word in my heart
that I might not sin against you.
By the power of the Holy
Spirit....
Rom. 8:13 For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will
die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will
live,
By making the right
choices....
Titus 2:11 For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to
all men. 12It teaches us to say
“No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright
and godly lives in this present age,
When
we make the right choice, God provides the power!
By watching our mouth....
Pr. 10:19 When words are many, sin is not absent,
but he who holds his tongue is wise.
By having a healthy fear of
God....
Pr. 16:6 Through love and faithfulness sin is atoned
for;
through the fear of the LORD a man avoids evil.
By hating sin.
Ps. 36:1 An oracle is within
my heart
concerning the sinfulness of the wicked:
There is no fear of God
before his eyes.
2 For in his own eyes he flatters himself
too much to detect or hate his sin.
Final encouraging words!
Address those who have had an
abortion. When you repent God washes it
away!
Ps. 103:1 Praise the LORD, O
my soul;
all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
2 Praise the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits—
3 who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,
4 who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,
5 who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
10 he does not treat us as our sins deserve
or repay us according to our iniquities.
11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his love for those who fear him;
12 as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
13 As a father has compassion on his children,
so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him;
Ps.
130:3 If you, O LORD, kept a record of sins,
O Lord, who could stand?
4 But with you there is forgiveness;
therefore you are feared.
Ps. 32:1 Blessed
is he
whose transgressions are forgiven,
whose sins are covered.
2 Blessed is the man
whose sin the LORD does not count against him
and in whose spirit is no deceit.
3 When I kept silent,
my bones wasted away
through my groaning all day long.
4 For day and night
your hand was heavy upon me;
my strength was sapped
as in the heat of summer. Selah
5 Then I acknowledged my sin to you
and did not cover up my iniquity.
I said, “I will confess
my transgressions to the LORD”—
and you forgave
the guilt of my sin.
Selah
6 Therefore let everyone who is godly pray to you
while you may be found;
surely when the mighty waters rise,
they will not reach him.
7 You are my hiding place;
you will protect me from trouble
and
surround me with songs of deliverance.