WHAT IS SIN?
Part 2 - The Law of God
Pastor Bruce A. Shields
House of Faith Church | www.PS127.org | www.TruthDigest.org
SCRIPTURE READING
Romans 3:23 “...for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God...”
INTRODUCTION
Sin - The transgression of the Law of God.
I. SIN BEFORE THE LAW
a. Adam and the original sin
i. The ONLY Law in the Garden was NOT to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
ii. When Adam broke God’s law, he sinned.
iii. Part of Adam and Eve’s consequence for sinning, was their offspring would now be children of Adam, as opposed to God’s plan (Children of God).
1. Because all are born children of Adam, we are inherently drawn to sin because of being born of the flesh.
2. Romans 5:12-14 “Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned— 13for before the law was given, sin was in the world. But sin is not taken into account when there is no law. 14Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who was a pattern of the one to come.”
iv. V.15 tells us, sin is not taken into account when there is no law.
1. This is why God made the tree, and gave the command, so Adam and Eve could be righteous and obedient.
v. People are constantly trying to remove the Law so they will not have to be held accountable.
1. from government
2. from schools
3. from national monuments
4. But the Law has already been given, and all are going to be held accountable.
b. Sin from Adam to the Law
i. Romans 4:15 “...law brings wrath. And where there is no law there is no transgression.”
1. Although there were no transgressions, or sins that would be held against man until the Law of God was given, man was still under the curse of sin and death because of Adams transgression, causing all to be born children of Adam instead of Children of god.
2. ORIGINAL SIN - the result of Adam’s transgression bringing first spiritual death, which can only be corrected by relationship with God, and secondly physical death, which will only be corrected after we remove this sinful flesh and put on our new bodies, which are immortal and perfect.
ii. 2 Peter 3:9 “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”
1. God does not want anyone to perish...
c. The Law
i. So what is God’s Law?
1. I am the Lord your God, you shall have no other gods.
2. You shall not make any idols.
3. You shall not miss-use God’s name.
4. Keep the Sabbath day holy.
5. Honor your mother and father.
6. You shall not murder.
7. You shall not commit adultery.
8. You shall not steal.
9. You shall not lie.
10. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or anything that belongs to him.
ii. Jesus acknowledged the importance of the Ten Commandments and the Law of Moses. During his Sermon on the Mount, he stated that "until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished." (Matthew 5:18)
iii. Romans 3:20 “no one is declared righteousness in [God’s] sight by observing the law.”
iv. So, until the second judgment (when heaven and earth pass away, and God calls the unrighteous to stand before the Great White Throne), the Law is going to stay in effect.
1. Knowing that no one can be declared righteous in God’s sight by observing the law (ANY PART OF IT), what is the only answer? Jesus Christ!
II. I FOUGHT THE LAW, AND THE LAW WON
a. The Law, Rabbi’s and confusion
i. Rabbi’s divided the law into 3 parts, ceremonial, social and moral.
1. They believed if you kept them all, you would be holy and acceptable to God.
b. From 10 to 613
i. They eventually embellished the 10 laws into 613, and made them mandatory on all people.
c. All those who are under the Law are cursed
i. This is why Paul said in Acts 15:10-11 “10Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of the disciples a yoke that neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear? 11No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are."
1. Paul who was once a zealous Pharisee, said in Galatians 3:10-13 “All who rely on observing the law are under a curse, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law." 11Clearly no one is justified before God by the law, because, "The righteous will live by faith." 12The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, "The man who does these things will live by them." 13Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us...”
a. Those who try to please God by obeying the Law are under the curse, because no one but Christ can keep God’s standards.
2. In Christ, we are free from the Law and no longer under it.
a. Romans 6:14 “For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.”
b. Paul also warns here that just because you are not under the Law, if you offer yourselves back to sin, you make it your master and lose the gift of God, which is eternal salvation.
i. This speaks of living in sin vs. committing a sin
1. COMMITTING SIN - It is true that all will commit sin, even when you belong to the Lord. But a true follower of Christ will examine himself, and listen to the Holy Spirit’s conviction, and correct his error. Confessing and repenting of whatever sin he may have committed.
2. LIVING IN SIN - This is the choice to continue to sin after you have recognized and understand that it is sin. You have once again made sin your master, and in doing so, forfeited Christ as your master and all the blessings as well as eternal salvation along with it.
ii. Mark 8:36 “What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?”
iii. James 5:19-20 “ 19Brethren, if any of you do turn from the truth, and one convert him; 20Let him know, that he which turned the sinner from the error of his way shall save his soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.
III. LAW, WHAT IS THE PURPOSE?
a. What the Law cannot do
i. Law cannot save us Romans 3-5
ii. Law cannot make us Holy Romans 6
iii. The Law cannot condemn us if we are in Christ Jesus Romans 7:1-6
iv. The Law cannot deliver us from sin Romans 7:14-25
v. The Law was fulfilled by Christ alone, and we are free from it, found holy and righteous in Him alone! Romans 8:1-4
b. Then why have the law?
i. What good is the law then? If we are saved and made Holy by our union with Christ, what place does the Law have? Why did God go to such extremes to give such a complex law?
ii. If the Law cannot save us, what good is it?
1. The Law convicts us (reveals to us) our sin so we may confess and repent, keeping us from living in that sin Romans 7:7-13
2. The Law arouses sin Romans 7:8
a. Paul said, “...apart from law, sin is dead...”
i. Not that sin “doesn’t exist”, because it does, but until you see the Law of God, sin does not overwhelm you. You are not fully aware of it, and it is only when you grasp the severity of your sin, does sin become aroused and alive to your awareness, drawing you closer to a relationship with Christ.
ii. Most will never truly see the wretchedness of their sin until someone comes before them with the Law of God.
3. The Law devastates the sinner Romans 7:9-11
a. Paul said, “...for I was alive apart from the law once, but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died.”
i. Paul was doing fine until the Law made him understand his sinfulness.
1. Ignorance was bliss...but there would still be a consequence to pay.
2. Paul was content with his self-righteous life.
ii. When he was exposed to the Law, Paul was convicted of his sin, and died in the sense that he lost his self-righteousness, sense of security, and strength.
1. Devastated and filled with guilt, he searched for a way out, which lead him to Jesus who is our strength (Romans 5:6), and our healer (Matthew 9:12).
c. What is the answer to the Law and Sin?
i. The Law is fulfilled in Christ Jesus
1. We are both freed from the bondage of sin and the Law, and seen as righteous by God because of our faith in Christ when we make Him our Lord.
ii. How do we live out the Law?
a. Jesus said the law can be summed up as this;
Matthew 22:34-40 “ 34Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. 35One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question:
36"Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?"
37Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'38This is the first and greatest commandment. 39And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' 40All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."
CONCLUSION
There are two covenants in effect right now.
Law, and Love.
Law condemns Love sets free.
If we confess our sin, repent and submit to Jesus Christ as our Lord and savior, then we will be FREE from the bondage of Sin and the Law.
If we live as Jesus tells us to, 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'38This is the first and greatest commandment. 39And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' 40All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."
Then we, in Christ Jesus, fulfill the Law.
