Gone Astray
Introduction
There are Two Vital Questions we must face. One, why do so many profess to be saved, but possess no evidence of salvation - the work of the Spirit changing their lives? Why are we not seeing more genuine conviction of sin in the unsaved - state of mind produced by the Holy Spirit that involves such spiritual unrest that the sinner cannot long endure it. Why are there so many professions not prompted by conviction? Why is there such little evidence of genuine conversion today?
Two, why is the church today so dysfunctional - powerless to influence and impact society and turn back the overwhelming flood of evil sweeping our land?
The answer is, society has arrived at a low view of God and a light view of sin. This reflects two serious problems that prevail today.
First, An Intolerant Attitude Toward God.
Society has a self-made god. The abortionist, the homosexual, the Godless religionist, the atheist, the new-ager, the organizations (such as the ACLU) with an anti-Christian bias all say - Don't Impose The God Of The Bible On Me.
Like Pharaoh-they say, "I myself am a god." They think that God is who they think He is and want Him to be. Paul said that the Jews were, "...ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God." Many today have never encountered: The God of Moses - "I Am," nor the God of Isaiah - "Woe is me..." Second, A Tolerant attitude toward sin - Why? The lack of a biblical understanding of sin. Sin is the most misunderstood teaching of the Bible. Note three things about sin:
I. The Reality of Sin
Romans 3:9 - "Jews and Gentiles ... are all under sin."
Romans 5:12 - "Wherefore as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin."
Romans 3:23 - "All have sinned and come short of the glory of God." Romans 6:12 - "Let not sin reign in your mortal bodies."
Romans 8:3 - "God sending His own Son ... condemned sin in the flesh."
Romans 5:21 - "Sin reigned unto death."
James 1:15 - "Sin bringeth forth death."
1 John 5:17 - "All unrighteousness is sin.”
1 John 3:4 - "Sin is the transgression of the law."
Sin Is More Than Stealing, Cursing, Lying, etc. The following is a simple outline of what the Bible teaches about sin.
A. Sin is a Practice
(Greek, "Hamartia") To miss the mark: Sin is governing principle or power causing deviate behavior. Romans 6:6 - "body of sin" - spoken of as an organized power, acting through the members of the body. Adam became a sinner because he sinned. We sin because of the corrupt sin nature of Adam- the body of sin. (Isaiah 1)
B. Sin is a Presence
(1 John 2:15-16; Galatians 1:4) "This present evil world" Ephesians 6:12 - "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against rulers of the darkness, against spiritual wickedness in high places."
Snake Ready To Strike - A mother sent a young son down into the cellar to get a jar of canned goods. It was cool, so the little boy decided to stay awhile. When he did not readily return, his mother sent her older son to investigate. When the older boy opened the cellar door, the sunlight shinned on a snake coiled up on the foundation sill behind the little boy's head ready to strike. The boy was not aware of the presence of danger until the light exposed the snake.
Paul said, "The god of this world has blinded the minds of those who believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ ... should shine unto them" (2 Corinthians 4:4).
Sin is an evil presence in this world. Without the Word of God and the power of the Holy Spirit man is blind to it.
C. Sin is a Position
(Greek, "anomia" - "gone astray" - Note 1 Corinthians 15:22), "In Adam’s where all people are since the fall of man in the garden. "Transgression of the law," - lack of conformity, absolute refusal of God's way. We went astray in Adam and have taken his nature. Before sin is what one does, it is where one is - "In Adam," separated from God, in the realm of rebellion against God.
(Greek, "parabasis") - "...turned everyone to his own way" Sin is: To go beyond bounds, To seek one's own, Enmity against God, To revolt against the rightful authority of God and set up one's self instead - producing a state of moral anarchy and internal disorder, To have an attitude of contempt and Insubordination.
A little girl would not pick up her toys. I was in the home of my sister years ago. One night when bedtime came for her little girl, her father told her to pick up her toys and get ready for bed. The little girl ignored her father and continued to play. Again her father told her to pick up her toys and she said, "No." Her father told her a third time and still the little girl adamantly refused to pick up her toys. The father then picked up her up and put her to bed. The little girl "had her own way," - she did not pick up her toys. She was insubordinate to the authority of her father. This describes man's sin of rebellion against God.
II. The Roots of Sin
Where did it all start?
A. The Origin of Sin in the Universe
(Isaiah 14:12-14; Ezekiel 28:11-17) Sin originated in the rebellion of Lucifer against God.
B. The Origin of Sin in the Human Race
(Genesis 3, Romans 5:12, 19) Adam Doubted God's Love, Disbelieved God's Word, Denied God's Authority
III. The Remedy for Sin (Isaiah 55:7)
If sin is the most misunderstood teaching or doctrine in the Bible, repentance is the second most misunderstood doctrine. Satan works to Distort and Dilute the Word of God to men. God demands Repentance, so men think that repentance is nothing more than walking down an aisle to "confess all their sins." How deceived many are. The root of the problem of man is not Sins, but Sin. Sins are the fruit of Sin. They come from a Depraved Will - the nature of Adam which is rebellion. God demands: (Greek: "metanoia") - a change of mind resulting in a new direction. The sinner must do two things:
A. Forsake His Position of Rebellion
Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts...." This involves an act of the will and the mind.
B. Return to a Position of Submission - Sin was a Turning Away from God in Adam
Recall the illustration about the little girl. Suppose, while lying in her bed, she began to think about how ugly she had acted toward her father and remorse and sorrow filled her heart. Then suppose she got out of bed and went to her father, climbed up into his lap, put her little arms around his neck and said, "Daddy, I'm sorry for the way I acted. I was mean to you. I'll pick up my toys and from now on I will do what you tell me to do. If she had done this, her Insubordination would have been forsaken and she would have taken a position of Subordination. This, in limited way, illustrates repentance.
A classic biblical illustration of repentance is found in Matthew 21:28-32.
The Basis On Which You Can Turn To God is the gospel. Repentance is never genuine without faith in Christ. Repentance and Faith go together. You can't repent without faith; you cannot believe on Christ without repentance. A repentant sinner is one who has rested upon the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross for his sin and received Jesus as Savior and Lord.