“An Unwelcome Guest”
(John. 8:34-35)
Someone once told about a church that believed in sinless perfection once
you submitted to Jesus Christ and were baptized.
Well a visitor to that church heard this teaching and asked to be baptized.
He had grown tired of dealing with his chronic sin without any success.
Unfortunately, it was in the middle of winter and the river was nearly frozen.
Finally with much persistence the man convinced one of the Elders to
baptize him in the river.
As the man and two Elders came out of the freezing cold water, the man
was so excited, he said, "I feel so good, I’m not even cold."
One Elder turned to the other and said, "He’s lying, we have to do it again."
You know …having a right relationship with God does not make us robots
without free will.
We are forgiven, but we are not prevented from sinning....
Today I want to spend a few minutes looking at:
Sin As An Unwelcome Guest
Some years ago a French Philosopher made this observation:
“Man first became conscious of sin some 6,000 years ago. The cycle is just
about completed---he is practically unconscious of it again.”
We see in today’s world that people are trying to erase sin!
Not in the right way, but the wrong way.
They are doing more sinning, but calling it something else.
It is often called “being gay” or “freedom of choice”
or some other name.
People are not trying to erase sin
but “sin-consciousness” from their hearts.
But as long as people respect the Bible, Sin will still be sin to them.
And the first thing we should note about sin is that:
Sin is not from God, but from the Devil!
John 8:44 says —“You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your
father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not
stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he
speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.”
And in 1 John 3:8 we read —“He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has
sinned from the beginning. For this purpose (because of sin) the Son of
God was manifested, that He(Jesus) might destroy the works of the devil.”
See… sin originated with the Devil.
And when we continue to walk in sin
We show who our real father is.
You know, the devil loves evil,
But God hates every evil way.
For us to be of God, we too must hate evil.
And we must be on guard against this unwelcome guest.
And I suggest that: Sin Must Work Deceptively.
For sin to come into our lives as sin would defeat its purpose.
But once Satan gets us trapped, then we say: “Who cares?”
But at first, he must come in deceptively.
Like he is trying to do us a favor,
See, sin promises us happiness!
Sin promises us fulfillment
It tells us that we “deserve” something
And often reminds us of the unfairness of life
How many marriages have failed due to that rationale?
Notice the Devil’s offer to Christ:
“All this authority I will give to you…” Luke 4:6
And look at Hebrews 3:13—“but exhort one another daily, while it is called
“Today”, lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.”
See sin is a deceiver that sometimes poses as power, righteousness and
happiness!
Look at the warning given to us in Matthew 7:15
“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but
inwardly they are ravenous wolves.”
See sin is not always obvious,
In fact, it is most often very deceptive.
But… It’s joys are temporary!
Sin promises us great things!
It promises us happiness!
But in the end, it only delivers sorrow.
Someone might say: “Look what sin can give you!”
Yes… be sure to look very closely at what sin brings us!
Romans 6:23 tells us —“The wages of sin is death.”
And Sin is a Robber!
Sin will rob us of our confidence in God.
The Devil made God out to be a liar to Eve.
Genesis 3:3 “Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die”.
Satan caused her to doubt God.
Sin creates doubt; as it did in Eve’s mind
And it does the same for each of us as well
We are then robbed of a good conscience before God.
Also… Sin Robs us of our time!
Sin leads to waste:
Wasted bodies, wasted energies, wasted health,
possessions and time.
It enslaves people for years
And then there is little time left to serve God.
So many missed opportunities to look back upon!
So much regret for what we did not do,
Remember the Rich man? Recall too the regret he felt by missed
opportunities.
Ephesians 5:15-16 reminds us:
“See then that you walk circumspectly (that is carefully) not as fools but as
wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.”
And Sin will rob us of helpful companions.
You can always find companions to help you sin.
1 Corinthians 15:33 tells us that
“Evil companions corrupt good morals.”
There will always be those who are ready to lead us into sin.
While the righteous want to help us to flee from sin.
You recall that the “Prodigal Son” had plenty of help to get into the depths of
sin…
He had friends while he had money and was willing to squander it in riotous
living.
But where were they, when he needed them most?
To whom did he turn for help?
Perhaps you heard the story about two hunters who came upon a bear.
One hunter quietly told the other hunter that he was sure the bear had seen
them.
The second hunter quietly put down his pack and removed his running shoes
and began to put them on.
The first hunter whispered “Hey, don’t you know you cannot outrun a bear”
The second hunter said “I do not have to outrun the bear, I only have to
outrun you.”
That is the way that worldly friends respond to a crisis.
But our Christian companions carry us through the bad times
Proverbs 18:24 reminds us that there are friends who are closer than a
physical brother. Those are our Christian Brothers and Sisters.
C.S. Lewis correctly wrote that “Friendship is born at that moment when one
person says to another, "What, you too?... I thought I was the only one."
As a Christian family we face this world together, encouraging one another
and bearing each others burdens.
Brethren we need each other and we especially need the companionships
and friendships that come as members of the Lord’s church.
And sin will rob us of those relationships, of those godly companions.
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And too… Sin robs us of our promise of Eternal Life in Heaven.
Heaven is our birthright!
We were created by God to be with God.
To lose heaven is to lose our birthright.
Revelation 21:8 says “But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable,
murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have
their part in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second
death”
We cannot continue in sin and expect to go to Heaven.
I would suggest too that: SIN IS A TYRANT
It comes into our lives as an “Unwelcome Guest”
And it tells us:
“Just once won’t hurt”
“It is so small”
“It is just a little white lie”
“Nobody will ever know”
But very soon…
Sin demands the best room in the house.
One thing leads to another.
Have you ever known someone that did not know when to leave?
Sin is like that too…
One little drink, often leads to drunkenness.
Young people left unattended, often leads to illicit love affairs.
Cheating on an assignment, often leads to lying.
You know… We stop inviting those who do not know when to leave,
And we must stop inviting sin as well!
Certainly, sin may visit us as we serve God
But it is an Unwelcome Guest…
And sin is a guest that will never stop short of a tyrannical rule if it is allowed
in.
It wants to completely enslave us. John 8:34 reminds us:
“Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin.”
And SIN IS A DESTROYER.
It destroys our relationship with God…..and MAN also.
Isaiah 59:1-2
“Behold the Lord’s hand is not shortened, That it cannot save; Nor His ear
heavy, that it cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your
God; And your sins have hidden His face from you.”
Only sin can destroy this relationship.
Not poverty or suffering,
Not people speaking evil of you…
Only our sin can separate us
And sin hurts our relationships with our mates, our families…
and our Brethren.
Certainly sin is a destroyer of all kinds of relationships.
And Sin destroys our peace of mind.
We no longer have clear conscience before God.
Remember how Peter wept bitterly after his sin of denying Jesus.
His peace was destroyed!
And Judas who hanged himself after his sin.
His peace too, was destroyed
We cannot be at peace with God, while we continue in the way of sin.
And sin will destroy our peace of mind in our relationship with God.
Sin can also destroy our will to serve God.
You know sin can overcome us.
2 Peter 2:20-22 says
“For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the
knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in
them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning.
For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of
righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment
delivered to them. But it has happened to them according to the true
proverb: “A dog returns to his own vomit.”
People can get to the point that they cannot be brought to repentance,
Both those who have never known God
As well as those who once served God.
We can harden our hearts to sin, and lose our will to try and serve God in
the process.
We have all seen it happen!
… And Sin destroys the body.
1 Corinthians 6:18 says “Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does
is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his
own body”.
Look at the physical suffering that people endure because of sin.
Now not in every case… but consider the AIDS epidemic and other sexually
transmitted diseases,
Alcoholism… and the list goes on.
God gives us commands for a reason… and for our own good!
Certainly sin destroys our bodies.
And Finally… Sin destroys the soul in Hell.
Romans 6:23 “The wages of sin is death”
That is eternal death. Such is the cost for sin
We choose what we do with what we know.
And this evening, we have seen the character of sin
And we know that sin separates us from God.
And unless we deal with our sin correctly, we will be separated from God in
this life and for all of eternity....
Sin is an unwelcome guest that we all must deal with.
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Prayer:
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I have some wonderful news for us!
Jesus said that He came to release us from the bondage and hold of sin.
He wants to set us free.
He wants us to become servants of righteousness.
And to give us release from the wages of sin,
To rid us of this unwelcome guest
And it is only through Christ that this burden can be lifted and the bondage
ended!
Tonight will you turn to Jesus for deliverance?
We can be forgiven of whatever sin we have committed by our obedience to
God and our submission to Him in baptism.
Or… if this unwelcome guest has taken over your life
and you need the prayers and assistance of your church family I encourage
you as well.
See… becoming a Christian does NOT take away our desire for sin,
And we do not lead lives of “sinless perfection”.
One final verse:
I John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, He (God) is faithful and just to forgive us
our sins and to cleanse us from all unrightousness.”
Sin will come into our lives… but it is not to be our way of life!
If you have need to be baptized for the remission of your sins,
or need the prayers of your Christian family, who also struggle with sin,
A graceful God is willing to forgive you
Won’t you please come now while we stand and sing.
Sermon by Earl Ash
Presented to the church at 38th Street Jan. 21, 2007 at the evening service.