Sin
Opening the Lenten season, this sermon works through Romans 1-3 on sin as humanity's attempt to bear God's responsibilities, teaching that righteousness comes not by works but by faith in Jesus, and inviting the congregation to write confessions acknowledging their need for forgiveness.
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So when I was a kid, my dad was a pastor, I grew up with my dad as a pastor. My only memory is of that. And when we would go on vacation and visit my grandparents, my grandpa is a pastor. So we would go to his church. And my aunts and uncles would sing in the choir when all the family would get together. Like we would do family reunions at my granddad's church and all of his kids, my aunts and
uncles and then their kids, my cousins would get together and sing little choirs and perform music for the church. Like I am steeped all the way in the church, right? But as I have like grown and my experiences have broadened, I realized how much church terms are loaded with different meanings for different people. So like we all have my experience with the church is like pretty much positive all the
way through. When I was a kid, if we weren't on vacation visiting my grandparents and we went somewhere else and we missed the Sunday, on more than one occasion I can remember going to church twice on Sundays because I felt like I just missed it that I had been gone a week. I just liked being at church. I've always liked being at church. But that is not the case for all of us in the room. Actually that's probably not the case for a lot of us in the room. Church has been a hard place where people have failed and let us down.
We have experienced judgment rather than forgiveness. We have experienced guilt rather than liberation. We have experienced despair rather than hope. Church is a hard place for people. And because of that we have loaded a lot of meaning a lot of times into church words, right? And perhaps one of the church words most loaded is the word sin, right?
Like because it's such a uniquely church word. Like when I'm disciplining my kids I don't talk to them about sin. When I'm having a discord, like even if a friendship has been challenged, when we talk about this challenge and the relationship with our friends we don't talk about sin. When we're dealing with infractions of the law, sin is like this uniquely church word and so it is uniquely fraught.
So word that I use very carefully because I'm sure it's so loaded most of us misunderstand it and I don't want to communicate all your lost baggage. I want to communicate what I understand truth, just tend to be. So it's a word that I very rarely use. On top of that being generations through the church watching my dad grow the church, I know that from Christmas to Easter is always the highest intended time in the church year.
You don't know that, I know that. It's the beginning of the year. Everybody's like focused on doing the things they know they really want to do. Plus Christmas is so great and the weather's nice. Christmas to Easter is the highest. So it's the last time when you want to try and talk about sin. So loaded. And here is Lent. Terry, we can't get away from it. So I want to set the stage for us first, right?
Because we know like in this ancient story that's been preserved for our people, first orally then written, right? Then translated and written again, then translated written again, then published and then like digitized and pushed out to the world. These ancient stories that have existed in our people. And at the very first one, at the very beginning this problem of sin emerges. Remember, when the first two are in the garden and God has created the whole world to them though they didn't ask for it.
And he brought them into existence though they had nothing to do with it. And he gave them this new creation to be fruitful and multiply the subdue and rule to carry his image out to every corner of the world. And in order that they would have the capacity to let him handle God-sized decisions, he gives them one action that will recognize that he is God and they are creation. He says just follow this one rule, don't eat from this tree, right?
And the core problem there is the fatal flaw of humanity that will replay itself over and over and over again. You're sure God is holding out on us though he has given us everything that we did not have the capacity to ask for. So he called us out of nothingness and brought us into existence. So he gives us life and health and love. We are sure he is holding out on us. But what's interesting if you think about that story, they eat the fruit, right?
And remember when they eat the fruit all of a sudden the whole experience of life changes, right? Immediately. They recognize their naked, they're ashamed, they feel guilt. They feel fear. Don't worry the roof is not coming in this acorns or trees. What I want you to think about in that story is it does not take God walking into the garden
finding that they have mistrusted, distrusted him, eat the fruit and executing punishment. Sin is in the fabric of the making of the world. Like it's not the punishment of God. It's the result of them trying to bear the weight of responsibilities that are reserved for God. This is important. Sin is not about right and wrong.
Sin is about how you were made to live. It's about the promise of life. Sin is this movement away from God moving God. Sin is the experience of humanity, of creation, trying to shoulder the weight of the responsibility that is reserved only for God. So when they think they know better, they carry the weight, they step out from under the protection of the God, the authority, the provision, the care of the God, and they
can't handle the weight of the responsibility across the sun. And then the story goes, God in His grace then removed them from eating the tree of life and living in this fallen state for evidence. Now come up with the solution, you go out here. The great tragedy of course is that I imagine if Eve were given the opportunity or Adam for that matter, as soon as they bite the fruit and experience the difference, if they
could, they'd take a right back out of their mouth and put that thing back on there and stick it back up on the tree. If they could like go back in the, they would do it, they would go back. Oh, but you can't. All of the pain and the heartache is that fatal flaw of humanity coming to roost in
your experience of life. And it only takes one. God bless us, it only takes one and we cannot get it back. We cannot get it back. I want to look at Paul's letter to the church in Rome right at the very beginning. So if you go to the New Testament, if you have a paper copy of the scriptures, it's towards like the back eighth of your paper copy because Matthew, Mark Luke, John, acts with Romans 1 and 2 Corinthians.
And if I were smarter, I could walk us through the whole first four chapters because they all are making one point, but I'm not smart enough to get that done in time. We have to do that at some other occasion. So I can't go through the whole first four chapters, but I want to go kind of, I want to try and run through it because there's a couple of points that build on each other that come to this resolution here. And so what I want to look at first is in Romans chapter 1, look at verse 28.
Yeah. He's like talking about the problem for the people who don't recognize the authority of God or look at verse, start at verse 16 and we'll jump. He starts at verse 16 and makes this like bold kind of statement that's quoted all the time. He says, for I am not ashamed of the gospel. The gospel being the good news of Jesus.
Paul says boldly, though he has reason to be ashamed. He's been beat up, stoned, shipwrecked, left for dead, run out of town. He's like, he's the lacking stock of the place where he was educated. Like he has reason to be ashamed of it. But he says, I am not ashamed of the good news of Jesus. Why? Because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes to the Jew first and also to the Greek for in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith as it is written, the right to serve live by faith. The reason we read that first is because then he spends the next like length explaining
to us what that means. But once he's first, he says that the gospel of Jesus, the story, the good news of Jesus surfaces, it is the power to put the fruit back on the tree. The gospel of Jesus is the power to surface righteousness in the unrighteous. And remember that righteousness is not merely being right and not being wrong.
Righteousness is set into the life that you were made for again. Undoing the fabric of sin that changes your experience of life and putting you back into the fabric that allows you to be the image bearer of God in the world you were made to be. Sin is this problem that is marred one choice undoes it and so that it wreaks havoc all through your life. And he's saying the story of Jesus is the power to undo the thing, to put the fruit back on the tree.
And then he explains, he says the access to it is faith. And just to show you that I'm not that he look at verse 28. And since they do not see fit to acknowledge God to let God be God these people, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. They were filled with the manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, and maliciousness. They are gossip, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of
evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Sounds terrible. Right? Here's the point. It sounds terrible not because like, oh look at them, they're wrong. It sounds terrible because who wants to live like that? They know that they are, though they know God's decree that those who practice such things as Serves die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.
But now look at what Paul says. This is important because it talks about how we've loaded the word sin in the beginning of chapter 2. Therefore you have no excuse, oh man, old person, every one of you who judges. For impancing judgment on another, you condemn yourself because you, the judge, practice the very same things. You know that the judgment of God rightly falls on those who do such things.
Do you suppose I'm in it? You who judge those things do such things and yet do them yourself? That you will escape the judgment of God? Or do you presume on the richness of kindness of forbearance and patience of not knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? But because you're hard and penance, are you? He's saying, hey man, the problem of sin is the experience of the life's sin wreaks. So you may know the signs of people who have stepped outside of the covering of God but
why point your finger and judge them? God can handle their judgment as their experience of life. And when you start trying to say, my job is to point out sin in the world where people have transgressed. You're keeping up, you're storing up judgment for yourself with the degree to which you judge. He says, you will be judged. Sin is not about right and wrong. It's about this whole experience of life that is less than what you were made for. That's why he goes through those experiences, what it feels like in that first chapter.
It feels like this. And then he says, the why do you point your finger and judge? God can't have judgment, can't you see their judgment is their experience of life that they're living in? So don't start pointing your finger. But then he goes on and tells us what he's done is he's like indicted at all. For all who, verse 12, for all who have sinned without the law will also perish without
the law and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law for it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous but the doers of the law. He's saying, it doesn't do you any good to be the one who has the right answers. He's like, look, the ones who have never heard will be judged, he goes on. The ones who have never heard will be judged according to their conscience. The ones who have heard doesn't do you any better just because you know the right answers. The problem is you indict yourself.
You know the right answers and yet live differently. Okay. I mean this is all really good but like I said we're going to keep going. Look down to verse 9. He goes on to say that like it doesn't matter whether you've been circumcised or uncircumcised,
whether you are part of the people of God or outside of the people of God because what makes us there is our living, our life choice which your conscience can call you to the right life choice. What then are we Jews any better off know not at all for we have already charged that all both Jews and Greeks are under sin and what is written? None is righteous, no not one. No one understands, no one seeks God, all have turned aside. Together they have become worthless.
No one does good. Now verse down to verse 19. Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law so that every mouth may be stopped and the whole world may be held accountable to God for by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight since through the law comes the knowledge of sin. You cannot fix it.
Like the mistakes which lead to heartache be like idolatry which leads to anxiety. The fear which leads to compulsion then the acts of fear compulsion anxiety that lead to more heartache and fear and anxiety you cannot fix this train.
And even if with like force of willpower and discipline you reroute your train on some onto some other course you can't undo all the, you do not have an answer for the situation that you find yourself in here outside the garden this side of the tree. Verse 21 but now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, apart
from action. Some solution apart from the fruit on the tree. Although apart from the law although the law and the prophets bear witness to it the righteous of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe for there is no distinction all of sin falls short of the glory of God and are justified by his grace as a gift through the redemption that is in Jesus Christ whom God put forward as the propitiation by his
blood to be received by faith. This was to show that God's righteousness because in his divine forbearance he has passed over for him since. It was to show his right to the present time so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. He's saying apart from this like hamster wheel or like downward spiral of action God
has done something else and this what he calls earlier the gospel of Jesus the good news of new life in him surfaces in you righteousness again meaning surfaces in you the life you were made for re emerges in you the image of God. The potential for godliness we talked about last week the life that doesn't look like
what he says earlier like gossip planter murder rage looks like what Paul claims love joy peace patience kindness goodness faithfulness gentleness self control. Paul says this is available for those who like Paul celebrate the story of the gospel and say yes please. He says for there is no secret all just right.
The righteous of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. He goes on to give us an example then chapter four of Abraham we talk about survey that his key characteristic that becomes the defining characteristic of the people of God is they let God give them the good things. The best practice for us in this season of preparation for Easter is a recognition of
our own failure to build the life we were made for in order that God might give us the life he designed for us to be in the beginning. But it starts now and never ends that increasing and increasing depth and intensity is characterized
by love joy peace patience kindness goodness. It comes at the recognition that I need a god to forgive me and let me start again. Lord I cannot undo the wrong I've perpetrated in the world. Lord I cannot take back the hurt I have caused the carelessness I have unleashed I cannot
rearrange the selfishness inside of me Lord I need your forgiveness for what's past and what's come would you start me again I receive your gift of forgiveness teach you Lord now to live in it live in your forgiveness. This is the opportunity of Lent for us to be people who are not afraid of our failures.
Who acknowledge and believe the story of Jesus the good news of Jesus that says his death is mine so his life is mine also something new has begun in me that is righteous I don't need to justify my existence God I don't need to justify my mistakes to God he has fixed them for me.
What I'd love for us to do is we move into this time of worship there are some blank pages on those clipboards back there and I'd love for us to write out a little confession like Lord I the one I learned when I was growing up is Lord I confess that I am by nature sinful and unclean I've sinned against you and thought word indeed by what I have done and by what I have left undone I'd justly deserve your presence and eternal punishment but for
the sake of your son Jesus Christ have forgiveness on me forgive me restore me heal me teach me to walk in your ways to the glory of your holy name that's like liturgical confession what I'd love is for us to write the confessions of our heart this morning and then as you get them put them in the offering box back there because I want to I want to feature them as we go through Lent on our socials and emails so that we can be encouraging one another to
uh a quench ourselves with our need for forgiveness as we move into the celebration of the incarnation so there's some pencils and pens there and pages and as you feel led just write out a confession for the for the church as we move into a time worship cool