Chapter 74
THE SERIOUSNESS OF SIN
Matthew 18:8-9
Before we begin our study let us pray,
Dear Heavenly Father, Almighty God
We come before You in the name of Your only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. Father God, as we read and study Your Word please open our eyes, ears and heart so we can truly see, hear and better understand what You are teaching us. As we do, please fill us with the faith to rely upon You, Your Son Jesus and the Holy Spirit to deliver us from our sins and bring us into everlasting life with You.
Amen
INTRODUCTION
We begin by reading Jesus’ discourse with respect to the serious consequences of sin. To do this we go to,
Matthew 18:8-9
[8] “If your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life lame or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet, to be cast into the everlasting fire. [9] And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire.”
Actually, this was not the first time our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ said these things. He also raised this issue during His sermon on the mountain. To read what He said we go to,
Matthew 5:29-30
[29] “If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. [30] And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.”
Because Jesus was and still is very concerned about us falling into sin, He twice repeated its eternal consequences. Thus, these two verses deserve our utmost attention and consideration.
In reading the above warning we must ask ourselves:
1. “Is Jesus actually teaching us that to stop sinning we are to mutilate our bodies?”
Or,
2. “Is Jesus teaching us that the consequence of sin, which is eternity in Hell, is so severe and devastating that if the removal of a hand, foot or eye could prevent us from sinning then it would be far better for us to mutilate ourselves?”
Fortunately, as we consider the whole counsel of the Bible we discover that our God, through His Grace and Mercy, has provided us the only way by which we can prevent ourselves from falling into or remaining in sin. To see this we will:
1. Find that the root cause and motivation for our sinful ways does not come from our hands, feet or eyes. The root cause for our sinful ways comes from our heart or sinful nature.
2. Discover that to truly have power over our sinful desires or sinful nature we must be born again of the Holy Spirit.
3. Learn that the true disciple of Jesus Christ must learn to depend upon the Holy Spirit to put to death our selfish and sinful ways, that is die to self, and live for God.
With this introduction in mind let us now discover that,
OUR SINFUL WAYS FLOW FROM WITHIN OUR HEART
To see this let us read what the Lord once said through the prophet Jeremiah. This was spoken while Jeremiah was chastising the people of Judah for their sins. To read what He said we go to,
Jeremiah 17:9
[9] “The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?”
To expand upon this let us read Jesus’ explanation to His disciples of why eating unclean foods do not defile a person. To do this we go to
Mark 7:18-23
[18] So He said to them, “Are you thus without understanding also? Do you not perceive that whatever enters a man from outside cannot defile him, [19] because it does not enter his heart but his stomach, and is eliminated, thus purifying all foods?” [20] And He said, “What comes out of a man, that defiles a man. [21] For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, [22] thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. [23] All these evil things come from within and defile a man.”
In considering Jesus’ teaching the following question comes to mind: “If my sinful thoughts and desires flow from deep within my heart or sinful nature, how can I stop sinning, live a life pleasing to God, and enter into eternal life with Him?”
The answer to this question is twofold.
1. We need new heart or new nature.
And,
2. We must learn to die to self and live for God and His Kingdom.
To see this we begin by first noting that,
WE MUST BE BORN AGAIN
In reading the Old Testament one discovers that, through His prophets God continually foretold that a time will come when He would cleanse His people from their sins and place within them a new heart and His Holy Spirit. For example let us read the following prophesy from His Prophet Ezekiel,
Ezekiel 36:24-27
[24] For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land. [25] Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. [26] I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. [27] I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.
Let us notice the following verses,
25 … God foretold that a time will come when He will cleanse us from our sins. In other words, God promised there will come a time when He will forgive and deliver us from our sins.
26 … Notice that God did not say He would repair or refurbish our heart and spirit. No! God said He would give us new ones.
27 … God foretold that the new spirit He would give us will be His Holy Spirit. Thus, He, the Holy Spirit living within us, will cause us to walk in His statutes and keep His commandments.
When the time came to fulfill the promise He gave through Ezekiel and the other prophets, God sent to this earth His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. He did this to save us from our sins and grant us eternal life with Him.
This is exactly what Jesus was teaching the Jewish elder Nicodemus. To we read this conversation we go to,
John 3:1-4
[1] “Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council. [2] He came to Jesus at night and said, "Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him." [3] In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again." [4] "How can a man be born when he is old?" Nicodemus asked. "Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb to be born!"
Let us notice the following verses,
1 … Nicodemus was a Pharisee and a member of the Jewish ruling council. He was very learned in the Jewish faith, and a respected teacher of the Holy Scriptures.
3 … Jesus avoided Nicodemus’ observation about Himself and immediately addressed the issue of eternal life. Namely, to enter the Kingdom of God you must be born again.
4 … Nicodemus did not understand.
Let us now read Jesus’ response,
John 3:5-10
[5] Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. [6] Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. [7] You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again.' [8] The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit." [9] “How can this be?” Nicodemus asked. [10] “You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things?”
Let us notice the following verses,
5-6 … Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. In other words, in the normal course of things, we are flesh descended from Adam. However, the Holy Spirit gives birth to the spirit. Namely, it is only the Holy Spirit, God Himself, who imparts His divine nature within us and makes us spiritually alive. This is the new birth or being born-again.
9 … Nicodemus still did not understand.
10 … Jesus was stunned that Nicodemus did not understand these things.
Let us stop for a moment and reflect upon this incredible conversation. Here we find that Nicodemus, a wise and respected teacher of the Scriptures and the Jewish faith, comes to the realization that Jesus was sent by God. Consequently, he goes to talk with Him. In response to Nicodemus’ inquiry, Jesus presents the whole key to eternal life and was stunned that Nicodemus was not aware of it. Why? Why was Jesus stunned? It is because the whole Old Testament, from the fall of Adam and Eve onward, talks about it. Just as we read from the prophet Ezekiel, it foretold of the time when He, God, would come to heal us, that is cleanse us from our sins, give us a new heart and send the Holy Spirit to live within us. He promised to do this so we can enter into His Kingdom and have eternal life with Him.
Before we move on, let us reread,
John 3:8
[8] “The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit."
In other words, Jesus is also teaching us that our new birth is a sovereign work of God! It is He who extends His Grace to us (which is unmerited favor) and provides us the faith to be transformed. To see this more clearly, let us prayerfully consider,
Ephesians 2:4-9
[4] “But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, [5] made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions--it is by grace you have been saved. [6] And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, [7] in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. [8] For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-- [9] not by works, so that no one can boast."
For this particular study let us pay particular attention to the following verses,
8a … It was and is by God’s Grace that we have been saved from our sins. In other words, the born-again believer did not merit or earn this Grace and Favor from God.
8b … We received God’s Grace through faith in Him. Notice, the faith that the born-again believer in Jesus Christ had and has in Him is not something we worked up. No! It was and is a gift from God.
9 … Notice again, we did not earn or perform good works for this blessing. It was and is a sovereign work of God. Thus, only God truly deserves the praise and glory for our salvation.
Since the new birth is a sovereign work of God, we find that He deals with each one of us as He sees fit. As Jesus told Nicodemus, it is like the blowing of the wind. In other words, the Holy Spirit goes where God wants; we can feel or sense it but not see it.
When a person becomes born-again of the Holy Spirit they become a new creature. To see this let us read from,
2 Corinthians 7:17
[17] Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
To expand upon this let us read as to exactly what God has and will do to those who became or will become born-again believers in Jesus Christ. To do this we go to,
Hebrews 8: 10-12
[10] For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. [11] None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them. [12] For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.
It is noted that the above New Testament Scriptures (Hebrews 8:10-12) is a quote from the Old Testament prophesy God gave through His prophet Jeremiah (Jeremiah 31:31-34).
However, God did not stop here. There is another miraculous blessing of our new birth. Let us recall that God promised, through His prophet Ezekiel, that He would give us a new spirit. Specifically, for those born-again believers in Jesus Christ,
GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT NOW LIVES WITHIN US
To confirm this, let us go to that day during the Feast of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit came down from Heaven and filled the apostles. Upon hearing the apostles praise and glorify God in each of their own native language, the people from all the different nations questioned among themselves as to what had happened. For this study let us read what Peter said to them after he explained that, in fulfillment of God’s promise, they had just been filled with God the Holy Spirit. To do this we go to,
Acts 2:38-39
[38] Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. [39] For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.”
As we reflect upon what we read in Hebrews 8:10-12 and Acts 2:38-39 we come to realize that God had and continues to fulfill the promise He gave through Ezekiel and the rest of His prophets. In other words, to those who are born-again God gave them a new heart and His Holy Spirit.
With this new heart and nature we find that the born-again believer in Jesus Christ has not only received the forgiveness of their sins but has been given everything they need to begin living a new life that is pleasing to God. To see this let us close this portion of our study by reading from,
2 Peter 1:3-4
[3] “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. [4] Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires."
Let us notice the following verses,
3 … He has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him. In other words, God the Holy Spirit now lives inside the born-again believer to move them to live a life worthy of their call to Him.
4 … By knowing God and trusting Him to fulfill His promises we can escape the corruption that is in this world and participate in the divine nature.
Once a person is a born again believer in Jesus Christ, to avoid sin, we must now learn to live the remaining days of our life under the control of the Holy Spirit. In other words,
WE MUST DIE TO SELF AND LET THE HOLY SPIRIT, LIVE IN AND THROUGH US
The question is; “How do I do this?” The answer to this question all begins with our baptism. To see this let us review,
THE PURPOSE OF THE BELIEVER'S BAPTISM
As we read the Scriptures one discovers that one of the major purposes for water baptism is that in baptism, we proclaim in a physical way that we are now a new creature.
Specifically, the Bible teaches us that the baptism Jesus Christ calls the believer to, is the baptism into Him. By faith in Jesus Christ our submersion into the water of baptism signifies the burial our old self which, when we were born-again, was crucified with Christ. Then, as we rise up out of the water, we rise to a new life in the resurrected Jesus Christ.
Now one may ask, “What is this old self that was crucified with Christ and buried in the water of baptism?” Prior to our new birth, we did not have the Holy Spirit living inside us.
The new self or new creation, which occurred through the new birth, is the one who has the Holy Spirit living within them. To enable us live a life pleasing to God, the Holy Spirit is now present to fight against our sinful nature. Hence, the new person is no longer enslaved by the sinful nature. Thus, when we bury our old self in baptism, we and God are confirming we are no longer the same person but new. To see this, let us read what the Holy Spirit says, through the pen of Paul, about the believer’s baptism in,
Romans 6:3-7
[3] “… don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? [4] We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. [5] If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. [6] For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin-- [7] because anyone who has died has been freed from sin."
Let us notice the following verses,
3 … Those baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death, that is our old self was crucified with Jesus Christ.
4-5 … Our old self was buried with Him in the waters of baptism. We do this so that as Jesus was raised from the dead, we also may now live a new life.
6-7 … So that we should no longer be slaves to sin, our old self was crucified and buried with Him.
Thus, as God set Noah, via the great flood, and Israel, through the Red Sea, physically free from their bondage of a corrupt world to worship and serve Him; we, through faith in Jesus Christ, have been spiritually set free from our old self to also worship and serve Him. To expand upon this let us now read the following exhortation,
Romans 6:11-13
"[11] In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. [12] Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. [13] Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness."
Let us notice the following verses,
11 … We are to consider ourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.
In reflecting upon the above, we come to realize the Bible is teaching us we are no longer in bondage to sin. To confirm this, let us read from,
Romans 6:14
[14] “For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace."
Thus, the choice is now ours. We can yield ourselves to the power of the Holy Spirit to follow Jesus' commands, or we can yield to the temptations and lusts of our old sinful nature, which is our flesh. To see this let us prayerfully read how the Holy Spirit describes this conflict between the Himself and our old sinful nature. To do this we go to,
Galatians 5:16-17
[16] “So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. [17] For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want."
This is all good theology or Biblical insight and truth; but, how do I put this truth and insight to work? The key to the answer to this question is,
WE MUST RENEW OUR MIND
To see this let us read from,
Romans 12:2
[2] And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
To read how we are to renew our mind we go to,
Romans 8:3-15
[3] For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, [4] that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. [5] For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. [6] For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. [7] Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. [8] So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God. [9] But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you.
Another way to see this is by reading from “The Amplified Bible” the following instruction,
1 John 2:15-17
[I5] Do not love or cherish the world or the things that are in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in him. [16] For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh [craving for sensual gratification], and the lust of the eyes [greedy longings of the mind] and the pride of life [assurance in one’s own resources or in the stability of earthly things] – these do not come from the Father but are from the world [itself]. [17] And the world passes away and disappears, and with it the forbidden cravings (passionate desires, the lust) of it; but he who does the will of God and carries out His purposes in his life, abides (remains) forever.
The fact that the Bible teaches us there is a conflict within the born- again believer between our old sinful nature and the Holy Spirit implies there may be times when we may fail and fall into sin. Does this mean that all is lost? No! However, it does mean we must seek forgiveness and ask our Lord Jesus Christ for help. To see this let us prayerfully read the following instruction given through the Apostle John. The Scripture of interest is,
1 John 1:8-2:2
[8] If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. [9] If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. [10] If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.
[2:1] My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. [2] And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.
SUMMARY
Thus, we found that in Jesus’ discourse concerning sin He was and is teaching us that the consequences of remaining in sin is so severe and devastating that if the mutilation of our bodies would prevent us from sinning we would be far better off to do that than spend eternity in the fires of Hell.
We also discovered that God, because of His incredible love, mercy and grace towards us, He provided the only way to help us avoid sin and its consequences. Specifically, He sent His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ to die for the forgiveness of our sins and to send us the Holy Spirit for the power to overcome them. To remind us of this let us read the portion of Jesus conversation to Nicodemus.
John 3:16-17
[16] For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. [17] For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
CLOSING
Let us now close this study by prayerfully reading the following exhortation from,
Colossians 3:1-4
[I] If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. [2] Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. [3] For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. [4] When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.
Blessed be the Lord forever,
Amen and Amen