WHAT STEPS DO WE TAKE WHEN WE SIN?
Genesis 3:1-7
Part I
INTRODUCTION
We are all experts in sin yet none of us have ever taken a course in Sin 101.
Not one of us here can remember the first time sin affected us or when we committed our first sin. Sin has been our companion from the cradle and will be with us to the grave.
It is beyond our present ability to comprehend how it would feel to be without sin. That probably will be one of the first thrills and wonders of heaven; no sin with us.
We are all practitioners for sin. Some of us might, unfortunately, consider ourselves experts in certain sins. Yet, what exactly is sin?
Some of the more knowledgeable in the Bible will quote I John 3:4, “… sin is transgression of the law.” And we will piously nod our head and go out and sin. After all, how many things in life are not mentioned in the Bible? Like Eve of old, we rationalize away the wrongness of our sin. After all, my sin is not as bad as his/her sin. How comforting it is to be a Pharisee.
Before we enter into this passage, we must know what sin is. Not what it is in Bible terminology, because we, in our sin, have learned long ago how to segregate the Bible from our life.
Not a theological definition, because we, in our sin, have learned how to ignore theological gas bags and their terminology. After all, they are not in the real world.
So, what is sin?
NOTE: Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?”
And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden;
but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’”
Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die.
For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.
Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.
Genesis 3:1-7 NKJV
Sin is self improvement without God. No matter what sin we can name, it entails self improvement without inquiring of God if it is right or not.
David sought self improvement without God in taking Bathsheba. He then improved his lot by killing her husband Uriah.
Judas sought self-improvement without God. His pockets were lined with silver not from God but his ability.
When we murder, we eliminate an individual who hinders our self improvement. That is the core plot of every murder mystery on TV.
We commit adultery, we enter into a relationship with someone who ‘improves’ us. “My wife (husband) doesn’t understand me.” Trading partner and live-ins like junior high young people looking for boy / girl friends.
When we divorce, we end a relationship that hinders our self-improvement.
When we steal, we improve self.
When we lie, to keep from being caught, we are doing it to improve self.
When we cheat on a test, we are doing it to improve self.
When we sell that car, knowing full well its defects, we are improving self, getting rid of a lemon. No longer my problem.
When we use people for our advancement.
When we manipulate the facts for our advantage.
When we seek self as the exalted center of our own private world, we are sinning! Sin!
The definition of ungodliness; Leaving God out of the equation.
We are learning how to sin: Improve ourselves without God being in the process.
It’s time we asked ourselves a question: Where did we get the idea that improvement is always good and always necessary? It is an axiom of this world, not of the Bible.
The materialistic prosperity theology of certain preachers smacks more of the world and its self-improvement than of the Bible. Good people, good sin, good God.
What does the Bible say?
But godliness with contentment is great gain. I Timothy 6:6 KJV
Where is the godliness and contentment in divorce, stealing, cheating, murdering, adultery?
Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content Philippians 4:1 NKJV
But they that wait (not improve) upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. Isaiah 40:31 KJV. cf. downward spiral, less and less strength.
If sin is self-improvement without God, how much time have we spent in this last week improving ourselves in ungodly decisions (decisions where we have not been led by Him)?
There are national sins such as a larger nation invading a smaller nation for the larger nation’s advantage.
There are racial / social sins where one class of people improves itself at the expense of another race / social class of people.
There are family sins where our family only associates with those who improve our standing.
There are personal sins. I don’t care who I use or what I have to do as long as I get what I want. I’ll pay the price to improve myself.
No matter what elements are in national, racial, social, family or personal sins, they all are self-improvement without God.
Here we are. Exhausting ourselves deceiving and being deceived, manipulating and being manipulated, all in the name of the god of advancement and self-improvement.
And through it all, Jesus has been patiently saying, “…I am come that (you) may have life, and that (you) might have it more abundantly.” John 10:10
What should we do if we want to do things God’s way instead of self-improvement?
Blessed is that man who makes the Lord his trust, And does not respect the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies. Psalm 40:4 NKJV
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding;
In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.
Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the Lord and depart from evil.
Proverbs 3:5-7 NKJV
Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time I Peter 5:6 KJV
‘Due time’, no equivalent in English, not, when its convenient on God’s agenda, but rather when it is right.
Then someone says, “My problem is too big to wait.” That is why Peter added casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. I Peter 5:7 NKJV
When we cease to improve self, wait upon the Lord, humble ourselves, then, and only then, can we begin to understand, … all things work together for good to them that love God…” Romans 8:28 KJV
So what is your life? Is it a temple of failed self-improvement? Are you reaching the place where it seems no improvement is possible?
If we confess our sins (self improvements), He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Jesus prayed in the garden, … “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.” Matthew 26:39 NKJV
Love is opposite of sin; give vs. take.
Sermons And Lessons From The Old Testament 