The Sinfulness of Sin
Matthew 5:29-30
On a sunny September day in Chicago, a stern-faced, plainly dressed man could be seen
standing still on a street corner in the busy Loop. As people were hurrying on their way
to lunch or business, he would solemnly lift his right arm, point to the person nearest
him, and loudly say a single word: "GUILTY!"
He would do this without any change of expression, then resume his stiff stance for a
short period and repeat the process again. Over and over he would raise his right arm,
point to a person and pronounce them "GUILTY!".
A person present described the reactions of the pedestrians as almost eerie. It was as
if they didn't quite know how to respond. One man, perhaps describing how many others
probably felt, turned to another person and exclaimed: "But how did he
know?".
This story was used by Dr. Karl Menninger to begin his classic book Whatever
Became of Sin? And although the book was published more than twenty years ago, the
question its title poses could still be asked by us today.
It's not that sin has disappeared or that we know longer feel guilty. In fact, most
people could respond just like the passerby in Chicago. Most people do have a sense of
their own guilt. They feel guilty, not because someone tells them they are guilty, but
because they truly are guilty. We are guilty because we have done wrong. And
guilt is not some dysfunctional feeling that we should not be having. Guilt is a warning
that tells us we have violated the moral code.
We are all guilty. Jesus, here in the Sermon on the Mount, has been pointing out that
not only is the sinful deed wrong but also the sinful desire. So it should be clear that
we have all failed to meet the standard.
Sin, however, is largely ignored as moral evil in our day. We do not like to use the
term. We down-play sin. We euphemistically say that we have faults, short-comings,
hang-ups, problems, mistakes, or that we are dysfunctional or sick. We simply do not like
to use the word sin. We do not want to be a sinner.
Why is this the case? There are probably many reasons. One that springs to my mind is
that sin has religious overtones. Normally, when we think of sin, we also think of God.
After all, isn't sin breaking the law of God? And if we break the law of God, do we not
have to answer to that God for the breaking of His law? Many people do not like to think
of that possibility. It is simply easier to talk about a failure than a sin.
Another reason is that our culture has taken a decidedly relativistic turn. The
contemporary view of truth is that truth depends upon the situation. What is true today
may not have been true yesterday and may not be true tomorrow. You see, if you do away
with God, truth becomes a cultural thing. Morality becomes what the culture currently says
it is, since there is no absolute standard by which things should be judged. Therefore, to
call a thing a sin is taking matters a little too far.
There is one problem with this kind of thinking. It is wrong. There is a God and He
takes sin quite seriously. The Bible is clear when it calls sin a violation of God's law.
It is also clear when it declares that we have all committed sin.
Even if you only committed one sin a day for an average lifetime, you would have over
seventy-thousand sins on your record. Most of us manage to commit a few more than one sin
a day. If you went into a court of law as a multiple offender with over seventy-thousand
crimes for which you were guilty as charged, do you suppose you would be in just a little
trouble?
In the text before us, Jesus gives us a powerful and radical evaluation of sin. From
even a casual reading of this passage, there can be no doubt that Jesus took sin
seriously. There should be no doubt in your mind that He still takes sin seriously. For
Him to advocate the tearing out of eyes and the cutting off of hands should not only get
our attention but should also cause us to be alarmed at how casually we take sin.
Do you take sin seriously, or do you seriously sin? We will do one or the other. But
Jesus' message should be clear. We must deal seriously with sin because sin is serious
business. How you deal with sin should be extremely important to you because it can
destroy you. In fact, you may be being destroyed right now. So, how do you view sin? How
do you deal with sin in your life?
As we examine the text before us, we will find that Jesus was radically clear in His
prescription for dealing with sin. Let's look at several responses to His words which will
enable us to take sin seriously.
The Definition of Sin
If you would take sin seriously, you must know the Biblical definition of sin.
Many Christians probably associate sin with the commission of various wrong deeds. And
there is no doubt that these are sins. Sins are violations of the law of God. But sin is
more than that. Sin is that which is contrary to God. Sin is that which stands against
God.
Sins are symptoms of the disease of sin. It is the disease of sin that causes us to
commit acts of sin. These acts of sin we call sins. But Jesus made it clear that adultery,
for instance, is committed in deed because of the desire of the heart. In other words,
adultery is committed in the heart long before it is committed in the flesh. Jesus said in
Matthew 15:19, "For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries,
fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders." It is because our hearts have
become corrupt through the disease of sin that we commit sins.
The Bible teaches that this disease entered the human race through our original father
and mother, Adam and Eve. When they disobeyed God, the entire human race became corrupted
by sin. We come into the world already corrupted and we act out this corruption by
committing acts to violate the law of God. We commit acts of sin because we are sinful by
nature.
The Bible speaks of people who have not come to Christ as slaves to sin. Only Christ
can free people of that slavery. But even after being freed, we still have the capacity to
sin. We can still willfully violate the law of God. Whether as an unbeliever or a believer
we violate the law of God, sin is still sin and it is taken very seriously by God.
Do you take sin seriously, or do you seriously sin? Do you understand that to violate
the law of God is to sin against His holiness? Do you understand that it is not simply a
mistake, it is a violation of divine righteousness? Do you understand that God calls it
evil? Since sin is contrary to His very nature, do you understand that God hates sin?
The Danger of Sin
God hates sin because sin is hateful. Sin corrupts. Sin destroys. If you would take sin
seriously, you must comprehend the true danger of sin.
How dangerous is sin? Well, according to Jesus, it is dangerous enough to cause a
person to be thrown into hell. If that is the consequence of sin, then sin is very
dangerous indeed.
Sin, you see, not only produces guilt but also pollutes us. It causes us to be morally
unrighteous and culpable before God. We will have to account for our violation of God's
moral law. And the Bible teaches that "the wages of sin is death"
(Romans 6:23). This death is an eternal death. It is an eternal condemnation referred to
as hell.
Sin is deceptive. It is subtle. It perverts our very nature. Why would our hand cause
us to stumble, or our eye cause us to sin, if sin had not corrupted what should be a good
thing to us? Sin, left unchecked, will destroy you from the inside out.
God hates sin because sin destroys the people He loves. This is one reason why God
takes sin seriously. How about you? Do you take sin seriously, or do you seriously sin? If
you do not see the danger of sin, you will never take sin seriously.
The Destruction of Sin
If you would take sin seriously, you must be committed to the destruction of sin
within your life. In other words, destroy sin before it destroys you.
Jesus gave a radical solution to the problem of sin. He said to tear your eye out and
cut your hand off rather than allow them to cause you to stumble. It sounds extreme
doesn't it? Well, it is extreme! Like a cancer, sin is so vile and dangerous that we must
go after it with a vengeance. We must commit our efforts and resources to destroying it.
We must, like a cancer, cut it out, poison it, or bombard it with lethal radiation in
order to destroy it.
It should be obvious that Jesus, while speaking in radical terms, was not simply
prescribing the amputation of body parts in order to deal with sin. In that day the right
eye and right hand were considered to be extremely valuable. It should be obvious that if
you pulled out your right eye you would still have your left eye. What the right eye saw,
the left eye would also see. If you cut off your right hand, you would still have your
left hand. What the right hand did, the left hand could do.
Jesus was simply saying that sin is such serious business that if the most precious
thing you have causes you to sin, get rid of it. Deal radically with sin. Deal radically
with what causes you to sin. Do not make excuses for your sin.
The Scripture is clear in how to deal with sin. In Romans 13:14, "But put on
the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts."
Again, He says in Romans 8:13, "For if you are living according to the flesh,
you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you
will live."
We must take whatever steps are necessary in order to avoid sin. That does not mean
that we will be perfect, no one is. But imperfection is not our standard. Our standard is
to be like Christ.
Let me ask you again: Do you take sin seriously, or do you seriously sin? What are your
pet sins? What are the sins that you find yourself committing over and over again? Anger,
selfishness, greed, lying, stealing, lusting, gossiping, back-biting, or cheating all
could be on the list. Some of you today need to deal with those sins before you do
anything else.
The Scriptural method for dealing with our sins is to repent. That means that we must
confess our sins to God and commit ourselves to turn away from those sins. If you would
take sin seriously, you must repent before God. Are you willing today, right now, to
humble yourself before God and turn away from your sin? If you are, God will give you the
power to forsake it. He will give you the power to avoid sin. He will give you the
strength to restrain your desires and to avoid feeding the flesh. Only He can empower you
to live this way. But you must be willing to come to Him.
Finally, let me say that if you are seriously struggling with sin today, you may be in
one of two conditions. You may be a Christian who has made the choice to disobey God to
the extent that it has become a habit. If that is your situation, you need to humble
yourself and repent.
The other condition which may describe you is that you may be someone who has never
cast your life at Jesus' feet. You are not a Christian. You have never been born again by
the power of the Spirit. You may have prayed before. You may have even joined a church.
But you have never accepted Christ and committed yourself completely to Him. If that
describes you, then your only hope for deliverance from the power and penalty of sin is to
cast yourself completely on the mercy of God and beg for His forgiveness. He owes you
nothing. You deserve hell. Every person does. Your only hope is to come to Him. He is the
only one who can save you. He is the only one who can deliver you from the power of sin.
You are guilty. He can free you of guilt because He can forgive your sin.
We must take sin seriously, because sin is serious business. We must take sin
seriously, because God takes sin seriously. Psalm 97:10 says it well: "Hate
evil, you who love the Lord."
Copyright (C) 1995 J. David Hoke. This data file is the sole property
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