What the Bible Is All About 9 Sin

SECTION A – Shalom

Slinky

Understood

Doing wrong / guilt / consequences come

Grow up church – “Sin”

Define it

“Sin is when you break God’s law”

“Sin is disobeying God”

“Sin is whatever you do that makes God angry”

“Sin is missing the mark”

Sounds good, but not whole story.

Cornelius Plantinga – ‘Engaging God’s Word’

“Sin is culpable disturbance of shalom.”

Shalom

Hebrew word – peace, wholeness, health, & blessing.

All over bible.

But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. (Isaiah 53:5)

The Lord now chose seventy-two other disciples and sent them ahead in pairs to all the towns and places he planned to visit. (Luke 10:1)

“Whenever you enter someone’s home, first say, ‘May God’s peace be on this house.’ (Luke 10:5)

The harmony God intends for the world.

How God wants things to be

Peace with yourself, with your neighbor, with the earth, with God.

Disturbance.

Things aren’t how they should be.

Environment – Domestic Violence – Human Trafficking – Ferguson, Missouri – Robin Williams – Iraq: ISIS – Wall Street corruption

Small ways we disrespect each other

Culpable

Guilt, responsibility, ownership

Any way you have contributed to the disturbance of shalom.

Sin is anything we do to disrupt the peace and harmony God desires for the world.

Problem

When sin is about breaking, violating, disobeying

Removing the context

Forgetting that there’s a bigger story at play in the earth.

What you or someone else did & God’s displeasure in it.

Just lawmaker & lawbreaker.

Nothing about:

God’s plan for us

How he wants world to operate

How we’re going against it.

When you place in context of shalom, the peace God wants for the world. – Makes more sense.

Not: God mad b/c – we have too much fun.

Something inside us – wrecking things.

Of course I’m guilty of breaking shalom. Who wouldn’t admit that?


SECTION B – The Accuser

Because we all sin, it’s stupid to label ourselves or other people by it.

Guy w/ nose – Guy – has to breath

WE ALL SIN. – We all fall down.

Difference between saint & sinner – we get up again.

Violently opposed – sin scale

rate someone else’s sin above your own.

Church – ‘Holy Club’

Minimizes sin inside club, maximizes sin outside club.

Throughout history, church mistreated & persecuted b/c sin.

Ironically, american christian sin, we consider minor, scripture denounces most.

Number 1 Sin in the bible – idolatary.

1000’s of verses.

The idolatry of trusting in things over God

Hoarding material possessions instead of giving freely and generously to others in need.

Trusting in doctors and medicine more than God

Trusting in your paycheck more than God

Trusting that a spouse will make you happy instead of finding your happiness in God.

Believing that your well being is hinged on your government instead of God.

The idolatry of getting significance from being holier than other people.

The idolatry of making a leader or parent or pastor responsible for your spiritual growth.

Putting people or things in places that God should be.

Church of america breaks this like CRAZY.

Downplays that, hardly ever hear about it.

Maximize: homosexuality,

Mother of all sins, mentioned at most 3 times in OT and 3 times in NT.

What is wrong w/this picture?

Judging

Also, we find many verses, in NT especially.

Strongly denounce the sin of judging others, and slandering others, gossiping about others. And accusing others.

The church tends to be massively guilty of that as well.

In bible: Arch enemy : God : Satan

He’s called ‘The Accuser’

The one who points out people’s sin and holds it against them.

Shocking/horrible truth – role church has played.

Downtown : everybody knows it.

Exactly what the pharisees did – Accusing people

Putting yourself up here, and them down there.

Your sins are big, and mine are small.

Mine are fine, yours are dealbreaks.

Paul – 2 Corinthians 5 – Ministers of reconciliation

Ambassadors of the kingdom, stationed here in this foreign land – ministers of reconciliation. Defines that as

“not holding peoples sins against them.”

Opposite of accusing them.

Jesus said – 2×4

whatever sin we see in someone else’s eye – dust particle. Whatever sin we see in our own eye – 2×4.

Opposite of accusing.

Paul – 1 Timothy 1 “I am Worst of sinners”

Here’s a saying that bears repeating. Worthy of all to repeat. “I am the worst of sinners” – Jesus christ came to save sinners, of which I am the worst”

Opposite of accusing.

If we’re doing our job as ministers of reconciliation, we should be the last creatures of the planet to point out other peoples sin. If they haven’t invited us to do it. And hold it against them.

Me: bible college

Fundamentalist idiot.

Strong opinions about – liberals, abortion, homosexuals,

I didn’t know anyone who had had an abortion, I didn’t have any gay people in my life.

Easy: “going to hell!” – someones mom. Someones son.


Healing

Really simple until the person who is sick is in your family.

You realize: stops you from being a moron, is humility.

Jesus : talking about tax collectors, prostitutes, lepers.

He had faces.

While Judging – drives away

This kind of humble attitude always attracts people.

Jesus – 1 sinless person, – attracted tax collectors and prostitutes.

Walked with them

Ate with them

Lived life with them

But – they stayed clear of the pharisees.

Speaks volumes of how Jesus was Holy.

I like to check myself and make sure that the people Jesus attracted are the people that I’m attracting.

SECTION C – Saints and Sinners

In NT, only 1 kind of sin: Forgiven by God in Christ.

God’s chosen people – the church – Identified: not sinners but saints

Saint’s who sin.

Important – true identity – found in Jesus, not – ways disrupt Shalom.

In NT, people are taught first who they are.

The more you know about who you are, the more you’ll know what to do.

Sermons on sin – completely soul sucking.

Not : who you are in Christ : who you’re not.

Boring, lifeless, cause all kinds of depression.

Even though – lots of scripture.

Accidentally teach you that your identity is found in your sin. It’s not. It’s found in Christ, who has taken care of your sin.

Sin is the middle word about you.

1st word:

Created in image of God. Crowned with glory, honor, a child of God.

That’s who you are.

2nd word:

Honest, vulnerable truth about how you fall short, all sin, all mess up the beautiful thing God created.

Growing up & maturing is owning up to this, and working to make it right.

3rd word:

Insistence that the 2nd word isn’t the last word.

Not the final word.

Jesus came to restore us back to what we were before.

Restored, redeemed, reconciled, and renewed – going back

“re” – again

“replay” – play again

“repeat” – say again

renovate, remodel

Not new house – redone.

Repent

“re” – again, back – pent – top (penthouse)

Battle : to live as if that were true. B/C it is.

To live as if – sins has been washed away. B/C it has.

When we believe it, it let’s us back onto the team of people who are committed to bringing shalom back to the world.

Closing

We battle sin not by punishing ourselves or punishing others, but by living as if our sin has been washed away. Because it has. We battle sin not by focusing in it, but by bringing the good news to people. The gospel. The news that b/c of Jesus, sin doesn’t have to separate us from God. Through Jesus, sin has because a non-issue.

Satan’s agenda continues to be accusing, disqualifying, & condemning people because of their sin. Don’t let that be our agenda as well. Instead, let’s fight against the forces of darkness by becoming ministers of reconciliation. Not holding people’s sins against them. Let’s return to what we were created to be, ambassadors of Shalom. God’s peace. God’s love. God’s forgiveness.