Understanding Our Sin

We have a sin problem.

If we don't recognize our sin problem, we will just say things like:

If these are the things that we think are our problems, we may think our salvation would come from a good education, counselor, or medicine.

But if we don't have a problem, then why did Jesus come?

Luke 5:32 NLT
[32] I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners and need to repent.”
https://bible.com/bible/116/luk.5.32.NLT

The passage for today is heavy. No fluff, no bricks, we will be looking at the beauty and the truth of Jesus.

Romans 1:18 NLT
[18] But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness.
https://bible.com/bible/116/rom.1.18.NLT

At the beginning of Romans, God is talking about how excited he is to share the good news. And then he jumps into Romans 1:18 (above)

There is a vertical and horizontal dimension to sin. Hurting God and hurting others.

We are uncomfy with the word "wrath". But when we read scripture, wrath is not optional.

What does Paul mean by "wrath" in this passage? In verses 24, 26, and 28 God "gives people over" to their sin. God's wrath is us getting whatever we want.

Romans 1:19-20 NLT
[19] They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them. [20] For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.
https://bible.com/bible/116/rom.1.19-20.NLT

We all long for the transcendent. For the beautiful. For the truth.

"If the universe is not governed by an absolute goodness, then all our efforts are in the long run hopeless. But if it is, then we are making ourselves enemies to that goodness every day... The trouble is that one part of you is on His side and really agrees with His disapproval of human greed and trickery and all that. You may want Him to make an exception in your own case, to let you off this one time; but you know in your heart that unless the power behind the world really makes for righteousness, then all your protests in the name of morality are empty."
-C.S. Lewis-

Sin is directional before it's disobedient

Sin is first and foremost a deviation from what God desires for us. We know God but we reject God.

We are not sinners because we do sin. It is because we have sin deep inside of our hearts. We bear the image of God, but it has been married by sin.

If I have dirty water coming out of the faucet, I don't fix the faucet, I fix the well.

Sin is a trade before it's a transgression

Romans 1:23-25 NLT
[23] And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people and birds and animals and reptiles. [24] So God abandoned them to do whatever shameful things their hearts desired. As a result, they did vile and degrading things with each other’s bodies. [25] They traded the truth about God for a lie. So they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator himself, who is worthy of eternal praise! Amen.
https://bible.com/bible/116/rom.1.23-25.NLT

We want the kingdom without the King.

We want all the good stuff, but not to told how to live by the one who made all the stuff.

We make good things into ultimate things. We exchanged the truth of God for a lie. We love the gifts more than the giver. You even see this when kids get gifts at Christmas. They need to be consistently reminded to thank the giver.

We trade God's wisdom and presence for our own version of God, our own desires.

Romans 1:26-27 NLT
[26] That is why God abandoned them to their shameful desires. Even the women turned against the natural way to have sex and instead indulged in sex with each other. [27] And the men, instead of having normal sexual relations with women, burned with lust for each other. Men did shameful things with other men, and as a result of this sin, they suffered within themselves the penalty they deserved.
https://bible.com/bible/116/rom.1.26-27.NLT

There is lots of discussion about what Paul meant when he said this.

Sex outside the bounds of male/female marriage is not what God intended, and is therefore sin.

Worship is mental spiritual AND physical. Worship is the full self.

Sow what is marriage supposed to be? If we don't define that correctly, we miss everything else. The goal of marriage is to sanctify us and make us more like Jesus. In our culture, marriage gets confused with a machine that is supposed to give us "happiness". So in marriage, we can still worship the same idol that purpose comes from being a sexually satisfied person.

Our culture says that YOU ARE your sexual gratification. So the question is: is Jesus enough?

Having the attraction is not the sin. Acting on these things is the sin. 96% of gay Christians said they struggled most with unanswered prayer. They prayed at least once for Jesus to take it away.

We need to never stop caring for people made in the image of God. No matter what their proclivities are.

It's about you before it's about them

Romans 1:28-31 NLT
[28] Since they thought it foolish to acknowledge God, he abandoned them to their foolish thinking and let them do things that should never be done. [29] Their lives became full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, quarreling, deception, malicious behavior, and gossip. [30] They are backstabbers, haters of God, insolent, proud, and boastful. They invent new ways of sinning, and they disobey their parents. [31] They refuse to understand, break their promises, are heartless, and have no mercy.
https://bible.com/bible/116/rom.1.28-31.NLT

Romans 1:32 NLT
[32] They know God’s justice requires that those who do these things deserve to die, yet they do them anyway. Worse yet, they encourage others to do them, too.
https://bible.com/bible/116/rom.1.32.NLT
Romans 2:1-2 NLT
[1] You may think you can condemn such people, but you are just as bad, and you have no excuse! When you say they are wicked and should be punished, you are condemning yourself, for you who judge others do these very same things. [2] And we know that God, in his justice, will punish anyone who does such things.
https://bible.com/bible/116/rom.2.1-2.NLT

Paul is first and foremost saying that these passages are about ME and YOU.

We judge the sexual sin of others but fail to recognize our own lust. Our heart drops when we hear others talking about us, but we are quick to say gossip about others when they are not around.

Our understanding of sin...

1. Creates a mutual humility

Until I am aware that I am part of the problem, I will maintain a pride that makes me see others' sins as worse than my own. But mine is just as bad.

When you read Paul's letters, you realize that the Early Church wasn't getting along very well. There was a big divide between the Jews and non-Jews.

Imagine bringing the Jews and Gentiles together under Christ during this time. All under one roof, worshipping one God.

God is leveling the playing field. We ALL need Jesus

2. Magnifies a beautiful savior

If we don't have sin, Jesus is just some nice life coach.

But because of our sin, he is so much more than that. He is our savior.

Conclusion

What Paul wants us to feel today is the weight of what sin has done. Both vertically and horizontally. We want sin eliminated, but we don't want to acknowledge that we would be eliminated with it, because sin is so deep in us.

But the mercy of God is apparent on the cross. He steps in himself. In the person of Jesus, he shields us from the wrath of the Father.

We often talk about God as a belief system or scientific process. But he is a person. Who came here, in person. He had dirty feet. He came here personally for us.

Jesus we love you and we need you. Forgive us for our pride, for our flippancy, for exchanging your truth for our own. For exchanging your presence for the American dream, and entertainment, and gratification. We are humbled in your mercy. We want to magnify the beauty of our Savior.