FORGIVENESS OF SINS
[1]WELCOME: Good morning, if you’re new with us or you’re just tuning in with us online, we want to thank you for joining us. My name is Nic Cook and I’m one of the Pastors here at Cornerstone. SERIES: Over the next couple of weeks we’re going to be wrapping up our sermon series on THE CREED: WHAT WE BELIEVE. And, as we prepare to jump into the creed again, I want to start by asking a question…[2]
· WHAT IS WRONG WITH THE WORLD TODAY? That seems like a legitimate question at this point in history, right? Is it: disease, racism, poverty, corruption, divorce, war, terrorism? This is an age-old question that has been asked by every generation. It’s just another way of saying, this world isn’t right, and we all know it, so how did it get this way, and how can we fix it? I think one of the best answers I have ever heard was reportedly given by a man named [3]GK Chesterton who was a well-known author in the 1900s. At one point THE TIMES newspaper in London posed this question to several prominent authors this same question. “What’s wrong with the world today?” [4]And He wrote a short yet profound response. “Dear Sir, I Am. Yours, G.K. Chesterton.” That humble response makes us uncomfortable. Because most of the time we look at this world and say, the problem is out there, or it’s with THOSE people. And Chesterton’s biblical and truthful response is the the biggest problem in the world is, not somewhere out there, but it is sin inside of me. So when I ask the question, what’s wrong with the world today, I want you all to point at yourself and say, “I Am.” Let’s do it together. What’s wrong with the world? (respond- I Am). Alright, everyone feeling good about themselves? Really got the warm fuzzies going, didn’t I? [5]But the Creed holds out the powerful phrase that what is wrong can be made right. That sinful people can not only be forgiven, but can be changed and made clean. We believe in the Forgiveness of Sins. So I’m going to pray and then we’re going to stand and repeat the creed together and I’ll dig into this good news!
God this is a hard truth to hear today. I pray for soft hearts. I pray for th Spirits Words. And I pray that Jesus would be seen, loved, and glorified today. Amen. [READ CREED] [6-15]
(TEACH) WHAT SIN IS & DOES, WHAT JESUS DOES ABOUT IT
DEFINING SIN: Have you ever tried to define what sin is for someone? Levi has been asking more questions about following Jesus and getting baptized so I’ve been trying to help him understand what sin is and why we need a Savior. [16]So, the best description I’ve come up with is that sin is breaking GOD’S LAWS and breaking GOD’S HEART. I have to say right off the bat, when we hear the language of laws, rules, commandments, there is something inside us that pushes back. There is a knee jerk reaction that says, I don’t like being told what to do. It’s the American attitude of this is the “land of the free.” Anyone who has ever had a kid look at them and say “you’re not the boss of me” recognizes it in children, but it doesn’t really go away in adults. So, when we talk about sin as breaking God’s Laws, we need to look at the attitude that leads to sin. And that attitude is one of… [17]
· REBELLION: Rebellion is about escaping the authority of someone in order to be your own authority. The very beginning of the human story starts with God creating humanity and giving them an entire garden to work and watch over. However, he commands them not to eat from just a single tree called the tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil. He’s gave them the choice whether to trust & obey him as their authority or not. And we see them struggle with 2 things: DOUBT & DISOBEDIENCE [18-25][Gen 3:1-7] The first question of “Did God really say” is a way of asking, “can you really trust God as the authority about life?” Maybe he’s denying you something really good because he’s not good. The second idea is, “did you know that you can take God’s place and be your own authority?” You should be able to decide what is right or wrong for yourself. Go ahead and take God’s place. Now most of us haven’t talked to a snake or been confronted by Satan himself, but here’s what rebellion more subtly looks like today…[26]
o The bible was written in a different time and culture, so… This is an attempt to explain away things that people don’t like in the bible. I don’t like what the bible says about marriage, or sex, or money, or fill in the blank. I’m better and smarter and more enlightened than those superstitious imbeciles in ancient times. But it’s rebellion plain and simple. Another common way rebellion shows up is in the mindset or phrase that says…[27]
o My feelings and desires are more important than what the bible says… Love who you want to love. Love how you want to love. Follow your heart. Be true to you. It’s the same situation we find in [28][Gen. 3:6]. “the tree was good for food, and it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise.” It looks good to me, It feels good to me, it will make me happy, it will make me who I’m supposed to be. And it’s rebellion against God as authority, but it’s simultaneously…[29-30]
· SUBSTITUTION: There’s a reason the 10 commandments start out with [Ex. 20: 1-4]. Don’t have any other gods, not substitutes. [31]THE MOMENT We take God out of the central place of worship and authority in our lives, we will place ourselves, someone else, or something else in that spot. I’ve talked about this before and heard these substitutes called the [32]EMPTY P’S. They’re fake Gods who promise happiness and fulfillment, but are incapable of living up to their promise. Power, prestige, pleasure, posessions, perfection, praise, people. I don’t need God, what I need is that job, that promotion, that retirement account, that vacation, that person, that sexual experience. And we substitute all these things for God and place ourselves, others, or things in his place. And here’s the thing about Sin, SIN ALWAYS LEADS TO… [33]
o SLAVERY: I heard Ravi Zacharias say it this way, “Sin will take you farther than you want to go, keep you longer than you want to stay, and cost you more than you want to pay.” Jesus called money a master in [34][Matt 6:24]. I’ve watched as images on a phone grew into a master who took away someone’s marriage, house, everything. I’ve watched the master of sports leagues demand thousands of dollars and make children lose faith in Jesus. When good things take ultimate priority in our lives, they become gods. Spouses, children, Jobs, money, sports, hobbies, sex, houses, vacations. They all make horrible gods. And ultimately, not only do these fake gods not bring happiness and freedom, they lead to…[35]
o DESTRUCTION: The brother of Jesus wrote this… [36-38][Jms. 4:1-2] He says, look at the world. You know why it is tearing itself apart? You know why things are so dark? There is a war in your heart! You want to be God. You want other things other than God. And it’s spilling over and destroying not only you, but others around you. There is a ripple effect to sin. It never just affects a single person. It always affects the people around us. And when you take a bunch of sinful people who are all trying to act like Gods, and looking for happiness in everything but God, this is what’s wrong with the world. Sin in us is what is wrong with the world. And SIN…[39]
BREAKS GODS HEART: The bible gives us some powerful pictures about what God’s relationship to us is like. For example, he’s…
· A LOVING PARENT. Jesus taught us to pray [Matt 6:9] Our Father in Heaven. The Creed says he’s Father Almighty. A loving human parent says “don’t stick a fork in the electrical outlet!” Now imagine watching your child look you in the eyes, with rebellion in their heart, and a desire to be their own God, and they feel like they’re being deprived of something they feel will make them happy, and they deliberately stick a fork in the electrical outlet and end up seriously hurt or even dead. As a parent, it would just wreck me to see something horrible happen to my child. Another image we’re given of God is that of…[40]
· A LOVING HUSBAND. In [Is. 54:5] He has loved us, committed to us, cared for us, provided for us. And imagine a spouse coming home and finding that they have been replaced. Not just once, but over and over again. That kind of rejection is simply heart-wrenching. When we willingly, stubbornly and arrogantly rebel against God it breaks his heart. When we continuously cheat on God and love other people and things more than him, it breaks his heart.
BAD NEWS IS WHAT MAKES THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS SUCH GOOD NEWS! Alright, I think we’ve covered what sin is. I hope everyone feels awful about how bad they are. Let’s pray, sing and go home. Here’s what I wanted to do. For the good news that Jesus saves us and forgives us of our sins to truly be good news, we need to know the bad news. And here is the good news. [41]We believe in the forgiveness of sins!
(APP) REPENT (& KEEP REPENTING) AND YOU WILL RECIEVE
REPENT & RECEIVE: The very first sermon given by the followers of Jesus after he rose from the grave and went back to heaven said this. [42-43][Acts 2:35-36] Peter looks at a group of people and says, Jesus is God, and you killed him! And right now, he’s sitting at the right hand of God, but God has promised to deal with his enemies, those who rebel against him and killed his son. And that’s not just being said to those people. It’s being said to us. We are the reason Jesus died. We killed Jesus. And unless something changes, we are his enemies. And it says that [44][Acts 2:37] It says they were cut to the heart. They understood that they had broken God’s heart, Broken God’s laws and they were mourning their sin, there was an emotional response deep in their heart. And Peter’s says “Repent”. [45] That means change your mind, quit thinking you’re in control or that you can find happiness away from God. Change your actions. Stop running away from God and run towards him. Stop running towards substitutes and come back to the father, the loving husband. And be baptized. Go under the water and have your sins washed away. Go under covered in filth and sin and come up white and sinless and clean. If you have not given your life to Jesus, I’m pleading with you. You’re living in slavery; you’re headed towards pain and heartache and eternal separation from God. But he wants you back! He loves you and he died to save you from yourself. Repent, believe, and be baptized and experience the forgiveness that is a free gift from God. But there’s something else you need to know. That this isn’t a one-time thing. We have to…[46]
CONTINUE TO REPENT FOR YOU HAVE RECEIVED, ARE RECEIVING, AND WILL RECEIVE: When we give our lives to Jesus we are forgiven, we are made clean. But the truth is, we will still struggle with sinning. We will still have struggles with rebelling, with substituting ourselves, others and things for him. So, we are called to continue to repent every day. Martin Luther said, “Our Lord and Master Jesus Christ willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance.” [47]And here’s what we are promised… [1 Jn. 1:9] This verse has been an anchor for me in the middle of self-doubt and accusation from my conscience and from our spiritual enemy, Satan. That word “forgive” in the original language of Greek is written in way that means he “has forgiven, is forgiving, and will forgive”. [48]That means God has already forgiven us in the past, is currently forgiving us in the present, and has promised is going to forgive us in the future. Listen to me carefully! AS LONG AS YOU ARE BREATHING, THERE IS NO SIN SO BLACK THAT IT CAN’T BE MADE CLEAN BY THE BLOOD OF JESUS! This book is filled with broken sinful people who lied, cheated, committed adultery, murder, came to him, denied him, came back to him, and everything in between. And they were loved and forgiven when they turned to Jesus. And you will be as well. There’s a lyric that I heard recently that said “If I’m not dead, than you’re not done.” Amen! As long as you are breathing, every day is a chance to repent and experience forgiveness and be made clean, over and over and over, and over again. Thank You Jesus! Let’s pray!
Jesus, we love you. Thank you for saving us. May your Spirit move to draw people to salvation today. May your Spirit draw us to continue to repent and run to you. May your Spirit bring comfort that we are loved and can still be forgiven no matter how guilty or ashamed we may feel. Give us peace knowing we have forgiveness of sins. Amen.
(MEDITATION TIME)
[49] We want to give time for you to listen to the Holy Spirit. To hear how he wants you to respond this morning. So we’re going to put up this scripture for the next couple of minutes. Simply spend time quietly praying: Spirit, what do you want to say to me? Spirit how do you want me to respond. Remember, the voice of the Spirit is gentle and loving. The voice of our conscience and our spiritual enemy is condemning. After a while, we’re going to take communion together and then close in song and discussion.
