OUTLINE:
On Judgement
There’s nothing wrong with righteously judging right from wrong. Our judgement translates into evil when we cast a sentence upon another, suggesting punishment, even.
Balance Statement
We are not to become “judge and jury” over spiritually private matters, supposing this or that punishment “fits the crime.” For example, we cannot judge another’s heart, only their actions (facts only, not assumptions).
“Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.” Jn 7:24
Our flesh is so trained to draw conclusions from what is seen.
A.W. Tozer
The world of sense intrudes upon our attention day and night for the whole of our lifetime. It is clamorous, insistent, and self-demonstrating. It does not appeal to our faith; it is here, assaulting our five senses, demanding to be accepted as real and final.
A.W. Tozer
But sin has so clouded the lenses of our hearts that we cannot see that other reality, the city of God, shining around us. The world of sense triumphs. The visible becomes the enemy of the invisible, and the temporal, of the eternal. That is the curse inherited by every member of Adam’s tragic race. At the root of the Christian life lies belief in the invisible. The object of the Christian’s faith is unseen reality.
Such is the deceitfulness of sin…
…it looks for proof where faith is meant to exist.
While the Spirit assures us of our faith…our human flesh LIES to us!…and so do the fleshes of OTHERS!
As we live out His Great Commission, we must follow our Lord’s example. We must have courage to take the upper hand, not by high level conversations, but through simplicity!
The deceitfulness of sin will tempt you to argue moot points instead of sharing His Gospel and letting the Spirit grow the seed.
Sin is not to be thought of as merely some result we can point to… such as “I got drunk”, or “I disobeyed my authorities”… if that’s where it ends, we are only accounting for PART of the nature of sin. Sin is complex.
While sin is the active agent, it’s the total depravity of man that really describes the effects of sin on man.
The Total Depravity of Man
Describes the pervasive corruption and pollution of sin passed down from Adam. Its effects are devastating to man.
Depravity borne of sin…
1) Effects every aspect of man
2) Renders every man unable to please God
3) Is universal, effecting every man ever born
While we are exploring the nature of sin and the total depravity of man, what we DON’T want to do in the process is make it something that it actually is NOT.
It’s not that sinful man can’t do some relative good… it’s that his own goodness is now polluted, and God’s requirements are perfection!! Is 64:6
But then, when God purifies the believer through faith in Christ, it’s possible for that man to please God again, through the perfect righteousness of Christ found in the believer. Php 3:9
The Total Depravity of Man
Describes the pervasive corruption and pollution of sin passed down from Adam. Its effects are devastating to man.
Depravity borne of sin…
1) Effects every aspect of man
2) Renders every man unable to please God
3) Is universal, effecting every man ever born
The Simple Definition for Sin
Sin is any lack of conformity to God’s will, whether expressed actively or passively.
We mustn’t underestimate the power and pervasiveness of sin, or we will be deceived by it!
Sin
It is like a disease that every man is born with, infected by. It permeates every cell of our body from birth. It exists in this world, even outside of our bodies, infecting nature, also. It is, therefore, the thing that causes persistent tension between God and His creation.
Satan is the father of lies…the great deceiver! And his agency is sin, itself! Jn 8:44, Rev 12:9
God intended for man to be lockstep with His will, in love with the One who gave him life, and serving Him only. Satan’s is the exact opposite, which is the nature of sin.
Satan is the embodiment of sin because he exists as the embodiment of all that is opposed to the Holy God of the Universe!