I know that some of you think that the closest thing to Heaven on earth is somewhere along the Washington or Oregon coast. But you live in the Spokane Valley, 300 miles away from Seattle and all those beautiful places farther west. There are several ways for you to get to Seattle, and to enjoy that Heaven. You could drive; you could fly; you could even take the train. And if you drove, you could one of several different routes. But they basically boil down to somehow traversing all those 350 miles between here and the coast. And for most of us that means filling the car with gasoline and getting onto Interstate 90. It means driving through a variety of countryside, from the relatively uninteresting dry plains to the beautiful mountains.
Someone like John Bunyan might be able to use that journey as a parallel to Pilgrim’s journey toward the Celestial City. He might talk about the Cascade and Olympics as periods of great revival and nearness to Christ. Or perhaps they represent challenges which must be overcome. He might be able to see baptism down there in the crossing of the Columbia River. Then somewhere between your birthplace and the river, there would have to be repentance and faith. Not even if a person intended to fly from Spokane to Seattle, does he step out his front door and into a beautiful B&B overlooking the Pacific ocean. There are steps along the way from Spokane to Canon Beach, some of which are absolutely essential.
This morning I want to address one of the way-posts that we have to pass in order to get to Heaven. Wherever it is, before we can reach Heaven we have to deal with the subject of sin. Since I’m such a nice guy, I’ll let you decide if its at beautiful Ritzville, Moses Lake, Sprague, or some other wonderful spot along the road. It definitely comes before we get to Vantage and the crossing of the river. But it probably comes after we have heard, “Are we there yet; are we there yet” for the twelfth time.
What is the nature of sin?
Isaiah 53 is without a doubt, one of the most glorious passages in all the holy scriptures. One reason has to be because this sounds so much like the New Testament rather than the Old. And then here is one of the most beautiful pictures of the Lord Jesus to be found in all the Bible. We can read of our Saviour’s incarnation, His death, His burial, and then His glorification. We have here an introduction to the relationship between the Father and the Son. And here is a primer on the substitutionary sacrifice which is necessary for our salvation. This chapter was probably preached a thousand times by the Apostles in the early days of Christianity. Here is a Jewish scripture which speaks right to the heart of the gospel. The Ethiopian eunuch was reading Isaiah 53 when Philip met him and lead him to Christ.
And as I’ve already said, it is impossible to get to Heaven without passing and leaving the community of sin. No evangelist can truly preach the Gospel without preaching about sin and repentance for sin. “Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died FOR OUR SINS according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures.” If, as I say, Isaiah 53 is an early presentation of the gospel, then we must find here the sin for which the gospel is the solution. Not only do we find it here, but we have a whole seminary course on the subject. There are at least seven different words used here to describe sin, and the sinners who commit them. “Transgression” and “transgressors.” The word “iniquity” is used here three times. Sinners are described as “wicked” and “going their own way” and “going astray.” All the various words, used to describe sin and sinners, remind us that it is an hydra-headed monster. It attacks us with a variety of shapes and forms. And if we’re able to cut off one of its heads in our lives, it instantly grows two more to replace it.
Sin, as described in the Bible, can be described as a deed or an act. In the John the Apostle’s first letter he makes reference to the reason for Christ’s coming to earth. “And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin.” – I John 3:5. This is a powerful little compound sentence. For example, it tells us that God’s Son was in some ways a passive participant in His incarnation. “God (the Father) so loved the world that He gave, or sent, His only begotten Son into the world that whosoever believeth on Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” I don’t doubt that Christ willingly came into the world, but this verse stresses that He was “MADE manifest” rather than that He “manifested HIMSELF.” And then, this says that the purpose for Jesus’ birth and life was to take away our sins. Everything from the incarnation to the crucifixion and resurrection was to accomplish deliverance from sin. Not that Jesus’ birth could have done that in itself, but the birth made His sacrifice possible. And then the verse says, that Jesus was Himself free from sin. Theologically we say that Jesus was “Impeccable.” Therefore He is unimpeachable as our Saviour.
But now step back and look at John’s definition of the sin for which Jesus came to this earth. “Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.” This “transgression” is the Greek equivalent to the Hebrew word “transgression” in Isaiah 53:5. “But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.” Let’s say that my neighbor and I are feuding about where exactly our properly line is. I say that it is where the hill drops down from my bluegrass into his crabgrass, but he says that his property begins up on the hill and back a couple of feet into the grass that I water, fertilize and mow. When I step down the hill, he might accuse me of trespassing. He might accuse me of transgressing his property line – stepping across. Sin, when studied from the point of a “transgression” is an act, an overstepping, a crossing of the line. To prove to us that we are sinners, God has drawn lines around His property. Those lines begin with the Ten Commandments, but they actually go much farther than that. And unlike the feud with the neighbor, sometimes God doesn’t want us to stay out, but to stay in. We transgress, when we step over the line and out of the holy way which God requires of us all. Many of the words used to describe sin, whether in the Old Testament or the New, describe specific acts or deeds. For example the primary New Testament word is “hamartia” which literally means “to miss the mark.” Once again, there is the suggestion of an act – an act which is not up to God’s standard.
There are people in this world who might be willing to admit that sin is an act, but they are unwilling that it is anything more. But the Bible clearly shows that sin is ALSO A STATE. Please turn to John 3:16-21 – “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.” What did Jesus suggest about human hearts when He said, “Men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.” He said that there is an evil, sinful source for their evil outward deeds. And what did He mean when He said, “For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.” Christ was saying that the reason sinners hate righteousness and goodness is because their hearts are wicked and evil.
One of the saddest of all human phenomena is to hear a beautiful woman utter gross vulgarities. As far as I am concerned when a woman swears and blasphemes she immediately ceases to be a beautiful woman. In Matthew 15:18-20 the Saviour reflected on this sort of thing when He said, “Those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man (or woman). For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: These are the things which defile a man.” Jesus taught us that it is not what goes into a man’s ear or mouth which makes him filthy – it is what comes out. But why should what comes out of a man or woman defile that person? It’s because sin already resides in that heart, and outwardly that sinner becomes defiled by the inner filth. Sin is a state of the heart, and that sinful heart displays itself in sinful deeds.
Theologians might define man’s wicked condition with other words, like the “principle” of sin. But all the different approaches to the subject boil down to just two: Sin must be looked at as having two sides: an inside and an outside. Just because the exterior aspect of sin may be kept to a minimum, that doesn’t mean that the interior aspect ever leaves us. We are all sinners, even though there isn’t always a lot of open proof. You may appear to be a pretty good kid, but the all-seeing God, knows the truth about your heart.
It can be safely said that SIN manifests itself in SELFISHNESS in one form or another.
Augustus Strong, in his Theology tome wrote: “We may follow Dr. E. G. Robinson in saying that, while sin, as a state, is unlikeness to God, as a principle is opposition to God, and as an act is transgression of God’s law, the essence of it always and everywhere is SELFISHNESS.”
As we make our long drive over to the Celestial City, and we have to drive through the subject of sin, we find that every part of that area looks familiar. It comes straight out of the Twilight Zone; we have the sense of being here before. It’s because there is a bit of selfishness in just about every aspect of sin.
For example, where God demands of us faith, we would rather choose our own self-sufficiency. In Romans 14:23, Paul says, “For whatsoever is not of faith is sin.” One of the happiest and at the same time saddest things about parenthood, is the growth and maturation of our children. It makes us proud to see our children functioning well in society, making wise decisions, and beginning to live productive lives on their own. But at the same time, with each step in their own maturity, they need their parents less and less. In some ways the relationship between us grows and improves, but in other ways, as we see children moving away from us, it hurts just a little bit to think that they don’t need us any more. That is a very poor illustration of the relationship that man has with God. We were created to fellowship with Jehovah, forever, feasting on the riches of His grace. But very early in Adam’s and Eve’s association with the Lord, there began a desire for independence. Rather than trusting the Lord for wise leadership, we want to taste forbidden fruit. Instead of trusting Him to meet our needs, we want to venture out on our own. Instead of expressing in prayer our dependency upon Him, we forge ahead in our own strength. But “whatsoever is not of faith is sin,” and a huge portion of everything we do is done without a moment’s thought about God. Without argument, we are sinners and in need of forgiveness before God.
Sin displays itself in human self-will rather than submission to the Lord. the champion of sin, excluding Satan, of course, will eventually have to be the Anti-Christ. Somehow the church in Thessalonica got confused about the Anti-Christ and about the return of the genuine Christ. For example, they believed that their Christian friends who had already passed away would somehow miss the blessings of the return of the Lord. And then they were confused about when and how the Anti-Christ would come. So Paul did some teaching in II Thessalonians; where he said, “Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, that ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.” Notice that the Anti-Christ is here called “the man of sin.” There have been people throughout history, who have been so wicked, so aggressively sinful in some areas that their names have become synonymous with a particular sin. When the names of Jezebel and Judas are mentioned, people quickly visualize their transgressions. When the name of Adolph Hitler mentioned he is immediately associated with specific sins. Madalyn Murray O’hair is a name synonymous with atheism. There are lots of names like these.
There will be a man, probably in the near future, who will be so clearly opposed to Christ that he is prophetically called “the Anti-Christ.” He will pretend to be the resurrected or perhaps the reincarnated Christ. He will attempt to take the very place of God in the worship of the Lord. But there will be a host of other sins in him as well, to the point he will be called “The man of sin.” And Paul says that as he comes he “exalteth himself above all that is called God.” This is another aspect of the nature of sin: self over submission to the Lord. Christians commit this sin – as did Peter at the fire in the High Priest’s court-yard. Cain displayed this aspect of sin, when he refused to bring the proper offering to the Lord’s altar. The Bible is filled with examples of how sin is seen in self.
The sinful man magnifies his own righteousness over humility before the righteous God. The Book of Romans contains the most clearly explained analysis of sin that we find in the Bible. Sin is exposed and condemned in all sixty-six books of the Bible, but the Book of Romans gives us a thorough study, condemnation and remedy for sin. Please turn to Romans 10 verse 1: “Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved. For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth. For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law, That the man which doeth those things shall live by them. But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above:) Or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.) But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” The battle between God and sinners is really a matter of God’s righteousness and an imitation human shadow of righteousness. And generally speaking, the more religious people are, the more they tend to think of themselves as good, right and righteous. The Jews, as illustrations of us all, were “ignorant of God’s righteousness,” and so they went “about to establish their own righteousness,” refusing to “submit themselves unto the righteousness of God.”
Before we can reach the Celestial City, it is required by God that we pass through the city of sin. We may think otherwise, but we have to recognize that God says it’s the ugliest place under Heaven. We must be brought by the Holy Spirit to agree with God that it is unworthy of fellowship with the Lord. As sinners, we must repent before God, agreeing with the Lord about our true nature – it is sinful. We are commanded to hate and abhor sin, to the point of desiring never to come to that place again. Christ came to earth and died, in order to take away our sins, and we have to agree with Him about that. “Except ye repent (of your sin before God), ye shall all likewise perish.”
The only alternative to repentance of sin, is to die in a fiery wreck before we reach the river. Have you repented of your sins? Have you sacrificed your self-satisfaction and self-righteousness to trust the Lord Jesus to be your Lord and Saviour?