How strong is your sin nature?
By sin nature - I’m referring to your tendency to sin
How strong - how powerful - how active & effective is your nature to sin?
Maybe we should back up a bit & ask - What nature of sin? What is sin?
You could say, sin is breaking the moral laws of God
-it’s rebellion against or disobedience towards God
1 John 3:4
Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness.
Another way to think about sin, is it’s offending or harming someone else
-either God - or other people
-& I don’t think anyone will have trouble understanding,
-that we have a tendency to sin
-our natural tendency is to sin!
How strong is your sin nature - your natural tendency to sin?
How can we measure such a thing?
-take an engine - you might measure it’s strength in horsepower
-take a muscle - you might measure it’s strength in pounds it can lift
-I think we might be able to measure the strength of the sin nature
-by what it can do to cause us to sin
Think about a horrible sin - like having an extra-marital affair
How many of you know someone who has violated his/her marriage vows
-& had an affair with someone while he/she was married?
How many of you heard of pastors from churches who’ve had an affair
-with another woman?
-or, high ranking politicians?
-take that example - & think for a moment how powerful the sin nature can be
-for certain, the sin nature is actively involved in such awful affairs
-but think of what’s involved - & how the sin nature is able to overcome
& contradict considerable sound logic
-take a man - take a pastor
(& sadly, there are way too many examples of this)
-let’s say he’s married - & has children - & he has a church ministry
What’s he got to lose & what’s he got to gain in having an affair?
-he’s got everything to lose
-his marriage, his children, his job, his ministry, his reputation
-& he stands to do irreparable harm
-to those he has influenced for the Lord
-he’s got everything to lose - but very little to gain with some affair
-just a moment or evening of perceived pleasure
-which isn’t really pleasure at all
-the only thing is, it pleases the sin nature
Just think - the sin nature has got to be pretty strong to do that
-to convince a man or a woman to have, for example,
-an extra-marital affair
-even against all logic
-so much to lose & so little to gain
-& you know how often people lose out to the sin nature in this example!
-& that’s just one example of what the sin nature will tempt you to do
-my point is, the sin nature is strong within us
-it’s like it’s insatiable & always hungry - it’s powerful!
& we need to be careful of it
-we need to watch out for how it tempts us
-because it can easily fool us into following it’s desires
Galatians 5:16-17
So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. 17 For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want.
There is a genuine war going on within our souls between the sin nature
-& the Spirit
-a literal tug of war
-the Spirit pulling us in the direction of God’s will for our lives
-& the sin nature pulling us in the direction away from God’s will
What happens when the sin nature wins?
Which may be the case more than we’d like to realize
Of course there are often devastating consequences
-as in our example today from the Book of Ezra
-but with all sin, there’s the most important need to be reconciled to God
-sadly, sin causes us to fall away from God
-God by necessity, judges us of our sin
-that’s why there’s ultimately the Lake of Fire or Hell
-but that’s also why Jesus died for us - to pay the penalty for us
-when we trust in Jesus to be our Savior - we’re reconciled to God
-we have a new life - now as God’s forgiven children
2 Corinthians 5:17-21
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20 We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. 21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
But even after we trust in Jesus & have our sin forgiven
-we still struggle with this war where our sin nature seeks to win over us
-& the sin nature has its share of victories
-so, we have the need to be continually reconciled to God
-we still have our standing as God’s children & a place in heaven
-but our sin has caused us to fall away from God
-& we need to be restored
-let’s look at that process as it happened in the day of Ezra
We’ve been studying the book of Ezra & now come to the last chapter
This isn’t a good way to end a book! This is an unhappy ending
-maybe it goes to show us - that the Bible wasn’t just written by people
-time & again, it’s not what we’d like to write if we were making it up
-but, it’s what really happened & God has lessons for us
Ezra is about building - building the temple & re-building the nation
-Israel - the people of God
-& we’ve been learning so much about the building of our lives
-building of our lives to be like Christ
-building of our lives to be what God wants us to be, as the church
-however, in the building process, sometimes there are set backs
-a month ago, Ken Challis was building our shed for Whitecap Kayak
-but it was windy - & so, he didn’t want to put up the trusses
-so, it set him back a few days - waiting for the wind to die down
-but it would have been a much bigger set-back to put them up,
& half way up - have them all blow down!
-I remember when I was little boy, & they were rebuilding my father’s barn
-after it burned down
-they had the big round “rafters” all up & it got real windy
-& blew them all over - like dominoes
-that was a set-back
Well, in the building up of our lives
-sin is a real set-back to the building progress
How are you going to get it back on task?
How are you going to start building again, rather than just sitting dormant
-or even broken down?
We need to humbly confess our sin & repent
So, let’s look at what happened to Ezra
You might remember, soon after he got to Jerusalem
-he was told of a great sin by the people - & even the leaders of the people
-they were supposed to be God’s special unique people - followers of God
-they were supposed to be different from people who didn’t follow God
-so, God had commanded them to be very careful not to mix with people
-who weren’t following God
-certainly, they weren’t supposed to marry non-believers
-as they’d be influenced to believe & follow other false gods
-but, this is exactly what happened
-even their spiritual leaders had married women of the surrounding nations
-& they had fallen away from God
Ezra 9:1-2
After these things had been done, the leaders came to me and said, "The people of Israel, including the priests and the Levites, have not kept themselves separate from the neighboring peoples with their detestable practices, like those of the Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Jebusites, Ammonites, Moabites, Egyptians and Amorites. 2 They have taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and their sons, and have mingled the holy race with the peoples around them. And the leaders and officials have led the way in this unfaithfulness."
These people should have known better
-these people knew this would have been against God’s will
-& displeasing to God - it was sin
Look at Ezra’s response:
Ezra 9:3-9
When I heard this, I tore my tunic and cloak, pulled hair from my head and beard and sat down appalled. 4 Then everyone who trembled at the words of the God of Israel gathered around me because of this unfaithfulness of the exiles. And I sat there appalled until the evening sacrifice.
5 Then, at the evening sacrifice, I rose from my self-abasement, with my tunic and cloak torn, and fell on my knees with my hands spread out to the Lord my God 6 and prayed:
"O my God, I am too ashamed and disgraced to lift up my face to you, my God, because our sins are higher than our heads and our guilt has reached to the heavens. 7 From the days of our forefathers until now, our guilt has been great. Because of our sins, we and our kings and our priests have been subjected to the sword and captivity, to pillage and humiliation at the hand of foreign kings, as it is today. 8 "But now, for a brief moment, the Lord our God has been gracious in leaving us a remnant and giving us a firm place in his sanctuary, and so our God gives light to our eyes and a little relief in our bondage. 9 Though we are slaves, our God has not deserted us in our bondage. He has shown us kindness in the sight of the kings of Persia: He has granted us new life to rebuild the house of our God and repair its ruins, and he has given us a wall of protection in Judah and Jerusalem.
God had really blessed these people in bringing them back to Jerusalem
-their lives were being joyously rebuilt
-God had been so good to them!
vv.10-15
"But now, O our God, what can we say after this? For we have disregarded the commands 11 you gave through your servants the prophets when you said: 'The land you are entering to possess is a land polluted by the corruption of its peoples. By their detestable practices they have filled it with their impurity from one end to the other. 12 Therefore, do not give your daughters in marriage to their sons or take their daughters for your sons. Do not seek a treaty of friendship with them at any time, that you may be strong and eat the good things of the land and leave it to your children as an everlasting inheritance.' 13 "What has happened to us is a result of our evil deeds and our great guilt, and yet, our God, you have punished us less than our sins have deserved and have given us a remnant like this. 14 Shall we again break your commands and intermarry with the peoples who commit such detestable practices? Would you not be angry enough with us to destroy us, leaving us no remnant or survivor? 15 O Lord, God of Israel, you are righteous! We are left this day as a remnant. Here we are before you in our guilt, though because of it not one of us can stand in your presence."
Ezra teaches us - Sin should totally upset us!
Sin in our lives, & in the lives of our brothers & sisters, should really bother us
We should be terribly grieved by sin - understanding how much it hurts God
-we too, should hurt by it
-& we should readily admit it & confess it before God
-looking at Ezra’s response, here are a few things we learn
-about the kind of response we too should have with sin:
1. Realize it’s significance & how evil it is
2. Be upset with sin
3. Confess it to God - & to others where appropriate
4. Appreciate its consequences
5. Appreciate God’s blessings
6. Appreciate God’s forgiveness & grace - past, present & future
7. Don’t presume - understand God doesn’t have to forgive you
8. Repent - Take steps to turn away from sin
Ezra 10:1-4
While Ezra was praying and confessing, weeping and throwing himself down before the house of God, a large crowd of Israelites — men, women and children — gathered around him. They too wept bitterly. 2 Then Shecaniah son of Jehiel, one of the descendants of Elam, said to Ezra, "We have been unfaithful to our God by marrying foreign women from the peoples around us. But in spite of this, there is still hope for Israel. 3 Now let us make a covenant before our God to send away all these women and their children, in accordance with the counsel of my lord and of those who fear the commands of our God. Let it be done according to the Law. 4 Rise up; this matter is in your hands. We will support you, so take courage and do it."
Most of the time, this is not easy
-it takes real change in our lives - which doesn’t come easy
-& I can hear the excuses we give for why we can’t
“Oh, but I can’t stop _____________ because of __________________!”
You’ve heard the excuses & you’ve used the excuses
What are some things in your life that you need to come to grips with?
WE NEED TO GET SERIOUS!
-we need to make it happen with God’s help & strength
Ezra 10:5-12
So Ezra rose up and put the leading priests and Levites and all Israel under oath to do what had been suggested. And they took the oath. 6 Then Ezra withdrew from before the house of God and went to the room of Jehohanan son of Eliashib. While he was there, he ate no food and drank no water, because he continued to mourn over the unfaithfulness of the exiles.
7 A proclamation was then issued throughout Judah and Jerusalem for all the exiles to assemble in Jerusalem. 8 Anyone who failed to appear within three days would forfeit all his property, in accordance with the decision of the officials and elders, and would himself be expelled from the assembly of the exiles.
9 Within the three days, all the men of Judah and Benjamin had gathered in Jerusalem. And on the twentieth day of the ninth month, all the people were sitting in the square before the house of God, greatly distressed by the occasion and because of the rain. 10 Then Ezra the priest stood up and said to them, "You have been unfaithful; you have married foreign women, adding to Israel's guilt. 11 Now make confession to the Lord, the God of your fathers, and do his will. Separate yourselves from the peoples around you and from your foreign wives."
12 The whole assembly responded with a loud voice: "You are right! We must do as you say.
It takes some serious dedication to make these changes
-& as we considered from the outset - the sin nature is strong
-the sin nature doesn’t give up easily
-but repentance - which means turning away from sin - needs to be done
vv.16-17
So the exiles did as was proposed. Ezra the priest selected men who were family heads, one from each family division, and all of them designated by name. On the first day of the tenth month they sat down to investigate the cases, 17 and by the first day of the first month they finished dealing with all the men who had married foreign women.
Realize, this particular situation needed to be handled differently then
-compared to how we’d handle the same situation today
-but the principles remain
-to build your life - to build the church
-we need to take sin very seriously
-the sin nature is strong & very easily causes us to do things
-terribly offensive to God & to one another
Sin can cause a complete breakdown in our building process
-our lives can become a literal heap of junk due to sin
-but praise the Lord - He wants to get us building again
-God is gracious & forgives - way more than we deserve
-He wants to work with us & help us
-it’s never too late!
-but there is a painful process of confession & repentance
-that we need to go through - & it’s worth it!
Hebrews 4:12-16
For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. 13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are — yet was without sin. 16 Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
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