Understading Sin

By far my longest post yet. Below is my personal study of Sin. I wrote this partially to document what Jesus has done in my life, but mainly I wrote this a personal tool I can use to show others exactly what sin is and how they can also be saved by God's Grace.

The materials I used for reference were of course the Bible, but also biblical study guides from "The Harvestime International Network", "The Way of the Master" by Ray Comfort, and guidance from my Pastors. I pray you may gain clarity and God's Grace in your own understanding of God's ways.

UNDERSTANDING SIN

We’re going to discuss sin, and talk about our human standard Vs. God’s standard. We’ll be using Bible verses and an evangelistic method of exposing someone to God’s Law. By the end of our talk we should all have a clear understanding why we are all sinners and why our salvation through God’s grace is necessary.

OUR MORAL STANDARD VS. GOD’S STANDARD

Our human standards are actually pretty low, in fact extremely low compared to the standard that God is holding us to.

They’re are a bunch of studies and polls that have been done to try and determine what percentage of born-again adults believe in the existence of absolute moral truth. The numbers vary, but up to 50% don’t think God has moral absolutes, which perhaps explains why so many of us live our day to day lives as though there is no moral accountability at all.

ARE YOU A GOOD PERSON? WILL YOU GO TO HEAVEN?

I recently read the following statement by John Barber that does a perfect job in summarizing the consequence of sin;

“One cannot fully understand what one is saved to, unless one also understands what one is saved from. We are saved from the consequences of our sins, which is hell.”

At the time we commit a sin, sin seems to travel horizontal. In other words, when I told Bob a lie today the sin was something between Bob and I. What we rarely consider is that the committed sin is also traveling vertically, from us to God and Heaven because we have broken God’s laws.

Joseph talked about being sexually tempted by Potiphar’s wife.

Genesis 39:9 “How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?”

In Luke 15:21 The prodigal son said to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.”

Let’s explore some of God’s law together, because the more we understand about the law, the clearer it becomes that we aren’t obeying it.

(Pose the following questions to illustrate.)

“Do you consider yourself a good person?”
Most will answer “Yes, I’m a good person.”

“Do you believe you’ll go to Heaven when you die?”
Again, almost everyone will answer “Yes.”

The truth is almost everyone you ask believes they are basically a good person and will be going to heaven. The next logical question would be, “Is this Possible?”

Matthew 7:14 “But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”

Matthew 7:21-23 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord’, shall enter the kingdom of heaven… Many will say to Me in the day, ‘Lord Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’”

We are all born in sin and break God's Commandments repeatedly throughout our lives. Using God's standard, we are all found guilty and not to be good people.

Luke 18:19 “Why do you call me good?” Jesus asked him. “No one is good, except God alone.

After all, what do you call someone on earth who constantly breaks the law and does whatever they want, contrary to our laws? What happens to those people when they are brought before a judge? Does the judge care that they proclaim to be a"good" person? Will the judge go easy on them because they seem nice? Why do you suppose it will be any different in God’s final judgment?

Let’s remember the world is plagued with; murder, war, violence, rape, abuse, drug use, crime, fornication and abortion, just to name a few.

So if a world filled with good people behaves this way, do you believe for one minute that any of these things will be acceptable in Heaven? Of Course Not, God is Holy and cannot be around sin, and the behavior in Heaven is most certainly NOT like that on earth.

Romans 7:7: “What shall we say, then? Is the law sinful? Certainly not! Nevertheless, I would not have known what sin was had it not been for the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.”

USING THE LAW TO REFLECT OUR TRUE SELVES
Let’s continue exploring… by the way, I am personally guilty of everything I’m about to ask you, so know that I am not passing judgment on anyone.

(Pose the follow questions to illustrate more truth, and ask that everyone be truthful with themselves, when considering your answers.)

1. “How many lies do you think you’ve told in your life time?”

2.“Have you ever stolen anything, regardless of its value?”

3. Jesus says in Matthew 5:27-28:“You heard that it was said by them of old, Thou shalt not commit adultery: But I say unto you, That whosoever look on a woman to lust after her has committed adultery with her already in his heart."

“Have you ever looked at another person with lust?”

4. “Have you ever used God’s name in vain?”

Exodus 20:7: “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.”

So by admission, you might now see yourself as I frequently see myself; as a liar, thief, adulterer at heart, and blasphemer. And we’ve only covered four of the Ten Commandments.

David talks about a wicked man in psalm 10:11
He says to himself, “God will never notice; he covers his face and never sees.”

Like the wicked man we go about our life breaking law after law and mostly not even considering that God is seeing it all and we will have to answer for it one day.

So if God judges us by His standards on Judgment Day, are we found guilty or innocent? Do we go to Heaven or hell?

The Ten Commandments are here to show us that ALL OF US ARE SINNERS
and none of us are worthy of Heaven. Going to Church will not get you into Heaven. Being a good person does not get you into Heaven. Good works will not get you into Heaven.

WHAT HAS GOD DONE TO ALLOW OUR SALVATION

John 14:6: “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

This is one of the most important quotes in the Bible, one that other religions overlook.

Christ died on the cross and paid the price for our sin, so we could have the possibility of making it to Heaven. Only because of the sacrifice Jesus made, God can legally dismiss the case against us and He will commute our death sentence.
However action is necessary on our part.

1. Admit our sins, and ask for forgiveness.
2. Repent. Turn away from our sinning and begin to follow Jesus.
3. Accept and Trust in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior.
4. Believe he was God in the flesh, died on the cross for your sins, and was resurrected on the third day, giving us all the gaunantee of eternal life in Heaven.

BEING BORN AGAIN / BECOMING A CHRISTIAN

If you have done those things and believe it in your heart and soul, you’ve been born again in Christ. You are a Christian.

I’ve asked myself several times, how do I truly know I’m born again.
So I’d like to share with you how I personally know.

Through the first 40 years of my life, I was just living my worldly life like everyone else around me. If you asked me if I was a good person and would I be going to Heaven, I would have answered Yes! However I continued to sin, do the same things I had always done, and did not really understand what being a Christian really meant.

I was essentially asleep at the wheel because I thought being baptized as a baby, going to church for a few years in my youth, and knowing about Jesus made you a Christian.

Fast-forward to the day God showed me the truth and it all became crystal clear to me. I prayed and admitted my sins, asked for forgiveness, repented and accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior, and most importantly truly meant every single word of it. A short time later, a lot of "firsts" began to happen in my life.

The changes in my life I’m about to go over did not bring me salvation, for me they are a byproduct of being saved. They show my personal growth as a Christian and signify the next phase of discipleship possible because of my salvation through Jesus Christ.

1. I started attending a bible-based church as an adult, by choice.

2. I’m now singing during church worship (something I always resisted in the past).

3. I was recently baptized as an adult.

4. Enrolled myself in a college level bible study program, because I’m hungry to delve into the “meat” of God’s word.

5. Started talking about the gospel to others.

6. Led my first prayer in public.

7. Began tithing. Started a plan to become a good steward of God's money and I’m actively helping others to do the same.

8. I now make the time to be available to others in need whenever possible.

9. I gave up pornography, changed the kinds of movies, TV and music I consume.
10. I quit my job of 26 years and I’m currently seeking meaningful “life work” and my old friends have come and gone.

11. The anger I hung on to over certain friends have family members has finally vanished from my life.

12. Finally, I'm working on eradicating some lingering foul language and using the Lord's name in vain (still a work in progress).

All of these things came as a byproduct of being Born Again.

Because when you are truly saved and then seek to be a disciple of Christ, the Holy Spirit will reside in you and you will begin to evolve spontaneously as a result of obedience to God’s word (follow Jesus’ instruction for how to live.) You will also take notice of "firsts" happening in your personal life. You will turn from your worldly ways perhaps for the first time in your life.

All those things started happening to me, not because I sought each of them out, but because when you become a Christian, you will be living in this world, but no longer of this world.

FRUITS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

The fruit of the Holy Spirit refers to the nature of the Holy Spirit being evident in the life of a believer.

The Nine Fruits of the Holy Spirit:
Which a true believer should see manifesting in their lives, and you should witness these traits in them.

• Love
• Joy

• Peace

• Longsuffering or Patience
• Kindness
• Goodness
• Faithfulness

• Meekness
• Self-Control

JESUS IS THE FOUNDATION LAID BY GOD

The three steps for building a proper spiritual foundation can be found in:
Luke 6:47 “As for everyone who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice, I will show you what they are like.”

- Whosoever comes to me
- Hears my sayings
- And does them.

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS (Exodus 20:1-17)

1. You shall have no other gods before me.

2. You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.

3. You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.

4. Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

5. Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.

6. You shall not murder.

7. You shall not commit adultery.

8. You shall not steal.

9.  You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.

10. You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.

Are you Truly Saved and Born Again?

   For people that get saved and born again, there may come a time(s) when you question yourself as to whether you were genuinely saved or not. I know this question popped into my mind several times this year.

   So how does one know if you are in fact saved? Is there some kind of proof that you've received God's Saving Grace? Well I can tell you how I have come to know.

   For starters, before I was saved, if you would have asked me what my religion was, I would have answered Christian. Yet I had not at that time admitted my sins to God, asked for forgiveness, repented, and understood just exactly what Christ did for me by dying on the cross. I had never actually read the bible (just could not get through it and never considered it's real importance) and it certainly didn't dictate how I lived my life. Yeah, growing up I was told it was the word of God, but it was never impressed on me that I needed to live my life by those words.

   So, I was just living my worldly life like everyone else around me. If you asked me if I was a good person and would I be going to Heaven, I would have answered, Yes! However I continued to sin, do the same things I had always done, and did not really understand what being a Christian really meant.

   Now fast forward to after I admitted my sins, asked for forgiveness, repented and excepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior, and most importantly truly meant every word of it. A lot of "firsts" began to happen in my life. I started attending a bible based church as an adult, by choice; singing in church worship (something I always resisted in the past); baptized as an adult; enrolled in a college level bible study program; started explaining the gospel to others; led my first prayer in public; began tithing; started actively becoming a good steward of God's money and actively helping others to do so; I make the time to be available to others in need; gave up all forms of pornography; changed the movies, TV and music I consume; my friends have changed; and I'm working on eradicating foul language and using the Lord's name in vain (still in progress).

   All of these things came as a byproduct of being Born Again. When you are truly saved, the Holy Spirit will reside in you and you will begin to evolve spontaneously. You will also take notice of "firsts" happening in your personal life. You will turn from your worldly ways perhaps for the first time in your life.

   All those things started happening to me, not because I sought each of them out, but because when you become a Born Again Christian, you will be living in this world, but not of this world.

   That's how I came to know that I am truly Saved and Born Again :)