A Thief Named Sin

Text: Psalm 38

 

I.         Somewhere between 1 in 8 and 1 in 7 people will experience a robbery, either of their property or their person (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2008)

            A.        Loss of property is a violation of the person

                        1.         You lose more than just valuables

                        2.         You lose your feeling of safety

                        3.         You lose your trust

            B.        Consider that sin is also a thief and it takes away more than your salvation

II.        What sin steals

            A.        Sin steals a man’s innocence

                        1.         In the beginning, man was innocent. Represented by the lack of clothing - Genesis 2:25

                                    a.         But when they sinned, they could no longer look at the world in the same way - Genesis 3:7

                                    b.         Their own sense of guilt drove them to hide from God - Genesis 3:8

                        2.         It ruins your view of yourself - Psalms 38:3-8

                        3.         It won’t leave you alone - Psalms 51:3-4

                        4.         It becomes an indelible stain on your soul - Jeremiah 2:22

                        5.         Our purity, our childhood, lasts until sin steals it away.

                        6.         Even forgiven, we cannot look at ourselves with eyes of innocence - I Timothy 1:12-15

            B.        Sin steals a man’s confidence

                        1.         Where once we stood confident in battle against Satan, we are forced to see just how poor a soldier we truly are.

                        2.         We become trapped by sin - II Timothy 2:26

                        3.         We sold ourselves into slavery - Romans 7:14, 24

                        4.         We no longer know where we stand before God - Job 9:20-21

            C.        Sin steals a man’s comfort

                        1.         When sin enters a man’s life, life becomes hard - Proverbs 13:15

                        2.         Sin becomes sin’s punishment - Jeremiah 2:19

                        3.         There is no peace - Isaiah 48:22

                        4.         In describing the wicked - Romans 3:13-18

                        5.         The sad thing is that it doesn’t seem that way at first. Sin gives the sinner false comfort which is then pulled out from under him like a rug - Ps 73:1-20

            D.        Sin steals a man’s influence

                        1.         The person people went to for advice is no longer trusted - Romans 2:21-23

                        2.         How do you regain it? - Matthew 5:13

III.       What should we do when sin strikes?

            A.        Get rid of our sins

                        1.         A change in life - II Corinthians 7:9-11

                        2.         So often we give ourselves an excuse

                                    a.         It just happened

                                    b.         I wasn’t intending it

                                    c.         I wasn’t purposely searching it out

                        3.         In each the person is seeking the innocence he lost

                        4.         Sin is a choice. Let’s face the fact that we made bad choices, on our own, willingly, without anyone holding a gun to our heads. Then we can see that we can choose not to sin.

            B.        Get rid of our guilt

                        1.         It is amazing how many people can’t really accept that they are forgiven.

                        2.         They see the depth of their depravity and are convinced that surely God would never overlook their particular sin.

                        3.         God is greater - I John 3:20-21

                        4.         Remember Paul? He knew where he came from, but he knew it was forgiven. - I Corinthians 4:4

            C.        Find peace in righteous thoughts and righteous living - Philippians 4:7-9

                        1.         God is able to give you peace - I Thessalonians 5:23-24