Sin in Action
by Jeffrey W. Hamilton
I. I’ve been telling my wife that clearly I need to lose some weight.
A. Teasingly I’ve pointed out that the concerns of the last few weeks have some benefit, I’ve lost my appetite and dropped a few pounds.
B. Perhaps I can keep that going. I’ve heard:
1. If you eat something and no one sees it, it has no calories!
2. If you drink a diet soda and a candy bar, the diet soda cancels out the calories in the candy bar!
3. Pieces of cookies don’t have any calories. Breaking up the cookie causes the calories to leak out, so eating a piece of a cookie doesn’t matter ... no matter how many pieces you eat.
4. Foods that have the same color have roughly the same number of calories, such as spinach and pistachio ice cream!
II. Clearly none of those things are true.
A. No one would try to lose weight doing those things.
B. If you believe those things, you would clearly be deceiving yourself.
C. But isn’t that what people do with sin?
III. Deception
A. An act isn’t sinful if no one else knows about it.
B. It can’t be a sin if everyone else is doing it.
C. You can’t be guilty if there are other people who are doing worse things.
D. It can’t be a sin if you like it. Sin only involves nasty things.
E. It can’t be a sin if you only do a little bit or for only a little while.
F. Watch out for the deceitfulness of sin - Hebrews 3:13
IV. Sin deceives its victims
A. It will take you farther than you want to go
1. It always starts with just one “small” thing. The first drink, the first high, the first make out
2. Pride comes in.
a. I know its wrong. I can overcome this. I can do this without help
b. And we do manage, for a bit, but its there waiting.
3. Sin doesn’t stay isolated.
a. We lie to ourselves – I can handle this
b. We lie to others – I’m not going that far
c. We blame others – because if they see something wrong, then it must be their fault.
d. But we do go far, and then well, while I’m here I guess it doesn’t matter if I also do something else as well.
B. It keeps you longer than you want to stay
1. “I’m only doing it once in a while.”
2. “One more time won’t hurt.”
3. Hebrews 12:1
C. It costs you more than you want to pay
1. Sins have consequences. While we are caught up in sin, we don’t see where we are being lead or what will result from our actions.
a. Does the addict think about killing someone while driving under the influence?
b. Does the gambler think about being able to pay his bills?
c. Do people think about the physical pain, mental suffering, ruined marriages, neglected children, broken homes due to their sins?
2. Does the sinner think about living with himself, knowing what he once was and seeing the disgusting stain in his life?
V. Augustine once said, “the punishment for sin is sin.”
A. In many ways, he is right. The results of sin eventually corrode the soul and destroys a man’s life.
B. In numerous ways, life is altered, shattered, degraded - I Peter 2:19-20
C. Freedom in Christ - John 8:36. Will you be free from sin indeed?
