https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/MisconceptionsAboutSin.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n\tby Jeffrey W. Hamilton<\/p>\n\t
Text: Romans 6:1-23<\/p>\n
<\/p>\nI. A young man was trying to formulate arguments why he thought “once saved, always\nsaved” was a biblical truth\n A. “Once a person is saved, however, and God writes his name in the book of life\nand gives him the Spirit, he won’t erase their name from the book of life.”\n B. “In the animal sacrifices, which God commands of Israel, the man was to place his\nhand on the lamb’s head, signifying that his sin was being passed to the lamb, then\nthe lamb would be killed in place of the man. If one can lose their salvation, the\nimage might be reversed to be a man kneeling with his head bowed and a lamb\nwith his paw on the man’s head passing the sin back to the man. John the Baptist\nmakes the connection of Christ with this image when he says, “Behold the Lamb\nof God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). Notice that John\nsays nothing about him giving the sin back to the world, once he takes it away, he\ndoes not return it.”\n C. As I considered how to respond, I realized that there are misconceptions about\nwhat sin is.\n
II. Seeing sin as an object that can be passed<\/p>\n
A. Let’s look at the animal sacrifices – Leviticus 1:2-4<\/p>\n
1. There is no mention of sins being passed to the animal<\/p>\n
2. It doesn’t say that the animal carries the person’s sins away<\/p>\n
3. Only that the animal dies on behalf of the person to atone for his sins.<\/p>\n
a. Atonement is being reconciled with God<\/p>\n
b. It satisfies the requirement that sin requires a death<\/p>\n
4. But animals sacrifices cannot remove sin – Hebrews 10:4<\/p>\n
B. Sins cannot be passed – Ezekiel 18:20<\/p>\n
C. Sin is a state of being<\/p>\n
1. Sin is the state you are in when you break the law – I John 3:4<\/p>\n
2. Sin cannot exist without a law to be broken – Romans 4:15<\/p>\n D. A person can be restored to a right relationship with God by the forgiveness of his\nsins through the blood of Jesus – I John 1:6-7\n
E. Jesus came to take away the sin of the world – John 1:29<\/p>\n
1. Notice this is about the world and not an individual<\/p>\n
2. Notice that John said “sin” and not “sins”<\/p>\n
3. It is an allusion back to the Day of Atonement – Leviticus 16:15-16<\/p>\n
a. The sacrifice of the goat was to atone for Israel’s sins<\/p>\n
b. Jesus’ death was not for just Israel, it was for the entire world<\/p>\n 4. By using the singular “sin,” John is emphasizing that this one death would\ndeal with the entire problem of sin\n
III. Seeing the removal of sin as a permanent, one time event<\/p>\n A. Atoning for sin doesn’t prevent a person from breaking the law again and\nreturning to the state of sin.\n
1. That is why sin is compared to slavery – Romans 6:17-18<\/p>\n 2. A person set free from slavery ought not to return to slavery, but it is\npossible\n
3. Stay free – Galatians 4:9; 5:1<\/p>\n
B. The Book of Life<\/p>\n 1. When Israel sinned while Moses was on Mount Sinai, Moses was so upset\nthat he broke that tablets containing the Ten Commandments. \n a. However, he approached God to ask Him to forgive Israel, and if\nGod would not, Moses asked that he not be saved either – Exodus\n32:31-32\n
b. God refused – Exodus 32:33<\/p>\n
(1) God did not say no one can be removed<\/p>\n
(2) God said only sinners are removed<\/p>\n
2. The Christians at Sardis – Revelation 3:1-5<\/p>\n
a. Their deeds were not complete<\/p>\n
b. If they overcame this problem, Jesus would not erase their names<\/p>\n
c. But that means those who did not overcome would be erased.<\/p>\n
IV. Seeing sin as co-existing with good<\/p>\n
A. Some go so far as seeing sin (and Satan) as a god that co-exists with God<\/p>\n
1. I believe it is the influence of eastern religions<\/p>\n 2. “God and the Devil can be compared with good and evil. Good cannot\nexist without evil, so God cannot exist without the devil, if so, God would\nbe pointless, at least in Christian religion. So, in a way, they are\ninterdependent.” [found in a discussion on the Internet]\n
B. Remember that sin cannot exist without law because sin is the breaking of law<\/p>\n
1. Sin doesn’t exist on its own, it is the way we describe good being broken<\/p>\n
2. Only God is eternal and God is good – I Timothy 1:17; Luke 18:19<\/p>\n
a. Therefore, good has always existed, but not so with sin<\/p>\n
b. God doesn’t need sin to exist<\/p>\nV. “The least misinformation or misconception leads to some wrong conclusion, and an\nerror believed becomes the progenitor of others.” [Thomas Payne]\n
A. Deeply rooted misconceptions can prevent a person from seeing the truth.<\/p>\n 1. If I drop a leaf and a rock, you know the rock will hit the ground first. But\nif you conclude that it is because the rock is heavier, you would be wrong\nand miss the fact that it is about the resistence of the air.\n 2. Once we think we know the answer, we stop looking for alternatives or\nbetter solutions\n B. How false doctrines becomes so deeply rooted in religion is sometimes caused by\na misconception that ends up coloring everything a person reads\n
C. Be like the Bereans and check – Acts 17:10-11<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Romans 6:1-23 I. A young man was trying to formulate arguments why he thought “once saved, always saved” was a biblical truth A. “Once a person is saved, however, and God writes his name in the book of life and gives him the Spirit, he won’t erase their name from the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[119,32],"tags":[58,179],"class_list":["post-52431","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-audio","category-sermon","tag-once-saved-always-saved","tag-sin"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":16381,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/once-you-are-saved-can-you-live-a-sin-free-life\/","url_meta":{"origin":52431,"position":0},"title":"Once you are saved, can you live a sin-free life?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 15, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Do you believe that once you're truly saved that you can live a \"sin-free\" life? Answer: John stated, \"If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":52423,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/jesus-is-not-going-to-give-our-sins-back-to-us-once-they-are-taken-away\/","url_meta":{"origin":52431,"position":1},"title":"Jesus is not going to give our sins back to us once they are taken away","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 25, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Good works are not part of the Gospel (Ephesians 2:8-9), they're not requirements for salvation, rather they're the fruits of salvation. Paul calls the Philippians to work out their salvation in Philippians 2:12. However, this is not a call to do works in order to be saved, rather it\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":46572,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/salvation-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":52431,"position":2},"title":"Salvation","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 29, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Text: Romans 2:1-11 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A classic comic skit is to have two people engaged in a conversation. He thinks he is talking about one topic. She thinks the conversation is about an entirely different matter. Yet, the statements said make perfectly good sense to both parties. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0I realized I was\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":86348,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/can-names-be-removed-from-the-book-of-life\/","url_meta":{"origin":52431,"position":3},"title":"Can names be removed from the Book of Life?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 4, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hi! Google directed me to your website, and I noticed an error. In \"What are the books opened in Revelation 20:12?\" you said, \"Names written in the book of life can be removed (Revelation 3:5).\" It\u00a0should say names cannot be removed. Just thought I'd bring it to your attention\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":32089,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/cannot-sin\/","url_meta":{"origin":52431,"position":4},"title":"Cannot Sin","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 15, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"by Weldon Warnock via\u00a0Biblical Insights, September 2000 We are told by some of our religious neighbors that the soul of a child of God cannot sin, but rather only the outward man sins. This erroneous position is taken in order to justify a denominational dogma of \"once saved, always saved.\"\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":62702,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/he-cannot-sin\/","url_meta":{"origin":52431,"position":5},"title":"He Cannot Sin","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 31, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: I John 3:1-10 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0It is amazing the lengths people reach to avoid responsibility for sin \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Often the same groups who teach that people cannot help but sin because they are born sinful also teach that once saved they cannot sin. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0It is a difficult\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52431","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=52431"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52431\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=52431"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=52431"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=52431"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}