A Good Conscience is Priceless

“A Good Conscience is Priceless”

Spiritual Leadership in the Church Series

1 Tim. 1:18-20

THEME: Faithfully fulfill the ministry committed to your charge.

RELEVANCE: discouraging and difficult tasks should not be permitted to force us to abandon the ministry committed to us.  We must be steadfast and faithful to our charge to keep the faith by teaching sound doctrine, proclaiming the Gospel, and defending the Faith.

INTRODUCTION:

Paul gave a third responsibility for the local church to fulfill besides teaching sound doctrine and proclaiming the Gospel.

MESSAGE:

Defend the Faith (1 Tim. 1:18-20)

A.  ON THE BASIS OF DIVINE APPOINTMENT. (1Tim. 1:18)

B.  ON THE BASIS OF FAITH AND GOOD CONSCIENCE. (1Tim. 1:19-20)

Paul changed the illustration from army to navy (1 Tim 1:19). He warned Timothy that the only way to succeed was to hold fast to "faith and a good conscience."

1. Hold Firmly to the Christian Faith. (1Tim. 1:19)

A. The First “faith” Is Subjective And Means Continuing To Believe The Truth.

 

B. The Second Is “faith” Objective, Referring To The Content Of The Christian Gospel.

 

C. But, It Is Not Enough Just To Be Doctrinally Accurate As To The Christian Faith. One might be ever so orthodox, and yet not have a good conscience.

2. Hold on Tight to a Good Conscience. (1 Tim 1:19)

A. It Is Not Enough to Proclaim the Faith With Our Lips; We Must Practice the Faith In Our Daily Lives.

·       One man said of his hypocritical pastor, "He is such a good preacher, he should never get out of the pulpit; but he is such a poor Christian, he should never get into the pulpit!"

·       Hamilton Smith writes:

“Those who are gifted, and much before the public eye, have to beware, lest amid constant engagements, constant preaching, and public work before men, they neglect the secret life of godliness before God. Does not Scripture warn us that it is possible to preach with all the eloquence of men and angels, and yet be nothing? That which bears fruit for God, and will have its bright reward in the day to come, is the life of godliness from which all true service must flow.”  

B. A Good Conscience Is Important to a Good Warfare and a Good Ministry.

·       The magazine editor H. L. Mencken defined conscience as "the inner voice which warns us that somebody may be looking."

·       But a man with a good conscience will do the will of God in spite of who is watching or what people may say.

·       Like Martin Luther, he will say, "Here I stand; I can do no other, so help me God! "

C. One's Faith and One's Morals Cannot Be Separated.

·       To hold tightly to the Christian faith, and live by it, results in a good (peaceful) conscience.

·       Faith and good conscience are like armor for the Christian. They keep us from giving in to temptation and to debilitating spiritual and moral sidetracks.

·       How can you hold on to a good conscience?

1.    Treasure your faith in Christ more than anything else and do what you know is right. Each time you deliberately ignore your conscience, you are hardening your heart. Over a period of time your capacity to tell right from wrong will diminish.

2.    As you walk with God, he will speak to you through your conscience, letting you know the difference between right and wrong.

3.    Be sure to act on those inner tugs so that you do what is right -- then your conscience will remain clear.

4.    “Moral collapse follows upon spiritual collapse.” -- C. S. Lewis

3. Avoid Spiritual Shipwreck.  (1 Tim 1:20)

·       Some have rejected these and so have shipwrecked their faith. Rejecting the faith and refusing to listen to one's conscience will end in destroyed faith. This deliberate action reflects heresy, not just backsliding. 

·       Professed Christians who make “shipwreck" of their faith do so by sinning against their consciences. Bad doctrine usually starts with bad conduct, and usually with secret sin.

A. A Good Conscience Serves as the Rudder That Steers the Believer Through the Rocks And Reefs of Sin and Error.

·       The false teachers ignored their consciences and the truth, and as a result, suffered shipwreck of the Christian faith (the true doctrine of the gospel), which implies severe spiritual catastrophe.

·       This does not imply loss of salvation of a true believer (see Rom. 8:31–39), but likely indicates the tragic loss that comes to the apostate. They had been in the church, heard the gospel and rejected it in favor of the false doctrine defined in vv. 3–7. Apostasy is a turning away from the gospel, having once known it. See notes on Heb. 2:3,4; 3:12–15; 6:1–8; 10:26–31.

B.  Two Examples of Spiritual Shipwreck.

·       Hymenaeus and Alexander. Apparently these two men had been members of the church (because Paul had put them out of the church). We don't know who Alexander was -- he may have been an associate of Hymenaeus, or the coppersmith mentioned in 2 Tim 4:14 who hurt Paul. But he was not the Alexander mentioned in the riot at Ephesus (Acts 19:33). Hymenaeus's error is explained in 2 Tim 2:17-18. He weakened people's faith by teaching that the resurrection had already occurred.

·       Hymenaeus is mentioned in 2 Tim. 2:17 in connection with Philetus, another false teacher. Alexander may be the opponent of the faith referred to in 2 Tim. 4:14,15. Nothing else is known about these two men (see note on v. 3).

·       “Hymenaeus and Alexander deliberately rejected their good consciences in order to defend their ungodly lives. Paul did not tell us exactly what they did, except that their sin involved "blaspheming" in some way. Hymenaeus said that the resurrection was already past (2 Tim 2:16-18). Alexander was a popular name in that day, so we cannot be sure that the man named in Paul's next letter to Timothy (2 Tim 4:14) is the same man; but if he is, no doubt he withstood Paul by teaching false doctrine.”---W. W. Wiersbe

C.  What Does It Mean to Be Delivered Unto Satan?  (1Tim. 1:20)

·       "Delivered unto Satan" (1 Tim 1:20) implies an apostolic discipline (see 1 Cor 5:5) and disassociation from the local church.

·       To be delivered to Satan means that Paul removed these men from the fellowship of the church and back into the world -- Satan's domain.

·       Paul did this so that the rebuked would see their error and repent. The ultimate purpose of this punishment was correction. (See also 1 Cor 5:1-5; 2 Cor 2:5-8; 4:4; 2 Thess 3:14-15.)

·       The verb "learn" (1 Tim 1:20) means "to learn by discipline." When a Christian refuses to repent, the local fellowship should exercise discipline, excluding him from the protective fellowship of the saints, making him vulnerable to the attacks of Satan.

·       The fellowship of the local church, in obedience to the will of God, gives a believer spiritual protection. Satan must ask God for permission to attack a believer (see Job 1-2; Luke 22:31-34).

·       Paul put both men out of the church, thus ending their influence and removing them from the protection and insulation of God’s people. They were no longer in the environment of God’s blessing but under Satan’s control. In some instances, God has turned believers over to Satan for positive purposes, such as revealing the genuineness of saving faith, keeping them humble and dependent on Him, enabling them to strengthen others, or offering God praise (cf. Job. 1:1–22; Matt. 4:1–11; Luke 22:31–33; 2 Cor. 12:1–10; Rev. 7:9–15). God hands some people over to Satan for judgment, such as King Saul (1 Sam. 16:12–16; 28:4–20), Judas (John 13:27), and the sinning member in the Corinthian church (1 Cor. 5:1–5).

·       The churches today are often lax in disciplining Christians who deliberately sin. Deliberate disobedience should be responded to quickly and sternly to prevent the entire congregation from being affected. But discipline must be done in a way that tries to bring the offender back to Christ and into the loving embrace of the church. The definition of discipline includes these words: strengthening, purifying, training, correcting, and perfecting. Condemnation, suspicion, withholding of forgiveness, or permanent exile should not be a part of church discipline.

·       “Some want to live within the sound of church or chapel bell; I want to run a rescue shop within a yard of hell.”  -- C. T. Studd

·       “may learn not to blaspheme.” See v. 13. Paul learned not to blaspheme when confronted by the true understanding of the law and the gospel. That was what those men needed. God, the inspired text seems to indicate, would teach them and show them grace as he had Paul. But that evangelistic work could not go on at the expense of the purity of the church.

D. Each Local Church Is in a Constant Battle Against The Forces of Evil.

·       There are false prophets and false teachers, as well as false ‘Christs’. Satan is the originator of false doctrines, for he is a liar from the beginning (John 8:44). It is not enough for a local church to teach sound doctrine and to proclaim the Gospel. The church must also defend the faith by exposing lies and opposing the doctrines of demons (1 Tim 4:1).

·       It is important that our ministry be balanced. Some churches only preach the Gospel and seldom teach their converts the truths of the Christian life. Other churches are only opposing false doctrine; they have no positive ministry. We must be teachers of healthy doctrine ("sound doctrine," 1 Tim 1:10) or the believers will not grow. We must preach the Gospel and keep winning the lost to Christ. And we must defend the faith against those who would corrupt the church with false doctrine and godless living. It is a constant battle, but it must be carried on.

CONCLUSION:

Timothy must have been greatly helped and encouraged when he read this first section of Paul's letter.  God had called Timothy, equipped him, and put him into his place of ministry. Timothy's job was not to run all over Ephesus, being involved in a multitude of tasks. His job was to care for the church by winning the lost, ministering to the saved, and defending the faith. Any task that did not relate to these ministries would have to be abandoned. One reason some local churches are having problems is that the pastors and spiritual leaders are involved in too many extracurricular activities and are not doing the tasks God has called them to do. It might be a good idea for our churches to take a spiritual inventory!

 

Forgiveness is a Matter of Life and Death

 

Forgiveness Is a Matter of Life and Death!

ROM. 3:19-23; 6:23

SUBJECT: FORGIVENESS/ SALVATION

THEME: God Can Forgive Anyone and Everyone Who Receives His Forgiveness…even those with False Guilt. Forgiveness, a Matter of Eternal Life and Death, helps us Understand Why we Need the Savior.

RELEVANCY: Forgiveness is a matter of life and death, eternal life and death. There isn't anything more important that you can do than to receive God's forgiveness and be reconciled to Him.

INTRODUCTION:

I think that all of us are familiar with several concepts about sin and forgiveness. I want to build on this in this message and take you into a fuller understanding of what the Bible teaches about sin, guilt, and our need for a Savior.

You may be a Christian and therefore believe that you don't need to know anything more about sin and guilt. Well, as a Christian, you should be talking to people who are sinners about their need for forgiveness. This message can give you some insights into what to say about sin and forgiveness, and how to encourage a person to accept Christ as Savior.

MESSAGE:

I.  True Or False Guilt Should be Distinguished.

Many people are walking under a dark cloud, feeling God's displeasure or sensing that they should be feeling God's displeasure. Some have a false sense of guilt. Let's recognize several facts about guilt.

A. GENUINE GUILT.

Romans 3:19, Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.

First, genuine guilt is the way we feel when we have sinned. It is the normal response to sinful behavior. Sin causes guilt.

B. FALSE GUILT.

But not all guilt comes from sin. The guilt we feel is sometimes false guilt. It did not originate is something God said or required.

ILLUSTRATION:  Consider for a moment the young woman who is a victim of incest or rape. She may struggle for years with a sense of guilt because she has been a party to a sin. But she was neither the initiator of nor a willing participant in that sin. She is a victim of someone else’s sin. The guilt she feels is false guilt.

C.  DIVINE ACCOUNTABILITY.

    1.  Why is this guilt false when sin has been involved and a person has been associated with sin?

    2.  It is false because from God’s perspective, there is no accountability placed upon that person for what happened.

    3.  True guilt is associated with willful sin, not sin that is against one’s will.

II. Accountability Involving the Will Increases our Understanding of Guilt.

Genuine guilt arises when we willfully act in a way that we know is contrary to God's law.

A.  A SENSE OF ACCOUNTABILITY. 

    1.  An accountability ladder involving the will looks something like this:

forgiveness

sin and guilt

knowledge

moral conscience

   2.  Forgiveness presupposes sin and its attendant guilt. In other words, if you feel no guilt of sin, you feel no need for forgiveness.

   3.  Guilt presupposes knowledge. If you don't know that you have sinned, you don't feel guilty.

   4.  Knowledge presupposes a moral conscience—that you have within you the capacity for determining right from wrong.

          — If you don't have a moral conscience, you don't know whether you are doing wrong.

          — If you are unable to determine right from wrong—perhaps because you are mentally disabled—then you cannot be held accountable for your actions.

Romans 2:14-15, For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: [15] Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;)

B.  THE ROLE OF THE WILL.

In this entire chain of presuppositions is the concept of the will.

     1.  Put the process in reverse.

          A.  If you have the capacity to know right from wrong, and you know something is wrong but you do it anyway, you will feel guilty and have a need for forgiveness.

          B.  You have acted out of your will to do something that you know not to do. You have willfully acted in a way that is wrong, and you are, therefore, accountable for your actions.

     2.  You may say, “Are you telling me that if I don't know something is wrong, I'm not accountable for that sin?” That's exactly what I'm saying, but hear me carefully when I say that very few people fall into that category. Very young children or someone who is mentally disabled for instance.

     3.  Most of us know what to do.

           A.  Most of us know what not to do.

           B.  And most of us choose, at some points in our lives, to do what we know not to do.

           C.  This is true for all people. Human beings around the world have an intuitive sense of what is right and wrong, and they know when they are choosing wrong (Rom. 1:18-23).

ILLUSTRATION: Consider for a moment a three-year-old child who is told specifically, “Don't touch Mommy's special vase.” The child is brought into the living room and told, “In this room, I want you to look at things but not touch them.” The child may even be shown the vase and be allowed to touch it under the careful supervision of her mother as Mommy says, “This is the vase I don't want you to touch, except when I am with you and we are touching it just as we are touching it right now.”

The mother asks the child, “Do you understand what I am telling you?” The child nods yes and may even say, “I won't touch your vase, Mommy.”

The next hour, what does Mommy hear from the living room? The crash of her favorite vase.

Now, nobody had to teach that little girl to disobey. We teach our children to obey, but they are born with the ability to disobey.

C.  WE ARE BORN WITH A REBELLIOUS HEART.

And even when we know that we aren't to do certain things because God has commanded us not to do them, we sometimes choose to do those things. Paul wrote, “Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.” (Rom. 8:7).

We are born with a rebellious nature. And we are accountable for our deeds performed in rebellion against God's commandments.

Again, guilt is true guilt when it is the by-product of our willful sin. Guilt is false guilt when it is the by-product of another person's willful sin.

D.  WHAT TO DO WITH FALSE GUILT.

    1.  What should a person do if he discovers he has been carrying a load of false guilt?

   2.  He should come before his heavenly Father and say, “I confess that I have been carrying a burden that isn't mine. I give this burden of guilt to You today, Lord Jesus. I turn it over to You completely and ask You to carry it. I receive Your forgiveness, and by my faith, I accept the fact that I am free of this guilt and any aspect of sin associated with it. I put my trust in Your Holy Spirit to help me walk in freedom and confidence that I bear no penalty for that incident in my past. In Jesus' name, amen!”

III.  A Definition of Sin Helps Us Appreciate the Savior.

A.  SIN IS MISSING THE MARK.

James 2:10, For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.

Some people define sin as “missing the mark”—just as an arrow misses a bull's-eye on a target. God's commandments are the target, and we miss God's ideal when we sin.

    1.  We Miss the Mark of God’s Standards.  In the O.T. the Ten Commandments are God’s Perfect Standards and in the New Testament, Jesus Christ is.  If we are as perfect and flawless as Jesus Christ then we are good enough to go to Heaven.  But none of us are, we actually miss the mark of Christ! 

    2.  We Miss the Mark of God’s Character. Secondly, God’s Holy Character is the target, He is absolutely perfect and His demands are exacting.  He cannot tolerate even the smallest deviation from the standard of morale perfection and rectitude.

    3.  One Sin Makes a Man a Sinner!   A man may live and ‘extremely good life,’ but he will still miss the mark that God’s own Holiness demands.

B.  SIN IS FALLING SHORT. 

Romans 3:23, For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

Others define sin as “falling short” of God's perfect will. God's desire is that we live in wholeness and follow Him explicitly in all His commandments and directives. We fail to do so in our imperfection, and that is sin.

C.  SIN IS TRESPASSING.

2 Cor. 5:19, To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.

Col. 2:13, And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;

Still others define sin as “trespassing.” God has areas of behavior that He designates off-limits to us, and we trespass into those territories and are subject to penalty. Or we trespass against another person. We have sinned against God and others.

 D.  SIN IS REJECTING.

My personal favorite definition of sin comes from Jeremiah 2:13, which says, For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.

    1.  Rejecting a Free and Abundant Supply.

       — Cisterns are wells that are dug into the earth, usually into solid rock, with the intention of holding water.

       — God is painting a fascinating word picture in these words of the prophet. He is saying, “You have rejected Me as a fountain of living water for your life.”

       — A fountain is an artesian spring—one that bubbles up from the earth with an unending supply of fresh, pure water. A fountain gives water that is free for the asking.

    2.  Rejecting an Opportunity to Ask Christ for Living Water.

ILLUSTRATION: Jesus encountered a Samaritan woman by the well of Sychar, and in the course of His conversation with her, He said of Himself, “If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is who saith to thee, ‘Give Me to drink,’ thou would have asked of Him, and He would have given thee living water” (John 4:10). Jesus is painting this same word picture about Himself—He has life to give that is eternal and is freely offered. His forgiveness—and the eternal life associated with it—is a fountain from which we can draw in an unending fashion. His forgiveness is free for the asking.

    3. Choosing One’s Own Actions for Satisfaction.   

“But” God says through Jeremiah, “instead of choosing My living water, you have chosen to build cisterns.” 

        — To build is an act of the will. The cistern builders rejected the artesian spring for a well of their own making.

        — And the Lord noted with sadness but with certainty, “It is a broken cisterns.” There is a crack in the cistern, which means that it won't hold the water.

APPLICATION: “Everything you try to do to achieve your own forgiveness is futile,” God is saying. “You can dig and dig, you can make cistern after cistern, you can strive and struggle all you want, and it will never bring you forgiveness.”

The only forgiveness we can ever experience is God's forgiveness, granted God's way. Anytime we attempt to meet any of our needs or accomplish anything by means other than God's means, we are setting ourselves up for eventual failure. We are building a broken cistern. If we want to be our own savior, rather than accept the Savior whom God has provided, we will fail in our attempt.

IV.  Sin is A Willful Choice Against God’s Forgiveness.

A.  IT WILL RESULT IN DEATH.

Ultimately, people's willful choices against God can form a pattern that leads to eternal death. God doesn't want to send people to hell. People choose to go there. They choose to trample upon the blood of Jesus; they choose to walk nonchalantly by the cross; they choose to avoid the empty tomb. They choose to ignore the songs of redemption they have heard a thousand times. They choose to harden their hearts to the prayers of others on their behalf. They choose to turn a deaf ear to sermons that speak of salvation and to the witness of Christ's love from friends and strangers. They choose to ignore and repress the countless promptings of the Holy Spirit tugging at their hearts. They choose to rebel.

B.  IT IS A REFUSAL OF FORGIVENESS.

My friend, you really have to work to refuse God's gift of forgiveness. But some do. They refuse to give up their pride and to submit to doing things God's way. They refuse to drink from the fountain of His living water freely made available to them, and they strive instead to build cisterns—cisterns that inevitably will break and fail to satisfy the deep thirst of the soul.

V.  Forgiveness Is an Eternal Gift from God.

Throughout the New Testament, forgiveness is pictured as a gift of God. Romans 6:23 tells us, “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.”

A.   A GIFT IS FREE TO YOU.

You don't have to do something significant or ordinary to earn it. You just simply receive it. God is presenting eternal life to you…take it, receive it…it is paid for by God for you. That's the way God offers forgiveness to you. He extends it to you as a gift. You cannot earn your salvation.

B.  DEATH IS WHAT WE’VE EARNED.

Note that “the wages of sin is death.” Forgiveness does not belong in the same category as earning what you deserve, taking a payment, or obtaining the gross or profit of our labors. The lake of fire is earned! Death is earned through repeated disobedience and rejection of God’s forgiveness. You can earn the consequences for disobedience, but you can never earn forgiveness. It is God’s free gift—His living water.

C.  RECEIVE GOD’S FORGIVENESS TODAY.

The only thing you have to do to receive forgiveness is to receive forgiveness. And when you do, you truly have made a choice for life. Again, we cannot simply believe anything about Jesus or be forgiven for any reason. We must believe the Son of God, Jesus Christ, died for our sins, was buried, and God raise Him up again the third day for our justification before The Father (see 1 Cor. 15:1-4 and Rom 3:21-31). I beg you to understand that it is faith in Jesus Christ and His Gospel that is the power of God that saves us…that grant us forgiveness (Rom. 1:14-17). Again, receive God’s forgiveness even now. This is how we experience God’s spiritual birth.

Remember, you are not beyond God’s forgiveness. No matter what you have done…no sin is too extreme, too undeserving, too awful, or too pervasive for God to forgive. It does not matter who you are…no person is so deep in sin, so firmly implanted in maliciousness, so ingrained in a lifestyle, so deeply rooted in wickedness, so steeped in evil, that he or she cannot be saved. Any sin and sinner, including you and yours, can be forgiven by God.

CONCLUSION: I invite you to read carefully the words of an Old Testament prophet who knew about the nature of sin, guilt, and the obstinacy of the human will when it is turned against God. Daniel wrote profoundly about sin, yet with the hope and belief that God not only does forgive, but will forgive. Let his words speak to your heart today. Make them your prayer.

Daniel 9:3-10,  And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes: [4] And I prayed unto the Lord my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments; [5] We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgments: [6] Neither have we hearkened unto thy servants the prophets, which spake in thy name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land. [7] O Lord, righteousness belongeth unto thee, but unto us confusion of faces, as at this day; to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and unto all Israel, that are near, and that are far off, through all the countries whither thou hast driven them, because of their trespass that they have trespassed against thee. [8] O Lord, to us belongeth confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against thee. [9] To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against him; [10] Neither have we obeyed the voice of the Lord our God, to walk in his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets.

Daniel 9:16, O Lord, according to all thy righteousness, I beseech thee, let thine anger and thy fury be turned away from thy city Jerusalem, thy holy mountain: because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and thy people are become a reproach to all that are about us.

Daniel 9:19, O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, hearken and do; defer not, for thine own sake, O my God: for thy city and thy people are called by thy name.

Can God Forgive This Sin?

 

Can God Forgive This Sin? 

 1 COR. 6:9-11; 1 JOHN 1:9

SUBJECT: FORGIVENESS/ SALVATION

THEME: God can forgive anyone and everyone who will receive His forgiveness. No individual and certainly no sin is beyond His realm of divine pardon. God is no longer angered over your sin or merely offended by your actions, flaws, mistakes, and sin. He offers forgiveness! 

RELEVANCY:  I can say without any reservations that God wants you to experience complete forgiveness! That is forgiveness of your sins and a full establishment of your relationship to the Lord God, forgiveness of others who have wronged you, and even the forgiveness of yourself.

INTRODUCTION:

A “Limited Forgiveness” Will Never Do. Complete (comprehensive, thorough, all-encompassing) forgiveness is required if you are to know personally and fully that God is your loving heavenly Father, and if you are ever to reach your personal destiny in this life.

I have good news for you today! God will forgive you of your sin. You can be released today from all your sin, no matter what they are, if you will do what God says to do. (Dr. C. Stanley) 

MESSAGE:

I. It is Vital to Understand the Very Nature of Sin.

Psalm 51:5, Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.

Earlier in the message, I defined forgiveness as “the act of setting someone free.” Sin, by contrast, is “the state of being in bondage—in need of being set free.” This state is described in Psalm 51 as the result of transgressions, iniquity, sin, and evil.

A.  WE DO WHAT WE DO BECAUSE WE ARE SINNERS.

Our sinful actions further seal the fact that we are sinners. Our being and doing are cyclical. We may not always admit to being sinners, but deep down inside, we recognize that we are sinners, and we have an awareness that we have sinned or are sinning.

The sinner knows—at some level, intuitive or conscious—that he or she is sinning. Sin involves the will, and because it involves the will, it also affects the memory. We remember our sins. They don't just float by unnoticed or ignored. The psalmist is very open about this: “For I acknowledge my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me” (Ps. 51:3).

B.  HOW DO WE KNOW THAT WE ARE SINNERS OR THAT WE HAVE SINNED? (Rom. 2:14-16)

    1.  God Built into Each One of Us an Alarm System Called the Conscience.

It sounds each time we do something, or are about to do something, that we know is wrong. If we ignore the alarm system, our sensitivity to evil becomes dull, and eventually, we never hear the alarm. Be very concerned if you never hear that still small voice inside you saying, “This is wrong and you know it.” A healthy conscience is something to cherish and to nurture. (Dr. C. Stanley)

    2.  The Flaw in the Conscience, However, Is That it Is Based on Human Understanding of What Is Right and Wrong. Right and wrong are something we learn. Unfortunately, some people are taught that right is wrong and wrong is right. They make decisions and behave in ways that are sinful without having a great deal of regret or remorse. Until, that is, they are confronted with the truth.

The conscience always is pricked to some degree in the presence of the pure expression of the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life. He stands in sharp contrast to all that leads to destruction, is a lie, or contributes to death. In the presence of the gospel, even the most warped conscience is confronted with God's absolutes.

    3.  The Best Thing You Can Instill in Yourself and Your Children Is the Knowledge of the Gospel of God's Word. The best thing you can do to keep your conscience alive is to steep it in the Word of God. If you were taught a faulty perspective of right and wrong, read God's Word without ceasing in order to bring about a transformation in your mind.

C.  BELIEVERS ALSO HAVE A SIN ALERT SYSTEM.

What about believers? Believers in Christ Jesus have a dual alarm system. We have the natural conscience that has been given to every person, and we also have the Holy Spirit indwelling us.

   1.  The Holy Spirit Provides Strong Counsel That We Are Acting, or Are about to Act, in a Way That Is Contrary to God's Desire.

The Holy Spirit always points us toward Jesus and to the fullness of the Word of God. Jesus called the Holy Spirit the “Spirit of truth,” our divine counselor (John 14:15–17; 15:26).

John 14:15-17, If ye love me, keep my commandments. [16] And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; [17] Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.

John 15:26, But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:

    2.  The Holy Spirit Will Never Quit Speaking to You Once You Have Received Him into Your Life. Your spiritual ears may become dull, but you can never completely silence the Holy Spirit. If you don't feel the Holy Spirit pricking your heart from time to time, you may need to ask, Am I really saved? Have I really received forgiveness from God for my sinful state?

Listen to your conscience and to the Holy Spirit today. He will tell you whether you are in need of forgiveness.

1 John 4:4-6, Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world. [5] They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them. [6] We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.

D. THE SINNER CAN FINALLY REJECT GOD’S FORGIVENESS.

The sin that grieves the Holy Spirit today (Eph. 4:30), and that can quench the work of the Spirit in your life (1 Thess. 5:19), is: a refusal to receive the forgiveness that God freely offers to you. You can refuse God's offer of forgiveness to the point that you have a hardened heart. You can become calcified, hardened as bone tissue, to the gospel over time. Hardening causes a disruption in the normal process of the gospel. And that creates an unpardonable state.

God will not reach beyond the boundaries of your own stiff-necked, hard-of-heart will and save you against your will! You can die in an unpardonable state, but it won't be because you have committed an unpardonable sin.

As I stated above, no sin is unforgivable on this side of death. It is equally true that no sin can be forgiven on the other side of the grave.

The only thing that can keep people from being forgiven is the refusal to accept and receive what Jesus Christ has done for them on the cross. Refusing to believe in the forgiveness made available to humankind by the death of Christ brings about everlasting death. Accepting what Jesus did on the cross—believing in Him as Savior—brings about everlasting life.

II.  Receive God’s Forgiveness for Sin Immediately.

A.  FORGIVENESS IS YOURS TO RECEIVE—YOU ONLY NEED TO BELIEVE!

John1:11, He came unto his own, and his own received him not. 12, But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: 13, Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

1. Believing on Christ is Receiving Him for Salvation.   

By believing in “his name;” is exercising faith in receiving Jesus Christ as the Word, and Son of God, as the Messiah, Savior, and Redeemer.

So now Jesus offers Himself to you, and if you receive Him, He gives to you the “power,” or the privileged or authority to become a child of God. Only by this means do we become children of God. Beloved, it is not by good works, not by church membership, not by doing your best—but by receiving Him, by believing in His Name.

Becoming a child in a physical sense, is a matter of birth. So, also, to become a child of God (in a spiritual sense), you must experience a second birth. This is known as the new birth, or conversion, or being saved. It is through belief in the name of Jesus that we are born again…birthed into God’s spiritual family as sons, born of God. (based on Holman KJV Study Bible)

2. Receiving Jesus is a Personal Decision for Forgiveness.

Ephes. 1:7, In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;

Have you made a decision to accept and receive Jesus as your personal Savior and Lord? To “accept and receive”—that's all that's required for you to be forgiven by God, regardless of the nature, magnitude, or deep entrenchment of your sins.

To “accept” is to believe with your mind that what the Bible says about Jesus and His death on the cross is true—that Jesus died for your sins and He rose to give you new life in Him. To “receive” is to say, “I don't merely accept what Jesus did on the cross as a fact of history or as a statement of sound theology, but I accept His sacrificial death on the cross as being for me personally and individually—the sacrifice that was made for my sins. I invite the Holy Spirit to indwell me, to cleanse me of all my past transgressions, iniquities, evil, and sin, and to make me a new person in God's eyes. I receive the work of the Holy Spirit in me that gives me a completely restored relationship with my heavenly Father.” (Dr. C. Stanley)

3. Remember Salvation is based on God’s Mercy and Grace and not ours!

Titus 3:5-7, Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; [6] Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; [7] That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

It is the Spirit who regenerates us and gives us new life when we trust Christ. We cannot save ourselves no matter how good, sincere, or diligent we are.

B.  GOD WANTS TO FORGIVE YOU RIGHT NOW.

Have you taken Him up on His offer? If not, will you accept and receive Jesus Christ today? Will you receive God's forgiveness?

1 John 1:9, If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

C.  YOU CAN EXPERIENCE GOD’S SPIRITUAL BIRTH IMMEDIATELY.

You must consciously opt to place your faith/trust in Jesus Christ—His death, burial, and resurrection as the full payment for your sin. We acknowledge that God accepted Christ’s redemptive work by raising Him from the dead. Therefore, you must accept what God accepts as the fair and complete payment for our sins.

Consider what the Lord Jesus said to Nicodemus in John 3:14-18, And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: 15, That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. 16, For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17, For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18, He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

Each person must utterly depend upon Christ as the One who fully paid our sin debt. Thus, we believe the gospel of Christ—to believe means to trust Christ. We entrust our eternal salvation and forgiveness to Jesus Christ the Son of God without any reservations. You must believe on Christ Jesus who died in our place and for our sins!

Paul outlines in Romans 10:9-10, writing, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10, For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” 

We cannot simply believe anything about Jesus or be forgiven for any reason, we must believe that the Son of God, died for our sins, was buried, and God raise Him up again the third day for our justification before The Father (1 Cor. 15:1-4 and Rom 3:21-31). It is vital that we understand that it is faith in Jesus Christ and His Gospel that is the power of God that saves us that grant us forgiveness (Rom. 1:14-17). This is how we all experience God’s spiritual birth.

CONCLUSION: 

So then, what must we do to experience God's forgiveness? Accordingly confess your sin and accept God’s forgiveness by faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Beloved, God can forgive anyone and everyone who will receive His forgiveness. No one and certainly no sin is beyond His realm of divine pardon. God is no longer angered over your sin or finally offended by your actions, flaws, mistakes, and sin. He offers forgiveness!  

Remember, Christ’s suffering at Calvary was God the Father providing payment for our sins. That’s what Calvary was about—justice was served, and sin was paid for entirely. Since then, sinners can be saved—born again to enter a spiritual relationship with God. Being born again means we become a part of a new family; God is our Father who shares with us His very own divine nature. Beloved, we must exercise faith in the Person and Work of Christ to experience the spiritual birth.

In closing, God wants you to experience thorough and full to the brim forgiveness today! Stop grieving about some sin you committed recently or even years ago, let God forgive you and release you today. Your situation is not unique and you are not beyond the scope of God’s forgiving power and grace. Today you can be set free from the bondage of living in guilt because God really can forgive that sin also! 

Refuse to continue life in unforgiveness which stifles a person’s ability to love and to receive love. No more stunting the growth of your marriage and friendships. Today you choose to enter into all that the Lord might have for you in the way of ministry or outreach. Start now to enjoy the full abundant life that Christ promised.  

Since He completely forgives you, He wants forgiveness of your sins and a comprehensive initiation of your relationship to Himself. God desires forgiveness of others who have wronged you, and, yes, forgiveness of yourself also. (Based on Dr. C. Stanley) What about you?