Scripture Reading: Hebrews 10:26-31
What Sin Does
Intro.
1. Sin is real and dangerous.
a. It is not a disease, a mental illness, an alternate lifestyle.
b. It is transgressing God’s law, 1 Jno. 3:4 (5:17).
c. It is the failure to do God’s will, Jas. 4:17.
2. Christians have “died to sin”, choosing to no longer let sin rule us, Rom. 6:1-2, 6-7, 11-12.
3. Sin is powerful and we should know what it does to us.
a. This knowledge is an incentive to help us refuse sin.
b. This knowledge helps us assist others to overcome sin, Jude 22-23.
I. WHAT SIN DOES (The traits and effects of sin).
A. Sin is an Act of the Will, Heb. 10:26-27.
1. Sin is an act of the will; it is a choice, Gen. 3:6.
2. Therefore, we are accountable for our own sins, Ezek. 18: 20.
3. Sin is not inherited, an inclination or forced. Sin can be recognized and resisted, Gen. 4:6-7.
4. What about sins of ignorance?
a. There is a choice not to know the true God, Rom. 1:18-20.
b. Paul was a sinner when he did it “ignorantly”, 1 Tim. 1:13, 15.
B. Sin has a Separating Effect, Isa. 59:1-3.
1. Sin removes the sinner from God’s favor and fellowship, Isa. 1:15. Sin causes us to be alienated enemies, Col. 1:21.
2. God is holy and will not accept sin before Him, Lev. 11:44-45.
3. Learn the fear of God! Psa. 34:11-16
C. Sin is a Numbing and Hardening Agent.
1. Deadens the conscience, 1 Tim. 4:1-2. No longer functions to cause guilt when sin is the pattern of conduct.
2. Past feeling (lose all sensitivity, callous) so that guilt no longer occurs and/or suppressed, Eph. 4:17-19.
3. Deceitfulness of sin hardens the heart, Heb. 3:13.
-Refusal to obey God’s word hardens your heart, Heb. 3:6-11.
D. Sin is a Corrupting Influence, Gen. 6:11-12; Deut. 31:29.
1. A little sin spreads and thoroughly corrupts, 1 Cor. 5:6.
2. Sinful associations corrupt us, 1 Cor. 15:33.
E. Sin is a Deadly Event.
1. Death: Separation from life-source, cf. Jas. 2:26.
2. Sin separates from God, Gen. 2:17.
3. Death passes to all as each one sins, Rom. 5:12.
-Death is the just wages of sin, Rom. 6:23; Jas. 1:15.
4. All have sinned, therefore, are dead in sin, Rom. 3:23, 19.
F. Sin is an Insult against God, Heb. 10:29; Psa. 51:4.
1. cf. Men of Sodom, Gen. 13:13 (“sinful against the Lord”).
2. The sinner’s plea for mercy must be to God, Psa. 41:4.
3. God’s grace in Christ provides remedy, Tit. 3:3-7.
Conclusion
1. Christ “appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself”, Heb. 9:26.
2. Sinner: Turn away from your sin and to the Lord and be saved! Ezek. 18:21-23; Acts 3:19
By: Joe R. Price
Posted: August 15, 2014