*15 for Friday #3* Hey gang, a little something different this week. A lot of you weren’t able to be at church Wednesday so here is a little “catch up” session for you. In the last few weeks we’ve talked about your salvation and our constant human struggle with sin. This week we answered the question “why don’t I just sin all I want if I’m saved, because I can’t lose it right?” I said that was a good question with a better answer and I don’t back away from that. This Wednesday we talked about five reasons why that can’t be our attitude toward sin (I’m sure we could make this 100 reasons, but five seems like a good place to start). We’ll just cover the first two today that we covered Wednesday because they are a little long. *1 – Because there is a consequence to sin for all of us.* (a) Read Romans 6:23 right now: ( https://biblegateway/passage/?search=Romans+6:23 ). So the price of sin is death, a spiritual death that is the eternal separation from God. But WAIT! Don’t forget about the second part of that verse: ‘but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord,’ a lot of people forget to memorize that part. Through faith in Christ you are forgiven for your sins and you are granted grace that saves you from that ‘death’ that should be our penalty for sin. But, there are still consequences to your actions in this life. Read Galatians 6:7-9 now: (https://biblegateway/passage/?search=Galatians+6%3A7-9&version=NLT ). In America you have the freedom of speech, you can speak against the government, disagree with public officials, practice your religion or campaign for an important cause. That doesn’t mean that you are free from the consequences of your actions. If you shout “fire” in a crowded theatre or call in a false bomb threat you are going to have a talk with the law. If you say the wrong thing to a boss, you might be fired. There are consequences to your actions. We as humans have the freedom of choice in our lives; we call it “free will.” There are however, consequences to our actions. Christ has paid the price for our ultimate consequence, but sin can never please God and so it can cost us fellowship with him. Romans 8:5-8 (https://biblegateway/passage/?search=Romans+8%3A5-8&version=NLT). Go ahead and read the rest of Romans 8 if you can, it tells us that we do not need to live in obligation to this sin nature. *2 – Because we have a responsibility to reflect Jesus’ life with our own actions.* Ephesians 5:1-2 says we should imitate Christ in our lives. (https://biblegateway/passage/?search=Ephesians+5%3A1-2&version=NLT) This passage begins with the command to imitate God and live as Christ lived as an example to others, but the rest of the chapter gets “all in your face” and hits you right where most of us live and with what we struggle with. Read Ephesians 5:3-9 (https://biblegateway/passage/?search=Ephesians+5%3A3-9&version=NLT) Any of that sound familiar? It probably does. So we need to stay away from these things and live as imitations of Jesus because otherwise how could we possible bring people to him if we aren’t reflecting what life is like with him? *Closing:* Think about these first two things today and this weekend. It is pretty deep stuff to consider. God is our father, but he gives us much deeper reasoning than our parents sometimes give us. My Mom and Dad never really had a problem giving me the old “… because I said so,” response when I asked them why. In fact, a repeated conversation with my Mother went like this when I was a kid: Me: “Mom, I’m sorry.” Mom: “No you aren’t.” Me: “Mom, I’m sorry.” Mom: “If you were sorry, then you wouldn’t have done it.” Me: “huh?” Mom: “…” (insert intense Mom guilt stare) Me: “Why did I have to do that in the first place?” Mom: “Because I said so.” Me: (stomped off to room) God gives us deeper reasoning for why sin is harmful in our lives. My Mom was trying to protect me and make me a better person in these situations. My Lord gives me instructions and wants me to avoid sin and think of him because he knows sin separates me from him. Even more than that, he has made the greatest sacrifice in the history of the world to make sure in the end I won’t get the punishment I deserve for my mistakes. The next three reasons are next week – see you then Lifesong crew!
Posted on: Fri, 01 Aug 2014 18:17:48 +0000
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