Here's the mid-week reflection .... There are quite a few reading passages. Read through them .. it's worth it.
The Question:
Why is my sin such a big deal?
The Point:
Because of His holiness, God takes every sin seriously.
A. God is completely holy.
§ Read Exodus 15:11.
§ Exodus 15:11 states that God is “glorious in holiness.” God is holy. His name is holy. Any place where God is present is holy. Holiness is a characteristic that originates with God
and is unique to God. God’s holiness means He is perfect and spiritually pure. He is set apart from mankind in His holiness. The affect of His holiness on mankind should be one of reverence, fear, and awe.§ The prophet Isaiah had a vision of God’s holiness. Isaiah watched as the angels surrounded God on His throne singing, “Holy, holy, holy.” Read Isaiah 6:1-5. Isaiah quickly recognized that his own sin separated him from God. Isaiah understood that such sinfulness could not coexist with such a holy God.
§ Read Revelation 4:8.
§ When you compare these three Scripture passages, what do you discover about the holiness of God? What does it mean for God to be holy? Why do you think John included the phrase that creatures “never stop saying” that God is holy? In your opinion, why is that important?
§ Read Revelation 4:9-11. John, the apostle, was privileged to view the holiness of God through his vision of heaven in Revelation. From beginning to end, the Scriptures attest to the holiness of God.
B. Humans are completely sinful.
§ Last week we looked at the sin of Adam and Eve in Genesis 3. By the time the events of the life of Noah occurred, mankind had become completely sinful—sin was “widespread on the earth”. Can you imagine a world in which “every scheme his [humankind] mind thought of was nothing but evil all the time”? Read Genesis 6:5 and compare this description of humans with the description of God in Exodus 15:11.
§ Read Psalm 53:2-3; Isaiah 64:6.
§ Though our sin may be directed against another person, ultimately every sin is against God. Perfect in His holiness, God cannot tolerate anything that violates His holy character. Habakkuk 1:13 says of God, “Your eyes are too pure to look on evil, and you cannot tolerate wrongdoing...” Therefore, sin creates a barrier between God and mankind.
C. God is completely serious about sin.
Read Numbers 16. Korah and his group of followers challenged God’s selection of Moses and Aaron as leaders of the Israelites. This was a rebellious act against God. Moses called on Korah and his followers to appear before God so God could settle the matter. Korah, his followers, and their entire families paid a serious price for their sin.
§ The holy wrath of God had its affect on the Israelite community. They responded much like Isaiah did, with a new understanding of the potentially fatal power of God’s holiness on sinful humanity.
§ Read Acts 5:1-11. This New Testament story occurs near the beginning of the early church. A couple, Ananias and Sapphira, lied to the leaders of the church about their profit from the sale of land they owned. The sin of Ananias and Sapphira was that they wanted the best of both worlds: sell the property and make a show of giving it to the church, but keep part of the proceeds hidden. They lied to the church and to the Holy Spirit. God dealt with their sin severely by striking Ananias and Sapphira dead.
§ The holy wrath of God had its affect on the early church community. Great fear seized them all. They understood that even though Jesus had died on the cross to save them from their sins; God still took their sin very seriously. They had a renewed fear of displeasing a holy God.
Conclusion:
§ These passages and stories describe the God of the Bible. However, the Bible tells us that God is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. God is still holy, people are still completely sinful, and God still takes sin seriously today.
§ So, back to our question for this session: Why is my sin such a big deal? It is a big deal because of who God is and what sin does to our relationship with God.
§ We all have sin in our lives. We deceive ourselves if we say we don’t. Because of our sinfulness, we are separated from a holy God. 1 John 1:8-10 tells us that if we confess our sins God will forgive us.
Spend some quiet moments confessing to God sins that you've been struggling with.
Yg
