Forgive: “Recognize Sin”

Rev. Tully M. Fletcher IV

Decatur Presbyterian Church

October 30, 2022: Kirkin O’ the Tartan Sunday

 

 

 

1 John 1:8 – 2:2  

8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.  9 If we confess our sins, [God] who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 

10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make [God] a liar, and [God’s] word is not in us. 

 2:1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin.  But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous;  2 and he is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.

 

The end of my sermon

I know sometimes folks fall asleep during church.  You know what they say, if you took all the Presbyterians who fell asleep during the sermon, and you laid them down end to end, they’d be a lot more comfortable. 

So, in that vein, I want to begin my sermon with the end of my sermon, so that those of you who fall asleep will have heard the most important point. 

To wrap things up, I want to share a quote from Shirley Guthrie’s book, Christian Doctrine, page 212:

“Before we begin, we must be clear about where we stand when we speak of sin from a Christian point of view. We must take sin very seriously, but not too seriously.  Contrary to the impression we are sometimes given, sin is not the main theme and central emphasis of the Christian faith.”

The main theme and central emphasis of the Christian faith is that in Jesus Christ we are forgiven. 

If there is one thing you hear this morning it is only through God’s free gift of grace that we are saved. 

That gift is given through Jesus’ death on the cross.

In Jesus Christ we are forgiven!

And that my friends, is the end of my sermon. 

A new Follow me theme

For the next 4 weeks we will be looking at forgiveness. 

How we receive forgiveness,

How we give forgiveness to others,

How we build the bridge of reconciliation.

But before we can do any of that, we must define Sin. 

          Sin, that which requires forgiveness. 

What is Sin?         And how do we recognize it?

Funny prayer

Before we really get into it, let’s start with a prayer.  This is a prayer I say often.

Dear God, so far today, I’ve done all right.  I haven’t gossiped, and I haven’t lost my temper. I haven’t been grumpy, nasty, or selfish, and I’m really glad of that!

But in a few moments, God, I’m going to get out of bed, and from then on, I’m probably going to need a lot of help.

Thank you! Amen.

We all need help when it comes to sin. 

Sin is bigger and more complex than we want to realize.

Definition 1          Evil

The 1st and simplest definition of sin is this:

Sin is the bad/wrong/evil things we knowingly and intentionally do. 

 

Sin is breaking 1 of the 10 commandments: Adultery, murder, stealing, all examples of sin. 

Sin is intentionally hurting someone else. 

Sin is telling a lie, we know isn’t true.

Sin is breaking the rules. 

I could go on here, but I think you get the point. 

This is the definition of Sin, upon which we can all agree. 

This is also the type of sin most of us commit the least.

          So yeah, it’s easy to define sin this way, because we’ve written a definition that doesn’t make us guilty very often. 

Definition 2          Emotional

So let’s expand the definition a bit, try #2

Sin is the wrong things we intentionally do. 

But, Sin is also the unintentional damage we cause
when we are upset, angry, and emotional. 

We’ve all been there.  We’ve all said or done something in heat of the moment that we later regret.  Sometimes we have the courage to admit our guilt, and apologize. 

Sometimes we hold on to our anger, and blame the thing that made us angry to absolve our guilt. 

Sins committed under duress are some of the hardest to confess.

But I think we can all agree that those emotional actions and words are indeed sins. 

Our definition has grown, and now we find our selves guilty, at least some of time. 

Definition 3, hindsight is 20/20

Of course, sin doesn’t stop there.  The theological definition of sin includes things that we don’t really like to think were sinful. 

To quote the scripture:

8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves,

 

Definition #3,

Sin is the wrong things we intentionally and unintentionally do. 

But, Sin also includes things we do not realize are sinful at the time. 

 

I call these sins of ignorance. 

Or one of the most common excuses, but everyone else was doing it too. 

These are things that in the moment we do not realize are sinful.  And even if we stopped to analyze our actions in that moment we wouldn’t think it was sinful…

…However… when we look back on it later, we realize, we can see, oh yeah… that was bad. 

So what does this look like…

For individuals this often comes with broken relationships. 

          In the moment we stick to our guns, and protest our innocence, but years later, we look back and we can see how we were at fault. 

          It also comes in the form of stubbornness.  When we support an idea of person, which we think is good, and our pride won’t allow us to see that we are in fact supporting evil. 

Another clear example of this type of sin is middle school. 

          Just everything about it, the way kids talk to each other, what motivates them, what they secretly want…        Just all of it… you want to know what sin is… go to 7th grade. 

It is everywhere, and so easy to see but at the same time really hard to see. 

          For our culture and society, a clear example of this is slavery or racial segregation.  It is easy for us to look back and condemn ‘separate but equal’ as a sinful policy. 

But I wonder for what laws and policies our descendants will condemn us. 

We can’t see it now, but they are there, and they are sinful. 

Now, This is getting heavy, and maybe a good time for a reminder that Jesus died for all our sins. 

          All the sins we did on purpose

          All the sins we did in the heat of an emotional moments

          And, all the sins we didn’t realize were sinful at the time. 

Definition 4          failing to do good

So far we have good and growing definition of Sin,

Sin is the wrong things we intentionally and unintentionally do, including the things we do not realize are sinful at the time. 

Under this definition, all of us have been guilty before, but some of us, can have good days, where we are without sin…. But remember:

8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves,

Our definition is going to get even bigger, because Sin is bigger than the bad things we do.  Sin is also present when we do nothing. 

          Literally, when we fail to do good we are letting sin win. 

Sin is when we choose not to act, the good/right/justice left undone.

 

I call these sins of laziness, and sins of doubt, sins of passive evil. 

These are the hardest things for us to accept responsibility. 

The bully who picks on someone, and we stand idly by.

The mean and hurtful comment we hear said to someone else, to which we respond with silence. 

The opportunity we have to help someone in need, and we do nothing. 

Definition #4

Sin is the wrong things we intentionally or unintentionally do,
including the things we do not realize are sinful;
But, Sin is also the good things we leave undone. 

 

Definition #5

Sin is the wrong things we intentionally or unintentionally do,
including the things we do not realize are sinful;
But, Sin is also ALL the good things we leave undone… 

The little word ‘ALL’ this is where our definition of Sin really gets out of hand. 

          What do you mean “ALL”?

I could spend my entire life doing good, but there’s still more good things I didn’t do. 

ALL the good things, leads us to a definition of sin which finds us ALL guilty, ALL the time. 

 

Homelessness

Let me give you an example…                  homelessness…

          At my house there is a bed in the guest room that goes empty most nights. 

          At the same time, there are hundreds of people who are homeless, and sleep on the street each night. 

I could help that problem, and if all of use who have empty beds were willing to open up that bed each night, there would be more than enough space for ever homeless person. 

But that’s not the way the world works,

…      …      …

…and that’s the sin in which we all live. 

 

So am I responsible for every homeless person out there?

          No of course not… but yet… at the same time… I am guilty. 

                     Because I know there’s a problem, but choose to do nothing…

We are totally depraved. 

We are stuck in Sin, ALL the time. 

It is a swamp from which we can never escape, at least not on our own.

The end of my sermon

But there is some Good news!

To wrap things up, I want to share a quote from Shirley Guthrie’s book, Christian Doctrine, page 212:

“Before we begin, we must be clear about where we stand when we speak of sin from a Christian point of view. We must take sin very seriously, but not too seriously.  Contrary to the impression we are sometimes given, sin is not the main theme and central emphasis of the Christian faith.”

The main theme and central emphasis of the Christian faith is that in Jesus Christ we are forgiven. 

If there is one thing you hear this morning it is only through God’s free gift of grace that we are saved. 

That gift is given through Jesus’ death on the cross.

In Jesus Christ we are forgiven!

And that my friends, is the end of my sermon.