Everyone has a preconceived idea of what sin is.   And what one person says that it is, another will deny it.  One person will say that drinking is a sin and someone else will say that it is not.  And most often when someone says that a certain thing is not a sin, you will find that they are engaged in that sin.  They like their sin more than they love God so people will tend to find teachers who will teach what they want to hear.  They like to have their conscience soothed.  We truly live in the day that 2 Timothy 4:3 is referring to.  “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;” It is bad enough that in their own lust that they heap to themselves false teachers and will not endure sound doctrine, but then they try to get others to join them. 

 

Listening to all the different teachings out there will just get you confused.  I thank God that we do not have to listen to opinions.  To know what sin is all we have to do is look and see what God says that it is.

 

 1)        Sin is transgression against the law.

 

1Jo 3:4  Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.

The law is more than the Ten Commandments.  The Law is referring to all the laws and commandments that God gave Moses to give to the people.  That is why it is also called the Law of Moses.  One example of this is 1Co 9:9 “For it is written in the Law of Moses, Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn.”  This law actually contains hundreds of laws.

 

2)         Man cannot keep the law.

 

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

The law is too vast for a man to keep it all, and if he offends in just one thing in the law then the Bible says that he is guilty of all.  Lets look at just one point of the law.  The law says that “Thou shalt not bear false witness” or in other words you are not to tell a lie.  Everyone has told some kind of lie during his or her lifetime.  It might be something small. It might be a little white lie or some exaggeration.  You might have even stretched the truth just a little to help cheer someone up.  Anything that is not 100 truth is a lie.   Man cannot keep the law.  That is why the Bible says in Romans 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.  That is why we have to turn to Jesus.  Rom 3:24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:

 

 

3)         Sin is of the devil.

 

1Jo 3:8 He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.

 

Joh 8:44 Ye are of [your] father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

 

Sin is of the devil.  It started with him.  You can read of the devils fall into sin in Isa 14:12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! [how] art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!

Isa 14:13  For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:  Isa 14:14  I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.  Isa 14:15  Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.  After the devil fell into sin he went and temped Eve.  Sin loves company.  And notice how many times he said I will.  Sin is basically anything that is an “I will” instead of God’s will.

 

4)      Anything unrighteous is sin.

 

1Jo 5:17  All unrighteousness is sin: and there is a sin not unto death.

 

Some people want to have an all-inclusive list for what are sins.  Creating this list would be impossible for it is anything that is unrighteous.  The list would be so long that you could not read it all, and if you could read it all you could not remember everything in the list.  

 

5) Not only are sins things that you do, but sins can be things that you do not do.

 

So far all of the verses on sin that we have looked at are sins of commission.  That is things that you have done.  But that is not the only kind of sin.  There are also sins of omission. 

 

Jam 4:17  Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth [it] not, to him it is sin.   If you know that God says to not forsake the assembling of yourselves together, and you do not go to church, then it is a sin.  If you know that God says to tithe and you do not, then it is a sin.  If you know that God says to love thy neighbor and you do not, then it is a sin.  God says to witness, help the fatherless, widows, poor, and the list goes on.  We are all guilty of the sin of not always doing the good that we know to do.

 

6)         A lack of faith is sin.

 

Rom 14:23  And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because [he eateth] not of faith: for whatsoever [is] not of faith is sin.  This is another sin that we are all guilty of.  Whatsoever is not of faith is sin.  Sometimes it is our finances, sometimes it is our witnessing, and sometimes it is just not having enough faith to trust God with the trial that we are going thru.  

 

7)         Foolish thoughts are sin.

 

Pro 24:9  The thought of foolishness [is] sin: and the scorner [is] an abomination to men.  Having a foolish thought is sin even if we do not act on it.  A good example of this is Mat 5:28  But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.  If a man looks at another woman, even for a moment, that thought is still a sin.  Even if he never touches her. 

 

8)         Our imaginations can be sin.

 

Gen 6:5  And GOD saw that the wickedness of man [was] great in the earth, and [that] every imagination of the thoughts of his heart [was] only evil continually.

 

Gen 8:21  And the LORD smelled a sweet savour; and the LORD said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake; for the imagination of man's heart [is] evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done.

 

           

Truly all people have sin.  The Bible clearly teaches that sin is not just the things that people do to get thrown in jail.  Sin is more than hurting someone else.  A simple definition of sin would be anything that is against the will of God.  Both the things that we do that are against the will of God and the things that we don’t do that He wants us to. 

 

That leaves us with what to do about it.  Well first if you are not saved then pray to God and admit to Him that you are a sinner and ask Him to save you.  Rom 10:13  For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.   Then after you are saved and you mess up in some area, then confess it to God and ask for forgiveness.  1Jo 1:9  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us [our] sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Mr. Moody was in Ohio many years ago, and was invited to preach in the state prison.  1100 convicts were brought into the chapel, and all sat in front of him.  After he had got through the preaching, the chaplain said to him: “Mr. Moody, I want to tell you of a scene which occurred in this room.  A few years ago, our commissioners went to the governor of the state, and got him to promise that he would pardon 5 men for good behavior.  The governor consented, with this understanding – that the record was to be kept secret, and that at the end of six months the five men highest on the roll should receive a pardon, regardless of who or what they were.  At the end of 6 months the prisoners were all brought into the chapel; the commissioners came up, and the president stood up on the platform, and putting his hand in his pocket, brought out some papers, and said, ‘I hold in my hand pardons for 5 men.’” The chaplain told Moody that he never witnessed anything on earth like it.  Every man was as still as death; many were deadly pale, and the suspense was awful; it seemed as if every heart had ceased to beat.  The commissioner went on to tell them how they had got the pardon; but the chaplain interrupted him.  “Before you make your speech, read out the names.  This suspense is awful,” So he read out the first name, “Reuben Johnson will come and get his pardon”; and he held it out, but none came forward.  He said to the governor, ‘Are all the prisoners here?”  The governor told him they were all there.  Then he said again, “Reuben Johnson will come and get his pardon.  It is signed and sealed by the governor.  He is a free man.”  Not one moved.  The chaplain told Moody that he looked right down where Reuben was; he was well known; he had been nineteen years at the prison, and many were looking round to see him spring to his feet.  But he himself was looking round to see the fortunate man who had got his pardon.  Finally the chaplain caught his eye and said, “Reuben, you are the man.”  Rueben turned round and looked behind him to see where Reuben was.  The chaplain said the second time, “Reuben, you are the man”; and the second time he looked round, thinking it must be some other Reuben.  So often we do not believe the gospel is for us.  We think it is too good, and pass it over our shoulders to the next person.  But you are the person.

The Chaplain could see where Reuben was, and he had to say 3 times, “Reuben, come and get your pardon.”  At last the truth began to steal over the old man; he got up and came along down the hall, trembling from head to foot, and when he got the pardon he looked at it, and went back to his seat, and buried his face in his hands, and wept.  When the prisoners got into the ranks to go back to the cells, Reuben go into the ranks too, and the chaplain had to call to him, “Reuben, get out of the ranks; you are a free man, you are no longer a prisoner.”  And Reuben stepped out of the ranks.  He was free!

Reuben’s pardon was for good character and good behavior.  But God gives out pardons for those of us who have not got any character, who have been very, very bad.  He offers a pardon to every sinner on earth if he will take it.  I do not care who he is or what he is like.  He may be the greatest libertine that ever walked the streets, or the greatest drunkard who ever lived, or a thief, or a vagabond; but I come tonight with glad tidings – the glorious gospel is for every creature, it is for you.

Number one – God cannot lie.

Titus 1:2         In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;  Hebrews 6:18    That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us:

You might be thinking duh.  Of course God cannot lie.  But if you stop just for a moment and think about it, you will see that most churches, bible colleges, and preachers, actually teach that God does lie.  Let me give you just a few examples.

The Bible is very clear that man cannot work his way to heaven.  Isaiah 64:6 But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags…  Your works do not impress God.  The Bible says they are as filthy rags!  Ephesians 2:8-9 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast.  That is pretty clear.  You are saved through faith and not of yourselves, not of works!  And yet works is what the Catholics teach, and the Mormons, as well as many others.  By teaching a works salvation contrary to what God has said, they are teaching that they are right and God is wrong.  They are teaching that God lied!

The Bible teaches that you cannot buy your way to heaven.  Acts 8:20  But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money.  Both the man and his money perished because he could not buy the gift of God with money.  It is so basic.  If you buy something, then it is no longer a gift.  And yet the Catholics teach that you can buy your way out of purgatory and into heaven.  They are teaching that they are right and God is wrong.  They are teaching that God lied!

God said that his words are pure and perfect and that He would preserve them.  He said that they shall not pass away.  Psalm 12:6-7  The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.  Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever.  Matthew 24:35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.  So either God’s words are with us today or God lied.  You have no other choice.  And yet most churches’ statement of faith says that God’s words are perfect but only in the original autographs.  In other words God lied and did not preserve his pure perfect words for us today.  They are teaching that they are right and God is wrong.  They are teaching that God lied!

And the list would be endless.  I am glad that my God cannot lie.  I am glad that I have his words in my Bible, and that I can trust them because God cannot lie.

The Trail of Blood is a history that shows how the Lord’s promise (Matt 16:18, Matt 28:20) to His churches has been fulfilled.  In any town there are many different churches and they all claim to be the true church.  This cannot be the case because a true church will line up with what the Bible teaches and all of those churches do not teach the same thing.  Using scripture Dr. Carroll defines 11 marks of a true New Testament Church.  Then in this booklet he takes the marks or teachings that are taught in God’s word and applies them to churches and then traces them back thru time all the way to Jesus. 

            He is very concise.  He covers 2000 years of church history in 56 pages.  You will find out when did infant baptism start, as well as the idea of Purgatory, and the selling of indulgences.  Who were the Ana-Baptists?  What church worked to keep the Bible from the people?  And many other important events that you need to be informed about are covered in this booklet.

            The booklet includes a fold out diagram that visually shows the history of the church from the time of Christ.  It is an excellent visual aid and in itself makes buying this booklet worth it.  Overall, if you want a good though overview of church history, without having to read hundreds of pages, then you need to get this booklet.

 

Without hesitation I whole heartily recommend this book!  It is the story of Tom Malone who is a great Bible believing preacher.  He was saved and called to be a preacher on the same day.  Read about his great faith as he leaves for Bible college with no idea on how to pay the tuition, and how God provided.  Read story after story in this book that will touch your heart.  Read how he stayed faithful thru the loss of his daughter and how that affected others.  Time and again this book really affected me.  I just had to share some of the stories with my wife and after I was done reading I would look up and see my wife in tears.  This book is a must read.

 

Get This Book

I am the host of a podcast called The Word Podcast.  http://www.thewordpodcast.com

 

The purpose of the podcast to to bring people the Word of God in concise messages.  The messages range in length from 8 to 25 min. 

 

Podcasting is a way of providing audio content via the internet.  The best way to get the messages is to go to the web site and download our FREE Podcatcher Software.  It is already pre-configued for The Word Podcast.  The software will automatically download the messages as they become available.  You then can listen to them on your time table.

 

I believe that there is something that God Cannot Do!  He cannot lie.  He said that His words are pure and that he would preserve them.  Therefore we have them today and can count on them to tell us how to be saved so we can go to heaven, and we can count on them to tell us how to live.

 

My prayer is that the messages will challange you to draw closer to God.

 

Bryan