Tag: Sin

26.x. “Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth”

Galatians 6:14  But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation. And as for all who walk by this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God.

 Philippians 3:3   For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh—

 Philippians 3:7-11     But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.  Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ  and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—  that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,  that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.

 Romans 6:6    We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.

 Colossians 3:1-3    If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.  Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.  For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

 1 John 5:4-5   For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.  Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

Paul’s heart cared nothing for the glory that came from fame. He cared nothing for the glory that came from riches. He cared nothing for the glory that came from status and power among men. He only cared about the glory of the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Paul wrote about having crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Now with the flesh on the cross he also put the world on the cross, and considers himself dead to the world. The world could not have any influence over Paul if it were dead, and Paul could not respond to any influence from it if he were dead to the world. The world, in the sense Paul means it here, was not the global earth; nor was it the mass of humanity (which God Himself loves, John 3:16). Instead, it was the community of sinful humanity that is united in rebellion against God. (Guzik) 

The battle between fleshly/worldly and things of God is very real.  Sometimes it becomes hard to bring these two differences into focus. The fleshly and worldly make promises it can not keep (purpose, satisfaction, power, wisdom, honor, glory, worthiness).  These are promises filled with deceit.  As soon as some portion is reached, it fades as fast as it came. It consumes time, both physically and mentally.  It will rob your heart, exhausting your soul, and fill you with emptiness.  It presents itself as our friend who wants to fill our minds with what it thinks is important.  It gains foundational roots in our hearts from the minute we were born into this world.  It hides exposure by subtle watering and fertilization of the lusts and wants of our sinful nature.  It produces worthless sour and bitter fruit that fills the heart and mind but never satisfies. It convinces the heart and mind that it is sweet as honey and you want/need more of it.  

The greatest gift from God was His grace, mercy, and love found in and through Jesus Christ.  He offers salvation, redemption, and forgiveness to those who would believe, trust, repent and obey.  In His mercy, grace, and love He offers life more abundantly, a purpose for the heavenly, and the power of the Holy Spirit to discern and fight off/resist the fleshly/worldly.   Without discernment, it is very hard to recognize what is worldly and of the flesh.  To have discernment requires you to know the difference between what you see, hear, think, say, and do.  How is a person discern whether or not what they see, hear, think, say, and do is fleshly/worldly or godly/heavenly.  Every waking moment the eyes and ears to our hearts, minds, and souls are blasted with the worldly and fleshly. These fiery darts come at us every second of every moment.  Everyone is targeted.  Not a second goes by where there is not an attack on your soul.  The problem is having the ability to discern them.  God’s Word is our shield against the onslaught of lies and deception of the worldly/fleshly.  Yet, how many are prepared for the battle for their soul?  How many Christians bring up the Shield of His Word on Sundays but live every other day without its defense?  How many fiery darts have punched the heart and soul and the person is not even aware they are seriously wounded? Do we expect God to give us discernment when we neglect His Word?  It is through His Word we find true, hope, peace, strength, joy, love, and purpose and satisfaction for our soul.  The lies, false hopes and promises, fear, anger, anxiousness, worries, and the shallowness of what the flesh and worldly have to offer are exposed. It is not the spending of time reading His Word, but rather this with a pure foundation of seeking and desiring things of God to honor and glorify Him alone. We will never find the Holy Spirit giving discernment when the heart and mind are set on things of the flesh and this world.  How can we say the desires and promises of this world are crucified to me when we can’t even discern the difference between what it offers and things of God?

26.p.

Galatians 4:12  Brothers, I entreat you, become as I am, for I also have become as you are. You did me no wrong. You know it was because of a bodily ailment that I preached the gospel to you at first, and though my condition was a trial to you, you did not scorn or despise me, but received me as an angel of God, as Christ Jesus. What then has become of your blessedness? For I testify to you that, if possible, you would have gouged out your eyes and given them to me. Have I then become your enemy by telling you the truth? They make much of you, but for no good purpose. They want to shut you out, that you may make much of them. It is always good to be made much of for a good purpose, and not only when I am present with you, my little children, for whom I am again in the anguish of childbirth until Christ is formed in you! I wish I could be present with you now and change my tone, for I am perplexed about you.

Romans 8:9  You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.

Romans 8:29  For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.

I heard a song the other day which had the line; “Spirit fall on us”.  Is this a proper statement for a Christian to say?  When the eyes to your heart, mind, and soul are opened to the gospel of Jesus Christ, and by faith you believe, trust, and rely on Him alone you are saved, born again, a new creation, and the Holy Spirit makes residence in you. When does the Holy Spirit leave you? It does not ever leave.  You can close the ears to your heart, mind, and soul.  You can disregard what the Holy Spirit is encouraging you do to.  You can deny what the Holy Spirit is telling you to do.  You can say no to what the Holy Spirit is telling you to do. You can neglect the Holy Spirit living in you.  Yes, you can reject those quiet and not-so-quiet whispers to your heart from the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit of God dwells in each and every person who is born again.  

Paul wanted to see the likeness of Christ being formed in these believers in Galatia.  How does this happen?  How is the likeness of Christ being formed in us? We must want to and be willing to be led by the Holy Spirit. David gave a great example of this; “How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!”, “Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!”.  When we desire and seek to hear and do what the Holy Spirit is leading us to do, we will continually be more and more resembling the likeness of Christ.  A light the shine in the darkness and beacon of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. The fruits of the Holy Spirit.   What keeps us from experiencing these fruits?  Love of self, love of worldly, and love of the flesh more than things of God and wanting to be led by the Holy Spirit.  Our hearts, minds, and souls, are not seeking or desiring to hear or listen to the leading.  

Think about how you are being fed.  What is feeding your soul? What are you spending your time on? What consumes your time and thoughts? If we say, “I am going to spend more time in God’s Word” this is good but could very well be lacking in desire to be led.  Our hearts, minds, and souls must hunger and thirst for leading and the sole purpose of this desire is out of sincere love for Jesus Christ and want to honor and glorify Him.  Anything short of this will not find the heart, mind, or soul listening or willing to be led.

26.i. “How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word.”

 

Psalms 119:9 How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word. With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments! I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you. Blessed are you, O LORD; teach me your statutes! With my lips I declare all the rules of your mouth. In the way of your testimonies I delight as much as in all riches. I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways. I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget your word.

The foundation for a morally pure life is found in God’s word. God’s word shows us the standard of purity, so we know what is right and what is wrong. God’s word shows us the reasons for purity, so we understand the wisdom and goodness of God’s commands. God’s word shows us the difficulty of purity, and reminds us to be on guard. God’s word shows us the blessings of purity, and gives us an incentive to make the necessary sacrifices. God’s word shows us how to be born again – converted, so our inner man may be transformed after the pattern of ultimate purity, Jesus Christ. God’s word shows us the way to be empowered by the Holy Spirit, so that we have the spiritual resources to be pure. God’s word is a refuge against temptation, giving us a way of escape in the season of enticement. God’s word is a light that clears away the deceptive fog of seduction and temptation. God’s word is a mirror that helps us see our spiritual and moral condition, and thus walk in purity. God’s word gives us wise and simple commands, such as to “Flee youthful lusts” (2 Timothy 2:22). God’s word washes us from impurity, and actually cleanses our life in a spiritual sense (Ephesians 5:26, John 15:3). God’s word is the key to the renewing of our minds, which in turn is the key to personal, moral, and spiritual transformation God’s word gives a refuge against condemnation when we have been impure, and shows us how to repent and come back to a pure life. God’s word shows us how to conduct our lives so that we are an encouragement to others in purity. (Guzik)

25.k. “But as servants of God”

2 Corinthians 6:4 but as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: by great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger; by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, the Holy Spirit, genuine love; by truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left

 Romans 14:18    Whoever thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men.

 1 Thessalonians 2:3-11   For our appeal does not spring from error or impurity or any attempt to deceive,  but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please man, but to please God who tests our hearts.

 Romans 5:3-4    Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance,  and endurance produces character, and character produces hope,

 Colossians 1:11    being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy

 Hebrews 12:1   Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,

 James 5:7-10    Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains.  You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.

 Revelation 3:10    Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth.

We often think of patience as a passive thing – the ability to sit around and wait for something to happen. That is not the idea of the word Paul used here. It is an active endurance instead of a passive waiting. The ancient Greek word hupomone “does not describe the frame of mind which can sit down with folded hands and bowed head and let a torrent of troubles sweep over it in passive resignation. It describes the ability to bear things in such a triumphant way that it transfigures them.” (Barclay)

“Nowadays it is not the violence but the mockery or the amused contempt of the crowd against which the Christian must stand fast.” (Barclay)

 Paul knew he needed endurance, and he knew many things in his life drew him to seek that endurance. Some of them were the general trials of life, some were sufferings directly brought by others, and some were self-inflicted. Not every trial was the same, but they all made him need endurance.

The idea of on the right hand and on the left is of holding both offensive and defensive weapons. It probably has in mind “both advancing and being attacked.” “Particularly, the shield and the sword; the former on the left arm, the latter on the right hand. We have the doctrine of truth, and the power of God, as an armour to protect us on all sides, every where, and on all occasions.” (Clarke)

25.j. “Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, “Today, if you hear his voice,”

 

2 Corinthians 6:3  Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation. We put no obstacle in anyone’s way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry, but as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: by great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger; by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, the Holy Spirit, genuine love; by truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left; through honor and dishonor, through slander and praise. We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold, we live; as punished, and yet not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, yet possessing everything.

 Ezekiel 16:8    “When I passed by you again and saw you, behold, you were at the age for love, and I spread the corner of my garment over you and covered your nakedness; I made my vow to you and entered into a covenant with you, declares the Lord GOD, and you became mine.

 Luke 19:42-44    saying, “Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. For the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up a barricade around you and surround you and hem you in on every side  and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And they will not leave one stone upon another in you, because you did not know the time of your visitation.”

 Hebrews 3:7     Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, “Today, if you hear his voice,

 Hebrews 3:13   But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.

 Hebrews 4:7    again he appoints a certain day, “Today,” saying through David so long afterward, in the words already quoted, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.”

  God has an acceptable time for us to work with His grace. God has a day of salvation that will not last forever. This is no time for Christian lives consumed with ease and comfort and self-focus. It is time to get busy for the Lord and to be workers together with Him.  What is it that keeps us from seeing, knowing, and doing the Work of God?  Is it trials? Is it ease and comfort? Are we deceived or influenced into believing He can’t or won’t use us?  Do we find excuse after excuse, time and time again?  I am not knowledgeable in the bible enough to be used by God.  I am too busy.  I am not good enough.  I am not brave enough.  I am not worthy enough.  The list is as long as the number of excuses we make that keeps us from making a commitment to listen and then obey.  Is the world influencing your ability to listen?  Does it steal time away from working for God? Does it deafen your ears to hear His leading and calls for action in your life?  

When we understand that our purpose in this life is to honor and glorify God in all we say, think, and do, it is then we will begin to understand His leading and calling and purpose and plans for our lives.  Today is the day.  Now is the moment. Right now.  Make an intentional choice to make God-honoring and God-glorifying the reason for all you say, think, and do.

22.q. “Search me, O God, and know my heart!”

1 Corinthians 15:34 Wake up from your drunken stupor, as is right, and do not go on sinning. For some have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame.

Hebrews 5:11-12    About this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing.  For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food,

Jeremiah 9:3

“They bend their tongues like bows; lies prevail over truth in the land. For they proceed from evil to evil, and they do not take Me into account,” declares the LORD.

Matthew 22:29

Jesus answered, “You are mistaken because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God.

Psalms 119:11   I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.

Psalms 139:23  Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!

Wake Up!  Stop living like a drunk person who is unable to reason with a sound mind. Have you lost all of your senses? You are living in ways that are sinful. Can’t you see it?  Are you aware that some of you have no knowledge of God for you are disgracefully ignorant of Him, and ignore His truths.  Paul is making a point.  “Test and evaluate yourselves to see whether you are in the faith and living your lives as [committed] believers. Examine yourselves [not me]! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves [by an ongoing experience] that Jesus Christ is in you—unless indeed you fail the test and are rejected as counterfeit?” 

We can all get sideways in our walk with God.  When His Word is put aside and our interests seem to leave no time for it, is when we fall into a void and subject ourselves to wrong thinking and acting.  Test what you do against what is written in God’s Word.  Have a heart that asks God to show you where you are not honoring Him and be willing to receive instruction through His Word and leading.  It is a lonely path leading to a void of instruction when we choose to put aside His Word for the interest of other things.

19.o. “So as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God.”

Romans 6:13  Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God.

Colossians 3:5    Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.

James 4:1   What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you?

Romans 7:5 When we were controlled by our old nature, sinful desires were at work within us, and the law aroused these evil desires that produced a harvest of sinful deeds, resulting in death.

 Isaiah 55:7   let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the LORD, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.

 2 Peter 2:13-15   suffering wrong as the wage for their wrongdoing. They count it pleasure to revel in the daytime. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their deceptions, while they feast with you.  They have eyes full of adultery, insatiable for sin. They entice unsteady souls. They have hearts trained in greed. Accursed children!  Forsaking the right way, they have gone astray. They have followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved gain from wrongdoing,

2 Chronicles 30:8    Do not now be stiff-necked as your fathers were, but yield yourselves to the LORD and come to his sanctuary, which he has consecrated forever, and serve the LORD your God, that his fierce anger may turn away from you.

1 Corinthians 6:20     for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. 

1 Peter 4:2     so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God.

A person can be “officially” set free, yet still imprisoned. If a person lives in prison for years, and then is set free, they often still think and act like a prisoner. The habits of freedom aren’t ingrained in their life yet.  In the fourteenth century two brothers fought for the right to rule over a dukedom in what is now Belgium. The elder brother’s name was Raynald, but he was commonly called “Crassus,” a Latin nickname meaning “fat,” for he was horribly obese. After a heated battle, Raynald’s younger brother Edward led a successful revolt against him and assumed the title of Duke over his lands. But instead of killing Raynald, Edward devised a curious imprisonment. He had a room in the castle built around “Crassus,” a room with only one door. The door was not locked, the windows were not barred, and Edward promised Raynald that he could regain his land and his title any time that he wanted to. All he would have to do is leave the room. The obstacle to freedom was not in the doors or the windows, but with Raynald himself. Being grossly overweight, he could not fit through the door, even though it was of near-normal size. All Raynald needed to do was diet down to a smaller size, then walk out a free man, with all he had before his fall. However, his younger brother kept sending him an assortment of tasty foods, and Raynald’s desire to be free never won out over his desire to eat. Some would accuse Duke Edward of being cruel to his older brother, but he would simply reply, “My brother is not a prisoner. He may leave when he so wills.” But Raynald stayed in that room for ten years.  

This accurately illustrates the experience of many Christians. Jesus set them forever free legally, and they may walk in that freedom from sin whenever they choose. But since they keep yielding their bodily appetites to the service of sin, they live a life of defeat, discouragement, and imprisonment. This accurately illustrates the experience of many Christians. Jesus set them forever free legally, and they may walk in that freedom from sin whenever they choose. But since they keep yielding their bodily appetites to the service of sin, they live a life of defeat, discouragement, and imprisonment. Your members are the parts of your body – your ears, lips, eyes, hands, mind, and so forth. The idea is very practical: “You have eyes. Do not put them in the service of sin. You have ears. Do not put them in the service of sin.”  The parts of our body are weapons in the battle for right living. When the parts of our body are given over to righteousness, they are weapons for good. When they are given over to sin, they are weapons for evil. (Guzik)   

It is a test of our claim to be Christians. Does anger have dominion over you? Does murmuring and complaining? Does covetousness have dominion over you? Does pride? Does laziness have dominion over you? If sin has dominion over us, we should seriously ask if we are really converted. It is a promise of victory. It doesn’t say that “sin will not be present in us,” because that will only be fulfilled when we are resurrected in glory. But it does promise that sin will not have dominion over us because of the great work Jesus did in us when we were born again. It is an encouragement for hope and strength in the battle against sin. God has set you free in Jesus. This is encouragement for the Christian struggling against sin, for the new Christian, and for the backslider. (Spurgeon)

19.n. “Make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.”

Romans 6:1  What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

 2 Corinthians 5:17   Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

 Ephesians 4:17   Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds.

 Ephesians 4:22-24  to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires,  and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds,  and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

 1 John 2:6   whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.

 Colossians 1:10-12    so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;  being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy;  giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.

 Philippians 3:17-18    Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us.  For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ.

 Romans 13:13-14     Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy.  But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.

“That we too might walk in newness of life.”  “Behold the new has come.” “He is a New Creation.” Renewed in the spirit of your minds.” “Put on the new self.” “Walk in a manner worthy of the Lord.” “Let us walk properly as in the daytime.”  What does it mean to walk properly and in a manner worthy of the Lord?  The easiest way to think about answering this is to know what sin is and to know what is pleasing to God. How do we know what sin is?  Do we know it by instinct?  Do we instinctively know what is good and bad – right and wrong – true and false?  Unfortunately, we do not instinctively know, but through our upbringing and our culture, we determine what is socially acceptable.  If something is socially or culturally acceptable is it good, right, and true? – (Maybe)  If it is socially and culturally acceptable can it still be sin? – (absolutely)  Someone said wrong is wrong even if everyone is doing it, and right is right if there is only one doing it.  

If we base our rights, wrongs, and truths on what is culturally acceptable then we can easily fall prey to doing what is sin in God’s eyes.  There is only one place we gain insight into what is good, right, and true.  That is in God’s word.  He is steadfast.  His Word is true. His promises are true.  He is truth. There is no falsehood in Him. If we want to know what is true, right, good, and honorable then we need to not only spend time in His Word but also spend time with Him in prayer.  Jesus said that out of the abundance of our heart our mouth speaks.  If we are only feeding our heart with a token stab at daily devotions then His Word will not abide in us but rather pass through us as if we were empty vessels.  There must be a heart-deep desire connected to our seeking of what is true, good, and right.  There must be a hunger and thirst.  If there is stagnate “life” flowing through your veins and if there is a neglect of God’s Word in your day, and if there is a foggy haze to your understanding of what is good, right, and true in God’s eyes, then repent and turn away from this right now.  You are a new creation that has been born with the newness of life through Jesus Christ.   Jesus did not die for you so that you could keep on sinning but rather so that you would choose to intentionally live to honor and glorify Him alone. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

19.m. “Sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin”

Romans 5:12   Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned— for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come.

But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man’s trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many. And the free gift is not like the result of that one man’s sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification. For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ. Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous. Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Sin came into the world through Adam. Adam chose to disobey God.   He willingly chose to reject what God had said.  Through this single act of disobedience, sin and death came into the world.  We look at the pandemic around the world and we know the death rate is 1.4% of those who get infected.  This means there is a 98.6% chance of survival.  Those are pretty good odds of living.  The death rate of “sin” is 100%.  All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.  Our sin infection will result in death.  It is an absolute certainty.  The urgency for a remedy, treatment, or cure that resulted because of COVID is not uncommon because there is a fear of untimely death.  Think about the urgency given to an infection that has a 98.6% survival rate.  Does that make any sense at all?  Think about the certainty of death because of sin, 100%.  When you consider the difference in magnitude of a 100% death rate compared to a 1.4% death rate, you have to wonder or be curious why there is so much urgency over a 1.4% death rate and little to no urgency given by many over the absolute certainty of death because of sin.  Experts are not certain of the infection rate of COVID, but the certainty of the infection of sin and resulting death are both 100%.

Governments, businesses, and people have invested hundreds of billions of dollars to find a cure for an infection that has a 1.4% chance of resulting in death.  Paul is explaining, to the Roman Christians that every single person is infected with sin.  There is no escaping it and this infection will, with 100% absolute assurance, result in death. 

Physical death will usher us into eternity.  God’s word says all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.  The penalty of sin is death and the verdict of eternity in Hell.  It does not matter how you die – all will die.  What truly matters is where you will spend eternity.  Many think that we live, we die, that is the end and there is nothing more.  They believe the lie that this life on earth is all there is and it is over.  Chapters 1-2 make it clear that God is real and that there is more to life after death and that we will be judged.   Denying and rejecting God does not make it so – it is 100% certain.  Denying and rejecting the coming judgment does not make it so – it is 100% certain.  

What is a person to do?  There is a 100% assurance of sin infection at birth.  There is a 100% assurance of death because of sin.  There is 100% assurance of going to hell because of sin.  What will you do?  There is a remedy given by God through Jesus Christ, that not only cancels the judgment of eternity in hell but removes all of the stains of sin before God’s eyes.  Our sin is washed away.  

When a safe vaccine is given that has been proven to protect and prevent us from getting a disease the only way you are protected is when you take the vaccine.  Likewise, the only way your sin is washed clean and eternal life in heaven is assured is when you take hold of the free gift of grace mercy, and love by believing you are sin infected at birth, the result of this is death and eternity in hell, there is nothing humanly possible to overcome sin or the judgment of God, that God sent His Son to remedy (pay the price) your sin and the verdict of eternity in hell, repenting of sin, seeking forgiveness, and that by believing (trusting in, relying on, and clinging to) Jesus Christ by faith.  There is no hope of protection from disease when the vaccine is not taken and yet many think there is hope over God’s judgment by denying it will happen or that they will be good enough to overcome it.   There is only one way to overcome the disease of sin – Jesus Christ.

18.u. “Whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him.”

John 16:7   Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.

 John 7:39    Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

 John 14:16-17   And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever,  even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.

 John 14:26    But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.

 John 15:26    “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me.

He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: Sin is the truth about man, righteousness is the truth about God, judgment is the inevitable combination of these two truths. (Guzik) 

“Each man’s conscience has some glimmering of light on each of these; some consciousness of guilt, some sense of right, some power of judgment of what is transitory and worthless; but all these are unreal and unpractical, till the convicting work of the Spirit has wrought in him.” (Alford)

The ancient Greek work translated convict has a broader range of meaning than simply our word convict, especially as it is understood in a legal sense. It also carries the ideas to expose, to refute, and to convince (Bruce). This is the work of the Holy Spirit in the world and in individual hearts; to convince and convict of these truths. It is a serious thing to resist and reject this work of the Holy Spirit, which is especially prominent and powerful in seasons of great spiritual advance.  “The Spirit does not merely accuse men of sin, he brings to them an inescapable sense of guilt so that they realize their shame and helplessness before God.” (Tenney)

 “The Spirit is the ‘advocate’ or helper of those who believe in Jesus, their counsel for the defence. But in relation to unbelievers, to the godless world, he acts as counsel for the prosecution.” (Bruce) It’s important to have the Spirit of God to defend rather than to convict.

 In the great awakening of 1860-61 in Great Britain, a high-ranking army officer described the conviction of sin in his Scottish town: “Those of you who are ease have little conception of how terrifying a sight it is when the Holy Spirit is pleased to open a man’s eyes to see the real state of heart. Men who were thought to be, and who thought themselves to be good, religious people… have been led to search into the foundation upon which they were resting, and have found all rotten, that they were self-satisfied, resting on their own goodness, and not upon Christ. Many turned from open sin to lives of holiness, some weeping for joy for sins forgiven.” (J. Edwin Orr, The Second Evangelical Awakening in Britain)

It is unbelief, the rejection of Jesus, which ultimately proves one to be guilty. The Holy Spirit will tell the world of the importance of trusting in, relying on, and clinging to Jesus to avoid this sin. “The essence of sin is unbelief, which is not simply a casual skepticism nor a difference of opinion; rather, it is a total rejection of God’s messenger and message.” (Tenney) It is a vague kind of skepticism which is one of the most common spiritual diseases in man.