|
|
Grace be to you and
peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ, Who gave Himself
for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil world. Galatians
1:3-4.
An historic meeting was held
some time ago in Stockholm, Sweden. Thousands of leading research scientists
and doctors from around the world gathered to discuss the serious problem
of the dreaded disease called AIDS.
The conference closed on
a discouraging note. No cure has been found for AIDS, nor any vaccine to
keep one from acquiring it. AIDS has spread to every country in the world.
The Public Broadcasting network brought together a group of elders from
their different fields to discuss the next decade. Among them a leading
authority on AIDS mentioned that at the present rate of its spread in Africa,
one fourth of the African population will become HIV positive. He stated
it was the worst plague to face the human race.
There is a strange similarity
between the diseases AIDS and sin. Both entered the human race from an
outside source. AIDS may have come from the green monkey. We know sin was
never a part of God's original creation. It too came from an outside source.
Paul, the apostle, wrote in Romans 5:12, "As by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned." The disease AIDS is sure death. The powerful drug AZT and others may prolong life for a short time, but death is certain for the AIDS victim. The same is true of sin. (Ezekiel 18:20) "The soul that sinneth, it shall die."
AIDS suppresses the human
immune system, allowing other infections to enter the body and weaken it's
defenses. Sin destroys whatever immunity we might have against the power
of evil until one is finally overcome by it. AIDS infects all without respect
of person; even the loved sports idol, Magic Johnson. So sin infects every
man, woman, boy or girl. (Romans 3:22,23), "For there is no difference:
For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God."
What is this thing of AIDS?
We know how it affects the body. We know that it is certain death. But
much of it is mystery. It has only a short history in the human race. What
is this thing of sin? When did it start? John, in his first epistle wrote,
"The devil sinneth from the beginning," (3:8).
And we know from Paul's writing
In Romans 5:12, "As by one man sin entered into the world, and death by
sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned." The effect
of the dreaded AIDS virus can soon be seen in the body of one infected.
Loss of weight, strength, etc. It takes it's toll quickly. Yet, in some,
HIV can remain hidden within the body for some years before becoming active.
Sin is like that. It can
hide behind the surface for years before its' terrible effect can be seen
in broken bodies, slaves to dope, alcohol, sex. One can see it in broken
marriages. Companions once loving become cold, bitter, cruel to each other.
And the marriage dies. You can see it in broken relationship with others,
even with God. Sin separates.
What is this thing of sin
that kills everything it touches? In the Old Testament the word is chet
or chattah. But in the New Testament there are a number of Greek words
translated "sin" in our English language. The most commonly used is hamartia,
meaning "to miss the mark, the true end of life."
Then parabioses, "transgressing
of a line, passing beyond some defined limit."
Parakoe, "failing
to heed a voice, so disobedience."
Anomia, "lawlessness, contrary
to law, contempt of law."
Asebeia, "ungodliness, positive active irreligion. A condition of direct opposition
to God."
Like HIV, sin is a complicated thing--a mystery. But it is something each of us was born with, infected by. It caused our first father Adam to disobey God's voice, to transgress beyond the assigned limit, "Thou shalt not eat thereof." It brought with it a fallen nature. As it developed, it grew into contempt of law, and ultimately to ungodliness, positive active irreligion against God!
We can see it in man's determined effort to believe in a false theory of evolution so completely discredited, denying God as Creator. One can see it in secular humanism, and the false teaching of the New Age with it's denial of Jesus Christ as God's only Son and man's only Savior!
Let me go back to the main
word translated "sin", hamartia, "missing the mark, the true end of life."
What is the true end of life? How does sin cause one to miss the mark?
The Bible opens with the
statement (Genesis 1:27), "So God created man in His own image." (v.28)
"And God . . . said unto them . . . have dominion." So man was made in
God's own image, after His likeness, and created to have dominion. Does
the expression, "In His own image," refer to physical likeness? No. It
refers to moral character. How many words do you need to define God's nature?
Only three--"God is love." Love is the heart of God's law. When the lawyer
asked Jesus, "Which is the greatest commandment?" Jesus answered (Matthew
22:37-39), "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with
all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and greatest commandment.
And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself."
So the true end of life is
to love God and others! If you love, you live. Paul sensed this when he
wrote in Galatians 5:14, "For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even
in this: Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." Again in I Timothy 1:5,
"Now the end of the commandment is charity (love) out of a pure heart."
Is it any wonder Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians. 14:1, or, "Make love your
aim?"
When God created man, He
made him to share His glory (Hebrews 2:6, 7). "One, in a certain place,
testified, saying, What is man, that Thou art mindful of him? or the Son
of man, that Thou visitest him? Thou made him a little lower than the angels;
Thou crowns him with glory and honor, and didst set him over the works
of Thy hands." From this passage it is clear God not only ordains man for
dominion, but also to share in His glory.
From our text (Galations
1:3,4), God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ taught us to pray, "Our
Father which art in heaven." God's ultimate purpose for each in being born
is that one day we may all be part of God's great big loving family. John
wrote (1 John. 3:1), "Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed
upon us, that we should be called the sons of God."
What is sin's aim? To cause
you to miss the mark! To keep you from reaching the true aim of life for
which you were born. You ask, "How does sin cause one to miss the mark,
the true end of life?" First, by dethroning God from one's heart.
It was sin's appeal in the
garden, "Ye shall be as gods," that drove a wedge between Eve and God,
and led her to disobedience. It is the one purpose of the teaching of evolution
to deny God as Creator and as Lord. Sin's aim is to separate you from God.
Sin destroys the love in a man's heart for God.
How does sin cause one to
miss the mark, the true end of life? Sin's aim is to enthrone self. The
words "sin, pride, Lucifer," have one thing in common--the big "I" at the
center. Sin makes one selfish. A monk in Saint Augustine's time defined
sin as "self love."
While love is the sacrifice
of self for others, lust is the sacrifice of others for self! The husband
who sacrifices his wife and family in his lust for another woman; teenagers
who sacrifice unborn babies in their lustful desire for premarital sex.
Sin's one purpose is to cause you to miss the mark--the true end of life.
That is to love God and to love others!
Sin's aim is to bring you
into shame and dishonor. (Proverbs 14:34) "Sin is a reproach to any people."
Daniel wrote (12:2), "Many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth
shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting
contempt."
Sin's aim is to make a slave
of everyone. Destined by God to have dominion, to reign in life--sin's
aim is to make you a slave of alcohol, of drugs, whatever. I came across
an interesting verse in 2 Timothy 2:26, "The snare of the devil, who are
taken captive by him at his will." Notice the margin. It reads, "taken
alive." The Greek word is the same we use for zoo. Ordained to rule, to
reign with Christ, now chained in Satan's zoo!
Sin's aim is to keep you out of God's family. To miss God's ultimate plan for your life--sharing His home in heaven! "In my Father's house are many mansions (rooms),." (John 14:2).
Sin's aim is to damn your
eternal soul. To separate you from God, from Christ, from all that is dear,
and send you to the loneliest spot in the universe, where no one cares,
no one shares, where there is no light nor love. It is what Christ called
it--hell!
Though AIDS has only a short
history, it is already considered the most serious plague ever to affect
the human race. It has spread to every country, infecting not only the
homosexual, but the heterosexual community as well. Because infection comes
mainly from sexual contact (and national statistics tell us over 70% of
our youth by the age 17 are sexually active), there is deep concern of
the danger of it spreading even faster. The day will soon come when every
home in some way will be touched by this dreaded disease.
In all of news media, whether
in print or on TV, I have never heard one statement that makes light of
AIDS. It is feared and respected by all. AIDS kills, there is no cure.
Yet the most AIDS can do is to destroy the body.
Sin is far more deadly than
AIDS. It made the firstborn child a murderer as Cain killed his brother
Abel. In a few generations sin had so engulfed a world that God saw the
wickedness of man was great. (Genesis 6:5) Every imagination of the
thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. (Genesis 6:13)
"The heart is filled with violence.
What about our own day? Over
a million and a half abortions a year, and at least that many illegitimate
babies born. We face a drug traffic we cannot control. Violence fills our
land. Broken marriages, battered wives, sexually abused children. Yet in
the face of all this we see such light views of sin. Homosexuality is only
an alternate lifestyle. I was shocked recently to see emblazoned on the
sweatshirt of a nice looking girl, "If you did it last night, smile!" But
Solomon's words are still true (Proverbs 14:9), Fools make a mock
at sin.
Jeremiah wrote in his day
(8:12), Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? Nay,
they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush" Isaiah
wrote (3:9), The shew of their countenance doth witness against them;
and they declared their sin as Sodom, they hide it not. I doubt
there ever was a day when men held lighter views of sin than in our day;
even mocking it. But the tragedy is that those light views of sin are not
only those of the outside, but inside the church as well!
In a recent poll among evangelical church youth, the statistical average of those sexually active
was not much lower than the
nation's average. 43% of our church youth are sexually active by age 18.
A recent government bulletin
on the disease AIDS made a plea for safe sex. But let me raise a question.
Is there safe sex outside of marriage? God ordained the sexual relationship
for marriage. It is sacred in God's sight, and all sexual relationships
outside of marriage are sinful. God's law condemns it. (Exodus 20:14) "Thou
shalt not commit adultery." And 1 Corinthians 6:9 makes one thing clear
- no fornicator nor adulterer shall inherit the Kingdom of God. Sexual
sins will separate you from God and keep you out of heaven!
While there are many similarities
between AIDS and sin, there is one great difference. For AIDS there is
no cure for those who have been infected by it, but for sin, there is a
cure. The cross of Christ!
"Rock of Ages, cleft for me, let me hide myself in Thee. Let the water and the blood from Thy wounded side which flowed, be for sin the double cure, save from wrath and keep me pure."
Paul states it so simply
in our text, "Who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from
this present evil world." Paul never forgot that experience on the Damascus
road when he personally met Christ, was saved, and called to preach to
the Gentiles. But how could he explain what he had experienced when all
his past life was devoted to finding salvation by the works of the law?
He shares in this little
book of Galatians that the Holy Spirit led him into the Arabian desert
for the best of three years to reveal to him God's glorious Gospel of grace!
It was there before Mt. Sinai, the place of the giving of the Law, that
God began to show him the Law was never a part of the original plan. (Galatians
3:19), "It was added because of transgressions." It was never intended
to save a man, only to show him his need of a Savior.
Before the awful majesty
of Mt. Sinai the Holy Spirit brought back to his mind the difficult struggle
he had with sin under law, and his personal failure. He shares it later
in Romans 7. That it was by the Law he had come to know sin, for sin had
used the commandment, "Thou shall not covet," to stir up all manner of
covetousness within him. It was by the Law he had come to know the exceeding
sinfulness of sin, as it used God's good holy Law to provoke him to sin
and bring him to death!
It was through his experience
under law that he came to recognize his own nature. I am carnal, sold under
sin. A slave to it. The good that I would I do not; the evil which I would
not, that I do. It was this being torn between the two, with his mind wanting
to serve God, but with his body serving sin that wrung from his heart the
cry, "Oh wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of
this death?"
It is a simple matter to
kill HIV. But how to do it in the body of one infected without killing
him, medical science has no answer. In all his previous religious experiences,
he had found no help from the Law--only it's condemnation. But there, at
the foot of the mount, the Holy Spirit revealed to him that God had done
what the Law, weakened by the flesh, could not do, sending His Son in the
likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh.
As a child, diphtheria was
a dreaded disease, highly contagious. An outbreak of it in our neighborhood
caused the deepest fear. Medical research discovered that by injecting
the diphtheria bacillus into the blood stream of huge bodied draft horses
they would become sick with diphtheria fever. But, because of their huge
bodies, they could overcome it. Blood serum was drawn from their veins,
and from it a diphtheria vaccine was made which when injected into a child
would prevent infection.
Christ was born sinless. All of His life He suffered temptations as others, but never once yielded to sin. Now, on that cross, God made Him to be sin for us - He Who knew no sin. He overcame that thing of sin, and His blood provides both cleansing and freedom from sin's power.
Paul knew from Deuteronomy,
the book of the Law, that death by hanging from a tree was the cursed death
of the Law. So the cross had been the biggest stumbling block to him. Why
would God allow His Son to die the accursed death of the cross?
Sometime during those lonely
years in the desert, reading again from Deuteronomy 27 on the curse of
the Law, the light came on. He saw it in verse 26 and wrote of it in Galatians
3:10, "Cursed is everyone that continueth not in all things which are written
in the book of the law to do them." He was under God's curse, for he had
failed to do all the things the law commanded all the time. The law demanded
what no man could fulfill.
Gently, the Holy Spirit led
him to understand the greatness of Christ's sacrifice for him as He hung
naked, shamed, disgraced, on that cross for him. It broke his heart. The
cross once so despised became his glory. Gladly he identified himself with
it. I am crucified with Christ. God forbid that I should glory save in
the cross.
He knew he was called to
preach the Gospel to the Gentiles. In the past he, as other Jews, had boasted
they were not sinners like the Gentiles. His experience of salvation made
him know there was no difference--all have sinned. But what about the law
with it's rite of circumcision, dietary laws, Sabbath holy days, which
like a middle wall of partition had kept Jews and Gentiles apart? The faithful
Holy Spirit revealed to him that in the hour of Christ's death He abolished
in His flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances;
for to make in Himself one new man, so making peace; and that He might
reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity
thereby. On that cross Jesus took that law which was against us and which
was contrary to us, out of the way, nailing it to His cross. Christ was
the end of the law to everyone that believeth!
What joy must have filled
his heart as he now realized the truth of the Gospel--all are saved simply
by faith in Christ apart from any works of the law. Now he knew for himself
and those to whom he would preach that sin shall not have dominion over
us, for we are not under law but under grace!
But there was one great question
from the moment of his meeting Christ on the Damascus road that had deeply
troubled him. How could he, a loyal son of Abraham, devoted to keeping
the law, now knowing God's will, ever be found persecuting God's Son, his
own Messiah! The anguish of that pain never left him. He was blinded physically,
afterward healed, but there in his solitude, the Spirit revealed to him
that before his conversion he was part of a world system alienated from
God--therefore hostile to Christ! He had been spiritually blinded by the
god of this world. What he had done, he did ignorantly in unbelief. God
in the hour of the cross judged both this world's system and it's god when
Jesus said, "Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of
this world be cast out." It was the cross that freed him from this world
and it's ruler!
You ask, "Did God reveal
all that to Paul while he was in the lonely desert?" That's what he wrote
to the Galatians. He brought with him from the desert his gospel of grace
which he had received, not from men, but from the Lord Jesus Christ Himself,
and the central truth of that gospel was the cross!
Note how often he spoke of
it. (Galatians 1:4) "Who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver
us from this present evil world." (2:20) "I am crucified with Christ."
(3:1) "Oh foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that he should not
obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently . .
. crucified among you?" (3:13) "Christ hath redeemed us from the curse
of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, cursed is everyone
that hangeth on the tree." (5:24) "They that are Christ's have crucified
the flesh with the affections and lusts." (6:14) "God forbid that I should
glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is
crucified unto me, and I unto the world." It was the same when he was in
Corinth. (1 Corinthians 2:2) "I determined not to know anything among you,
save Jesus Christ, and Him crucified." Why? He gives the answer in I Corinthians
1:18, "The preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but
unto us which are saved, it is the power of God."
In a recent newscast on the
government's AIDS awareness program, the commentator stated it was ten
years before the number of those infected with HIV reached 100,000. But
only two years later it had doubled to 200,000. Yet the warning was the
same--use condoms with a lubricant. Not one word about abstinence! Then
this strange comment from the doctor, "The level of concern over the possibility
of being infected has dropped 50%." Is AIDS less dangerous now, or as we
become familiar with it do we lose our fear of it? Sin is like that. "Familiarity
breeds contempt."
But I have been touched by
the stories of some who are infected with HIV _ they will do anything or
go anywhere to find help. It is told that Magic Johnson is going to Mexico
for help though there is none there. Recently stories from New York City
tell of many infected ones avoiding subways and even hospitals, fearful
of contracting T.B. They know the danger of secondary infections. AIDS
is sure death. There is no cure. For sin, God has provided a cure in the
cross!
In Israel's exodus and wilderness experience, God has given us word pictures of the cross. Their sprinkling of the blood and eating of the Passover lamb, which freed them from Egypt's power, pointed to the day when in Paul's words (1 Corinthians 5:7), "Christ, our passover, is sacrificed for us." It spoke of forgiveness and freedom from sin's power by Christ's death for us.
When they crossed the Red
Sea and were safe on the other side, free to begin a new life, strangely
the found themselves wanting to go back to Egypt. Why? One word--lust.
(Psalms 106:14) "They lusted exceedingly in the wilderness." They wanted
what Egypt had to offer, because they failed to understand when they shared
in the Passover it ended their relationship with Egypt and their old way
of living.
Near the close of their 40
years wandering in the wilderness, skirting the land of Edom (Numbers 2:15)
"The people spoke against God, and against Moses, Wherefore have ye brought
us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness?" When they complained, "Our
soul loatheth this light bread," (manna) God sent fiery serpents in their
midst and many died. Moses was told to make a brazen serpent and put it
on a pole, that when everyone that is bitten looks at it, shall live. That
brazen serpent is a picture of the cross. (John 3:14, 15) "As Moses lifted
up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted
up: That whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal
life." There must be faith in Christ's death for our sins (Romans 3:25)
"through faith in His blood."
When one reads the rest of
the story in Numbers 21 one can see a changed people. No longer do they
talk of going back to Egypt, nor do you find them complaining. You ask
how can a brass serpent on a pole stop death from a serpent's bite. How
can a man dying on a cross be the answer to sin? Ask one who has experienced
it! That cross, sir, will make it possible for you to close the old chapter
of your life under law and the power of sin, and begin a new chapter as
a son of God! (Galatians 4:4,5) "When the fullness of the time was come,
God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem
them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons."
There is a touching story
from earth's firstborn, Cain, jealous of his brother Abel. Let me read
it from Genesis 4:6,7, using the Jewish translation: "The Lord said to
Cain, Why are you distressed? Why is your face fallen? Surely if you do
right there is uplift, but if you do not right, sin is the demon at the
door, whose urge is toward you. Yet you can be his master." Cain, if you
reach up for help, I'll reach down to help. He never did, and he became
the world's first murderer!
If one infected by AIDS knew
he could find a cure by looking at a brass serpent, would he not do it?
There is life for a look at the crucified one!
"In the Old rugged cross, stained with blood so divine,
a wondrous beauty I see;
for 'twas on that old cross Jesus suffered and died,
To pardon and sanctify me."
|
|
|
|
|
|