Search The Scriptures: September 23, 2001
WHAT BECAME OF SIN?
INTRODUCTION:
A. Good morning ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to this edition of the bible study program -
Search the Scriptures. I am J.R. Bronger and on behalf of the Danville church of Christ that
brings you this program, I invite you to join us as we engage in a diligent study of the bible.
Search the Scriptures is just one means being used by the Danville church of Christ in our
effort to restore original Christianity in the hearts and minds of men and women.
B. Let me remind you that if you have any questions or comments, or if you would just like to
browse our web site, you can do so at www.danvillechurchofchrist.org. You can contact me
by way of the web site or by phoning the office at the building of the Danville church of Christ.
That phone number is: 745-4708. Please let me hear from you, especially if you have a subject or
a text you would like to hear discussed on Search the Scriptures. Also, if you hear a sermon on
Search the Scriptures that you would like to have, either on cassette tape or CD, just let us
know because we will be happy to give it to you absolutely free of charge. Just contact us and let
us know which sermon you would like. If you order a lesson, please do so by the date the study
aired.
C. My friends, today begins a very special week for us here at the Danville church of Christ.
Beginning today and continuing through Friday night, we will be engaging in a gospel meeting.
A gospel meeting is just what the term suggests. We assemble [or meet] together to worship God
and hear his saving gospel preached. We invite you to be our very special guest during this very
special week. If you do visit with us - all we ask of you is to bring your bibles, and leave your
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money at home. We will ask you to open your bible, but not your wallet. As I told you last week,
it is my distinct privilege to be the speaker for this series of studies. If you are a regular listener
to Search the Scriptures, but you and I haven’t met, then this will provide us an excellent
opportunity to do so. This morning we begin our gospel meeting at 9:30. This afternoon we will
assemble at 2:30 for an hour of congregation singing, followed by our evening worship at 3:30.
Then Monday thru Friday - Sept. 24-28 our times of services will be 7:00 P.M. Please note
our times each weeknight. They will by at 7:00 P.M., not the usual time of 7:30.
D. Ladies and gentlemen, as we begin our bible study for this morning, I would like for us to
read a few bible verses. First, we’ll read Gen. 3:12-13 that records, then the man said, the
woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate. And the Lord God
said to the woman, what is this you have done? And the woman said, the serpent deceived me,
and I ate. This was the recorded dialogue between God and the first humans, Adam and Eve,
immediately after their sin in the garden of Eden. Next we read, Exod. 32:23-24 that finds Aaron
telling Moses, for they said to me, make us gods that shall go before us; as for this Moses, the
man who brought us out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him. And I
said to them, whoever has any gold, let them break it off. So they gave it to me, and I cast it
into the fire, and this calf came out. My friends, Aaron said this to justify the building of the
golden calf for the Hebrews to worship at Mt. Sinai. Then, finally, we consider, 1 Sam. 15:15.
And Saul said, they have brought them from the Amalekites; for the people spared the best of
the sheep and the oxen, to sacrifice to the Lord your God; and the rest we have utterly
destroyed. This was King Saul’s feeble effort to justify his refusal to obey God’s decree to
completely destroy the Amalekites and their possessions. Ladies and gentlemen, all these verses
have one thing in common. All serve to exhibit people unwilling to acknowledge the evil that
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existed in their behavior. Furthermore, each passage revealed not only were they unwilling to
acknowledge evil, but they refused to accept responsibility for their actions. In each text, we find
someone minimizing their evil and claiming that someone, or something else was responsibility
for their behavior. My friends, we are still reeling from the terrorist attacks on the shores of
America. The fact that thousands of our countrymen and women have been killed should awaken
us to the reality that there are evil people in the world who do evil things. People knew this
before the attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, but before the attacks it was
hard to convince society that sin [evil] actually existed in the world. Most people lived their lives
like those we read about in scripture a moment ago. Many people refused to acknowledge
anything akin to evil actually exists in the world, yet David said in Psa. 97:10 you who love the
Lord, hate evil! Ladies and gentlemen, since the time Adam and Eve rebelled against God in the
garden there has been evil in the world. The word “evil” appears 485 times in the bible. Yet,
until the heinous deeds carried out on Sept. 11 most of us lived our lives refusing to
acknowledge that any evil existed. Think for a moment what ridicule and contempt former
President Ronald Reagan endured when he labeled the Soviet Union an “evil empire,” which it
was. He was made fun of and told that he was out of touch with reality. People have been too
preoccupied with their finances to honestly examine their ethics. Therefore, to them, evil did not
exist. People are quick to worry about a blemish on their SUV but never consider blemishes on
their morals. Therefore, to these people evil and sin did not exist. Many modern parents have not
trained their children in decency because they did not consider anything as indecent. My friends,
evil cannot be confronted unless it can first be identified, but for decades our culture has been
preaching that good and evil are in the eyes of the beholder, matters of opinion, not fact. Far too
many people in our society refuse to acknowledge that there some things inherently wrong
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simply because they trespass the truth of the Almighty. And, worse even than treating evil as an
issue of personal taste or as the product of incorrect thinking - is treating it as glamorous or sexy
or entertaining. Yet from rap songs about rape and cop-killing to TV talk shows that revel in
human depravity, evil is winked at, indulged and often celebrated. Movies allure and entice us
by their portrayal of evil as nonexistent. And, one result of this has been an erosion in our
capacity to make moral judgments. We have trained ourselves not to judge the behavior of other
people or of other cultures. And as this swamp of nonjudgmentalism has spread, the world has
grown ever more evil. Ladies and gentlemen, the choice, as always, is ours: To call evil by its
name or to pretend not to see it, to excuse it and laugh it off or to face it and identify it.
There are not many things more clearly revealed in the scriptures, than the truth that evil exists
and those who engage in evil are alone responsible for their behavior. The Old Testament
prophet wrote in Ezek. 18:20 the soul who sins shall die. The son shall not bear the guilt of the
father, nor the father bear the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be
upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself. The context of this
statement by Ezekiel pinpoints Israel with some serious internal sin problems. And the people
were unwilling to identify them and accept personal responsibility for them. However, God
assures those people that they are responsible. Their actions were sinful and evil. Ladies and
gentlemen, with wisdom and prudence we need to learn both from scripture and the outrageous
deeds done by terrorists that evil does exist; sin is in this world. Furthermore, we must
acknowledge that evil men and evil women [those who live outside the will of God in
whatever capacity] will be held accountable by Almighty God for their behavior.
I. We must immediately stop trying to legalize or legitimize evil and pretend it no longer exists.
That is, it seems if the evil is too great, or if it is too hard to control, then the view of some has
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been to legalize it. That is, if something is just too hard to resist, then make it lawful and when
you do then you remedy the problem of sin [or evil]. Ladies and gentlemen, our society has had a
propensity to do this, as our history shows. For example, we have been told that man is going to
booze it up with alcohol, and that any efforts to prohibit it were clearly unsuccessful, so what did
we do in this country? We made booze legal and pretended there was no more evil. Do we
identify and acknowledge evil? No, we pretend there is no more evil. The solution was to
legalize the production and sale of alcoholic beverages, just so long as the manufacturers cut the
government in on the action. So today instead of admitting the evils of the alcoholic industry -
we ignore the ravages of alcoholism and the rash of deaths associated with the liquor trade.
Then, instead of speaking out against this evil, many religious - church going folks - begin to
defend drinking. Preachers are pretending that there is no evil associated with the casual use of
alcoholic beverages [whether wine, whiskey or beer] and so - to them - the problem has been
solved. Also, abortion was once illegal across the width and breadth of this great land because
the morality of our people could not accept the heartless slaughter of innocent unborn children.
There was a time when abortion had to be done under the shroud of secrecy, and shame. That
was then, this is now. In 1972 the collective wisdom of the Supreme Court ruled that abortion
was guaranteed under the Constitution. Our leaders told us that since we cannot control the urges
of men and women, and since women are going to do away with these unwanted children by
means of abortion anyway. Therefore, the only thing the government could do was to legalize
abortion by finding it in the fourteenth amendment’s right to privacy. Now, instead of speaking
out against this evil, we find church leaders defending it. Pastors, preachers and priests are now
pretending that this evil does not exist. And as a result of this legalization, the problem has been
solved - children can be slaughtered so long as we call it pregnancy termination. Furthermore,
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gambling is now legal, because men and women are going to gamble anyway, at least that’s
what we are being told by the government and the so-called gaming commission. Therefore, the
best thing to do, we are being told, is to make it legal and now instead of paying the mob for
protection we pay the governor’s office. The collective wisdom of our society for a long time has
been - if evil behavior cannot be controlled, then legalize it, and pretend that evil does not exist.
Also, whenever someone speaks of evil, ridicule and condemn him for his insensitivity and
narrow-mindedness. I refuse to believe that terrorist acts will ever be condoned. However they
arguably could be if people handled them like they have other sinful and evil behavior. Whether,
gambling, prostitution, drugs or pornography - if it is too hard to control, then legalize it. This is
a sure fire way of solving the moral blight within any culture. My friends, this is the approach
that many religious people take with sin. Whenever a particular sin becomes so prevalent, then
men seem to find a way to legitimize it. This is done by legalizing or legitimizing the sinful
behavior; whatever the sin might be. Whenever sin becomes socially acceptable, then it will not
be long until the religious world accepts it as well. For example, since divorce is so plentiful in
our culture, churches now accept it as a fact of marriage. Many churches, instead of teaching
what the bible says, which includes, Mal. 2:16 that says, for the Lord God of Israel says that he
hates divorce, for it covers one’s garment with violence. Instead, are saying that God does not
hate divorce, but recognizes it as a way to gain happiness. And instead of emphasizing what
Jesus said in, Matt. 19:9 that says whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and
marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits
adultery, today many churches will condone divorce for any reason - including unhappiness.
Some churches go so far as to form clubs for their singles, including the divorced, in an effort to
provide companionship [albeit unscriptural] for them. Now we are hearing that divorce is just a
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matter of opinion; that it is not such a big deal; that it is no different from the eating of meats
that Paul discusses in Rom. 14. Ladies and gentlemen, what this is doing is to try to legitimize
that, which God says is unlawful. Also, add to this, the fact that many churches now view the
drinking of alcoholic beverages as an acceptable practice. Something we touched upon a
moment ago. And that immodest and modest clothing is comparative. That is, modesty or
immodesty is not absolute but each depends upon the surroundings For example, a bikini would
be immodest at church services but not on the beach. To people like this - there is no evil.
Additionally, my friends, an alarming number of professed Christians, including preachers and
church leaders regularly view pornography. When this kind of behavior is manifest among the
religious is not too taxing to determine that the religious community has surrendered in
this fight against sin. Good people, when the religious community sees the economy, or world
hunger, or poverty, or the environment - as the greatest issues the church of the twenty-firstcentury
is facing, we have lost the battle against evil. When the most important thing on the
church’s agenda is the piecing together of an AIDS quilt, and not preaching against the behavior
which contributes to the disease, we have, not only sought to legalize sin, we are now
contributing to the problem.
II. Next, my friends, we see that there is an effort underway to spread guilt around whenever
we face the subject of sin. That is, someone might recognize that his or her behavior is sinful, but
instead of accepting responsibility he or she finds some mitigating circumstance permitting such
actions. For example, there was the case of a Vernon, Connecticut woman who shot her former
fiancé to death with a .38 caliber handgun, because he broke off their engagement. A judge
threw out her case because he concluded that she acted under duress. According to the judge, she
was in emotional shock after the breakup, therefore she could not be held accountable for her
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actions. That is, the murdered man was responsible, because he should not have broken off the
engagement. My friends, it is this kind of foolish reasoning that is asking America to consider
why the world hates us enough to kill our citizens. We were not responsible for those terrorist
attacks of September 11, but evil men were. For years whenever a young person killed his
parents, his dead father was responsible because of being too strict, too belligerent or too
whatever. A woman sets her sleeping husband on fire, and she is heralded as a heroine because
she claimed he had abused her. Andrea Yates drowns her five sons in a bathtub and we are
being told she couldn’t help it because of depression. Her hormones were out of whack. I guess
it will just be a matter of time until a rapist claims his hormones drove him to rape. Today, it
seems, if a crime is committed, what needs to be done is to investigate the police, the victim, or
society. Whether it is a terrorist or a rapist or a pedofile or a murderer no one is responsible. It is
always someone else’s fault. But, my friends, this is not something supported by the bible. Sinful
[evil] deeds or rebellions are conscious acts, and the bible says that the doer of such deeds is
responsible for them. The bible tells us in Rom. 6:23, for the wages of sin is death. We must
remember what the man of God wrote many centuries ago. Ezek. 18:20 says, the soul who sins
shall die. The son shall not bear the guilt of the father, nor the father bear the guilt of the son.
The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked
shall be upon himself. Ladies and gentlemen, neither poverty nor society is to blame for what
we choose to do. It is vain, as far as God is concerned, to attempt to distribute guilt. The bible
warns us in 2 Cor. 5:10 for we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each
one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or
bad. We must stop looking for perceived imperfections in our society or in the lives of others in
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an effort to excuse our behavior. Such an effort on our part only tries to distribute our guilt,
which is something God will not permit us to do.
III. Next, there are those who seek to solve their problem of evil behavior by trying to excuse or
justify their behavior. This approach to dealing with sin has been around for centuries. For
example, as we noted a few moments ago, in 1 Sam. 15:15 the disobedient King Saul told
Samuel, they have brought them from the Amalekites; for the people spared the best of the
sheep and the oxen, to sacrifice to the Lord your God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed.
Saul tried to excuse his rebellious evil behavior by blaming the people. He next tried to justify
his sin by claiming that he only wanted to praise God. He made the argument that his
disobedience was not bad, because he had good intentions. Many people feel that if they have
good intentions, then whatever they do is all right. For example, a man vehemently opposed to
abortion shoots and kills a doctor who performs abortions. Some feel that since he is trying to
save the lives of the unborn, then he is justified in committing murder. No one is permitted to
become a law unto themselves. Murder is wrong if it done in the streets or in a sterile operating
room. This one-dimensional reasoning has been used to try to justify fornication (after all, a
couple may be deeply in love). It’s also used to justify homosexuality, (after all they are two
consenting adults devoted to each other). And, sadly, we are hearing more and more professed
Christians falling for such nonsense. My friends, there is no justification that can be offered for
sinful and ungodly behavior. Often, however, we hear that the reason a person is not interested in
abandoning certain lifestyles, is because the churches do not exhibit enough love and
compassion. We’re told if churches would just show more tolerance and compassion, then they
would be able to reach more people. What they actually mean by this is, if churches would stop
rebuking sin, and calling for the sinner to repent, people would more likely attend church. How
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often do you hear people complain about negative sermons? This is just another way of trying to
justify sin, by blaming those who expose the sin. Ladies and gentlemen, this is nothing but sheer
nonsense. What churches need to be doing, is more of what Jesus did in Matt. 19:21-22. In those
verses we read of a man who wanted to be saved. He reminded the Lord that he was religious
and that he had obeyed the commands of God since his youth. However, Jesus said to him, if you
want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in
heaven; and come, follow me. But when the young man heard that saying, he went away
sorrowful, for he had great possessions. My friends, should Jesus have lowered his
requirements in order to show this evil [covetous] man more compassion? The answer is a
resounding no, and neither can we lessen the requirements of Christ in order to appear to be
compassionate. Evil [godless] behavior is a problem rooted in the heart of the sinner and not in
whether someone accepts what we are doing as okay. Remember, Jesus said in Matt. 15:18-19
but those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man.
For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false
witness, blasphemies. The attitude of always seeking to put a spin on our deeds that seem to
excuse or justify what we are doing will keep us from seeking salvation that is only found when
we abandon such practices. As Isaiah wrote in Isa. 55:7 let the wicked forsake his way, and the
unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, and he will have mercy on him; and
to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
IV. And, finally, there is the effort on the part of some people to redefine sin as a sickness.
Today, it seems that nobody is guilty of sin, instead they are pathetic, because, we’re told, they
are sickly not sinful. We are told they are not engaging in evil, instead they are suffering from
some disorder. And, frankly, the more horrible the deed the sicker someone is thought to be. For
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example, a thief is a kleptomaniac; a drunk is an alcoholic; a gluttonous man or woman has an
eating disorder, and the suicide terrorists were not evil but sick. Today, sin is a word that has
been replace with syndrome. There is no sin, but there are all kinds of different syndromes
going around today. For example, the abused wife syndrome that justifies murder because the
murderess is sick and unable to control her urges to kill. Then there are those who are suffering
from riot mentality syndrome. That is, an enraged group may beat a man half to death, but they
are not guilty because they were not responsible for what they were doing, they were just caught
up in the spirit of rioting. Today, we are also hearing about those who are getting away with
murder, rape and embezzlement because they are sick with something known as fetal alcohol
syndrome. That is, they are unable to control their evil urges because while they were in their
mother’s womb, she abused alcohol, and this abuse altered their ability to distinguish between
acceptable and unacceptable behavior. Ladies and gentlemen, it’s high time that we recognized
those who commit vile and godless deeds as the evil doers they are, and they are not to be
excused because they are sick, or have a mysterious syndrome. What men and women need
today is not treatment, instead they need remorse, regret and repentance. We don’t need to build
bigger and better pig pens in a far country. Instead, we need to tell men and women about
salvation found only in Christ. A salvation that comes only after one has come to himself and
come back to his heavenly father. I am tired of hearing that man cannot control his urges, not
amend his behavior, and not control his evil deeds. The bible says he can! Jesus said in Lk. 3:3
unless you repent you will all likewise perish. My friends, one cannot repent unless he has
changed his mind and his deeds. For example, when those came to John to be baptized, and John
told them to repent, he then explained what this involved. In Lk. 3:11 he said to them, he who
has two tunics, let him give to him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise.
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That is, let the selfish now share with those who are in need. This would be a 180-degree turn.
Also, we note in Lk. 3:12-13 then tax collectors also came to be baptized, and said to him,
teacher, what shall we do? And he said to them, collect no more than what is appointed for
you. The tax collectors were legal extortioners, they could collect over and above what they were
authorized to collect, and when they did they were permitted to keep the excess. John says they
were to repent of this and this would mean they could no longer practice this evil. They made a
complete turn and stopped being dishonest. This reveals to us that we can, and that we must,
amend our lives and repent of evil if we hope to be saved. And, my friends, this is something
that is within our ability to do. If sin were a sickness, then it would be out of our hands to be able
to do anything about it. Please remember that sin is something you are to repent of, and not
something from which you are to be cured. If you have the flu, you need a cure. If you have
appendicitis, you need cured. But, if you are a sinner [and all are according to the bible], then
you need salvation. Paul told those in Athens, Greece in Acts 17:30-31 truly, these times of
ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, because he has
appointed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by the man whom he has
ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising him from the dead. My friend, you
need contrition - not curing.
CONCLUSION:
A. We must understand that the central theme of the bible is, that we are responsible men and
women, and we all will stand before God and be judged by him. At that moment of judgment
God will hold us accountable for all we have done. Often we are made to feel guilty for things
we have done. There is a reason for this feeling of guilt, it is intended to cause us to seek
forgiveness from God. The apostle Paul wrote in 2 Cor. 7:10 for godly sorrow produces
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repentance to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death. This
feeling of godly sorrow should never be suppressed. We should seek to remove the guilt of sin
and evil in the way prescribed by God. When several thousand men and women were pricked in
their hearts, because of sin in their lives, they cried out asking what to do to be saved. They were
told to repent, and let everyone of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the
remission of sins. According to Acts 2:38.
B. And, with this I must close for today. Thanks for being with us and be sure to stay tuned for
some important closing announcements. Also, please join us next Sunday morning at 7:00 as we
once again Search the Scriptures. Until then, for the Danville church of Christ, this is J.R.
Bronger saying goodbye for now.