SIN AND FORGIVENESS

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EXCEEDING EVIL OF SIN

“God’s grace is active, rescuing, transformative grace. You celebrate this by being as serious about your need as the God of this grace is. God took sin so seriously that he did two things when the first transgression occurred—he immediately meted out punishment and he immediately set in motion his plan of rescue and redemption. Both demonstrate God’s seriousness about what we all too easily deny or minimize” Paul David Tripp (ref#190, June 5th).

“[T]he truth of what the Word of God declares concerning the exceeding evil of sin; for the same eye that discerns the transcendent beauty of holiness necessarily therein sees the exceeding odiousness of sin; the same taste which relishes the sweetness of true moral good tastes the bitterness of moral evil. And by this means a man sees his own sinfulness and loathsomeness; for he has now a sense to discern objects of this nature, and so sees the truth of what the Word of God declares concerning the exceeding sinfulness of mankind, which before he did not see. He now sees the dreadful pollution of his heart; and this shows him the truth of what the Scripture reveals concerning his nature, and his need of a Savior” Jonathan Edwards (ref#229, p83).

“Why did the Son of God come into this world of sin? He came ‘to save that which was lost’, to provide pardon and forgiveness of sin by the shedding of His own blood and the breaking of His own body upon the cross. If I say I have no sin, I am denying the incarnation, the death and the resurrection—I am making God a liar” Martyn Lloyd-Jones (ref#332, p113).

“[F]ailure to realise that we as sinners need forgiveness is the failure to realise the nature of sin, to grasp that our own natures are sinful and to understand that we have all actually sinned and need forgiveness” Martyn Lloyd-Jones (ref#332, p113).

“Corruption does not lie dormant in the Christian: though it reigns not supreme (because of a principle of grace to oppose it) yet it molests and often prevails to a very considerable extent. Because of this the Christian is called upon to wage a constant warfare against it: to ‘mortify’ it, to struggle against its inclinations and deny its solicitations” A.W. Pink (ref#269, p112).

“[W]hen divine justice is seen requiring the very heart’s blood of God’s only son in order to quench its infinite need for satisfaction; when God in Christ is seen in His humiliation, suffering, and death, all with the design of pardoning iniquity, transgression, and sin; how fearful a sin against this holy Lord God seems! Do not be discouraged if the more intensely the desire for sanctification rises, the deeper and darker the revelation of the heart’s hidden evil” Octavius Winslow (ref#135, Aug 13th).

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DOCTRINE OF SIN

“If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8 ESV).

“[O]ur very natures are sinful. The reference here is not to acts of sin, but to the nature that produces the acts of sin. [T]he state which is both the cause and the consequence of what we do” Martyn Lloyd-Jones (ref#332, p111).

“[S]omeone who has never realised the gospel and precisely what is meant by sin fail to realise that particular truth about sin; they will persist in thinking of it in terms of sins—particular sins and actions. But according to the Bible that is a hopelessly inadequate view of sin. Sin according to the Bible everywhere, is a realm, a kingdom. The Bible tells us that there are two kingdoms in this world, the kingdom of God and the kingdom of evil and the kingdom of holiness and the kingdom of Satan and of iniquity. [T]here is such a thing as sin and evil, a realm, an attitude, an outlook, a mind” Martyn Lloyd-Jones (ref#332, p109).

“It is one of the hardest tasks in the world to bring the heart to a sincere persuasion that sin is indeed as vile as God’s word represents it; and that it deserves all that His law threatens against it” John M’Laurin (ref#333, p263).

“The doctrine of sin is essential, and unless I realise I am a sinner and must repent, and if my only hope is not in Christ and His death for me on the cross and His resurrection for my justification, I not only have no fellowship with God, but I am dwelling still in utter darkness. Oh yes, to have fellowship with God we must not only be clear about the nature of God, we must be equally clear about ourselves and our own nature” Martyn Lloyd-Jones (ref#332, p114).

“[S]in has an indwelling and captivating power, whereby it continually assaults the principle of spiritual life, beating down the Christian’s defenses, battering his armour, routing his graces, wasting his conscience, destroying his peace, and at last bringing him into a woeful captivity unless it be mortified” A.W. Pink (ref#269, p112).

“If we do not realise that we are sinners and need the forgiveness of God; if we do not realise that we have always needed it and that we still need it; if we think that we have always been perfect or that now we are perfect as Christians; if we do not realise that we must repent we are making God a liar” Martyn Lloyd-Jones (ref#332, p113).

“The Jews, the chosen people, thought they were all right: ‘Those others, the Gentiles,’ they said, ‘are dogs; they need it, but we do not.’ But God convicts Jew and Gentile; there is none righteous; the whole world, every mouth, has been stopped. That is the doctrine of the Bible; so if we say we have not sinned, we are denying the doctrine of the Bible” Martyn Lloyd-Jones (ref#332, p113).

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SATAN

“[T]he god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (2 Cor 4:4 ESV).

“Man was made perfect by God, but he was tempted and fell, and the result has been that the whole world has been polluted” Martyn Lloyd-Jones (ref#332, p109).

“This world has become the kingdom of Satan” Martyn Lloyd-Jones (ref#332, p318).

“The devil tempteth many millions of souls with the offers of the kingdom of heaven itself” Richard Baxter (ref#333, p 195).

“There is no greater curse than for a man to get his will and desires in the world” James Fraser of Brea (ref#333, p236).

“Satan is putting forth desperate efforts to ensnare the world. He is devising many plans to occupy minds and to divert attention from the truths essential to salvation. In every city his agencies are busily organizing into parties those who are opposed to the law of God. The arch deceiver is at work to introduce elements of confusion and rebellion, and men are being fired with a zeal that is not according to knowledge” Ellen G. White (ref#331, p219).

“Satan himself changes his outward expression from one that comes from his inner nature and is representative of it, to one that is assumed from without and not representative of his inner being, masquerading as a messenger of light” (2 Cor 11:13-14 Wuest).

“Satan attacks the church’s perseverance and purity through violent persecution, through deceptive teaching, and through affluence and sensual pleasure” ESV Study Bible (ref#125, p2455).

“Wickedness is reaching a height never before attained, and yet many ministers of the gospel are crying, ‘Peace and safety.’ But God’s faithful messengers are to go steadily forward with their work. Clothed with the panoply of heaven, they are to advance fearlessly and victoriously, never ceasing their warfare until every soul within their reach shall have received the message of truth for this time” Ellen G. White (ref#331, p220).

“We are not to flee from Satan, but to resist, that he may flee from us” Lady Powerscourt (ref#333, p353).

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SATAN’S HATRED

“Satan, is ever awake and walking his rounds, seeking whom he may surprise. And if Satan be always awake, it is dangerous for the Christina at any time to be spiritually asleep; that is, secure and careless. The saint’s sleeping time is Satan’s tempting time” William Gurnall (ref#378, p26).

“Satan is full of envy and enmity, and that makes him very studious to suit his snares and plots to the tempers, constitutions, fancies and callings of men, so that he may make them as miserable as himself”Thomas Brooks (ref#379, p31).

“He hates the Lord’s people, grudges them all their privileges and all their comforts, and will do what he can to disquiet them because he cannot prevail against them” John Newton (ref#376, p18).

“Satan and his horde of devils are highly skilled in the art of temptation, and they excel at persuading believers to sin, and then accusing the same believers before God, mercilessly tormenting their consciences. It is a hideous process with profound consequences” Jeff Pollard (ref#372).

“Though sin wars, it shall not reign; and though it breaks our peace, it cannot separate from his love” John Newton (ref#322, p132).

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WEAPONS OF THE DEVIL

“Your heart may glow with an angelic flame of love for Jesus, yet the devil will try to bring you down to Laodicean lukewarmness” Charles Spurgeon (ref#34, Feb 20th PM).

“[T]hree favorite weapons of the devil. Unbelief, worldliness, and presumption are three grand engines that he is ever working against the soul of man, and by which he is ever enticing him to do what God forbids and to run into sin. The acts that Satan suggests to us to do are often in appearance trifling and unimportant. But the principle involved in each of these little acts, we may be sure, is nothing short of rebellion against God. Let us not be ignorant of Satan’s devices” J.C. Ryle (ref#374, p13).

“Solitude has its charms and its benefits and may be useful in checking the lust of the eye and the pride of life, but the devil will follow us into the most lovely retreats. Do not suppose that it is only the worldly-minded who have dreadful thoughts and blasphemous temptations, for even spiritually-minded persons endure the same. We may suffer the darkest temptation in the holiest place” Charles Spurgeon (ref#34, Feb 20th PM).

“Let it never surprise us if we are tempted by the devil. Let us rather expect it as a matter of course if we are living members of Christ. The Master’s lot will be the lot of His disciples. That mighty spirit who did not fear to attack Jesus Himself, is still going about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. That murderer and liar, who vexed Job and overthrew David and Peter, still lives and is not yet bound. If he cannot rob us of heaven, he will at any rate make our journey thither painful. If he cannot destroy our souls he will at least bruise our heels (Gen 3:15). Let us beware of despising him or thinking lightly of his power. Let us rather put on the whole armor of God and cry to the strong for strength. ‘Resist the devil, and he will flee from you’” J.C. Ryle (ref#374, p11-12).

“By enduring temptation, you, as a living member of the body of Christ, have the honor of being conformed to your Head. He suffered being tempted. And because He loves you, He calls you to a participation of His sufferings and to taste of His cup: not the cup of the wrath of God—this He drank alone, and He drank it all. But in affliction, He allows His people to have fellowship with Him” John Newton (ref#376, p20).

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SIN AGAINST A HOLY GOD

“Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment” (Ps 51:4 ESV).

“David does not deny that he has sinned against the others, but here he is going a step further. He realizes that his actions are not simply actions in and of themselves. He sees that they not only affect and involve other people, but their real essence is that he has sinned against God” Martyn Lloyd-Jones (ref#189, Dec 28th).

“[L]ook at sin as an offense against a holy God, instead of a personal defeat. It is only as we see His holiness, His absolute purity and moral hatred of sin, that we will be gripped by the awfulness of sin against the Holy God” Jerry Bridges (ref#244, p20).

“Why has God revealed Himself in Jesus? To demonstrate the exceeding hatefulness of sin, and to show that nothing short of such sacrifice could remove it and be consistent with the glory of the divine nature and the honor of the divine government. Each sin, then, is a blow struck at this transcendent truth. If we avert our eye from it, sin appears a trifle; it can be looked at without indignation, tampered with without fear, committed without hesitation, persisted in without remorse, confessed without sorrow. But when divine justice is seen, requiring the very heart’s blood of God’s only Son in order to satisfy its infinite requirements, how fearful sin against this holy Lord God becomes! Cultivate a constant, ardent thirst for holiness” Octavius Winslow (ref#135, July 24th).

“God does not require a perfect, sinless life to have fellowship with Him, but He does require that we be serious about holiness, that we grieve over sin in our lives instead of justifying it, and that we earnestly pursue holiness as a way of life” Jerry Bridges (ref#244, p36).

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SCRIPTURE

“Let us learn from this single fact if we learn nothing else. [T]he high authority of the Bible and the immense value of a knowledge of its contents. Let us read it, search into it, pray over it, diligently, perseveringly, unweariedly. Let us strive to be so thoroughly acquainted with its pages that its text may abide in our memories and stand ready at our right hand in the day of need. The Bible is indeed a sword, but we must take heed that we know it well if we would use it with effect” J.C. Ryle (ref#374, p13).

“Learn to meet Satan’s suggestions, to answer his arguments, and to repel his temptations by the ‘sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God’ . . .He too can quote and apply Scripture, only to misquote and misapply it” Octavius Winslow (ref#381, p42).

“Our whole life is beset with temptations. Satan watches all opportunities to break our peace, to wound our consciences, to lessen our comforts, to impair our graces, to slur our evidences, and to damp our assurances, etc. Oh! What need, then, have we to be always upon our watchtower so that we keep close to God and His Word” Thomas Brooks (ref#379, p35).

“Lend not your ear for a moment to a temptation that comes clad in Scripture authority. Suspect Satan. The Word of God is very pure. It is on the side of holiness, of uprightness, of goodness, of love. It teaches the protection, the sufficiency, and the sympathy of Jesus. It unfolds many exceeding great and precious promises; announces many gracious and free invitations; and it is designed to support the tempted, to comfort the mourner, to soothe the sorrowful, to hold out the promise of pardon to the guilty, salvation to the lost, and to reveal the hope of glory to all those who humbly and simply believe in Christ. The moment, then, beloved, that a text of God’s Word is suggested to your thoughts in favor of sin, of distrust of God, of disbelief of Christ, of self-injury, repel it” Octavius Winslow (ref#381, p42-43).

“If you would not be taken by any of Satan’s devices, then walk by rule [of the Word]. When men throw off the Word, then God throws them off; then, Satan takes them by the hand and leads them into snares at his pleasure. He that thinks himself too good to be ruled by the Word will be found too bad to be owned by God” Thomas Brooks (ref#379, p32).

“Labor to remember what you read, Satan would steal the Word out of your mind. [R]eading brings a truth into our head, meditation brings it into our heart. The only cause why you forget so fast as you hear is because you went from sermon to dinner, and never thought any more of the matter” Henry Smith (ref#225, p246).

“He Who was ‘fully of the Holy Ghost’ was yet not ashamed to make the Holy Scripture His weapon of defense and His rule of action” J.C. Ryle (ref#374, p13).

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PEW SITTERS

When brought up in a Christian family and taught morality, sin doesn’t make such an impact. It gets watered down to: “churchgoers don’t have sin problems and non-churchgoers do.” They are bad and need to be saved, thus the emphasis is on evangelism—getting people into the church. Sin is so much in the background and not considered that scripture addressing sin is looked over in favor of the “Great Commission.”

This is probably one of the main reasons that the generation that is big on evangelism sees the next generation not interested in evangelizing even themselves. To them, their parent’s religion seems just another way of being bigoted.

“It is not opposition of the world that most endangers the church of Christ. It is the evil cherished in the heart of believers that works their most grievous disaster and most surely retards the progress of God’s cause. There is no surer way of weakening spirituality than by cherishing envy, suspicion, faultfinding, and evil surmising” Ellen G. White (ref#331, p549).

“[A] believer may lead a fairly normal Christian life on the outside while wrestling with a steady barrage of sinful thoughts on the inside: lust, envy, greed, hatred, apathy, etc. I see about 65 percent of all Christians living at this level of spiritual conflict” Neil T. Anderson (ref#90, p107).

“[H]ow many lives are wasted by people who believe that the Christian life means simply avoiding badness and providing for the family. So there is no adultery, no stealing, no killing, no embezzlement, no fraud—just lots of hard work during the day, and lots of TV and PG-13 videos in the evening (during quality family time), and lots of fun stuff on the weekend—woven around church (mostly). This is life for millions of people. Wasted life” John Piper (ref#2, p119).

“[W]e do not just have to submit and resign ourselves in order to be made perfect. [I]f I am a child of God, God has started to work in me. He will go on, and He will bring it to perfection. But He does so by opening my mind and understanding; He reveals sin to me; He tells me to put these things into practice, to press on and to strive; and He gives the final assurance that if I confess my sin He is faithful and just to forgive my sins and to cleanse me from all unrighteousness . . .” Martyn Lloyd-Jones (ref#211, p80-81).

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TEMPTATIONS

“Temptation itself is not sin; but temptation is the invitation to sin, and the wages of sin is death” Jeff Pollard (ref#372).

“A temptation in general, is anything that for any reason exerts a force or influence to seduce and draw the mind and heart of man from the obedience that God requires of him to any kind of sin. In particular, it is a temptation if it causes a man to sin, gives him opportunity to do so, or causes him to neglect his duty” John Owen (ref#373, p4).

“Temptation plays to the evil desires and idolatrous cravings that still live in my heart. Temptation appeals to my selfishness and greed. Temptation targets my laziness and impatience. Temptation hooks my materialism and discontent. Temptation goes after my desire to have my own way and write my own rules” Paul David Tripp (ref# 190, Nov 29th).

“Every man is haunted with special temptations—temper, sex, age, custom, calling, company, course of affairs” Thomas Manton (ref#375, p15).

“For all its pretty lies, all temptation is the original promise that cannot be kept. The devil’s temptations are always thoroughly man-centered and custom-crafted for the individual” Jeff Pollard (ref#372).

“The heart is corrupted by objects that we take in by the senses, as it corrupted Eve. [It] dealt with her first by the sense: the forbidden fruit was full in her way, then the devil sets upon her. He knows how to tempt by awakening the inclinations of our own body against us” Thomas Manton (ref#375, p14-15).

“[L]et 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” (Isa 55:7 ESV).

“When iniquities prevail against me, you atone for our transgressions. Blessed is the one you choose and bring near, to dwell in your courts! We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house, the holiness of your temple” (Ps 65:3-4 ESV)!

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COME LORD JESUS

“The babe in Bethlehem is a denial of the lie of Satan. He says, ‘I am here because God loves you.’ He has come to undo the works of the devil; He has come to contradict the lies of Satan, and His very appearing and coming . . .is in itself an undoing of the original lie—it is proof that God loves us” Martyn Lloyd-Jones (ref#332, p322).

“Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery” (Heb 2:14-15 ESV).

“A human Savior was necessary, because human beings (children) are in need of a propitiatory sacrifice and a sympathetic high priest. Jesus was fully human as the ‘children’ are and as the high priest had to be. Jesus’ death, by cleansing his followers of sin, destroys the death grip of the devil and gives hope and deliverance to those who were in slavery to the fear of death. Satan’s power is not absolute, but is under the control of God, who ultimately rules over life and death. Nevertheless Satan ‘was a murderer from the beginning’. [H]e does have power to harm people to some extent. Satan has power to work in the realm of death, and to incite people into sin that leads to death. However, the emphasis is not on Satan’s power but on Christ’s triumph over Satan and over death” ESV Study Bible (ref#125, p2364).

“Christ came into this world in order to conquer Satan and his kingdom and in order to introduce His own kingdom. [T]he Bible is the story of the conflict of the two kingdoms—the kingdom of God and the kingdom of the devil” Martyn Lloyd-Jones (ref#332, p 318).

“He takes hold of us one by one; He rescues and delivers us out of this world and from Satan one by one. As we believe the message of this gospel, we are translated from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light—the kingdom of God’s dear Son. He is building up His own kingdom; he is drawing men and women unto Himself out of the world; He is going on with the work. He is in glory seated at the right hand of God, and He must reign until His enemies shall be made His footstool; He is going on until the number of the elect shall have been gathered in. And when that has happened, He will come again. He will return into this world as King and Lord, and He will finally finish the work. He will come with a mighty sword, and not only evil and sin but Satan himself and all his cohorts shall be cast into the lake of fire and will finally be banished from the sight of God for all eternity. And our guarantee of all this is the glorious fact of the Resurrection: He ‘was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil’.” Martyn Lloyd-Jones (ref# 332, p324).