"Sin spoils everything"

Summary of sermon by Rev Arno Stegen
Romans 6 v 23 is a very well known verse and yet people sometimes know one part of the verse very well and ignore the other part. Some do only think about the wages of sin is death but some often quote the gift of God is eternal life because they don’t want to hear about sin. Religious people are often the worst enemies of the Gospel because they have the form of godliness and know God but do not glorify Him. People today do not like to hear about sin. There are two parts to this verse and these two issues are connected. If we don’t guard against sin, it will destroy our relationship with God and the devil tries to convince us that there is no enemy or that the enemy won’t do us any harm. You need to see the seriousness of sin. There are only two options: life or death and you can only choose one. Two crosses on a multiple choice exam or ballot paper makes it worthless. You cannot compromise. A hunter went to hunt one day and as he came around the corner, there was a bear in front of him. He lifted his rifle to shoot it and the bear spoke and said, "Just wait a moment. What is it that you want?"
"I want a fur coat," the hunter said.
The bear replied, " Well, my stomach is empty and I want to fill it. Let’s talk about it."
So they sat down to negotiate and they spoke and spoke. Eventually the bear walked away alone. His stomach was full and the hunter had his fur coat. The devil tries to convince you that you will benefit from his suggestions. Sin spoils something that is beautiful and only God’s Son is the remedy.
What is sin? The word in the original text means to err or to miss the mark. There is stealing, lying or adultery but it is also to miss the mark like when you shoot at a bull’s eye on a target but miss it. God has set a mark for your life. Have you hit it? Have you fulfilled His plan for your life? May God keep us from sinning in this way.
If we learn about sin, we get to know about the enemy. For example, sin is easy to find in others. How often don’t we miss the mark by seeing the splinter in our brother’s eye and missing the board in our own. If our brother sins, we take drastic action but we brush it over in ourselves or our family. Sin blinds. We can no longer see clearly. We see things that don’t exist or don’t see what is there. Only the Lord Jesus can restore our sight.
If there is sin, then corruption comes in. We are no longer upright or ethical. We do dubious things. When David let his guard down, he sinned with another man’s wife and arranged for her husband to be killed and he, so to say, lives with the consequences today as we read about it in the Bible. Are we any better? If you lust after a woman, you have already committed adultery with her and the Bible says if you call your brother a fool, you are a murderer. How often haven’t you struck people with your tongue. You are ruthless and show no mercy to someone who is weak. You strike him down and then kick him as well. A minister was very upset because his congregation didn’t take sin seriously. The next Sunday there was a coffin the service and the minister preached about how the person was a sinner and lost. The congregation even cried. When the people filed past the coffin to look at who this person was, they saw themselves because the minister had put a mirror in the coffin. He did this to show them how lost we are in sin.
A catalyst sin is pride. There are three tests for pride. How do you react if someone is chosen for a position, and you are overlooked? Are you sincere? You can criticize yourself but if someone else does so, do you get upset? If you are criticized, does it arouse hostility and self-justification? When you sin, you will earn wages and the wages are death.
The wonderful part of the story is that the free gift of God is eternal life in our Lord Jesus Christ. It is a gift. It is not something that we can earn. We need to accept this gift from God and open it. It mustn’t be temporary but rather consistent. God’s currency is life. What do you choose?