BGF sermon 8.22.10                                              "Learn to Turn"

 

I. the situation

 

Gen. 6:5-6 Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.  And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.

- after the fall of man (Adam & Eve), the tendency to sin became hereditary/natural

- here is God's observation at the time: a) everybody is sinning; b) everything they do is motivated by evil; c) this pattern is constant:

...all men sinning, in all things, all the time

 

Rom. 5:12 ...sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned

...as man multiplied on the earth, so also did sin

 

- God regretted making man so much that He wiped out mankind with the Flood

...generations later, David wrote these lyrics to a song:

Psa. 14:2-3 The Lord looks down from heaven on the children of man, to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God.  They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one.

...what does it mean, "They...turned aside"?

 

II. the cause

 

- in the Garden (Eden), there was one rule to begin with:

Gen. 2:16-17 ...God commanded the man, saying, "You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die."

...this single broken commandment ruined everything

...the act of breaking God's commandments actually became the pattern for all mankind

...we're talking about a conscious "turning aside" from what we know is right

- in Rom. 7, Paul explains that God's commandment was precisely the opportunity that sin took advantage of:

v5 ...our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death...7 if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin...8 sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness...9 when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died...

 

...the bottom line is: when a sinful man is faced with God's rules (which lead to life), he will normally choose his own ways (which lead to death)

- the problem is that, if this pattern is continued, the man will become dominated by his sin

- Peter described one group of individuals this way:

2 Pet. 2:14 They have eyes full of adultery, insatiable for sin. They entice unsteady souls. They have hearts trained in greed.

...there was an appetite for wrongdoing, and habits were formed

 

- God's original plan was that man would exercise "dominion" over all creation (Gen. 1:26-28)

...unfortunately, mankind, who was to rule over all that he could see, became "dominated" himself by something he couldn't see: sin

- here's what God explained to Cain after he killed Abel:

Gen. 4:7 If you do well, will you not be accepted?  And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over (master) it."

 

...getting back to the situation in Gen. 6: the sin of mankind that disgusted God clearly included some sexual perversion (vv.1-4)

...men, we have to be on guard against our appetites and passions - they can kill you

...God has given mankind His Commandments, a path to walk in - we are not to "turn aside" from these

 

III. the change

 

- remember God's response to Solomon's prayer:

2 Chron. 7:14 if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

...part of humbling ourselves is to lay aside our carnal passions

...as people called by His name, we no longer turn aside from His commandments

 

- God described Job as "...a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil" Job 1:8

Psa. 36:1 Transgression speaks to the wicked deep in his heart; there is no fear of God before his eyes.

- Solomon wrote in Prov. 3:7 ...Fear the Lord and turn away from evil.

...there is a connection between fearing God and turning away from evil

 

- like Eve, Jesus was tempted by the devil, but instead of turning aside from God's commandment, He used the Commandment to resist the devil

...after that, the scripture says, "From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." Matt. 4:17 

...the Heb. word translated "repent" means to "turn" or to "return"

 

- so, the picture is like this: as sinners, we are naturally inclined to turn away from God's rules and to sin

...but as members of the "kingdom of heaven" we are called to turn away from evil, returning to God's rules

... "repentance", then, is a change of direction

...like sin, repentance is a choice

 

IV. "sin no more"

 

- more than once, Jesus told individuals whom He forgave, "Go and sin no more."  (John 5:14; 8:11)

- the opportunity to sin offers 1) pleasures that are physical, tangible (not spiritual/invisible), and 2) gratification now, not later

 

- Paul wrote in Rom. 6:

v6 no longer be enslaved to sin...9 Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. >12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions.>14 For sin will have no dominion over you...

 

- so, we can choose our type of "dominion": we can "take every thought captive" and be in charge of our being, or we can be mastered by our passions...dominated by sin

 

Conclusion: Prov. 4:11-27 

I have taught you the way of wisdom; I have led you in the paths of uprightness.12 When you walk, your step will not be hampered,
and if you run, you will not stumble.13 Keep hold of instruction; do not let go; guard her, for she is your life.14 Do not enter the path of the wicked,
and do not walk in the way of the evil.15 Avoid it; do not go on it;
turn away from it and pass on.16 For they cannot sleep unless they have done wrong;>>18 But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn,
which shines brighter and brighter until full day.19 The way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know over what they stumble. 20 My son, be attentive to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. 21 Let them not escape from your sight; keep them within your heart. 22 For they are life to those who find them, and healing to all their flesh. 23 Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life. 24 Put away from you crooked speech, and put devious talk far from you. 25 Let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you. 26 Ponder the path of your feet; then all your ways will be sure. 27 Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your foot away from evil.