"Behold, I lay in Zion
A chief cornerstone, elect, precious,
And he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame.
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Discipleship Training Course Come… Follow Me!
Lesson 3: Sin will not have dominion over you
Review
We have seen...
1. That we have been saved from the judgement upon our sin by the grace of God the Father through the death of Jesus on the cross;
2. That we have now been called to follow Jesus as disciples;
3. That there is a cost in following Jesus which must be considered carefully;
In this lesson, we will see...
A. The common human experience of sin;
B. Sin's nature and some of its terrible consequences;
C. The nature of sin is...
a. Deviating from the goal;
b. Ensnaring;
c. Calculated rebellion;
d. Devious actions and attitudes;
D. How we should respond to temptation and God's grace.
Our objective is...
to understand how to deal with sin and
to realise that we have been released from its
dominion through the indwelling Holy Spirit.
A. The common experience.
1. Romans 3:23 "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."
Every person born in the world has a nature that will commit sin i.e. he will do things that displease God. Every baby will inevitably do things which express its selfish nature. Sin is in the nature of the seed that makes each human being. Just as an apple pip brings forth apple trees, so the seed of sinful humans brings forth sinful humans. This is the nature of the seed of Adam.
2. Romans 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."
The nature of sin is death: i.e. separation from God. It is destructive and divisive as it alienates us from our Creator.
3. Isaiah 59:2 "But your iniquities have separated you will not hear."
Every verse of Scripture which talks about sin carries with it the idea of something that has been lost, namely fellowship and communion with God.
B. Some consequences of sin.
1. Genesis 6:5-7 "Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in 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. So the LORD said, "I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them."
The Father's heart was grieved
2. Psalm 51:3-4 "For I acknowledge my transgressions, And my sin is always before me. Against You, You only, have I sinned, And done this evil in Your sight; That You may be found just when You speak, And blameless when You judge. "
The feelings of guilt ravage the sinner.
3. Isaiah 59:1-2 "Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, That it cannot save; Nor His ear heavy, That it cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear. "
The sinner cannot hear God.
4. Matthew 25:46 "And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."
Sin brings the eternal judgement and punishment.
5. Romans 6:17 "But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered."
Sin enslaves.
6. 2 Corinthians 4:4 "whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them."
Sin blinds.
7. Ephesians 2:1 "And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins,"
Sin brings spiritual death.
8. Ephesians 2:12 "that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world."
Sin excludes us from the covenants.
9. Titus 1:15 "To the pure all things are pure, but to those who are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure; but even their mind and conscience are defiled."
Sin defiles
the sinner.
10. James 5:12 "But above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath. But let your "Yes," be "Yes," and your "No," "No," lest you fall into judgement."
Sin causes lying which brings judgement.
C. The disciple's response to being delivered from sin.
1. Romans 7:24-25 "O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank God; through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin."
Thankfulness and gratitude.
2. 1 John 1:9 "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
Open confession of sin.
3. Matthew 26:41 "Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."
Prayerfulness.
4. John 15:7 "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you."
Psalms 119:11 "Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You!"
A heart to search and know the Word of God.
Cornerstone Ministries,
Malcolm Vine.
September 2004
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