Guilty

“I’m so sorry, it was an accident”, but it was no accident. The older man glanced up from his paperwork, a smirk of disapproval across his face. “What if I promise never do it again?” I was begging – hoping, praying that my groveling would encourage him to understand. The number 73 was still shining brightly above the radio, ahead the sign boldly stated 55 – there was no mistaking it. With a look of compassion and conviction the gentleman quietly explained, “I have to write you this ticket… you broke the law… you’re guilty”.

._._._._._._._._._.

Congratulations!

You and I have something in common… we’re both sinners. This, however, is not why I am congratulating you.

We killed Jesus. [Still, not a reason to celebrate.]

Actually, our sin killed Jesus. We are all guilty of sin – repulsive, filthy, ugly, putrid, disgusting, nauseating, rancid sin. We are born to sin. It is our nature, our instinct, and our impulse. We do not learn sin; we are embedded with sin. Sin is a common characteristic of every human being ever created, except one… Jesus – and our sin killed Him.

Sin keeps us from experiencing the freedom of life. Oddly, it is in sin that we feel most free; however, sin actually constricts all freedom. We wallow in sin, embrace it and dance with it. We let sin lead. Sin motivates our decisions and encourages our actions. We are good at sin and we are all excellent sinners… but to live in sin is to live in slavery. Jesus [the one our sin killed] put it this way, 34”I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. 35Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. 36So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:34-36, NIV). Now, “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:24), but Jesus’ purpose is, “to give life in all its fullness” (John 10:10b, NLT). We choose to live in sin.

A short lesson on the history of God verses sin explains why Jesus was so adamantly against it.

Adam and Eve: Eve was enticed by the serpent to eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil (although God had told them not to – that it would cause death). Adam saw that it was good too, and through this action sin entered the world. Adam and Eve were kicked out of paradise and the serpent went crawling.

Noah: The world was becoming more wicked. God chose one man and his family in which to spare and begin the rebuilding process of His people. Noah and his family spent 40 days and 40 nights aboard the ark with a zoo full of animals. Everyone else was eliminated.

Moses and the Ten Commandments: God saw that the people were once again getting into too much mischief… engaging in sinful activities and worshipping objects other than Himself. He chose Moses to lead his people and gave them a list of warning signs that would help keep them on the course. He promised them the Promised Land, but they didn’t believe that He would deliver. They all wandered in the wilderness for 40 years.

God’s Prophets: The world grew in population. Technology was on the rise and new areas were being inhabited. Sin was abundant and God’s Law was not being adhered to very well. God began sending His messengers (prophets) to lead the people back to where they needed to be. Some listened… others declined. God got mad; the prophets pleaded to God for the people – another example of God’s love.

The Silent Treatment: Between where the Old Testament ends and the New Testament begins [we call this the Intertestamental Period] there was 400 years of Silence on God’s part. Things were still happening, only God chose to be quiet – which He did until he sent an angel to visit the father of John the Baptist.

Jesus Christ Superstar: Never watched the musical of the same name, but when Jesus entered the scene He spent his time loving the riff-raff and opposing the religious monarchy. In fulfilling what the Old Testament Prophets affirmed, He came to bring the world back to God and proclaimed that living in sin was living in prison. He became angry with what had become of “religion” and took matters into His own hands.

Death and Resurrection: The death and resurrection of Jesus was the most triumphant event ever for all of civilization. When Jesus died on the cross, He took with him all the sin that humanity would ever produce. His death was the only way to redeem sinful man and offer an escape hatch from what mankind had become. His death was the ultimate sacrifice, and Jesus paid the price that no one would ever be able to pay (For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:16. KJV)

The death and resurrection of Jesus was the only way we could ever be truly free from sin. Some may say, “Why didn’t God just abolish sin all together?” The answer is simply that God is a Gentleman. Gentlemen never impose anything on anyone. They will encourage and inspire you to be your best, but a true gentleman will allow you to make your decision. God does not force us to be His followers. He does, however, offer us free will When I was eleven years old I was infatuated with a girl I met at the roller skating rink. I just knew we would be together forever [which I am thankful was not the case], but I’m sure she just knew that she had no idea who I was. Had I had the power to force her to be my girlfriend she would have been, but not because it was her idea [in other words, no free will]… it would have been because of my choosing. When we have the power of free will to choose what we want to be associated with, we put more emphasis on what that is, and God wants us to choose Him; God wants us to put emphasis on Him.

Jesus did not die to eliminate sin; rather, He died to erase sin from our past. Sin is still running wild in the vast abyss of the future and, while Christ’s death and resurrection covers all sin, we should not continue sinning just so we can experience more of God’s love. Instead, Followers of Christ should take the advice that the author of Hebrews offers:
1Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. (Hebrews 12:1-3, NIV)

So, what does it take to throw off the sin that so easily entangles, and experience the true freedom of life? Discipline. Over the next four weeks I will discuss some things that can help untangle the sin mess in our lives. I am no pro, but I do believe there are some pretty basic steps that can point us in the right direction.

So, congratulations! There’s something we can do to take the weight off!

Get ready, because we all have to weigh in.