Scripture: Romans 3:23, Isaiah 53, Deuteronomy 5:6-21, Galatians 5:19-21, Romans 6:23, John 14:23, Romans 8:23-25

Welcome back! This month we have been focusing on sin. The second podcast we went a little more into detail about sin and some categories of it as we have categorized. We have discussed the all-encompassing We hope that you, dear listener, will go back to the first two episodes of this four-part series. We will be talking about egregious sins today, which is what most think about when it comes to sin. The first two episodes discuss how sin is not just the evil, crummy things that we do; or the things Christians are often blamed for due to our own incompetences of accusing everyone of sin. 

Romans 3:23 

For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Everyone has/born with sin, many cases the sin that is exhibited in humanity are horrific. Experientially we know that it is true. Isaiah 53, which was a prophetic declaration of how Jesus would die. In that passage of scripture, we see phrases like iniquity and sin. In that context it could be literally translated to twisted perversion., So what are those things, the iniquities, and sins? We start with the 10 commandments with this category, and then we see the innumerable ways humans find to violate the commandments, murder, drugs, sex trafficking. Minor, stealing, bribing, little white lies. All of these things that we know are wrong are the egregious sins in the eyes of God. 

Deuteronomy 5: 6-21- 10 Commandments 

Do not have other gods besides Me

Do not make an idol for yourselves

Do not misuse the name of the Lord your God

Honor the sabbath

Honor your mother and father

Do not murder

Do not commit adultery 

Do not steal 

Do not give dishonest testimony against your neighbor

Do not covet your neighbor’s wife, or desire their house, or any of their stuff. 

Fruits of the flesh are also on the egregious side of sins – Galatians 5:19-21. “The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like.” It would be a small minority of any society that would say these are good qualities, most would say these are harmful. Even apart from the Lord Jesus Christ, mature people try to stay away from these types of things as they know they are harmful. It is why when society falls apart, and begins to practice these things as though they are normal, it is as God says in the Bible - what you call good, I call evil and what I call good, you call evil. There are times when society breaks down, families break down, that these become normative. So by any definition, these are not good.

Speakers discuss some examples, how society has normalized some of these fruits of the flesh, and the natural consequences of these sins.

In abiding in Jesus, we have come to relationship in Christ by receiving Him as our Savior. We are reconciled to God. Now, God wants to teach us to abide, so that when we return to that dependent relationship. All this sin junk, no longer becomes the complicated, weird medicine that we keep taking to stimulate ourselves (laugh, cry, make us do something). The wonderful , wonderful news of Jesus, is that this isn’t necessary. I don’t have to yell at my spouse, I don’t have to yell at my children. The whole world is in domination mode so we can feel something. We have turned the world into dominance and submittance. Sin is just a sorry counterfeit attempt to fill the whole in our souls. Every time we sin, it is just trying to fill the whole in our soul. If we are not abiding, we will continue go to sin to fill the whole. What happens if we keep doing this? It continues to result in destruction. 

Abiding is a doorway out of this. How does one in the egregious sins, how do they then shift over to abiding through it. How do they start to abide in this?

All of our sins are attached to desire. Someone may not want to be or desire to be an alcoholic. However, the desire may be rooted to covering up or suppressing some sort of pain or loneliness. The choice of medicine became alcohol for this. There was a hidden desire that continued to lead that individual. Jesus brings light to that desire and exposes that. We then plant God’s Word and Truth in our hearts. This process isn’t like a therapist walking through traumatic experience, or rehab, as these do not address the core issue. The hole in the soul is still there. This process is walking in God’s Word, bringing to understanding the promises of God’s Word, and this understanding brings about a hope. Romans 8:23-25. When someone can experience the fullness of God, the joy we experience can get us through anything. To abide in Christ, is to know the power and the pleasure of the God Almighty..that is strong my friends! Does it take time to know it…yes. However, it doesn’t take a lifetime, it can happen quickly if we are willing to pour into God’s Word.  

Please contact us to learn what it means to abide in Christ.