Sunday Sermons
The Deceitful Nature of Sin
The Deceitful Nature of Sin
“In reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit” (Ephesians 4:22); “But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called ‘Today’, lest any one of you be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin” (Hebrews 3:13).
The context that surrounds the preceding verse is the failure of the generation that was delivered from Egyptian bondage, who failure to enter the Promised Land and whose bodies littered the wilderness as a result, yet, the Hebrew writer holds the failure of this generation as an example of New Testament Christians, lest they repeat the same mistakes (Hebrews 3:16-4:2). In like manner, Paul, in the First Corinthian letter, presents the same generation as a warning to Christians, and then notes, “Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall” (1 Corinthians 10:12), inferring that many of the Israelites thought they were standing on safe ground before God when they sinned. Sin remains just as dangerous and deceitful to our generation, and we need, as Paul noted, to learn from the past (1 Corinthians 10:11 “These things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come”).
God and the Majority
A common temptation to any generation is the belief that safety is found in numbers, that is, if enough people believe something, then it must be true, or, if enough people do not believe in something, then it must not be important. False teachers often argue that a particular doctrine in the Bible must not be valid, in light of the same percentage of people who embrace it. Some have even rejected the Biblical teaching of the one body of Christ, the true church (Ephesians 4:4; Matthew 16:18), by noting the relatively small percentage of people who are members, compared to the rest of the human race. Others believe that God will judge people on a curve, or, if enough people reject the Bible, then God will be forced to change His standards rather than allowing the vast majority to end up lost. In contrast to all these arguments, the Hebrew writer noted that God allowed an entire generation to end up lost, “For who provoked Him when they had heard? Indeed did not all those who came out of Egypt led by Moses?” (Hebrews 3:16). Numbers and percentages do not establish truth and neither do they determine what is right or wrong. Long ago God said, “You shall not follow a multitude in doing evil” (Exodus 23:2). Jesus echoed the same truth when He noted, “Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide, and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and many are those who enter by it” (Matthew 7:13). When people try to argue percentages, remind them that of the 600,000 men on foot, who came out of Egypt, only two entered the Promised Land (Joshua and Caleb). Of the estimated 2,454,257,664 people who were alive at the time of the flood, only eight people were saved (2 Peter 2:5). Of the many people who lived in the cities of the plain, only Lot and his family were spared (2 Peter 2:7).
Hard Times
It is tempting to believe that a difficult upbringing, hard times, and all other difficult circumstances are situations in which God does not hold us accountable, yet, God held a generation who had been slaves, and whose ancestors had been enslaved for some 400 years, as being very accountable. The fact that the Hebrews had been in hard bondage, did not give them the right to rebel against God, complain when the going was difficult or fail to trust Him (1 Corinthians 10:7-10). Often people will excuse themselves by saying, “Well, considering my background, I am doing the best I can”. Rather, God expects us to trust Him and live up to His standards, regardless of our past. God expected former heathens and pagans to be holy as He is holy (1 Peter 1:14-18).
“I need more evidence to believe”
The devil tries to convince us that unbelief is not that bad, and it is rather unfair for God to expect men and women to believe in a God that they cannot see. The generation that came out of bondage could have argued that while they saw many miracles, they never actually saw God, that they were only being open-minded, and objective. Notice what God says, “Take care, brethren, lest there should be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart, in falling away from the living God” (Hebrews 3:12). A failure to believe in God is not due to a lack of evidence (Romans 1:20). Rather, not believing in God or not believing that the Bible is the word of God is directly related to an evil heart. “Evidence”, or the lack of it, does not move a person towards unbelief, rather, selfish motives do. John noted, “And this is the judgment, that the light is come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the light; for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the light, and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who practices the truth comes to the light” (John 3:19-21). Jesus rebuked the disciples for not believing the eyewitness testimony of the women who reported the incident of the empty tomb (Mark 16:14 “And He reproached them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who had seen Him after He had arisen”). When Thomas claimed that he would not believe until he saw what he wanted for proof, Jesus appeared and rebuked him, “and be not unbelieving, but believing” (John 20:27).
“The Bible is too strict”
The Israelites could have complained that Moses expected too much of them, that the code given at Sinai was beyond their ability, or that God was too harsh. The devil tries to convince us that God’s rules are unreasonable, “overkill”, or burdensome. In addition, he also tries to convince us that God will settle for far less, that the Bible is meant to scare us by presenting an unrealistic standard for mankind, or that one can bargain with God as one would bargain for a car or new union contract, yet, the Hebrew writer notes that the Israelites failed because they did not embrace what was revealed through Moses, that is, the Word of God, “For indeed we have had good news preached to us, just as they did; but the word they heard did not profit them, because it was not united by faith in those who heard” (Hebrews 4:2). In contrast, Jesus claims that His expectations comprise a yoke or obligation that is easy and light (Matthew 11:28-30); and the apostles argued that God’s commands are not a burden(1 John 5:3). In addition, Jesus made it very clear in the Parable of the Talents, that the excuse that one did not obey God but they felt He was unreasonable, harsh or cruel, will be flatly rejected (Matthew 25:24-26).
“God said….. but I just think I have a better idea”
This is exactly what the Israelites were constantly doing and one reason why they forfeited the Land of Promise. God says that this generation provoked Him, tried His patience, did not trust His paths, and was always going astray in their thinking. For example, He told them to go up and take possession of the land, and they argued that it was an impossible task (Numbers 13:31-33), and then prepared to formulate a plan to return to Egypt (14:2-3). The devil tries to convince us that our opinions are on an equal footing with Scripture, and if we do not like something that God commands, we have the right to come up with our own idea. Some times people will argue that they cannot accept what the Bible says until they examine every other point of view. First, there is not enough time our lives to make sure we have heard every view on every topic, and far more important, the Bible is a book that was written after every point of view was examined, and the right one presented. This is God’s book and God is omniscient, He knows everything, He knows the end from the beginning, He knows every point of view, both past, present, and future, and He knows the outworking of every point of view. The Bible is what is presented after “everything has been said” (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14).
“I deserve to have my needs met right now!”
This is exactly what the Israelites believed. They could not wait for God to provide, rather they were constantly complaining that God was failing them (Exodus 17:2-3). This is the attitude that “unless God gives me what I want right now, I will not believe nor will I serve Him”. Such an attitude is also expressed when people try to justify a sinful response by saying, “God would not want me to be unhappy”. The truth of the matter is that often God allows us to experience trials and hardships for the express purpose of teaching us that the only person that we can truly rely upon is Him, “And He humbled you and let you be hungry..that He might make you understand that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord” (Deuteronomy 8:4); “indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves in order that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead” (2 Corinthians 1:9; 2 Corinthians 12:10). We need to be thankful that God does not give us whatever we want when we want it, for that is the last thing we need. We have a far greater need in life than merely momentary pleasure, rather, we have a tremendous need for patience, longsuffering, endurance, maturity, and unselfishness(Hebrews 10:36-39).
“Grace will just cover me”
Grace is a wonderful thing (Titus 2:11-12), but grace never has unconditionally covered anyone. God’s mercy did not cover the rebellious Israelites, and neither will it cover anyone who refuses to repent (2 Thessalonians 1:7-9; Romans 2:6-11; Revelation 21:8).
“God loves me just the way I am”
“Therefore I was angry with this generation” (Hebrews 3:10); “As I swore in My wrath, they shall not enter My rest” (3:11); “And with whom was He angry for forty years” (3:17). For all practical purposes, the generation that came out of bondage remained “just as they were”. They did not spiritually mature, they did not come to trust God completely, but rather their lives were spent lusting, murmuring, straying, and testing God. These Hebrew Christians were in danger of falling into the same trap of immaturity (Hebrews 5:11-14).
“I am in no hurry to get my life together”
Someone noted that the devil does not say, “Jesus is never coming again”, but rather, “Jesus is not coming back for a long time”. We can be lulled into a spiritual slumber if we think that we have plenty of time to obey God, or spiritually mature. The Hebrew writer exhorts us to hearken to God’s voice “Today”! (Hebrews 3:7)
Mark Dunagan/Beaverton Church of Christ/503-644-9017
beavertonchurchofchrist.net/mdunagan@easystreet.com
