A Sinsative Subject
Notes from a Sermon & and a few added thoughts

Are there too many sermons, messages about sin?? I think not! Sin is at your door even as I speak. It is a daily visitor and most of the time sure enjoys a good long visit with plans to move in. So for me, I can not listen to enough admonishment in this area. My prayer is that you will feel the same. I heard a great message this morning. Actually one out of a series on Coming out of Temptation a Winner, by Rex Blankenship. I hope you will be encouraged by my feeble notes to grasp all he had to say from the Lord concerning this “Sinsative Subject”!

A question to think about: DO I HATE SIN THE WAY GOD DOES?

*Sin is enmity toward God. Enmity is a MUTUAL hatred. Sin actually hates you (it seeks to destroy you) and it hates God.
*Sin comes after you. It does not dawdle around, it is swift, fast & seeks to over come you and destroy you. It is must like the Kudzu Ivy wild plants that you can see just covering the sides of the forest with relentless smothering attacks. You can not see any signs of life after the Kudzu covers the trees and foliage with it choking vines. That is much like sin. Just thought I would share a visual that came to mind.
*Sin wants to steal any happiness from you if you are a believer. Sin wants to steal the souls of those in your family, friends and sphere of influence.
*Sin says “I leave you alone & you leave me alone” But what it means is that it does not want you trying to kick it out, just let it be……….
*Sin is transgression of the Law.
*Sin is disobedience.
*When we transgress the Law, we see what sin looks like.
*Sin is Spiritual deadness. Even though as believers, we do not have the penalty of sin (eternal damnation), we do still have a “death” of sorts. We quickly “die” to: the love of The Word, desire to witness, to purity & dignity, to fellowship with others. We lose the steadfast pursuit to righteousness. Sin causes a “death” to the desire to love God more than ourselves.
***Sin is a “defection of an Affection to God***
*Sin is deception and causes a person to think & act irrationally.
*What is sin? Desiring to please oneself! (Oouch!!)
*No one sins while trying to please God!! (if we could just live that out!)
*Sin lures us away from God and The Bible.
*Sin is a DAILY battle.
*Sin always desires to go after God and those who belong to Him.
*Christ died to delivered us from the penalty (curse) of the Law, but not
From obeying the Law!
*We are to keep the Law: Love God with all your heart, soul, mind, strength, and others better than yourself. Since fulfilling this sums up the Law.
Five Points of Victory over sin
Gal. 5:16-26
1. The Condition: If (Romans 8:13)
If you live by the Spirit, If you live by the flesh both have end results!

If you live by the Spirit, You shall live!
The “If” is connected to the promise—you shall live

If you live by the “Flesh” you shall die!
The “If” is connected to the promise—you shall die

How to get to the place to “Live”

2. The Subject: You
If YOU (me) put to death the deeds of the body (vs. 19-21)

What are the deeds of the body? 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.

Put to DEATH the enmity of sin.
That is our “Business” here on earth!! This is what will bring Glory to God!


3. The Means: By The Spirit
(The transportation between the Obedience & the Promise)

Walking, living in The Spirit is how you get there.

A. TRUST: What Christ has done on the cross. Do you place your trust in that? Do you believe you have been set free not to sin any longer?

There is no other way/help to get rid of sin. This world will offer a cheaper, better, quicker, easier, and painless way to rid sin, but it is a LIE. Jesus is The Only Way!

B. EXAMPLE: The example of what God did on the cross is in you and me!! We need to put our Faith in God for what He wasn’t to do in me!

***No other way to rid sin but by The Spirit!***

If one should succeed at getting rid of sin in their own way, then at the very least if would be called “Self Righteuousness”!

So think about how you are going about sin ridding! Is it to just do better, resolutions, therapy, works, determination, self invoked pain, denial etc.
*If self can do it, then it is not the work of God!*

4. The Act: Obedience -- to put to death the deeds of the body (flesh)

*The body (flesh) is opposition to Christ

*Son of snake or Son of Christ
*Son of sin or Son of Christ

Crucified with Christ is what we must be

*Annialate – kill- the sin in my life!---By the power of Christ on the Cross!
***Not Perfection BUT Direction!***
*Not being perfect is NO EXCUSE not to pursue Righteousness. We are to go after EVERY sin in our life—AGRESSIVELY!

How do we do this? How to get rid of sin?

To do this you WALK WITH GOD! IT is not about going after “The Big Sin”—It will just turn around and bite you from another place!!

***THIS IS KEY***
****Get a greater Affection!!****
As you love God MORE your sin will grow LESS!!
That is a WONDERFUL thing! The more you love God the more you will put to death the evil deeds of the flesh!

*How do you love God more? By having a greater affection for the things of God. Like: Reading/studying His Word more and more, memorizing/meditating on Gods Word, Believing, Obey, and Trusting what you read about God in His Word, Finding out what pleases God and doing it, Singing praises to God, Fellowshipping with the people of God and so on…
5. The Promise: You shall Live!

And He means REALLY live! You will have joy and abundance of His Mercy & Grace. Abundance of the Fruit of The Spirit!
Your main goal now is to: *Live to the Praise of His Glory!

*If you stand firm in The Lord---Then you are really Living!

*Standing firm in The Lord IS standing (crushing) on the sin in your life!

*A stronger affection & addiction to loving God, will result in a habitual lessening (weakening) of sin in your life!
***The “Struggle” is the evidence of The “Fight”!***
Are you going to stay fighting???
*Pursue Holiness with all diligence!
*Obedience to our Faith in Christ will see results: a weakening/
lessening of sin in our lives.
***Ask God to give you a greater love for Him!***