Choosing Redemption: Overcoming Sin Through Faith

Sin is a word that describes any thought or action that goes against the will of God. James 4:17 says, "If anyone then knows the good they ought to do and doesn't do it, then there is a sin for them." This is known as the sin of omission, which is when you fail to do something that you should have done, such as helping someone in need or telling the truth.

First Corinthians 10:13 says, "No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it." First John 1:8-10 says, "If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not true."

Today, we are going to talk about sin and how to avoid it. We will discuss the steps to sin and what happens after sin. We will use the two scriptures mentioned above as the basis for our discussion. We will also talk about an introduction to what sin is and how to recognize it. Hopefully, if you have any questions, you will stop us and we can have a discussion.

We should all agree on the definition of sin and how to identify what is and what is not a sin. We should ask ourselves questions such as: Is it beneficial for me and others? Does it glorify God? Does it have an awful influence or affect someone else? If the answer to any of these questions is yes, then it is probably not a sin.

For example, if you and your best friend are with her boyfriend and you see him doing something he shouldn't be doing, instead of staying out of it and thinking it's none of your business, you should stand up and say something. You should tell him to do right and not just watch your friend get deeper and deeper into a problem. We should not be quiet and think we're okay because we didn't say anything. We should have said something.

We can all agree that the Ten Commandments are a good guide for British people when it comes to day-to-day living. If we are doing something that is harmful or has an influence on someone else, then we probably should not do it. We should ask ourselves if it has undue control over our lives and if we are a slave to it. If the answer is yes, then it is probably a sin.

Let's look at some things that happen in our daily life. For example, if there is a song on the radio and we listen to it, is it a sin? Not necessarily. We should ask ourselves if it glorifies God. If the answer is yes, then it is not a sin.

Another example is when we are standing at the bus stop and the bus comes. Everyone rushes to the door to get a seat and we push into the seat. Is this a sin? Yes and no. It depends on if someone else is tired too. Pushing people is harmful to others and is sinful and selfish. We need to be careful when judging people and what we say. We should ask ourselves if it glorifies God.

We should also look at the pattern of sin. Usually, when we sin, we are in the wrong place. It is much easier to sin when we are in the wrong place.

We build a story of Eve and Adam and Satan. The story takes place in the Garden of Eden, next to the tree. God told Eve not to eat it or touch it, but she was in the wrong place at the wrong time, which is the beginning of sin.

Is it okay to go to a bar? Some people say nothing good happens after 12. Is it okay to go to a party where there may be missing acts? We are never told in the Bible if it is okay to go to a party. We need to make good choices and decisions and stay away from places where we can become unnecessarily involved in sin.

We also need to be careful of youthful lust and love. If we suspect something wrong is going to happen at a party, we should stay away. Lastly, we need to be careful of listening to non-spiritual voices and forces. This is the second step in sin, as Eve had a conversation with Satan.

He opened himself up and asked what did we do when we have friends who say they are our friends. They start saying things like, "I went to this club yesterday, boy it was good, I had fun." They are not asking you to go to the club yet, they are just telling you what they did and that they had fun. You then ask what club did they go to, what kind of fun did they have, and was there any nice looking boys there. This conversation leads down the slippery slope of sin.

We then look at items with our eyes, not with our heart. We look at things and say it looks good, just looking with the eyes not with the heart. For example, a young man looks like Denzel Washington and a young lady looks like Beyonce. We don't take the time to think about what's inside; we are too busy looking at the outside. This is how we accept the temptation to sin.

Eve went through this process first. She had no business being there, then she had a conversation with Satan. Outside of conversation with Satan began to look good and then she said okay, well it looks good, must be good. She then enticed Adam to sin too.

This is the power of sin. People don't just stay by themselves and do something wrong; they try to get other people involved. Your friend is not going to go to the bar by themselves; they need someone to go with them. They are enticing you to do something that they already know is probably wrong, but they don't want to be wrong about it themselves.

Someone else wanting to do something with us is a situation we have to be careful of. We must use wisdom and ask God to help us know when we are headed in the wrong direction and need to stop before we get started. The best way to not sin is to keep our minds filled with God, so there is no room for sin to enter.

First Corinthians 10:13 says, "No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind, and God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it." Even if we start on the slippery slope of being in the wrong place, God always gives us a way out.

No temptation has taken us except what is common to mankind, so we should not feel like we are the only one going through this. Psalms 19:14 says, "Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer."

No matter what sin we commit, it is not new. We should not have to deal with it because we should learn from others. We should understand that there is always a way out. In Genesis 3:1, the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God has made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say you must not eat from any tree in the garden?" The most important word in that sentence is "any." God did not say that we could not eat from any tree; he just said to not eat from one particular tree.

When we get ready to sin, we have a doubt about what God said. We think that maybe God didn't really mean what he said. We should remember that God meant what he said and that there is always a way out.

Adam and Eve disobeyed God and began the slippery slope of sin. Satan is sly and crafty, so we need to be aware of him. After we have sinned, we begin to run away from God, using excuses to try to hide from Him. Adam blamed the woman, and Eve blamed the serpent. We need to accept responsibility for our actions and call it what it is - "I did it, I blew it."

Some people believe that once you are saved, you are always saved, but I do not. In the Book of Revelation, John told the churches to repent, which means they had done something wrong or were not doing what they were supposed to. We should always pray for forgiveness and understand that we can always blow it.

The question is, what happens after we blow it? You shouldn't doubt the project, but understanding is that just because someone blows it doesn't mean it's all over. What should we do when we say it? First John 1:9 says, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

Acts 2:37-38 says, "When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, 'Brothers, what shall we do?' Peter replied, 'Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.'"

We all have sinned, and the question is what do we do after we sin? We confess our sins and feel bad, but it doesn't mean it's over. It means that we do what we confess. If someone is consistently following the same sin, it might be a signal of something more that the person needs to do.

We should go back to the beginning of the lesson and ask what are the steps in sin, and if we can stop somewhere in the beginning. An example is if someone thinks it's wrong to get drunk, they should stop and not do it.

Don't put yourself in a position where you can't sin. That's the first thing. Don't have alcohol in your house and think that wouldn't have behind a lot. You got the key works it don't all right. Your job is having a good party and you know that they drink alcohol in the social party; don't go. Find new friends, but the first thing is to get yourself out of the place where you can't sin.

That's the very first thing. Stop it before it's gone and there's no difference. It is the same because the same thing starts someplace you end up someplace you don't want to be, so don't get started. Now if you could say prayer, yes, no question about a prayer, okay, and those things, but you got to take physical steps to keep you beginning in a place where you don't surround yourself with people who you know are going to lead you where you don't need.

The Bible talks about change of heart, change of heart, change of value, change of what's important. You go through that process; it doesn't mean you don't struggle with it. An alcoholic can't say, "Well, I don't drink now; I'm not an alcoholic." No, they're still an alcoholic. If they take one drink, then they're going to tumble. So what they do is they don't take the first drink.

We're all sinners, whatever that sin is, and we have to put ourselves in a position where we don't do that. We don't put ourselves in that position. Jesus straightened up and asked a woman, "Where are your accusers?" "No one can condemn you?" "No one, Lord," she answered.

We do not need to be slaves to sin. A slave is someone who does what someone tells them to do, right? We don't have to be a slave to sin. We have a choice; we can be a slave to sin or a slave to obedience. They promised them freedom while they themselves are slaves to the property. For a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him.

We hate that word slave, but that's the reality when we allow something to continue to be a part of our life and we know we shouldn't. We are in slavery about being asleep here; we are sinning. We can do all things through Christ together, so it's not about the sin; it's about what we do after sin.

Look at what we talk about here, Romans 6:16. We have a choice; we can be a slave to sin or a slave to obedience. Second Peter 2:19 says a man is a slave, and we can do all things through Christ.

Jesus declared, "Now go and sin no more." Can you live without sinning? Yes, I can live without sinning, but that doesn't mean I should try it. It doesn't mean I can't because Christ spoke to her, "Do not." Some versions of the Bible say, "Don't practice sinning." I like that because the more you practice something, the better you get at it.

He says, "Don't practice sinning, don't practice it." There's no more sin, no more.

Once again, Jesus spoke to the people and said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." That's the key. When we're sinning, we're in darkness. When we come out of sin, we are into the marvelous light.

If we follow Christ and go back to what he said earlier, we never doubt, though. That's the first thing we do when we get ready to sin. Without what he said, without what he can do, it's very clear. He says, "Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."

That's what we're striving for, eternal life with Christ.

We are free to be truly human when we follow him and avoid sin. That's what we're talking about today, avoiding sin.