Lies, Sex & Vicissitude Andrew Hoseason 26 January 1996
This was my first regular sermon.
Its always good to be able to share good news with your brothers and sisters and I am particularly grateful today that God has moved me to share with you the truth that he has been giving to me recently.
Jim’s sermon last week was very moving for me. It seemed to be speaking to me as a prelude for today’s subject. God has been reminding me recently that as Christians we can still sin and that we can only deal with conquering sin if we are open and honest with ourselves and with God and allow him to guide us. Just this week I have been asked by someone who is married with children how they might deal with the situation when they know that they are at the beginnings of a sexual attraction to someone other than the person they are married to.
I would like to share with you one aspect of the answer. There are many types of sin but I have been led to include scriptural passages that include sexual sin. And I wondered if there was any particular reason why the writers tend to mention sexual sin separate from the others? First of all we are told that we are the body of the church and that the Holy Spirit lives in us. In that case we should never dare risk involving |God in bodily sin. Now sexual sin might also be separated by writers because it is one sin where we feel some kind of clear enjoyment so it is easier to be misled, more easier than say for pride.. In our first reading God says that we should not commit adultery. That we should not be unfaithful. That sounds alright to me - after all being unfaithful is a nasty thing which really hurts. But then he goes on to say that if we look at someone with lustful thoughts it is exactly the same thing.
Sinful actions and thoughts are considered by God to be in the same category.
Actually he sees thoughts, spirituality, as more important – after all thought do direct our actions and God is more interested, more interested, in the perfection of the spirit than our physical state.
Now I read earlier this year that the former model Samantha Fox celebrated the tenth anniversary of her first appearance on page 3 by posing for a one off special shot. There was a slight difference on this occasion because she was wearing something that pretended to be an excuse for clothing. She did this because since giving up being a regular model she had become a Christian and she didn’t feel it was right to parade her body in front of everyone. Unfortunately it was a total waste of time really. I don’t know why she bothered wearing something because the thoughts produced in our heads by the sort of pictures you find on page on page three do not vary much whether you see the whole body or its covered over a bit. And the memory of our reactions to those pictures last longer than the memory of the pictures themselves. So her attempt to slightly cover herself u didn’t get her anywhere. She shouldn’t have done it. We shouldn’t have seen it.
What we do need to see is our sin. We need God’s wisdom inside ourselves to see our sin and deal with it responsibly. Thankfully he is willing to help us and give us encouragement. In the passage from Ephesians, who is he talking to? He is talking to Christians. They have already taken Jesus as their Saviour - but he is warning them about the dangers of sin in their own lives. He is warning Christians to wash ourselves. Paul tells his readers that Jesus came to save sinners "of whom I am the worst" He admits that even he need to watch his sin. So he is saying that it is possible for everyone, whether Christian or not, to fall under the influence of sin and be unfaithful to God.
It is no soft warning that Paul gives, either.
Eph 5:
To understand this I believe we must look at the concept of lust. It is a craving that can fill us and direct our thoughts and our actions. If our thoughts are filled with lust so that we behave passionately in sin this is very much against the will of God – and this is what it is all about. If we are filled with lust about a thing whether it be a man or a woman, a car, toy job or whatever, we are putting that thing up and idolising it and in doing so we are shoving God over to one side to some extent. And God knows that we have the tendency to get distracted. He knows that our passion for something will take our minds off the job in hand as well as off God. And while he is not pleased with it – in fact he is jealous – he did make some provision in the law of Moses for this kind of thing.
He says that when a man gets married he should not be in the army for a year
Well that is good advice because when you get married you have more immediate things on your mind than fighting for your country. Now in that particular example we know that the intensity and focus of feelings change over time but the problem is that most simple passions don’t diminish over time. |They get stronger. And wider in scope. Look at German during the period 1918 to 1944. The changes that took place then took place slowly. People got used to them and did not react quickly enough against them.
Ok, I’ve had a number of different passions over the years. One of them took place while I was in college. I had an overwhelming interest in buying chocolate. I would buy up to 20 bars a day, every day. Of course it did not start off that way. I just bought one, then two then three. And with every step I was going further away from sense because I couldn’t really afford it.
Jesus isn't on record as saying anything about chocolate bars at all so perhaps I'm Ok after all.
But now I will tell you another story.
I once worked in a place where the overwhelming atmosphere wa s one of ahet. You had to hate to get by. I entered that atmosphere pretty innocently - in fact in retrospect I had a somwwhat Godly attitude to everyone. But over time I got use fto the way people carried on there and I began to hate other people. And to express hate of them. Just a bit at first but it grew, and I was getting further and further away from a Godly position. I was getting further and further unfaithful to God.
IN THE READING FROM James
James 1:13-27
When tempted, no-one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. Don't be deceived, my dear brothers. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.
My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires. Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent, and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you. Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.
Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it-- he will be blessed in what he does. If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless. Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
(NIV)
we have a description of a similar process. We are tempted by our own desire, being lured and enticed by it. Then when that desire is conceived gives birth to sin - and when that sin is fully grown it gives birth to death. And that death is separation from God. I love that reading. Its all about another fine mess we could get ourselves into.
No-one not even Satan can force us to sin if there is not a spark already within us. You recall the time when Jesus was in the desert and after forty days he was tempted by Satan, "If you're the Son of God turn these stones into bread." In effect Jesus replied [in Sunderland accent] , "Who yea, like?" And that was the end of that! Satan wasn't ableto make Jesus sin because Jseus did not have the potential within him. But unfortunately when we receive temptation we can sin because have the root of potential within us.
King David for the most part was an excellent ruler. But he sinned bigtime before his old age. He arranged for Uriah to be killed so that he could marry Uriah's wife.
Some time later he wrote Psalm 51.
Ps 51:1-19
Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions.
Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.
Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge.
Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
Surely you desire truth in the inner parts; you teach me wisdom in the inmost place.
Cleanse me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity.
Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will turn back to you.
Save me from bloodguilt, O God, the God who saves me, and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.
O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise.
You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
In your good pleasure make Zion prosper; build up the walls of Jerusalem. Then there will be righteous sacrifices, whole burnt offerings to delight you; then bulls will be offered on your altar.
(NIV)
Those are beautiful words about Jesus ability to save every sinner who calls to him. He is able to wash away our sin and create in us a pure haert, if we are honest to ourselves and to God about our responsibility for our sin, and if we ask him for help.
We all get temptation, don't we, and we all give into it. One sort or another. And isn't it terrible to admit to sin, even if God encourages us to do so for our own good? Admitting our own guilt breaks our perfect image of ourselves that we have. So we try to excuse our sin or blame it on someone else. Or something else.
"The car in front of me stopped too fast! I couldn't stop! [while I was travelling two foot behind it]."
King David got up to no good with Uriah's wife while Uriah was out in battle. And soon she came to him and said, "I'm pregnant!"
So what did he do? He tried to cover up his tracks. He sent for Uriah and chatted with him all day and then he said "Look its getting late. You really can't go back to the battle. Why don't you go down your house and see your wife?"
He was hoping to have the baby appear to be Uriah's so that he, David, could get away with his sinful behaviour. Well that wouldn't have worked because God still knew what the score was. What did David think God would say?
We blame others easily. Sometimes we blame God but that is rubbish because we are told that God tempts no-one. Its our own desire that sparks us off and allows Satan's temptations to get hold of us.
Bill Hybells writes that in the early years of his ministry he would often ask people who he saw as "successful" Christians what their secret was. More than often their answer was Journaling - the daily routine of writing a summary of the day before. What you did. Who you saw. The decisions you made etc. The trick is to be totally honest when you write those things down. So if you behaved in the right or wrong way those things must be written down explicitly. So if I go around saying, "Well you know, that Trevor, he's a thick idiot!, He's no use!" And then I come to my senses; I have to write it all down. What I said. What that makes me out to be. And if that carries on day after day the same sort of thing, you soon have a source of motivation to change your ways.
I've had some very persistent sorts of sin in my spirit. Do you know they must have been superglued in real good in some remote part of my brain because no matter what I did they wouldn't budge. I tried praying, "God, Satan's tempting me, please stop it!" Nothing happened. So I tried praying, "Yes there is a whole bunch of sin in my life. I don't want it - I reject it!" Didn't do any good either. The only times when I've removed stubborn stains from my life is when I followed the advice of people I read about and spoken to, and admitted that the root fo sin is always in me, not somewhere else. When I am able to say in each situation , "Yes there is a whole bunch in your life and I don't want it - and the root cause is in me."
Now I wonder to finish with if those of you who have Bibles would like to read along with me
Col 3: 5 -16
5Don't be controlled by your body. Kill every desire for the wrong kind of sex. Don't be immoral or indecent or have evil thoughts. Don't be greedy, which is the same as worshipping idols. 6God is angry with people who disobey him by doing these things. 7And that is exactly what you did, when you lived among people who behaved in this way. 8But now you must stop doing such things. You must quit being angry, hateful, and evil. You must no longer say insulting or cruel things about others. 9And stop lying to each other. You have given up your old way of life with its habits.
10Each of you is now a new person. You are becoming more and more like your Creator, and you will understand him better. 11It doesn't matter if you are a Greek or a Jew, or if you are circumcised or not. You may even be a barbarian or a Scythian,d and you may be a slave or a free person. Yet Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us. 12God loves you and has chosen you as his own special people. So be gentle, kind, humble, meek, and patient. 13Put up with each other, and forgive anyone who does you wrong, just as Christ has forgiven you. 14Love is more important than anything else. It is what ties everything completely together. 15Each one of you is part of the body of Christ, and you were chosen to live together in peace. So let the peace that comes from Christ control your thoughts. And be grateful. 16Let the message about Christ completely fill your lives, while you use all your wisdom to teach and instruct each other. With thankful hearts, sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God.
Contemporary English Version
Father we thank you that particularly in this small bit of scripture you show alternative ways we can help ourselves through coming to you and replacing the thoughts and spiritual life that we don't want with thanksgiving to you.
Amen.