VanRyn, Keith: The Problem Of Sin ~ Romans 5;

You. Good to be back with you all again. We'd like to think with you this morning about the greatest problem the world has. All right, this is an audience participation question. What is the greatest problem the world has today? Very good. That's what we'd like to think about with you today. The tremendous, awesome problem of sin. If it were you, how would you deal with it? John, you're a problem solver. How would you deal with it? Yeah. You know, you get close to that program, you have close to that program, that's what I take care of. That'll take care of it. Sin, a tremendous problem. Will you turn with me to the scriptures in Romans chapter five? We're going to read some familiar verses. But you know, Peter was one that said we need to be put in remembrance of these things. The Lord said, this do in remembrance of me, but we can hardly remember him without remembering things he's done for us, can we? Romans chapter five, and I'll begin reading at verse six: For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die, yet peradventure for a good man, some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. And Romans chapter eight, please. Romans chapter eight, verse eight. mhm Romans chapter eight and verse thirty one. What shall we say then to these things? If God for us, who against us? He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us some things? Okay, you're paying attention. All things. Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? God that justifieth. Who? He that condemneth. Christ that died, yea, rather that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. We know what the origin of sin was. We know the reason that Satan fell from heaven, or was cast out of heaven, be- the way we ought to put it, was a sin of pride. Sometimes we look on Satan as a little weak thing, and I have news for you. He's still as subtle as ever. He's still as proud as ever. Remember what he said? Isaiah tells us. I will be like the Most High God. Now that's quite a statement. He didn't say I will be higher than the Most High God. All he wanted to be like was to be like the Most High God. And God cast him out of heaven. We know the Lord created the heaven and the earth, not what we hear today from the world. In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth. I believe that because God said it. He made man. It wasn't good for man to be alone. It still isn't good for man to be alone. I will make a help meet for him. And he made Adam and Eve. And then we know that he approached Eve. The Lord had said, in his love to man, don't eat of that tree. Don't eat of it. For in the day you eat of that tree, you will surely die. Not only did God mean physical death, he meant spiritual death as well. Did God really say that? You know, we're still hearing that same lie today, aren't we? God really didn't say that. Let me make a new version of the Bible and tell you what God really meant to say. Oh, God said that. Don't eat of that tree. Notice the appeal that Satan made and the order of the appeal. When Eve saw that the tree was good for fruit, the body she saw. And a tree to make one wise. That's the soul, isn't it? Knowledge. Soul. He had her spirit, didn't he? Body, soul, and spirit. I love what the Apostle Paul says. He says, God works in a different way. He says, I pray God preserve you spirit, soul, and body. He worked from the inside out. Satan worked from the outside in. We need to remember that because he's still attacked the same way today. All right, it's Christmas time. I venture to say if the ladies are going to go home today, open up the Sunday paper and pull out not the first page, but all those pages in between. Because of my wife that let's look at those ads, see what kind of deals I can get. The eye. Satan still gets them that way. What a tragedy it was when Eve partook of that fruit. Adam, Paul tells us he wasn't deceived. He made a choice, didn't he? He saw that she had taken of that fruit. He chose to take it too. We read that they hid themselves, for they were ashamed. They were naked. We hear the voice of God in the person of the Lord Jesus walking through the garden. And we hear him say, Adam, where are you? Adam, where are you? We hear the Lord Jesus on the cross speaking for man. God, where are you? You see, the Lord Jesus is a perfect mediator between God and man. He brings the two of us together. The great problem of sin. All of us are sinners. Bible says that. We were born in sin, shapen in iniquity. All of us have sinned and come short of the glory of God. The Lord Jesus himself, when that young rich ruler- ruler came to him, said, why callest thou me good? For there is none good but God. The next time somebody said, you done good, I can tell it wasn't you that did it. It's good, God did it. The problem of sin. Sin. Adam and Eve watched their own son murder his brother. What would that do to you as a parent if you watch one of your children kill their brother or sister? They got the message, didn't they? Sin is a major problem. Today we pop the paper open. I read the last week, how many homes do you think in America still have a husband and wife in them? Not even I believed it. Twenty two percent of the homes in America have a husband and wife. Talk about a problem. Sin is a problem. We read about the war going on in Russia, problems in our assemblies, our homes. It all comes back to the same issue, doesn't it? Sin. We can call it other names, but when it comes right down to it, it's sin. Only by pride comes contention, scripture says, right? Well, what's the middle letter of pride? I. What's the middle letter of sin? I. You know where I belongs? Right in the middle of crucified. I am crucified with Christ. That's where it belongs. That's where God wants to see it, on the cross. Because in our flesh dwelleth a bunch of good things. In my flesh, there dwelleth no good thing. There is not one good thing about Keith van Ryan. There is not one good thing about you, as far as God is concerned. There's only one good, and that is God. You need to remember that. I went to my cardiologist the other day, he checked my heart. You know what he told me? It was desperately wicked. Who can know it? The best cardiologist, in fact, said my heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. Can I ask you a question this morning, even as believers, do we look at ourselves that way? That I am in myself desperately. When we think of desperate, we know what that means. I was desperate to get married. People say that, you know? We know what desperation means. Desperately wicked. That's me. That's you. Who can know your heart? The Lord says, I know your heart. That's why David was so wise when he prayed this prayer. Search me, O God, and know me. Try my heart and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. That was a wise prayer. Because we're not good doctors of our own hearts. Only God is. That's why we don't like to read his word. That's why it's so hard to sit down every day and read his word, because we know the word of God is quick and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword, and it pierces right in there, doesn't it? Ooh, got me on that one. It's a discerner of the thoughts, not just my thoughts, but my intentions of my heart as well. Oh, the problem of sin. Paul said that I had not known sin apart from the law. He said, I would not known that I had lusted unless the law said, thou shalt not covet. Now, we don't think of lust in that vein, do we? But Paul says covetousness, wanting something that somebody else has doesn't belong to you. So I would not have known about my sin unless the law had said that. And that was the purpose of the law that God gave to us, that he might conclude all of us guilty. The law was our schoolmaster to teach us what? That we're sinners. That's the reason God gave the law. It wasn't ga- given to us so that we could keep it. Remember where he put the law? He put it in the ark, and it was a picture of Christ. There was only one who kept the law. We cannot keep the law. The Lord Jesus said there were two laws, basically. To love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and all thy soul and all thy mind, all thy strength. Which one of us in here have done that? And to love thy neighbor as thyself. Who's done that? You see, we're all sinners. We've all come short of the glory of God. Isn't it wonderful to know who the glory of God is? It's none other than the Lord Jesus. We've all come short of him. We're weighed in the balances like Belshazzar. The Lord Jesus on one side, and I'm on the other side. Oh boy, do you come short, Belshazzar. You come short, Keith, of my glory, for he is my glory. David sinned, committed the sin of adultery. Jimmy Carter reminded us a few years back that just looking, the Lord Jesus said, to look at a woman the wrong way, you can commit adultery in our heart. That's what the Lord Jesus taught. Isn't it interesting how the Lord puts things? If I asked you this morning, who do you think would have sinned quicker, a young man who had never been married, never had a physical relationship, or a married man? Who would you say would sin quicker? You would tell me the single man, young man. That's not what God said. Joseph passed the test that David, the married man, fell into. God's teaching us lessons. We're all sinners. David said about that, my sin is ever before me. It's ever before me. If we're honest and we come before the Lord, we have to do like Job, put our hands over our mouth, say, Lord, be merciful to me, the sinner. That's all we can say. Romans cha- tells us, the first few chapters, that someday, when men stand before God, every mouth will be stopped, and the whole world become guilty before God. Why? Because God is an accurate record keeper. Not only will he tell me things that I've done, he will tell me the things that I didn't do, the time that he'd given to me that I had wasted. He will tell me the reasons I did things. You know, you gave money to that brother just because you want to look good to that brother. You didn't give to him the way you should have given to him. Our motives. And when God opens the books and starts reading to us, our mouths will be stopped, and we'll become guilty before God. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. God's law was given. There's a story in the Old Testament, a very significant story about the law. We read the New Testament that God m- must be just, right? And the justifier of him that believes in Jesus. God had a dilemma, and I say that reverently. And we read about that dilemma in the case of Daniel. You remember King Darius? Those men came to him and stroked his pride some and said, oh, King Darius, how great. Listen, make a law in which if anybody prays to anybody else but you, that they'll be thrown the lions in. Oh, that's like a great law here. Let me sign that. And he signed that law, and it was sealed. The law of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not. King Darius, once he signed that paper, he himself could not change that law. They bring to him Daniel. We caught him. He was praying to the God of heaven again. And we can only imagine what King Darius must have felt like at that moment. We read he stayed up the whole night, didn't he? Trying to find a way to release Daniel. If it wasn't for God keeping Daniel, he wouldn't have been kept. But you know, wonder of all wonders, what King Darius could not do, God could do. You see, Darius really wasn't willing to do what God was willing to do for you and for me. Who will we send, and who will go for us? Here am I, send me. None of us will ever know the stoop that the Lord Jesus made when he left heaven and he came into the world. And I'm looking at that little baby this morning, and it makes you cry. It's like Lord Jesus came into the world like that. Remember, the disciples were discussing who was going to be the greatest. Lord Jesus called a little child. He held a child up and he said, unless you become like this little child, you will no wise enter the kingdom of heaven. And then he said this, whoso humbleth himself as this little child, the same is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Who humbled himself? We read that in the scriptures, don't we? Though he was God, thought not a robbery to be equal with God, made himself of no reputation, being found in fashion as a man. He humbled himself. Lord Jesus came into the world as a little baby. That little bit. The worlds were dependent on him. The mother that bore him, the one he created. Came into the world. We sang about the angels announcing it. Thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins. Oh, Darius, I know you love Daniel, but you wouldn't die for him, would you? Lord Jesus, do you love me? Someone has put it very well. I asked the Lord if he loved me. I love you this much. He died. That's the difference. Because the Lord Jesus died on the cross of Calvary, God is just and the justifier of him that believes in Jesus. He's kept the integrity of his throne. His law hasn't changed, has it? It's been fulfilled in Christ. The wages of sin. I work for wages, don't you? Okay, Keith, you've done such a good job for us. You know what we're gonna do? We're gonna take you out and hang you. That's what God says to. The wages of sin is death. I'm thankful the scripture doesn't stop there, aren't you? But the gift of God, the eternal life of Jesus Christ our Lord. Some of us have already gone out and gotten Christmas gifts. What would you think if your child looked at you and said, Dad, Mom, I don't want it. I don't want anything you could give to me at all. What if they took it and stomped it and spit at it and nailed it to the cross? We don't want your gifts. But it's a free gift. It's one of the only free things in life that you can ever take, the gift of the Lord Jesus. The Lord said that all manner of sin shall be forgiven except one. God can forgive every sin but one, and I say that reverently. The sin he cannot forgive is to reject his gift of his precious son. That is the highest insult that any human being can make to a holy God, to say, no, I won't have your son. It's interesting how scripture puts things. This is the will of God. If I asked you, what is the will of God, what would you tell me? Scripture tells us. This is the will of God that you believe on him whom he has sent. You hear that? This is the will of God for you, for me, that you believe on him whom he has sent. This is the work of God. Well, what's the work of God? I could name hundreds of things, but the scripture does. This is the work of God that you believe on him whom he has sent. Lord, why'd you create all these heavens for us to look at? Why'd you create that little flower? Why'd you create this child? Why did you give me this child? It's all for one reason, that you might believe in my son. That's my work. His will and his work to believe on the Lord Jesus. David says in Psalm ninety one verse eight that my secret sins are all open in the light of thy countenance. How many secret sins do we all have that we even haven't even told our spouse, perhaps, our closest friends about? Lord says they're all open in the light. There's no darkness in God. He's light, and there's no darkness at all. Someday, those who are lost without the Lord Jesus will be judged in the light of his countenance. And believe me, if there's any time you would want to hide, that would be it. Praise his name, those of us who trusted the Lord Jesus our Savior. I'm not gonna be judged for one of my sins. Does that mean anything to you? It meant something to the hymn writer, didn't it? My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought. My sin, not in part, but the whole, is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more. Praise the Lord. I wouldn't, I'm not saying like he would have, I'm sure. Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord, oh my soul. I'm forgiven of all of my sins, even the ones I don't know about, ones God knows about. They're all. We sing sometimes, all thy sins were laid on Jesus. I don't like singing it that way personally, I don't know about you, because it sounds like I'm talking about my brother down the row. All thy sins to you. But to sing it, all my sins were laid on Jesus. Jesus bore them on the tree. God who knew. You don't know all your sins, and I don't either. God does. God who knew them laid them on him, and believing I go free. God gives us this precious commodity called time. He tells us, use it wisely. We sin just the way we use our time. But we know Christ, we've been forgiven of all of our sin. The spirit of the Lord, our brother reminds us in prayer this morning as he opened up this meeting, will reprove the world of sin. We don't hear much about sin, do we? Wouldn't it be nice to read in the paper, this man sinned, this woman sinned? We don't read that. We feel sorry for him, those kind of things, but we do. But the problem is sin. I would love to see plastered on the front line of the paper tomorrow, Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. I'd love to see that as the headline. I don't think I'll ever see it. Out in the word of God. Think of the people reading that. Christ Jesus died to save sinners? He died to save me? Yes. That's the gospel. Good news. Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. My little David, who's three, is saying that this morning as his little treat part, it's a Christmas program, and he said it this way at home, and I don't think he meant it exactly this way, but daddy took it a different way. Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners of whom I am chief. That's the way he said it, and I think he just wanted to be chief, don't you? I said, nowadays you're not chief, daddy's chief of sinners. What a wonder it is that we can be forgiven because of the work of the Lord Jesus on the cross. John said, he pointed a finger, behold the Lamb of God which takes away the sin of the world. How far did he take it? If you can measure the east and the west for me, then you know how far your sins have been removed. Far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. Thy sins and thine iniquities will I remember no more. I sometimes like to remind my wife of that verse, and husbands. You remember, honey, when... Lord doesn't do that. But you know what? In Revelation chapter five, we have a picture of heaven. And the problems on earth are not going to be seen in heaven because the books were opened. The scroll was opened, but who was worthy to open the scroll and to loose the seals are up? You know what? They couldn't find one man worthy to open the book, the scroll, and to loose the seals are up. Here on earth, probably find a bunch of men who'd think they're worthy, but not in heaven. John wept much because there was none found worthy. But the angel said, John, don't weep, and he turned. And we read, first of all, he saw a lion, tribe of Judah. But then he saw a lamb as it had been freshly slain. Dear brothers and sisters, do you realize that throughout eternity, God is not going to remind you and me of our individual sins, but he is going to remind us of the cost of them. Because in his hands, the nail prints, and in his feet, the nail prints. He will remind us of Calvary. And it meant to thee, the Holy One, to take away my sin. Think about that the rest of the week.