#1) SIN – What is it?

Sin is being outside the Will of God. The Bible describes sin as lawlessness.

1 John 3:4
Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness.

Sin is also unrighteousness.

1 John 5:17a
All unrighteousness is sin,

Everything that comes from God is righteous. Anything apart from God is unrighteous. Since we know sin is lawlessness, we know sin is outside of God.

The analogy most often used for sin is darkness. Scripture describes God as being Light. Because sin is the exact opposite of God, it is considered to be darkness. The 2 are opposed to each other constantly.

1 John 1:5b
God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.

John 1:4-5
In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

Ephesians 5:11
And do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them;

Scripture tells us that light and darkness cannot co-exist. If God is light and there is no darkness in Him, one cannot claim to have a relationship with God while still living in the darkness of sin.

2 Cor 6:14b
what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness?

Acts 26:18a
to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God,

Another reason light and darkness cannot coexist is because the Light will always chase away the dark. Have you ever seen a shadow is broad daylight? A shadow is only cast when there is something blocking the light.

John 3:20
For everyone who does evil hates the light, and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.

A desensitization to sin leads to hating God. If we choose to walk in the darkness, we cannot walk with God. John 3:20-21 tells us if we do evil, we HATE God. It also tells us we will choose to stay away from Him because He will expose our sin.

How many of us like to be comfortable? Conviction is no fun? It eats at us until we must make a choice. Some choose to turn to the light and let God expose their sins while others choose to run further into the darkness to avoid the discomfort. This leads to even more desensitization and a hating of God.

Sin truly destroys all that is good. Sin comes from Satan. Satan is known as the Destroyer.

Revelation 9:11
They have as king over them, the angel of the abyss; his name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in the Greek he has the name Apollyon.

NT:3
‎Abaddw/n ‎Abaddon (ab-ad-dohn'); of Hebrew origin [OT:11]; a destroying angel:

NT:623
‎Apollu/wn ‎Apolluon (ap-ol-loo'-ohn); active participle of NT:622; a destroyer (i.e. Satan):

NT:622
‎a)po/llumi ‎apollumi (ap-ol'-loo-mee); to destroy fully

Satan destroyed innocence in the very beginning with Adam and Eve. Think of a small child running naked. This child has no shame and is completely innocent in his actions.

Genesis 3:7-10
hen the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings. And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. Then the LORD God called to the man, and said to him, "Where are you?" And he said, "I heard the sound of Thee in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself."

Adam and Eve had lost their innocence. They were deceived by Satan and made aware of their nakedness. As a result, they chose to hide from God in shame. God had made a perfect world of innocence and Satan went to work as The Destroyer that Revelation 9:11 makes him out to be. Satan will destroy your relationship with God through the tool of sin!

Being aware of sin is the only way to be in a relationship with God. A life of sin could even lead to a hardened heart. This is the point of no return and God will hold this person accountable for it. Don’t be this person.

Hebrews 3:8
Do not harden your hearts as when they provoked Me,
AS IN THE DAY OF TRIAL IN THE WILDERNESS,

Romans 9:18
So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires.

Sin may be appear to be fun but it leads to nothing more than death and a separation from God.

Isaiah 59:2
But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God,
And your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He does not hear.

Romans 6:23a
For the wages of sin is death

Revelation 20:15
And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

Thankfully, we have a God that loves us and desires to see us come to Him. This love is not based on anything we did, will do, or even CAN do.

Romans 5:8
But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

Colossians 1:12
giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.

We did not do anything to make us worthy of Heaven. God makes that change inside of us. He alone can qualify us.

Acts 26:18 (focus on b)
to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, in order that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me. '

John 14:6
Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me.

John 3:17
"For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world should be saved through Him.

2 Corinthians 5:17-18
Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ, and gave us the ministry of reconciliation,

John 3:16
"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.

Romans 6:23
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

It is only through the blood of Christ that we can be saved. One must believe that Jesus, the Son of God, lived a sinless life, died as a perfect sacrifice, and three days later, defeated death and returned to the Father’s right hand.

No one will choose God on their own. Doing so will only lead to going astray in the end as a false convert. True repentance and salvation come from God.

John 6:44a
"No one can come to Me, unless the Father who sent Me draws him;

John 6:65
And He was saying, "For this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me, unless it has been granted him from the Father."

If you feel God has placed conviction in your heart and you would like to know more about how He desires to have a relationship with you, please do not hesitate to ask me. I would be more than happy to sit down with you one on one.

As we get ready to pull into (edited for operational security reasons), keep your guard up and remember that light and darkness cannot coexist. You will have to choose one or the other. I urge you to choose God.