MESSY: Origins of Sin

Have you ever gotten an unidentified stain on your shirt?
 
You’re getting along.
You’re minding your only business.
Suddenly, you look down and…
 
What is that? Coffee? Chocolate? Some kind of pinecone residue? (I don’t remember cuddling pinecones.)
 
It’s important to identify stains so that you know how to treat it correctly.
 
Today we’re continuing our sermon series called MESSY. Last week we talked about sin…what it is and how it messes up our relationship with God. Today we want to discover the origins of sin. By identifying where it comes from, we will better be able to battle it in our own lives. But before we begin, a prayer: O Lord, strengthen us by the truth, your Word is truth. Open our eyes to see what you want us to see, our ears to hear what you want us to hear and our hearts to believe what you would have us believe. Amen.
 
I. Influencers, not Origins
 
The Scripture today is from Mark 7. It says, “The Pharisees and some of the teachers of the law who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus and saw some of his disciples eating food with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed...So the Pharisees and teachers of the law asked Jesus, “Why don’t your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating their food with defiled hands?” (v.1-5,
 
Jesus and his disciples were eating food. This is interesting thing to think about. Usually, I think of Jesus as a divine, miracle-performing being. He is. But he was also a true human. As true God, he was all powerful, energizing the universe, but as true man, he needed his calories.
 
Since some of the Pharisees were able to gather around Jesus, it meant that they were in a public place. Usually there was a common type area in the middle of town where you could set up a picnic and do some eating. Picture it like an ancient food court:
 
Matthew stopped at Chick-Fi-A.
James went to the Ragin’ Cajun.
Peter’s just walking around and getting as many free samples of chicken on a little toothpick as he can.
 
The Pharisee’s issue is that the disciples were eating with defiled hands. It was a ceremonial tradition amongst the elders in Jerusalem to give a ceremonial washing before they ate any food.
They’d wash up. They’d wash down. They’d wash all around.
 
The issue wasn’t that they were germaphobes.
The was ceremonial. Throughout the Old Testament God had placed certain restrictions on the food that was eaten and the cleanliness of their ceremonies in order to impress on the Israelites the fact that God was holy. The Pharisees had simply taken it a step farther and added extra hand washings and ceremonial cleansings in order to really make themselves holy.
 
That’s why they were so upset with Jesus.
 
Wasn’t he supposed to be a godly Teacher?
Why would he let his disciples eat without the ceremonial washing?
By doing so, wasn’t he teaching them to defile their bodies with sin?
 
Do you see the problem?
The Pharisees thought that unclean hands…
Would somehow contain sin…
That would make its way into the body…
And create a sinful heart.
 
Truth:
It is faulty to assume that sin originates from exterior sources.
 
Now understand what that’s saying:
Exterior sources can absolutely nfluence us to sin.
They can tempt us to sin.
But it is NOT the place of origin.
 
I think that’s important to remember. Because as Christians we might want to cut down on sin. In doing so, we might look to cut out some exterior sources. But while that might be helpful, it wouldn’t be the origin. For example:
 
(1) Food and Drink
 
The wrong kind of food and drink can make you feel gross. And if you feel gross, it can make it easy to be gross towards others. It might be wise to stay away from that unhealthy food so you don’t feel so sluggish and aren’t so easily a slug. So, you back away from greasy hamburgers, stop drinking coffee and throw away (sigh) all the Doritos.
 
To be fair, those might be wise decisions. Food and drink can absolutely influence the way we act.
 
But be careful that you don’t think it’s the origin of sin. As if, all we need to do is be eat healthy, throw on some Essential Oils on it, and we’ll take care of the sin problem.
 
Because even if you are Crossfit gym levels of physical fitness, guess what?
 
You might still be a jerk to your coworkers.
You might still fight with your wife.
You might start lusting after that person at the gym.
You might start trusting your oil collection to keep your healthy, more than your God.
 
In short, sin would still be around.
Food and drank are only influencers, not the origin of sin.
 
(2) Media
 
This is another big influencer towards sin. If you’re watching TV shows with all kinds of swear words, don’t be surprised if you’re Preschooler repeats those swear words in front of your in-laws at the fancy restaurant. There have been Precious Lambs kids who are quoting characters that are a part of Games of Thrones. That might not be the wisest…
 
With social media, YouTube, the internet making it so easy to consume some downright awful content, we have to be diligent to keep our families safe from evil influences. It’s good to install filters on internet. It’s good to have a parental code on the TV. I think it’d be pretty fun to watch nothing but Veggietales, all the time, all the time, all the time.
 
But even if we severely cut down on our sinful media intake, there would still be sin.
 
Case in point?
All of human history before media existed.
 
There was no TV, but still sin.
No YouTube, still sin.
No smartphones and still sin.
 
Media is an influencer. It can lead us to sin, but it isn’t the origin.
 
(3) Stress
 
Nobody wants stress. Stress at work. Stress at the home. Stress in relationships. Stress makes you high strung, on edge, and ready to jump down people’s throats.
 
Stress is an influencer of sin.
The more stress there is the tougher it is to not be sinfully unpleasant.
It’s why people try to destress:
 
If I go get a full body massage…
If I surround myself with nature…
If I just listen to some Enya…
 
My stress will fade away.
And so will sin.
 
Again, stress is an influencer. So removing yourself from stressful situations will be helpful in our battle against being sinfully unpleasant.
But…
 
Stress isn’t the origin of sin.
 
I remember a while back being on vacation. It was nice because I was away from some of the stress that comes from being a pastor. I felt like I was a bit more low-key. I was feeling good. I was feeling pleasant. I was feeling like I was doing a better job managing being sinfully short with Julianna.
 
Then, she asked if I wanted to get up and workout. “Nah!”
She asked if I wanted to help with food. “I’m good.”
She asked if I wanted to do a devotion: “I’m too busy resting right now.”
 
Less stress had caused me to be less sinfully unpleasant and more sinfully lazy.
 
Stress is an influencer, but it isn’t the origin of sin.
 
II. Sin is Messy
 
This is Jesus’ point.
 
Particularly because the Pharisees were focusing on washing hands which barely had any effect on sin at all.
 
Listen to his response to the Pharisees: Don’t you see that nothing that enters a person from the outside can defile them? For it doesn’t go into their heart but into their stomach, and then out of the body.” He went on: “What comes out of a person is what defiles them. For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. (Mark 7:18-22)
 
Do you get it?
 
Sin doesn’t originate from exterior sources.
Sin originates from interior sources.
 
Before you punch someone in the face, you have to think: “I want to punch him in the face.”
Before you commit adultery, you have to think: “I want to commit adultery with that person.”
Before you steal, you have to think: “I want to steal that.”
Before you lie, you have to think: “I need to hide the truth.”
Before you gossip, you have to think: “I want to hurt that person.”
Before you act selfishly, you have to think: “I think my way is best.”
 
Sin comes from interior sources.
And one of those sources we are all too familiar with.
 
(1) From Your Heart
 
In the medical field, there are many different devices to help you get a better glimpse at what’s going inside the body: the X-Ray, the MRI, the CAT scan, the thing they do where you drink the neon liquid stuff and it appears on the machine as a bring neon color.
 
The Bible functions as a spiritual X-ray.
It tells us that the problem with sin lies in our hearts.
Within you.
Within me.
 
You might not like that truth, but just like the X-Ray isn’t lying, neither is God’s Word.
The problem with sin is within our hearts.
 
(2) From Your Parents’ Heart
 
Because they are people too and the Bible describes the sinful hearts of ALL people.
In fact, this answers the question: How did this sin get into my heart?
 
Jesus said John 3:5, “Flesh gives birth to flesh.”
Just like alligators gives birth to alligators.
Hedgehogs gives birth to hedgehogs.
Spiders give birth to…thousands of disgusting little spiders.
 
So, humans give birth to humans.
Even, sinful humans give birth to humans.
 
It means that your dad gave you your eyes, your nose, your male pattern baldness…
…and a sinful heart.
 
(3) From Adam
 
Before you get super mad at your parents, remember they got it from theirs.
And before you get super mad at your grandparents, remember they got it from theirs.
 
In fact, you’d have to trace all humans back to the very first humans.
 
A guy named Adam.
A woman named Eve.
 
They are two of only three people in the history of the world that were blessed to be born without sin.
Because God made them without sin.
 
And God said: “Here’s a beautiful world that I made for you. Beautiful flowers. Beautiful trees. Delicious fruits. Amazing animals. It’s yours. I love you. One way to show you love me? Just don’t eat from that one tree in the middle of the garden. Consider it your form of worship. Don’t eat of it and you’ll never bring sin into the world.”
 
And what did they choose to do?
 
Sin.
 
They eat the fruit.
And immediately, sin infects their hearts:
 
For the first time ever, they feel shame: They put on some leaf clothing because, “Adam, stop looking at my body like that.”
For the first time ever, they blame: “Eve, this is all your fault!”
For the first time ever, they feel terrified: “God’s coming. He’ll be mad. We better hide.”
 
This is why the Bible says this: Sin entered the world through one man. (Romans 5:12)
Are you a part of the world?
Here’s the harsh truth:
Sin is in you.
 
III. The Non-Origin
 
Of course, right about now, your sinful heart might want to go a bit farther back in the origin story.
 
But…wasn’t there a devil?
A talking snake?
Wasn’t it his fault?
 
And honestly, wasn’t it God’s?
Because in the beginning was God.
Only God.
He’s the one who created this world.
 
Why create the devil?
Why create the tree?
Why create Adam and Eve with the ability to sin?
 
Isn’t it God’s fault?
 
Check out Genesis 1:31. It’s a description of what happens at the end of creation. Look at what it says:
God saw all that he had made and it was very good. (1:31)
 
It had to be.
God doesn’t make stuff that is “Meh.”
God doesn’t do things that are “Ok.”
God doesn’t create things that are “imperfect.”
 
Meaning –
Sin did not originate from GOD.
 
It can’t.
He’s only good.
And his creation was only good.
 
The devil? He was an angel! An angel who freely chose to oppose his good Creator.
The tree? It was an altar. A way for people to freely chose to love their good Creator.
Adam and Eve? They were his perfect creation. And part of perfection was the ability to freely choose to love their Creator.
 
It’s like Google Maps. Google maps will listen to you. You can tell it to get you directions to the next city, to avoid tolls, to stop and find the local Taco Bell.
Google Maps will listen to you.
But it doesn’t love you.
 
God in his perfection made people to love.
He gave them freedom.
They chose to freely oppose him.
 
Sin isn’t on God;
It’s on us.
 
IV. The Exterminator
 
But that’s good news.
Because that means God is still good.
Sin didn’t infect him.
God isn’t the one who originated sin; but God is the one who exterminates it.
 
Look at how Romans describes it:
 
Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people. For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous. (Romans 5:18-19)
 
Adam’s one act of sin is juxtaposed with God’s perfect act of rescue.
 
Adam did one sin; all people were brought into sinfulness. That includes you.
God did one righteous act; all people are brought into justification. That includes you.
 
And what is justification? It’s a court room term. It means: “a not guilty verdict.”
This means that in spite of your sinful heart, God’s righteous actions declare you “Not guilty.”
“Not filthy.”
“Not defiled.”
 
How?
 
(1) Through Jesus’ Perfect Life
 
Do you remember earlier I mentioned three people who entered the world without sin?
One was Adam.
One was Eve.
They both chose to leave perfection and enter sin.
 
But the third one?
He chose to stay perfect.
 
The third one?
He was God himself.
 
The third option?
He was Jesus.
 
In Jesus, God became man.
In Jesus, God lived on this earth.
In Jesus, God lived under the law.
 
And then, just like Adam, He had a choice.
He could choose to fail miserably just like Adam…
Or…
 
“Through the obedience of the one man…” (v.19)
 
Jesus chose not to sin.
 
That means:
Jesus’ heart didn’t have any sin on it.
Jesus’ heart didn’t have any hate in it.
Jesus’ heart didn’t have any greed, any lust, any pride, any selfishness, any envy, any laziness, any sin of any kind at all.
 
Jesus’ heart was pure.
It obeyed God…
Even to death.
 
(2) Through Jesus’ Innocent Death.
 
Think back to the stain on the shirt illustration. If you had a stain on a shirt, one way you can get it out is by taking a clean rag.
You get it wet.
You blot it until the stain is out.
 
Of course, once you do that the stain might be out of the shirt, but it is now all over the sponge.
 
That’s what happened with Jesus.
Like a sponge, he soaked up all the dirt of your sin.
All the guilt of your past.
All the shame of this past week.
 
Jesus’ soaked it all up into his heart.
And died.
And so did your sin.
 
Three days later, Jesus rose from the dead.
But your sins did not.
 
It was exterminated.
 
…So also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people. (v.18)
“All people” includes you.
 
…So also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous. (v.19)
“The many” includes you.
 
Jesus has exterminated your sin.
 
V. What Now?
 
This affects the way we deal with sin in our life. Take a look at the passages from James 1:19-21. It says this, “Take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness 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.”
 
(1) Pause.
 
Because a good part of our actions are determined by our emotions.
The example given in James is the emotion of anger. We get angry. Our anger tells us to do. We listen even if it is a sin.
 
You might say: “Anger is an emotion. How can I help it?”
The problem isn’t necessarily anger. God gets angry. He gets righteously angry against sin.
The problem isn’t emotion, it’s emotion coming from a sin infected heart.
 
It can be any emotion:
Sin infected happiness.
Sin infected fear.
Sin infected sadness.
 
Knowing that we can’t simply say: “I feel this way so I should do it.”
Nope.
 
Pause.
 
Pause and consider this emotional reaction is influenced by sin, simply because of my sinful heart.
 
Maybe, I shouldn’t do it.
 
(2) Listen to the Planted Word
 
Because…
 
Sin isn’t the only thing in our hearts.
By God’s grace, we have the Gospel in our hearts.
 
God planted it there through the message of the Gospel.
He planted knowledge of our Savior.
He planted knowledge of our saving.
He planted knowledge of what sin is and motivation for getting rid of it.
He planted knowledge of what’s God pleasing and motivation for doing it.
 
It’s like a pile of trash, stinky, dirty, disgusting…
…And yet, by God’s grace, a flower grows.
 
It’s the same in our hearts.
They are sin filled.
 
But by God’s grace, a flower grows.
By God’s Word, sin is defeated.
By God’s power, we bloom for him. Amen.