1 00:00:00,000 –> 00:00:05,840 our theme on this series of the inside story is really especially poignant as 2 00:00:05,840 –> 00:00:12,200 we mark the 10th anniversary of September the 11th 2001. for many people 3 00:00:12,200 –> 00:00:19,900 that day brought immense pain and sorrow and irrevocable loss, and the truth is 4 00:00:19,900 –> 00:00:24,959 that many things were shaken that day far beyond the foundations of the Twin 5 00:00:25,660 –> 00:00:31,160 Towers. on a PBS special this week a thoughtful woman described the 6 00:00:31,160 –> 00:00:36,880 comfortable view that she had adopted before September the 11th ten years ago. 7 00:00:36,880 –> 00:00:43,220 She had lived with the notion that there is no such thing as evil in the world. 8 00:00:43,220 –> 00:00:47,759 Reflecting on these days she said you know some people do bad things but to me 9 00:00:47,759 –> 00:00:54,340 evil was an adjective not a noun. then she said I can no longer live with that 10 00:00:54,360 –> 00:01:00,779 explanation. I don’t know what I believe now but on September the 11th I lost my 11 00:01:00,779 –> 00:01:08,260 easy answers. Do you know for some years now a secular education has been 12 00:01:08,260 –> 00:01:12,500 teaching our children and our young people the postmodern myth that there is 13 00:01:12,500 –> 00:01:15,019 no such thing as good and evil. 14 00:01:15,019 –> 00:01:20,019 That somehow everything is just relative, that what people call good, and what 15 00:01:20,260 –> 00:01:25,180 people call evil is merely culturally defined and, that what is right and what 16 00:01:25,180 –> 00:01:30,419 is wrong is entirely a matter for the individual. Then September the 11th came 17 00:01:30,419 –> 00:01:41,459 and we saw the face of evil and what happened was just too awful for a social 18 00:01:41,459 –> 00:01:46,779 or a cultural kind of explanation and so people who have been reared all their 19 00:01:46,779 –> 00:01:50,459 lives in relativism and postmodernism began searching for 20 00:01:50,459 –> 00:01:55,239 language, for words, for categories to begin to speak about what had 21 00:01:55,239 –> 00:01:59,379 happened and they suddenly found themselves, despite themselves, saying 22 00:01:59,379 –> 00:02:08,720 this is evil! And the foundations of relativism and the foundations of 23 00:02:08,720 –> 00:02:15,259 postmodernism itself shook because once you admit that there is such a thing as 24 00:02:15,300 –> 00:02:20,580 evil, and that it is in human beings, you have to ask the question how did it get 25 00:02:20,580 –> 00:02:27,779 there and what in the world can be done about it. Now that is exactly what we’re 26 00:02:27,779 –> 00:02:32,220 looking at together in this series that we have called The Inside Story and in 27 00:02:32,220 –> 00:02:37,039 its first part we’re looking at the inside story of human life. If you would 28 00:02:37,039 –> 00:02:40,220 turn to the book of Genesis we’re going to look at several references in the 29 00:02:40,300 –> 00:02:46,259 There today because Genesis tells us the story not only of sins origin but also 30 00:02:46,259 –> 00:02:52,940 of its development after Adam and Eve were expelled from the garden paradise 31 00:02:52,940 –> 00:02:59,880 of God, sin grew in the world and if you open at Genesis in chapter 4 you will 32 00:02:59,880 –> 00:03:04,119 find you can read it later that the story that is recorded there is the sad 33 00:03:04,119 –> 00:03:11,500 story of how the first family fractured through fratricide, Adam and Eve had two 34 00:03:11,500 –> 00:03:16,820 sons Cain and Abel, you can read their story in that chapter. Cain became angry 35 00:03:16,820 –> 00:03:23,339 towards his brother Abel and eventually murdered his own brother, very 36 00:03:23,339 –> 00:03:28,100 interesting by the way think about this the man who declined to offer a blood 37 00:03:28,100 –> 00:03:33,020 sacrifice ended up shedding the blood of his own brother there’s a significant 38 00:03:33,339 –> 00:03:40,380 connection there it was an early sign of devastation and destruction that sin 39 00:03:40,380 –> 00:03:46,539 would bring to the human family. Now Adam and Eve had other sons and daughters and 40 00:03:46,539 –> 00:03:52,259 God’s grace allowed the growth and the development of the human race and 41 00:03:52,259 –> 00:03:56,979 Genesis in chapter 5, if you have that open in front of you, gives to us an 42 00:03:56,979 –> 00:04:02,740 account of the generations that came from Adam. Then in chapter 6 and verse 5 43 00:04:03,100 –> 00:04:08,360 we have an extraordinary statement, by any standards this is an extraordinary 44 00:04:08,360 –> 00:04:15,899 statement of how sin multiplied, how it intensified as the early human family 45 00:04:15,899 –> 00:04:23,079 grew. Genesis chapter 6 in verse 5, the Lord so how great man’s wickedness on 46 00:04:23,079 –> 00:04:27,959 earth had become, so this is about development, the growth, the progress of 47 00:04:28,100 –> 00:04:35,980 sin. And how every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all 48 00:04:35,980 –> 00:04:41,940 the time, is that not an extraordinary statement? Every inclination of the 49 00:04:41,940 –> 00:04:46,760 thoughts of his heart. Only evil all the time it’s a kind of triple whammy isn’t 50 00:04:46,760 –> 00:04:54,359 it. Sin was going everywhere within the human personality, it was always being 51 00:04:55,059 –> 00:04:59,859 pervasive and it was being wholly pervasive all the time. It is an 52 00:04:59,859 –> 00:05:05,380 extraordinary statement about how in the time of Noah, evil had really taken over 53 00:05:05,380 –> 00:05:09,839 the whole world. That is what we are being told here. Now Genesis chapter 6 54 00:05:09,839 –> 00:05:15,739 and verse 5 is not telling us that the world is always as bad as this. This 55 00:05:15,739 –> 00:05:21,140 world is not heaven but it’s not hell either. But in the time of Noah it was 56 00:05:21,660 –> 00:05:27,299 in that latter direction. At that time in the time of Noah, the world became so 57 00:05:27,299 –> 00:05:32,119 dark that the LORD saw that every inclination of people’s hearts was only 58 00:05:32,119 –> 00:05:37,119 evil all the time. Now you read an extraordinary statement 59 00:05:37,119 –> 00:05:42,940 like that you say, how in the world did the human race get there? How do we move 60 00:05:42,940 –> 00:05:50,540 from one sin that Adam and Eve committed within the garden to the devastation of 61 00:05:50,640 –> 00:05:56,779 a dark world in which sin and evil have become so pervasive that all the 62 00:05:56,779 –> 00:06:03,920 inclinations of men’s thoughts and of their hearts were only evil all the time? 63 00:06:03,920 –> 00:06:09,019 And that’s the story we’re going to follow today. We’re going to look at the 64 00:06:09,019 –> 00:06:12,920 inside story of the human race and I want to begin by drawing your attention 65 00:06:12,920 –> 00:06:18,500 to two verses in the early chapters of Genesis. The first one is back in Genesis 66 00:06:18,519 –> 00:06:23,559 chapter 1 and verse 26. If you turn back just two pages you’ll find that there. 67 00:06:23,559 –> 00:06:28,899 You remember last week and we were building in this series that God made 68 00:06:28,899 –> 00:06:35,679 Adam upright. That’s Ecclesiastes in chapter 7 and verse 29. Now here in 69 00:06:35,679 –> 00:06:42,200 Genesis we are learning the same truth. In Genesis chapter 1 and verse 26, 70 00:06:42,459 –> 00:06:53,880 by the way isn’t it interesting that the plural is 71 00:06:53,880 –> 00:07:02,980 used by God. An early foreshadowing of the later revelation of the three 72 00:07:02,980 –> 00:07:10,559 persons of the one living God let God said, God singular said, let us make man 73 00:07:10,739 –> 00:07:21,160 in our image and in our likeness. So verse 26 God created man in his own image, in 74 00:07:21,160 –> 00:07:27,859 the image of God he created. Male and female so male and female together are 75 00:07:27,859 –> 00:07:35,959 created in the image of God. The man the woman Adam and Eve, God made Adam upright. 76 00:07:35,959 –> 00:07:44,920 Adam and Eve are made in the image and in the likeness of God period. God made 77 00:07:44,920 –> 00:07:51,079 Adam upright. Now turn over in your Bible just a couple of pages please back to 78 00:07:51,079 –> 00:07:55,660 chapter 5, and I want you to see the contrast here. By this time in the Bible 79 00:07:55,660 –> 00:07:59,359 story Adam and Eve have listened to the tempter, they have sinned. They have set 80 00:07:59,359 –> 00:08:02,480 their hearts on being their own God. Remember the tempter said well you can 81 00:08:02,679 –> 00:08:06,540 God, you can take the place of God, and Adam and Eve have been drawn to that, 82 00:08:06,540 –> 00:08:10,399 they have committed the first sin. They have been excluded from paradise and now 83 00:08:10,399 –> 00:08:15,119 outside of paradise they have children. Look at what it says in Genesis chapter 84 00:08:15,119 –> 00:08:24,279 5 and verse 3.When Adam had lived a hundred and thirty years, he had a son 85 00:08:24,279 –> 00:08:32,200 notice the next phrase, in his own likeness, in his own image and he named 86 00:08:32,400 –> 00:08:39,599 him Seth. Now do you see the striking difference? It is very important. Adam is 87 00:08:39,599 –> 00:08:47,440 created in the image of God, but Adams son, Seth, bears the image of his father 88 00:08:47,440 –> 00:08:55,099 who is a sinner. God made Adam upright, but men have gone in search of many 89 00:08:55,099 –> 00:08:59,859 schemes. That is what we learned last time. Adam became a sinner and the son of 90 00:09:00,200 –> 00:09:05,140 Adam is born in the Father’s likeness. Now of course that will raise the 91 00:09:05,140 –> 00:09:09,460 question in your mind and theologians have debated this over the centuries, is 92 00:09:09,460 –> 00:09:13,359 Seth then also made in the image of God? 93 00:09:13,359 –> 00:09:19,599 And my answer to that is yes. And my reason for giving a positive answer to 94 00:09:19,599 –> 00:09:23,940 that question is one more page over in the Bible story in Genesis chapter 9 and 95 00:09:23,940 –> 00:09:29,200 verse 6. Because you notice the statement there which is made now well and truly 96 00:09:29,359 –> 00:09:34,479 after sin has got going within the world and now God is speaking about fallen 97 00:09:34,479 –> 00:09:40,320 humanity, and He gives this law, Whoever sheds the blood of man by man shall his 98 00:09:40,320 –> 00:09:47,880 blood be shed, for in the image of God has God made man. So that is a reference 99 00:09:47,880 –> 00:09:55,440 now not simply to Adam but it is a reference to Adam’s fallen children. That 100 00:09:55,440 –> 00:10:00,539 is the explanation for the title of the message this week. The sons and daughters 101 00:10:00,539 –> 00:10:10,039 of Adam live with the enigma of a double image, made in the image of God but born 102 00:10:10,039 –> 00:10:17,940 in the likeness of Adam. You need to know this double truth about yourself. This is 103 00:10:17,940 –> 00:10:22,840 where self-knowledge begins, you need to know this is who you are as I need to 104 00:10:22,840 –> 00:10:28,140 know that this is who I am, made in the image of God, born in the likeness of 105 00:10:28,140 –> 00:10:32,280 Adam. You are made in the image of God and that gives your life today meaning 106 00:10:32,280 –> 00:10:38,320 significance, value, dignity and worth. That’s why it’s worth living because you 107 00:10:38,320 –> 00:10:45,500 are made in the image of God. But you are also born in the likeness of Adam which 108 00:10:45,500 –> 00:10:52,219 means that you are a sinner by nature. We are all born that way. Now C.S. Lewis 109 00:10:52,219 –> 00:10:57,940 has a wonderful phrase in which he captures in a picture as it were the 110 00:10:57,940 –> 00:11:03,559 enigma of this double image with which we are all born into the world. 111 00:11:03,559 –> 00:11:11,599 He says to come from Lord Adam and to come from Lady Eve is both honor enough to 112 00:11:11,599 –> 00:11:16,960 erect the head of the poorest beggar and shame enough to bow the shoulders of the 113 00:11:16,960 –> 00:11:22,280 greatest emperor on earth. That’s C.S. Lewis. If you know the truth about 114 00:11:22,280 –> 00:11:26,479 yourself you will have reason to lift up your head in thankfulness to God. Your 115 00:11:26,479 –> 00:11:31,539 life is dignity and worth you are made in his image. If you know yourself you’ll 116 00:11:31,539 –> 00:11:37,760 also have find reason to get on your knees before God because you are born in 117 00:11:37,760 –> 00:11:46,359 the likeness of your father Adam who is a sinner. Now this doctrine of the double 118 00:11:46,400 –> 00:11:51,179 image is of huge importance. It is foundational to the Christian faith and 119 00:11:51,179 –> 00:11:56,219 it is of massive importance in terms of understanding our world today and of 120 00:11:56,219 –> 00:12:00,179 presenting the gospel to secularists who do not believe that there is such a 121 00:12:00,179 –> 00:12:09,900 thing as evil. So I ask you to consider this question why is it wrong to fly a 122 00:12:09,900 –> 00:12:16,099 plane into the twin towers and take the lives of thousands of people? So you 123 00:12:16,140 –> 00:12:19,059 don’t know the answer to that? You shouldn’t be standing on a Christian 124 00:12:19,059 –> 00:12:24,340 platform. But I’m asking you the question why is that wrong? 125 00:12:24,340 –> 00:12:31,539 See think about it if we are only developed animals who evolved by the 126 00:12:31,539 –> 00:12:36,880 survival of the fittest, how is that different from snuffing out of a 127 00:12:36,880 –> 00:12:44,739 hornet’s nest? And the answer is because men and women are not hornets. We are 128 00:12:45,020 –> 00:12:50,000 made in the image of God and that is what gives every human life supreme 129 00:12:50,000 –> 00:12:58,080 dignity, value, and worth. Second question, why then in this wonderful world 130 00:12:58,080 –> 00:13:02,780 created by God do men who are made in the image of God perpetrate such 131 00:13:02,780 –> 00:13:09,960 extraordinary deeds of evil, and the answer is because we are born in the 132 00:13:09,960 –> 00:13:14,539 likeness of Adam and we are sinners by nature and by practice. We live in a dark 133 00:13:14,580 –> 00:13:20,380 and a dangerous world and nothing in this world, no work, no family, no church, 134 00:13:20,380 –> 00:13:26,440 nothing in this world, no nation is as it should be and ever will be the side of 135 00:13:26,440 –> 00:13:32,020 heaven. So here is the first thing that we need to learn today and this is 136 00:13:32,020 –> 00:13:39,640 really important. It is foundational for Christian faith. Sin is in us by nature 137 00:13:40,119 –> 00:13:43,719 and I take that from Genesis and chapter 5 and verse 3. 138 00:13:43,719 –> 00:13:50,520 Think of it, Adam came out of the hand of God as it were upright but Seth came 139 00:13:50,520 –> 00:13:56,219 out of the womb as you and I did. He was born in the likeness of his father and 140 00:13:56,219 –> 00:14:02,299 of his mother as sinner. Poor Seth, don’t you feel sorry for him? And we’re in 141 00:14:02,299 –> 00:14:07,539 exactly the same position as he was. Sin was in his father and his mother 142 00:14:07,580 –> 00:14:14,140 by their own choice, but for Seth, sin was in him by birth even before he started. 143 00:14:14,140 –> 00:14:19,260 He got it from his dad and from his mom. He was made and born in the likeness of 144 00:14:19,260 –> 00:14:24,739 his father a sinner. And not only was sin in him but when he was born 145 00:14:24,739 –> 00:14:30,020 he was born into a fallen world. Sin was all around him. Whereas God had placed 146 00:14:30,020 –> 00:14:33,859 his father in the creation in this garden paradise, Seth was born outside 147 00:14:34,340 –> 00:14:38,580 paradise. As we are born outside of paradise in a world under the curse of 148 00:14:38,580 –> 00:14:43,479 sin. A world that would experience pain and would experience suffering because 149 00:14:43,479 –> 00:14:47,940 even the very creation itself since the entrance of sin into the world is 150 00:14:47,940 –> 00:14:52,900 groaning in frustration Paul says, longing for the full redemption that 151 00:14:52,900 –> 00:14:58,059 will only come at the time of the return of Jesus Christ. And can you imagine 152 00:14:58,299 –> 00:15:05,280 little Seth growing up trying to come to terms with the world in which he lives. 153 00:15:05,280 –> 00:15:11,719 The world in which he’s been born trying to come to terms with what is in him. And 154 00:15:11,719 –> 00:15:17,020 one day his dad makes a little fire and they sit outside the tent and Adam puts 155 00:15:17,020 –> 00:15:22,859 his arm round his son’s shoulders as that sometimes do and he says, hey Seth 156 00:15:22,919 –> 00:15:29,840 you know it’s time we had a little talk. And Adam says to him, Seth you ought to 157 00:15:29,840 –> 00:15:38,780 know son that you have two brothers. Really? Where are they? Well, one of them 158 00:15:38,780 –> 00:15:49,700 is dead. Oh how did he die? Your other brother killed him. Your mother and I 159 00:15:49,940 –> 00:15:52,880 haven’t seen him since that day. He’s become a restless wanderer on the 160 00:15:52,880 –> 00:16:05,780 earth, your brother. Friends, sin is in us and sin is all around us. And sin is in 161 00:16:05,780 –> 00:16:11,460 even the best of us. See this was true even of King David. I’m trying to think 162 00:16:11,460 –> 00:16:15,780 of the best hero I can imagine in the Old Testament. And I’m going for King 163 00:16:15,820 –> 00:16:23,159 David because he was described as the man after God’s own heart. And listen to 164 00:16:23,159 –> 00:16:27,919 what the man after God’s own heart says about himself he says this. 165 00:16:27,919 –> 00:16:37,460 Surely I was sinful at birth, at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived 166 00:16:37,460 –> 00:16:43,340 me. Now understand David is not saying here that his mother conceived him 167 00:16:44,119 –> 00:16:49,179 through a sinful act. What David is saying is that his life the life that was 168 00:16:49,179 –> 00:16:53,140 conceived by the union of his father and his mother his life is the life of a 169 00:16:53,140 –> 00:16:57,260 sinner that is how every person born into the world since the fall of Adam 170 00:16:57,260 –> 00:17:08,439 and Eve is. And so I put it to you this way. Sin runs in the blood. Grace does 171 00:17:08,439 –> 00:17:17,780 not. Sin runs from one generation to another in the human family. We are all 172 00:17:17,780 –> 00:17:24,479 born alienated from God we’re gonna see that more fully in Ephesians chapter 2 173 00:17:24,479 –> 00:17:35,300 in the coming weeks we are all born alienated from God. Now this could be a 174 00:17:36,180 –> 00:17:42,619 unique moment right now for some of us and I have prayed much over this moment 175 00:17:42,619 –> 00:17:49,739 in the message I have often had a conversation that has gone something 176 00:17:49,739 –> 00:17:58,540 like this I’ve said to a person tell me how did you become a Christian and when 177 00:17:58,540 –> 00:18:06,219 I’ve asked that question I have too often heard this answer I was born that 178 00:18:06,219 –> 00:18:11,819 way. Now I want to say to you if you’ve ever said that or thought that and I’m 179 00:18:11,819 –> 00:18:15,599 sure that there are folks among us here you’ve come from a Christian family and 180 00:18:15,599 –> 00:18:19,619 so forth and so on a good family background and you say well I I was just 181 00:18:19,619 –> 00:18:23,979 born this way hear me that is not possible. 182 00:18:24,099 –> 00:18:30,020 friend you can be born a Jew you can be born a Muslim you can be born a Hindu 183 00:18:30,020 –> 00:18:34,380 you cannot be born a Christian it is impossible 184 00:18:34,380 –> 00:18:40,060 Christianity does not run in the blood sin does the only thing that we can be 185 00:18:40,060 –> 00:18:44,859 born as it were is as a sinner that’s what we’re learning from Genesis in 186 00:18:44,859 –> 00:18:49,699 chapter 3 5 and verse 3 which is why Jesus said think about what Jesus is 187 00:18:49,699 –> 00:18:56,900 saying flesh gives birth to what? Flesh. Only the spirit and he’s referring to 188 00:18:56,900 –> 00:19:01,640 God the Holy Spirit can give birth to spirit so Jesus says you should not be 189 00:19:01,640 –> 00:19:08,300 surprised at me saying to you you must be born again because nobody is a 190 00:19:08,300 –> 00:19:13,900 Christian by birth it is impossible you might say well wait a minute you don’t 191 00:19:13,900 –> 00:19:17,300 understand pastor I come from a good family I was born to Christian parents 192 00:19:17,300 –> 00:19:23,880 friends that’s my story I come from a good family I was born to Christian 193 00:19:23,880 –> 00:19:29,959 parents but that did not make me a Christian nor can it make anyone a 194 00:19:29,959 –> 00:19:36,800 Christian I was born a sinner and so were you however good your family sin 195 00:19:36,800 –> 00:19:44,800 runs in the blood grace does not some of us may have just got this the wrong way 196 00:19:44,859 –> 00:19:48,160 round we’ve got the idea that Christianity runs in the blood that 197 00:19:48,160 –> 00:19:51,800 grace runs in the blood him and we thought that sin does not if you’ve been 198 00:19:51,800 –> 00:19:56,459 working on that assumption I plead with you to listen to the Bible today your 199 00:19:56,459 –> 00:20:02,839 eternal condition may hang on it you can’t write into heaven on the 200 00:20:02,839 –> 00:20:09,199 coattails or the faith of your parents or of your friends or of simply being 201 00:20:09,199 –> 00:20:14,079 connected in some way to the church flesh gives birth to flesh the spirit 202 00:20:14,099 –> 00:20:23,400 gives birth to spirit you must be born says Jesus again sin runs in the blood 203 00:20:23,400 –> 00:20:26,619 grace does not actually if you think about it for one moment that is good 204 00:20:26,619 –> 00:20:32,560 news if grace ran in the blood what hope 205 00:20:32,560 –> 00:20:38,300 would there ever be for all who were born into faithless families but the 206 00:20:38,300 –> 00:20:41,800 truth is grace does not run in the blood sin runs in the blood but what that 207 00:20:41,800 –> 00:20:46,579 means is that sin is the great level or we are all on as it were a level playing 208 00:20:46,579 –> 00:20:51,280 field all in exactly the same position before God we all stand before God 209 00:20:51,280 –> 00:20:54,680 however privileged our background however wretched our background we all 210 00:20:54,680 –> 00:21:03,599 stand before God in exactly the same position sinners to whom God offers his 211 00:21:03,760 –> 00:21:13,260 in Jesus Christ when I got to tell you as I prayed about this part of the 212 00:21:13,260 –> 00:21:18,560 message and asked of God that He would shine a light so that some of us may be 213 00:21:18,560 –> 00:21:24,959 able to receive it for the first time that is a big prayer no doctrine is more 214 00:21:24,959 –> 00:21:30,560 repugnant to the natural mind and heart of a man 215 00:21:30,560 –> 00:21:39,859 or a woman than this there is no truth that a sinner is more resistant to 216 00:21:39,859 –> 00:21:44,819 hearing and receiving than the truth that we are all sinners if you believe 217 00:21:44,819 –> 00:21:51,380 this today it is because God has given light to you if if your mind is opening 218 00:21:51,380 –> 00:21:54,859 to this right now thank God he’s working in your mind and in your heart right 219 00:21:54,900 –> 00:22:01,040 now my friends you need to know that many churches are erasing this truth 220 00:22:01,040 –> 00:22:08,180 fast have you noticed as you visit around various places how often I’ve 221 00:22:08,180 –> 00:22:12,079 been struck by this when I’ve had opportunity to travel how often 222 00:22:12,079 –> 00:22:23,819 confession of sin is quiet only dropped from worship services how massive tracks 223 00:22:23,819 –> 00:22:29,239 of scripture that repeat this foundational Christian truth are 224 00:22:29,239 –> 00:22:35,180 silently glossed over did you know that there are active projects that are going 225 00:22:35,180 –> 00:22:39,119 on in our country to rewrite all the great hymns of the faith and to 226 00:22:39,119 –> 00:22:44,439 eliminate all references to sin because it’s not a positive notion to make 227 00:22:44,439 –> 00:22:50,040 people feel good on a Sunday morning I plead with you to take this truth 228 00:22:50,040 –> 00:22:57,219 seriously sin is in us all by nature if you don’t see that something is wrong 229 00:22:57,219 –> 00:23:01,939 with you how will you ever come to Christ only when we see our true 230 00:23:01,939 –> 00:23:11,540 condition will we see that our hope is in Christ and in Christ alone so this is 231 00:23:11,540 –> 00:23:17,339 a massive truth for us to try to digest today it has the part of to shift the 232 00:23:17,459 –> 00:23:21,119 whole trajectory of our living if we really embrace it and get hold of it 233 00:23:21,119 –> 00:23:28,079 Sin is in all of us by nature here this is a second thing sin is a vicious 234 00:23:28,079 –> 00:23:37,739 enemy it is a vicious enemy if you glance back at Genesis chapter 4 and 235 00:23:37,739 –> 00:23:42,140 that in verse 6 the Lord says to Cain, why are you angry and 236 00:23:42,140 –> 00:23:46,579 why is your face downcast he says if you do what is right to be accepted but if 237 00:23:46,579 –> 00:23:52,439 you do not do what is right notice these next words sin is crouching at your door 238 00:23:52,439 –> 00:24:02,079 what a picture the image here is as if sin was a predator like a wild animal 239 00:24:02,079 –> 00:24:10,260 lion and it’s crouching at the door and God says it desires to have you to 240 00:24:10,260 –> 00:24:18,959 destroy you to take you but you must master it so I want you to see not only 241 00:24:18,959 –> 00:24:26,300 is sin present within every one of us by birth by nature but sin is a an active 242 00:24:26,300 –> 00:24:35,699 and a destructive power it is a vicious enemy it desires to have you you cannot 243 00:24:35,699 –> 00:24:41,140 live your life passively because they’re there’s an enemy at the gates as it were 244 00:24:41,140 –> 00:24:48,540 sin is crouching at your door so over this weekend the Homeland Security 245 00:24:48,540 –> 00:24:53,859 Forces will be on the highest alert because we have powerful enemies who 246 00:24:53,859 –> 00:25:00,020 want to destroy us and they will never stop hatching new schemes to try and do 247 00:25:00,140 –> 00:25:06,380 it they want to have us so the work of watching and the work of interrupting 248 00:25:06,380 –> 00:25:11,339 these schemes is never done that’s exactly how it is with sin do you 249 00:25:11,339 –> 00:25:15,140 realize God is saying to Cain that sin is crouching at your door Cain didn’t 250 00:25:15,140 –> 00:25:21,780 listen and his life was destroyed by sin, took him over it had him? I wonder what 251 00:25:21,780 –> 00:25:26,680 percentage of us took in water during the heavy rains a few weeks ago? I think 252 00:25:26,680 –> 00:25:29,979 quite a lot of us we didn’t have too much damage but we got it into three 253 00:25:30,020 –> 00:25:35,880 rooms and so we’re having some fun with the cleanup and so forth and especially 254 00:25:35,880 –> 00:25:45,000 with drywall suppose you paint a wall and a child comes with a crayon and 255 00:25:45,000 –> 00:25:51,079 marks over your beautifully painted wall you know you might get a little bit 256 00:25:51,079 –> 00:25:57,319 frustrated but you can wash the wall you can get rid of the crayon if it’s really 257 00:25:57,359 –> 00:26:05,959 bad you can paint the wall over not that big a deal but suppose you have mold in 258 00:26:05,959 –> 00:26:16,079 your house painting over the mold won’t help so our house took on some water and 259 00:26:16,079 –> 00:26:19,739 here’s me cutting out two feet of drywall right round the bottom all that 260 00:26:19,739 –> 00:26:28,780 stuff taken out the insulation behind crayon leaves a mark that is easily 261 00:26:28,780 –> 00:26:42,160 dealt with but mold is a living thing you can’t leave it it spreads 262 00:26:42,660 –> 00:26:49,579 it will take your health that would destroy your house sin is not like 263 00:26:49,579 –> 00:26:58,079 Crayon Sinners like mold the crayon is static the mold is on the move 264 00:26:58,079 –> 00:27:04,859 sin is crouching at your door it’s a living thing and it desires to have you 265 00:27:04,859 –> 00:27:11,920 it needs to be cut out or it’s going to destroy your house so please understand 266 00:27:12,680 –> 00:27:17,880 this sin is much more than a list of things that you may have done wrong if 267 00:27:17,880 –> 00:27:21,140 that’s your notion of sin you’ve not really understood it from the Bible sin 268 00:27:21,140 –> 00:27:27,140 is much more than a list of things that you may have done wrong sin is a living 269 00:27:27,140 –> 00:27:34,280 power it is a vicious enemy and it is at work within you as it is at work within 270 00:27:34,280 –> 00:27:37,699 me that’s why we have the Battle of the Christian Life and we’re going to look 271 00:27:37,739 –> 00:27:43,339 that in a few weeks time so I asked you this question really we thought about 272 00:27:43,339 –> 00:27:46,619 the presence of sin are you taking the presence of sin in your own life 273 00:27:46,619 –> 00:27:51,819 seriously I asked this question now are you taking the power of sin in your own 274 00:27:51,819 –> 00:27:55,280 life seriously this power is bigger and greater than 275 00:27:55,280 –> 00:28:03,819 you are many years ago before I had the privilege of being here John Stott spoke 276 00:28:04,040 –> 00:28:12,880 at this church a gracious godly man a man marked by integrity one of the most 277 00:28:12,880 –> 00:28:17,619 highly respected Christian leaders around the world it was a great 278 00:28:17,619 –> 00:28:24,839 privilege for our church to have John Stott on one occasion in our pulpit as I 279 00:28:24,839 –> 00:28:28,760 say I was not here but I’ve heard from a number of longer time members of the 280 00:28:28,760 –> 00:28:32,719 congregation about the day that he came and the message that he gave and what’s 281 00:28:32,760 –> 00:28:37,060 absolutely fascinating is I’ve heard one thing that he said one sentence that he 282 00:28:37,060 –> 00:28:40,040 said from several different people so you know if you get it from multiple 283 00:28:40,040 –> 00:28:43,339 sources it’s true you also know out of everything he said there was one 284 00:28:43,339 –> 00:28:50,880 sentence that hit people between the eyes the most respected Christian leader 285 00:28:50,880 –> 00:28:57,760 of a generation stood in our pulpit and he said this there is 286 00:28:57,760 –> 00:29:06,959 no sin that my flesh is not capable of committing within 30 minutes of leaving 287 00:29:06,959 –> 00:29:17,439 this church there is no sin that my flesh is not capable of committing 288 00:29:17,439 –> 00:29:26,359 within 30 minutes of leaving this church and you want to let that sink in as I 289 00:29:26,380 –> 00:29:34,520 thought John Stott said that and if you find that really difficult to embrace I 290 00:29:34,520 –> 00:29:39,420 challenge you as to whether you have really taken seriously the reality of 291 00:29:39,420 –> 00:29:47,000 the power of sin that God says to Cain is crouching at your door but for the 292 00:29:47,000 –> 00:29:53,880 grace of the Lord Jesus Christ you did not know what in particular circumstances 293 00:29:53,880 –> 00:30:04,160 that might arise sin resides in our flesh and it crouches at the door now 294 00:30:04,160 –> 00:30:08,800 here’s what we’ve got than sin is in all of us by nature it is a vicious enemy 295 00:30:08,800 –> 00:30:12,640 we’ve looked at its presence we’ve looked at its power more briefly this 296 00:30:12,640 –> 00:30:17,839 last point sin leaves us needing an intervention from God when you really 297 00:30:17,839 –> 00:30:23,640 see that this vicious power is present within you when you really see what it 298 00:30:23,640 –> 00:30:28,660 means to be born in the likeness of Adam as well as made in the image of God you 299 00:30:28,660 –> 00:30:35,119 will begin to see that every person needs the intervention of God that is 300 00:30:35,119 –> 00:30:40,219 our need in every human life and I want you to pick up on Genesis 4 and verse 26 301 00:30:40,219 –> 00:30:44,760 where we’re told at that time very significant phrase chapter 4 and verse 302 00:30:44,760 –> 00:30:52,060 26 the end of the chapter at that time men began to call on the name of the 303 00:30:52,060 –> 00:30:56,920 Lord by the way that’s the first mention of prayer the first reference to prayer 304 00:30:56,920 –> 00:31:01,000 in the entire Bible this is the first time we read that men began to call on 305 00:31:01,000 –> 00:31:06,280 the name of the Lord that’s what prayer is and it happened at that time at what 306 00:31:06,280 –> 00:31:12,160 time what was it that caused men to pray for the very first time and the answer 307 00:31:12,160 –> 00:31:16,699 is when the destructive powers of sin became obvious in the world broken 308 00:31:16,699 –> 00:31:26,459 families violence murder men saw evil in its ugly colors Adam must have begun to 309 00:31:26,459 –> 00:31:35,160 say I never realized it would do this and this is in me too and they began to 310 00:31:35,160 –> 00:31:41,319 ask God for help and it doesn’t say that all men did this all men will not ask 311 00:31:41,319 –> 00:31:46,319 God for help but some men did some men saw and some women saw what sin was 312 00:31:46,319 –> 00:31:49,939 doing in the world and when they saw what sin was doing in the world they 313 00:31:49,939 –> 00:31:55,000 knew that they needed to pray God we need your help this is bigger than us 314 00:31:55,000 –> 00:31:59,800 what’s going on around me in my life I’m facing incredible darkness it’s bigger 315 00:31:59,800 –> 00:32:06,339 than me and I need an intervention from you I need your help and men begin to 316 00:32:06,459 –> 00:32:13,819 call on the name of the Lord for the very first time what does God do 317 00:32:14,140 –> 00:32:18,500 two things that are both very wonderful and I mentioned them just briefly 318 00:32:18,500 –> 00:32:22,099 men begin to call on the name of the Lord and as you follow the story 319 00:32:22,099 –> 00:32:26,859 through Genesis you find that God does two things the first is that God 320 00:32:26,859 –> 00:32:34,900 wonderfully restrains sin and we should thank him for this that is what happened 321 00:32:34,939 –> 00:32:38,660 of course through the flood which is the story that follows in the subsequent 322 00:32:38,660 –> 00:32:50,520 chapters…God restrains sin in the world if you think this world is bad dark and 323 00:32:50,520 –> 00:32:55,939 evil you cannot imagine what it would be if God took his hand off if God took 324 00:32:55,939 –> 00:33:02,339 his restraining hand of sin it would be hell itself….that’s what hell is when 325 00:33:02,400 –> 00:33:10,380 God’s restraint has taken off and the full ugliness of what evil is is left 326 00:33:10,380 –> 00:33:14,579 How does God restrain sin? I don’t have time to go into this let me just give 327 00:33:14,579 –> 00:33:18,400 you the headings and you can ponder them a little more fully God restrains sin 328 00:33:18,400 –> 00:33:22,079 through the law thank God for law thank God for law in our country thank God for 329 00:33:22,079 –> 00:33:29,680 law in the Bible law is a gift from God you see a policeman this weekend thank 330 00:33:29,680 –> 00:33:34,939 him tell him that he is a gift of God or tell her that she is a gift of God in a 331 00:33:34,939 –> 00:33:39,839 fallen world without the law our streets would not be safe and it is a gift of 332 00:33:39,839 –> 00:33:45,239 God that restrains sin in our world second conscience we saw last time that 333 00:33:45,239 –> 00:33:48,920 Adam was a law to himself he didn’t need a written law why because the law was 334 00:33:48,920 –> 00:33:52,680 already impressed on his own heart when of course much of that has been erased 335 00:33:52,680 –> 00:33:57,500 since the fall but in Romans chapter 2 and verse 15 the Apostle makes it quite 336 00:33:57,619 –> 00:34:03,839 clear that there is some residue of this and we call it conscience conscience 337 00:34:03,839 –> 00:34:09,020 bearing witness and Paul says this is true even of people who are not 338 00:34:09,020 –> 00:34:12,379 believers even of godless people there is some functioning of conscience for 339 00:34:12,379 –> 00:34:19,100 which we should thank God number three common grace that is as distinguished 340 00:34:19,100 –> 00:34:23,860 from saving grace we’re not talking about how God saves people we’re talking 341 00:34:23,879 –> 00:34:28,360 about the kindness that God shows to people indiscriminately just as he 342 00:34:28,360 –> 00:34:32,699 causes the Sun and the rain to come for all people so there are gifts of God and 343 00:34:32,699 –> 00:34:36,399 kindnesses of God that come to all people his enemies as well as his 344 00:34:36,399 –> 00:34:40,879 friends so when you see someone who has absolutely no time for Christian faith 345 00:34:40,879 –> 00:34:44,320 but she is a good mother or you see someone who 346 00:34:44,320 –> 00:34:48,459 is a rampant atheist and will not have any time at all for your faith in the 347 00:34:48,459 –> 00:34:52,159 Lord Jesus Christ but he is a good neighbor and looks after an elderly 348 00:34:52,199 –> 00:34:55,360 person who lives next door, you say where does that goodness come from? 349 00:34:55,360 –> 00:35:03,899 It is an echo of the image of God even in an unbelieving person for which we 350 00:35:03,899 –> 00:35:10,760 should thank God. Common Grace restrains sin so that nobody is as bad as we might 351 00:35:10,760 –> 00:35:17,000 be apart from the grace of God. And God cuts sin back through judgment in this 352 00:35:17,080 –> 00:35:24,419 world. Think of it this way, sin is like a massive weed, a massive weed that would 353 00:35:24,419 –> 00:35:31,100 take over and destroy the whole world except that God keeps cutting it back. He 354 00:35:31,100 –> 00:35:36,979 doesn’t cut it out, but he cuts it back. That is what happened in the Flood and 355 00:35:36,979 –> 00:35:42,520 it has happened in other less dramatic ways throughout history when a nation 356 00:35:42,699 –> 00:35:52,500 becomes in tolerably evil, God either sends revival or he causes that nation 357 00:35:52,500 –> 00:35:56,760 to fall. You can read that in history. That is why the Bible says, 358 00:35:56,760 –> 00:36:01,959 righteousness exalts a nation and sin is a reproach to people, because there 359 00:36:01,959 –> 00:36:06,439 comes a point where if sin takes hold within a society the society itself is 360 00:36:06,439 –> 00:36:11,560 judged by God and it collapses. That’s a merciful thing so that the world may be 361 00:36:11,560 –> 00:36:22,800 protected. The weed is being cut back so God restrains sin. But of course, you 362 00:36:22,800 –> 00:36:31,459 know he only doesthat in part. The law restrains some, but not all. Conscious 363 00:36:31,459 –> 00:36:40,159 restrains to some extent, but not fully. Common grace shines on some much more 364 00:36:40,239 –> 00:36:49,520 than others. Judgment in this life comes on some wickedness, but clearly not all. 365 00:36:49,520 –> 00:36:56,000 God is not removing the weed during the course of human history, he’s just 366 00:36:56,000 –> 00:37:03,520 cutting it back. But its root and its sprouting leaves continue throughout the 367 00:37:04,280 –> 00:37:10,919 human history. Its growth and its root remain until the day when Jesus Christ 368 00:37:10,919 –> 00:37:18,639 comes in power and glory. Which is why our hope is not in God’s restraint of 369 00:37:18,639 –> 00:37:25,899 sin, cutting back evil in the world. Our hope lies in God redeeming sinners in 370 00:37:25,899 –> 00:37:31,040 the day when God will take the weed up by the root and cast the whole thing 371 00:37:31,459 –> 00:37:37,639 into the fire. And sin shall be no more. Then there will be, the Bible 372 00:37:37,639 –> 00:37:41,219 says, a new heaven and there will be a new earth. And that will be the 373 00:37:41,219 –> 00:37:46,360 home of righteousness. And it will be very wonderful, because remember 374 00:37:46,360 –> 00:37:51,239 that suffering came into this world on the coattails of sin. So when 375 00:37:51,239 –> 00:37:54,520 sin is finally evicted from this world, the weed is pulled up and 376 00:37:54,520 –> 00:37:57,899 it is cast into hell. Suffering will go out of the world on its 377 00:37:57,919 –> 00:38:03,219 coattails as well. There will be, the Bible says, no more death and 378 00:38:03,219 –> 00:38:06,899 no more mourning and no more crying and no more pain, and God will 379 00:38:06,899 –> 00:38:13,020 wipe away all tears from the eyes of His people. That is the hope of 380 00:38:13,020 –> 00:38:20,659 the world, and it is in Jesus Christ. You say, how can sinners be 381 00:38:20,659 –> 00:38:24,340 in the home of righteousness? There’s only one way. You remember what 382 00:38:24,820 –> 00:38:28,939 John the Baptist said when Jesus began his ministry, John the 383 00:38:28,939 –> 00:38:36,239 Baptist pointed to Jesus, and he said, behold the lamb of God, who 384 00:38:36,239 –> 00:38:43,540 takes away the sin of the world. Our hope is in Him. Our hope is in 385 00:38:43,540 –> 00:38:45,540 him, and that is true for every person, every culture, every 386 00:38:45,540 –> 00:38:48,000 nation, every generation. Only in Him. 387 00:38:50,399 –> 00:38:53,919 One story, and we’re through. I’ll never forget the Sunday after 388 00:38:53,979 –> 00:38:58,139 September the 11th and the particular sense of 389 00:38:58,139 –> 00:39:03,280 responsibility bringing the word of God on that day. And of the 390 00:39:03,280 –> 00:39:09,840 many conversations that I had after the service, one will 391 00:39:09,840 –> 00:39:11,540 always remain in my mind. 392 00:39:13,179 –> 00:39:16,899 A woman who I had never seen before really came rushing up to 393 00:39:16,899 –> 00:39:20,540 me after the service. I’d never seen her in church before. To my 394 00:39:20,540 –> 00:39:22,540 knowledge, she has not been there again. I certainly have 395 00:39:22,540 –> 00:39:25,439 not seen her there again. But she was there on that day as 396 00:39:25,439 –> 00:39:28,179 with many people who suddenly felt a sort of momentary need of 397 00:39:28,179 –> 00:39:28,679 God. 398 00:39:30,040 –> 00:39:32,919 And so she came to church first Sunday after September the 399 00:39:32,919 –> 00:39:37,520 11th. She comes rushing up to me quite distressed and she says, 400 00:39:37,560 –> 00:39:38,919 pastor pastor. 401 00:39:40,520 –> 00:39:43,879 How can I tell my children that they’re safe? 402 00:39:43,879 –> 00:39:47,000 And I said to her, 403 00:39:48,360 –> 00:39:49,159 you can’t. 404 00:39:51,280 –> 00:39:52,439 The world isn’t safe. 405 00:39:54,560 –> 00:39:56,060 She looked absolutely astonished. 406 00:39:58,679 –> 00:40:07,139 I said to her, listen, we need to learn to live in this world 407 00:40:08,219 –> 00:40:11,419 in such a way as to be prepared for the next. 408 00:40:11,639 –> 00:40:12,719 That’s what I need to do. 409 00:40:14,919 –> 00:40:16,000 That’s what you need to do, 410 00:40:17,959 –> 00:40:19,800 and that’s what we need to tell our children. 411 00:40:22,239 –> 00:40:23,020 Can you pray with me? 412 00:40:26,739 –> 00:40:29,780 Father, we confess the presence and power of sin 413 00:40:29,780 –> 00:40:31,899 not only in the world but in ourselves. 414 00:40:34,800 –> 00:40:37,120 We see it, we see it around. 415 00:40:37,340 –> 00:40:39,840 We see it, we see it around, 416 00:40:41,179 –> 00:40:42,360 we see it within, 417 00:40:43,840 –> 00:40:46,540 and we receive your word into our hearts 418 00:40:46,540 –> 00:40:48,540 by way of confession today. 419 00:40:52,479 –> 00:40:54,719 But as we absorb this uncomfortable truth, 420 00:40:54,719 –> 00:40:56,159 we want to lift up our minds 421 00:40:56,159 –> 00:40:57,760 and thank you for the Redeemer. 422 00:40:59,580 –> 00:41:01,360 To bless you today for the Lamb of God 423 00:41:01,360 –> 00:41:03,199 who takes away the sin of the world. 424 00:41:04,080 –> 00:41:07,939 Lord Jesus Christ, I look to you for mercy 425 00:41:07,939 –> 00:41:09,580 and for deliverance today. 426 00:41:12,060 –> 00:41:14,959 I look to you and call out to you 427 00:41:14,959 –> 00:41:17,399 and feel my need of you 428 00:41:17,399 –> 00:41:20,120 and put my trust in you the one who died 429 00:41:20,120 –> 00:41:23,300 and who rose to destroy the power of the evil one. 430 00:41:23,300 –> 00:41:26,520 Gladly, I embrace you today by faith 431 00:41:29,399 –> 00:41:32,199 and take my stand as one of your people. 432 00:41:32,199 –> 00:41:37,199 Save me from my sins today 433 00:41:39,179 –> 00:41:43,719 through Jesus Christ my Lord 434 00:41:44,840 –> 00:41:47,219 and all who believe this together said amen.