The Anatomy of Sin
Lent 2019
Sin as Suicide
April 14, 2019 • Matthew 21
We're all tempted by the forbidden fruit. Often, it's not the fruit itself that irresistibly draws us, but the fact that it's forbidden. "Don't do this" is sometimes the only reason we're tempted to do. At the end of Matthew 21, Jesus tells the Parable of the Tenants. He reveals our innate suicidal enmity toward God, and graciously offers to save us from ourselves. He allows His destruction to save us from our self-destruction, thus providing the only means for our enmity toward God to be replaced with love.
Sin as Adultery
April 7, 2019 • Hosea 3:1–5
The metaphor that comes closest to describing God's inexhaustible love for us is that of God as bridegroom. Only when we realize that God loves us with the most powerful spousal love can we begin to grasp the sinfulness of sin. Our sin doesn't just have moral or spiritual consequences, it has deeply personal consequences. Every time we stray from God, we commit spiritual adultery. We don't just break His commandments, we break His heart.
Sin as Self-Righteousness
March 31, 2019 • Jonah 4
The sin of self-righteousness is everyone's blind spot, and the longer you're a Christian, and the more successful you are at growing in personal righteousness, the greater your unwitting bent toward self-righteousness. Self-righteousness is the self-satisfaction of being "better than." We aren't just moral creatures, we're moralistic creatures, and self-righteousness is the default setting of the human heart. We all need to learn to repent of our righteousness, through which we attempt to earn or sustain our standing before God and others.
Sin as Predator
March 24, 2019 • Genesis 4
NOTE: This week's sermon unfortunately was NOT recorded due to technical error. We encourage you to read the study guide and study the passage on your own this week. During Lent this year, in preparation for Good Friday and Easter, we are devoting four weeks to an in-depth study of sin. Why? Because without a deep understanding of the bleakness of our sin, we cannot understand the profound brilliance of God's grace. In our four-week series, as we diagnose the sin in our hearts, we will look at the four most pronounced iterations of sin in our culture: Sin as Predator, Sin as Self-Deceit, Sin as Adultery, and Sin as Self-Righteousness.