How to Keep Yourself from Sinning
By Pastor Matt Black
05
August 2006
Men’s Prayer Breakfast/Leadership Paradigms
James 1:13-15
Opening Hymn: Amazing Grace
Introduction: Open your Bible to James 1:13-15. The title of our study this morning is “How to Keep Yourself from Sinning.”
Imagine you are awaiting your favorite piece of pie at Baker’s Square restaurant. Perhaps it is Banana Cream Pie or Chocolate French Silk, or Fresh Strawberry Pie. You see it as the waitress carries it to you on a platter. You imagine what it will taste like. You begin to eat it, and it tastes delicious—just like you had imagined. You continue to dig into the pie, and as you do, you see a black round foreign object right in the middle of your delicious piece of pie. As you begin to examine this strange substance in your dessert you slowly but surely begin to realize that maybe you aren’t as hungry for that pie as you thought you might be. You become conscious that this little ball in your pie has wings and legs and eyes. A dead fly has been cooked into that which you longed for, and when you realize what it is, your longings fade away rather quickly.
The pie you were eating seemed the best thing in the world until you understood the composition of the pie. Once you realized there was something disgusting in it, suddenly the sugar in the pie did not seem so sweet. We need to do the same thing to the sins we seem to enjoy in our lives. We need to tell ourselves the truth about sin. This is our first point.
I. Understand the Disgusting nature of sin. Sin is vile. It is putrid in God’s sight. The world has a whole host of sweetness to cover the vile nature of sin. There is a host of pleasure in sin for a season. Sin tastes good until you begin to gnaw on the head of a fly. Then sin becomes sickening. A person does not need to be a follower of Jesus Christ in order to understand this.
Talk to any one under the power of any sin, and they will tell you that the pleasure they feel is a slavery, and they wish they could be delivered from it. The drinker loves his drink, but he wishes he were free from it. The angry person loves to feel like he is in control, but he is in slavery and wishes he could control himself. The person who feeds his flesh with carnal pleasures loves the temporary delight of that which is forbidden, but after pleasure in sin, there is a gnawing on the head of that fly. The guilt and vileness of sin makes you feel dirty. You feel the lose of your innocence, the loss of your integrity, the compromise of your character, and you begin to realize that you are a self pleaser, a liar, a buffoon, and a worthless slave of sin.
Sin is vile in God’s site. By understanding the vileness of sin, you can keep yourself from sin. You must not wait until sin has had its dominion over you, but you must engage in a pre-emptive strike against sin by revealing the disgusting nature of sin. You must examine the sin for and discover the fly’s head before you are even tempted to take a bite.
God desires “truth in the inward parts” (Psalm 51:6). He requires that we “examine ourselves.” We ought to constantly be saying “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: 24 And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (Psalm 139:23-24).
The truth is we are blind people. We walk in most of life with our eyes closed. We do not heed Ephesians 5:15, which tells us, “See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise,” We walk blindly into sin without any thought so much of the time. We are careless, surrounded by sinners, living in a constant atmosphere of weakness and temptation. Everywhere we look there is the temptation for the pleasure of sin. What shall we do? We must constantly be examining our food for flies!
But being weak and so prone to sin as we are, we rarely give ourselves to see the hideousness of sin! Let me say that unless a man is born again, he has no power to say no to sin. A blind man can see no difference between the Mona I-Lisa or a billboard on 1-90. The deaf man cannot discern the difference between a train whistle or the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. The bum with the offensive smell thinks he smells just fine. He’s around it all the time and does not realize his stench.
Sin is vile. That is seen by the fact that God sends men to hell for it. It is that repulsive. Psalm 9:17 The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.
II. Understand the Deceitfulness of sin
Hebrews 3:13, “But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.”
The world doesn’t look at sin as destructive. To be wild and loose is cool in the world. To live a carefree life is strived for in the world. Why should we be inspecting our actions? Someone who is careful about their actions is looked at as “strange”!
We need to see the deceitfulness of sin and “put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts” (Ephesians 4:22).
Sin looks great on the outside, but inside it is deceitful. Sin is seductive!
1 John 2:16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
The flesh dupes us! It reals us in with deceit.
James 1:14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. 15 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.
Titus 3:3 says this deceit was a way of life. We had no idea that sin was as destructive as it was. “For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another.”
III. Understand how to Defeat sin.
We have God’s grace. God’s grace is not just unmerited favor, but it is the unmerited force and power of God’s Spirit. God has not just given us grace to forgive us, but to live holy in life!
A. Be prepared for action!
1 Peter 1:13-16 Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; 14 As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: 15 But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; 16 Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.
B. Have the right perspective on sin!
Turn over to Genesis 33:6 And he left all that he had in Joseph’s hand; and he knew not ought he had, save the bread which he did eat. And Joseph was a goodly person, and well favoured.
7And it came to pass after these things, that his master’s wife cast her eyes upon Joseph; and she said, Lie with me [COME TO BED WITH ME!]. 8 But he refused, and said unto his master’s wife, Behold, my master wotteth not what is with me in the house, and he hath committed all that he hath to my hand; 9 There is none greater in this house than I; neither hath he kept back any thing from me but thee, because thou art his wife: how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God? 10 And it came to pass, as she spake to Joseph day by day, that he hearkened not unto her, to lie by her, or to be with her.
The mind is the watchman of the soul. If you do not engage your mind to watch over your soul, you will fall into sin!
1 Peter 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
Conclusion: Do you see the disgusting nature of your sin? Do you see the deceitfulness of sin? Are you defeating sin or is sin dominating you? Look at sin like that piece of pie. Do not see it for it’s pleasure, but for it’s poison! Every time you are tempted to sin, tell yourself that you will not be duped. You will not be a buffoon. You will trust in God and find your pleasure in Him. Remember as 1 Corinthians 10:13 says, “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.” You do not have to sin! There is a way of escape.
Closing Hymn: Great is thy Faithfulness