The problem of sin

You are listening to a message from Thrive Community Church, a church located in Southwest Florida. For more info visit us at thrive-fl.org. So we're in the midst of this series and today's question, is this one that you've heard? Why does the church talk so much about sin? Anybody ever hear that one? I mean it's so depressing. It's such a downer. Really? I don't really want to always hear about all the bad stuff. And so that's one of those questions I think that we're asking. And so the concept of sin is offensive to some and a puzzle to others. Conventional wisdom says that the talk of that sin stuff that the church does so much of is pessimistic and depressing. And I would dare say though that's the opposite of the reality. The Christian teaching of sin, when it is fully understood, is both liberating and hopeful. And that's what we're going to be looking at today. Why talking about this this way is better than a lot of the other language we've got to talk about the problems that are in this world. I mean it's not too hard. You can't hardly spend an hour in this world not to know that there are some big problems, right? It's impossible and you will, it doesn't take long before you, there is an appeal to do something about the problems. There's one form or another and everybody's looking at it in a different angle but they're all seeing that this world is broken and there's a lot of problems in it. So nobody really disagrees with that. But what is this the lens that we look through that we call it sin, okay? Well what this means is that you are not fatalistically determined to be the way that you are the rest of your life. Because sin means there is also a solution and we'll talk about that. It means that you are not the helpless victim of psychological processes and drives that make you the way that you are. You are not just part of a social system that has conformed you and you have to be that way. You are not just a genetic predisposition but there is a solution. And when we talk in the Christian Church or Christians talk about sin they are saying yes there is a problem but there is a solution. Barbara Brown Taylor put it well when she talked about it this way. Neither the language of medicine nor of law is adequate substitute for the language of sin. Contrary to the medical model we are not entirely at the mercy of our maladies. The choice is to enter into the process of repentance. Contrary to the legal model the essence of sin is not primarily the violation of laws but a wrecked relationship with God, one another, and the whole created order. Do you get it? A lot of people talk about problems but they often then basically say there's really no you're stuck. And in sin when we're talking about it we're saying there is also a solution and that is both liberating and hopeful to me. Now right away you might say John well that's great but you know I really you know I've made my mistakes I've messed up but really do we have to talk about it some more can't we just move on and get on with life and get beyond that because it's a lot easier to just you know I might sin but really call me a sinner that's kind of a little much. And now I think then we're getting at the real root of the problem because you see sin is not about oh I did that little mistake here and I thought that thought there and I forgot to do this here. It's not these little things and a lot of people look at it as if it's rule-keeping and rule-breaking and that's what life is about. That is not what we talk about. No. The real definition of what sin is is this. It is the stubborn refusal to find your identity in God or another way of saying it it's the obstinate insistent to find your identity in something else than God. I'm going to no no no no and we see that in this story because what's really going on it's not about the fruit from the tree it's not about the tree itself it's the fact that Adam and Eve whether they were deceived or not by Satan they can't blame the serpent for it all but they chose to find an identity apart from God. That was their issue. They were basically I'm sorry the kids are gone but they were giving their finger flipping it off to God and saying God we don't want you we want your stuff. We want to be like you. Now isn't that kind of ironic in that passage the serpent says oh God knows if you eat from this tree you're going to be like him knowing the difference between good and evil and what he's really getting at is redefining who God is and what God is all about and the fact that God is holding back and you need to get your identity yourself and he also changes the definition of what it means to be like God. Did you realize that Adam and Eve were created in God's image it says? Were they not already like God? They reflected his goodness. They were in relationship with them each other with and with God. They already were like God but what they were doing and this is what the serpent was so wily about is he was chan...