Chaplain’s Corner – June 22, 2007
Rev.
Rich Hines
Don’t Leave “SIN” Out Of Your Gospel Presentation
This message is primarily for those who call on the name of Jesus Christ
as their own Lord and Savior from sin, and serve as a Chaplain or a gospel
minister in a jail, prison or a follow-up ministry such as a rescue mission –
in the
All Scripture quotes are taken from the New King James Version (NKJV) of
the Bible, copyright 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. When quoting a text, any
deviation from the NKJV text is placed within parenthesis signs (). These usually occur as direct translations
from the original languages, or as notes from the
original setting to help apply the text to today’s culture.
ALL CAPITAL LETTERS are sometimes used to emphasize words in a text, or
to make a comment about a biblical text, or emphasize a statement.
Sin
is an important issue to God. That’s why
this word and it’s synonyms, are replete throughout
the Bible. It is mankind’s biggest
problem, and God speaks directly to it and against it. But, more and more - sin is a non-issue among
people in our society.
Sadly
mirroring lost society, many pastors and churches across our land are leaving
the words, SIN, INIQUITY and TRESPASS out of their presentation of what they
call the gospel. Instead, they are
opting for words like: "PROBLEMS" and sometimes, "BAD
HABITS."
When
they do speak of errors or wrongdoings, they like to emphasize the horizontal.
That is: what we do against our fellow human beings. They don’t want to, or are afraid to tell
unsaved people there is a God that is offended by them and will judge
unrepentant sinners. It’s not uncommon
to see a church marquis that reads “No condemnation here,” or “God is love, so
you won’t hear any judgment here.”
Since
these things are so, I’m sure this approach is trying to get in, or has
succeeded in getting into our jails and prisons as well as follow-up ministries
like rescue missions. So this month, my
burden is to tell you NOT TO LEAVE THE WORD AND CONCEPT OF “SIN” OUT OF YOUR
MESSAGE OF THE GOSPEL. YOU AND YOUR
MINISTRY MUST DEAL WITH SIN THE WAY THE BIBLE DEALS WITH IT!
Here
are a few biblical quotes about sin:
“…sin
is lawlessness.” Or, as the KJV puts it
“…sin is a transgression of the law (of God).” 1 John 3:4
“The
soul who sins shall die,” Ezekiel18:20
“…the
wages of sin is death,” Romans 3:23
“When
they sin against You (in context, against the LORD),
Then
almost as an aside, we read this all encompassing God-breathed statement:
“(for
there is no one who does not sin),” 1 Kings 8:46
When
God became human flesh we read of this statement from a holy angel:
“…
you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His
people from their sins” Matt. 1:21
Then,
later:
“This
is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into
the world to save sinners,…” 1 Timothy 1:15
As
I have said many times before, a Christian Chaplain or minister of the gospel
to inmates or rescue mission residents is a person WHOSE MAIN RESPONSIBILITY IS
TO GIVE THEM THE MESSAGE OF GOD FROM THE BIBLE.
That
message centers on Jesus Christ and is empowered by the Holy Spirit.
In
Acts 1:8 the
Lord Jesus Christ said to His followers:
8
“But you shall receive power when
the Holy Spirit has come upon
you; and you shall be witnesses to Me
in
Speaking
to His disciples about the work of the Holy Spirit through them, before He
permanently came to indwell all believers on the day of Pentecost, Jesus said
in John 16: 8-11:
8 “And when He (the Holy Spirit) has come, He
will convict the world OF SIN,
and OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, and OF JUDGMENT:
9 “of SIN, because they do not believe in Me;
10
“of righteousness, because I go
to My Father and you see Me no more;
11 “of judgment,
because the ruler of this world is judged. …”
The
work of the Holy Spirit through Christ’s messengers is to CONVICT unbelieving
people. When used in regard to sin, like in John 16:8, it means more
that telling the offender their fault, it also carries the idea of putting them
to shame. The Holy Spirit therefore
makes people guilty before God! So many
today want to avoid that at all costs!
Make sure you’re not one of them.
The
Spirit not only wants to convict them of their sin against God, He also wants to
convict them to see Jesus’ righteousness
in fulfilling His Father’s eternal plan of salvation for sinners. Lastly, He wants them convicted of certain judgment that is coming on unrepentant
sinners, who follow the chief unrepentant sinner – the ruler of this world’s
current society – the Devil.
Therefore,
proclaiming, and explaining, and teaching the gospel means among other things,
dealing with sin head on. Those that are
truly Christ’s messengers must be used to convict people of their sin against
God.
In
Romans 1:15 The Apostle Paul said he was ready to "PREACH THE GOSPEL"
saying that in it was the "power of God unto
salvation to everyone that believes." (Romans 1:16) Then, in verse 17, he quoted from Habbakuk 2:4, to prove salvation was BY FAITH, by believing
God: "the just shall live by faith"
Salvation
means deliverance. We have to ask what
the Bible is talking about? Deliverance and salvation, from
what? It's very obvious
here in Romans - FROM SIN AGAINST AN ALL HOLY GOD. Note it:
Romans
1:15-19
15
So, as much as is in me, I am ready
to preach the gospel to you who are in
16
For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to
salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.
17
For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is
written, “The just shall live by faith.”
18
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, (this phrase is
synonymous for the sin of mankind) who suppress the truth in unrighteousness
(another word for sin),
19
because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them.
Paul
continued for two more chapters explaining mankind's guilt and sin before a
Holy, sinless God. His whole point was this is why salvation
through faith in Christ alone is needed, BECAUSE HUMANS ARE COMPLETELY SINFUL.
What
we all need to fully understand and base
our gospel ministry to others on is that unless the people we work with
know they are truly sinful and guilty, they cannot come to God through Jesus
Christ. If you don’t tell people they
are sinners and explain what that means, you haven’t given them the very
beginning of the gospel.
Listen
to the Holy Spirit through the Apostle:
Romans
3:19,20,23
19
Now we know that whatever the law (of God) says, it says to those who are under
the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and ALL THE WORLD MAY BECOME GUILTY BEFORE GOD.
20
Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh (human being) will be justified in
His sight, FOR BY THE LAW IS THE
KNOWLEDGE OF SIN.
23
… for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
1
Corinthians 15:56,57
56
The sting of death is SIN, and the
strength of sin is the law. (Because the law of God convinces us we are sinners,
and in one sense makes us more culpable)
57
But thanks be to God, who gives us (believers) the
victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Galatians
3:24
24
Therefore the law was our tutor to bring
us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith (in Him).
So
God is very clear in His word. No one
can be justified or be right with Him, apart from faith in Jesus Christ as Lord
and Savior from sin. We can’t simply skip over the sin issue!
Religion
that doesn’t truly deal with sin may make people feel better for a little while,
BUT IT CANNOT TRULY BRING THEM TO GOD, or bring the true God to them!
In
closing, I want to draw your attention to the challenge a spiritual father gave
to his son in the faith and in the ministry, shortly before he died. It’s also God’s word to each of us that is in
Christian ministry today.
It’s
found in 2 Timothy 4:1-5
1
I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the
living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom:
2
Preach the word! Be ready in season and
out of season. CONVINCE (this is the
same word as “CONVICT” of sin, which Jesus used explaining the ministry of the
Holy Spirit in John 16:8), rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.
The
words “Rebuke” or reprove, and “exhort,” which means to encourage
someone to right action, also mean in this context to deal with their sin! Be used to convict people, even inmates and
residents of their sin. Tell them with
fervor that they’re sin is wrong, because that’s what “rebuke” means. And exhort or encourage them to turn from it.
Next,
the text of 2 Timothy 4:3,4 explains why such a strong
stand AGAINST SIN WILL BE NEEDED. I
realize this instruction had a first century immediate application, but I also
find the following verses most applicable to the situation today.
3
For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine (healthy
teaching), but according to their OWN DESIRES, because they have itching
ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers;
4
and they will turn their ears
away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.
What
“fables” today? Man-made myths like: sin
isn’t really that big a deal, and that God is more concerned with people’s
happiness than with their need for holiness.
This
passage ends with verse 5, which provides the final charge for us:
5
But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an
evangelist, fulfill your ministry.
So,
Chaplains and ministers of the gospel in jails, prisons and rescue missions; FULFILL
THIS MINISTRY. Doing the work of an
evangelist means preaching against sin and then showing guilty sinners the good
news of DELIVERANCE FROM IT in Christ alone.
Just
like young Timothy needed to know, we also know there will be trouble and
afflictions to endure as a result. BUT
WE MUST OBEY OUR LORD at all costs, because it’s Him we must please, not men.
Watch
out for those that water down the gospel and take sin out of it. Don’t be one of them.
Rich
Hines
“… for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.”