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We all know what sin is, right? Sin is breaking one of the Ten Commandments. Sin is disobedience to God. It is doing something that God told us not to do. Adam and Eve committed the first sin by eating from the Tree of Knowledge. Ever since then, we have lived in a fallen world, a world that is not the way it was meant to be.

The Israelites were given the Law so that they could understand the meaning of sin. They had been living in a time when people would sacrifice their children and worship and pray to many gods to keep them safe. This was considered normal. These people did not know what it meant to be without sin because they did not know the meaning of sin. God used the Law to show people a better way to live.

They were given the Ten Commandments written on stone tablets. (Ex 20:1-17) The first three commandments are about our relationship with God.  “Thou shall have no other god before Me. Thou shall not make or worship idols, and Thou shall not take the Lord’s name in vain. In addition to the Ten Commandments, The Bible contains other rules that God’s people were given, such as being honest in weights and measures - don’t use one set of weights when buying and another set when selling something. You could make a lot of money by cheating this way.

Some other rules include - make sure you don’t take advantage of the weak and vulnerable. Stay away from sorcery. Don’t consult mediums or a fortune teller.

The Israelites knew these rules and were taught to follow them as a way of being close to God and showing Him that they wanted Him to be their God.

Like most things that involve people, it didn’t quite work out that way. They acted like humans when they questioned God and got mad at Him. He led them in the desert until an entire generation had passed away. God was raising up a new generation that understood what it meant to have one God. A man from that new generation was Joshua and he became their new leader after Moses died and so the story continued.

Some say these old rules were for the Jewish people and certainly don’t apply today. But Jesus said He was not here to abolish the Law but to fulfill it. So, do these rules apply today? To the Jewish people only? To us?

Unfortunately, many people in our society don’t know about these rules, or they have forgotten some of them, or they think they no longer apply to us in our modern world. Most of us don’t connect things we do now with warnings in the Bible. People tend to have a more liberal view in their thinking and see many things not as sin but as being harmless or as a game.

Have you ever used a Ouija board? It takes two or more people to play. There is a board and a heart-shaped piece of wood or plastic that is called a planchette (plan shet). The players put their fingers on the planchette and ask a question. The planchette will then move all by itself and give you an answer from the beyond. This is a game that was created to make money but was marketed as being able to connect the players to the dead.

When the creator of the game wanted to market it to people he claimed that the board was asked it’s name and it spelled out OUIJA. What actually happened was that one of the investors said he combined the word YES from the French (OUI -wee) and the German (Ja - ya).

If you believe that the Ouija board is just a game, what about Tarot cards? They started as a parlor game in the 14th century, but people started to use them for fortune telling. They believed a person using the cards could tell your fortune. What about astrology? Can someone tell your future based on the stars? Many of us grew up thinking these were just games and read our horoscope every morning to see what kind of day we were going to have. But are they just games?

Some people believe these games are part of the occult, and that you are playing with fire if you get involved in any such things. I had an aunt that would use a Ouija board or have a séance with us kids sitting around a big table holding hands, wondering what would happen. One day, we were sitting in a darkened room, listening to my aunt say – “if you can hear us give us a sign.” Unfortunately, my aunt’s youngest daughter happened to see her mom yanking on a piece of string tied to her finger. When a knick-knack came flying off a shelf, my cousin jumped up and showed us how her mom was tricking us.

As Christians, we should remember what scripture says about such things.

Deuteronomy 18:10-12 10 Let no one be found among you who sacrifices their son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination (div eh nation) or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft,11 or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead.12 Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord; because of these same detestable practices, the Lord your God will drive out those nations before you.”

There are many scriptures in Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Job that address sin from a moral point of view. Lying, laziness, injustice and pride are all mentioned in Proverbs.

I want to look briefly at two of the sins that are mentioned; pride and lying. “Pride goes before destruction” (16:18) is a warning about being too proud. “Lying is detestable to the Lord “ (12:22).

Pride can be thought of as good self-esteem. This is something we want everyone to have. We tell our kids ‘good job’ and ‘I’m proud of you’ when they are polite and treat others with love and understanding. You can be proud of a job you do or how you help others. Good self-esteem is not a sin.

Exaggerated self-esteem is pride on steroids. When pride becomes self-importance, then you are crossing a line. When you think that you are better than other people, that you are smarter and that you deserve more than others. If you think you can do whatever you want without consequences, you may have a problem with pride.

 A cure for this type of pride is a good dose of humility. Remembering that you can do nothing without God is a great start to kicking pride back into its place.

Lying is another problem we share. There is a story in Acts 5 that shows us how lying is a sin. There was a couple, Ananias and his wife. They told the Apostle Peter that they were going to sell their land and give all the money to the new church. The problem was that they didn’t give all the money to their church; they kept some for themselves.

Peter confronted Ananias and asked him why he lied to the Holy Spirit.  Peter told Ananias that the land belonged to him and his wife. They didn’t have to sell it or give any of the money to the new church.  The sin wasn’t keeping some of the money. The sin was the lie.

Many of us think sin is the bad stuff the other guy is doing. We see sin in others but not in ourselves.

Think about it. When we tell a lie, we might think of it as a little white lie. Society accepts that white lies are good things. They don’t hurt anyone and may spare someone’s feelings. If a friend asks if you like their new hair cut, why tell them you think it is hideous? You don’t want that hair cut but if it makes your friend happy, what is the big deal? So you tell a white lie.

With pride and lying, the sin is the attitude of the person. The sin is when you are not behaving like a true believer of Jesus Christ. The action becomes sin when you are not kind, compassionate, loving, or patient. It is not a sin to take care of yourself. God expects you to do that. The sin is being dishonest and placing yourself first and others last.

Some people in our society have said that if we say someone is sinning, then we are being hateful. We should not judge; we should love everyone and accept them as they are. While I believe in the love part, I do think we need to think about the sin. We can be a good example of a loving Christian and still believe someone is sinning. This, however, can be a fine line. If we start to judge, we may become too prideful and find that these thoughts lead us to sin.

The scriptures tell us what God considers a sin. It is a difficult list and make sure when reading these passages that you look for yourself in there. If you think none of the scriptures about sin apply to you, you need to have a talk with God. We are all sinners. Whether it is placing money, wealth or status above God, or anger, too much pride, envy, selfish ambition, or hypocrisy, and hatred, we all do it.

The hard part is looking at ourselves in an honest way. Try to see yourself as others see you. Think about a specific situation when someone got mad at you or you said something and made someone cry.  Think about why they were mad or upset. Look at your actions. Were you at fault in this situation? Could you, as a Christian, have handled this better?

We can all justify our actions so easily, but we really need to think about what we say and do. We all see events from our own perspective. It is really difficult to take ourselves out of the picture and ask – if someone else did this, what would I think?

Think about how our society has changed the rules about sin. Is reading your horoscope a sin or is it just something we like to do? Is it a sin if I lie and say I like your meatloaf or is it a kind thing to do?

This is where we need God’s help, to show us where we are wrong and how we can improve. We need God’s help in changing our hearts and making us better Christians.

In your prayers, ask for guidance and for patience toward others. When someone sins, you can hate the sin, but remember to love the sinner. Be a good role model for others so they can see how loving and kind Christians can be. Always remember, you are a sinner and God loves you so much that He sent us His son, Jesus Christ, to save us from our sin.

Amen

PASTOR’s Prayer

Lord, we gather before You today, knowing in our heart that we are sinners. But we need help to see our sin the way You see it. Show us grace and mercy so that we may understand that even when we sin, You love us and are ready to guide us. Give us courage to face our sin knowing that You are our refuge and our strength.

You love us so much that You sent your only Son to save us. Help us to be good role models and to set examples that show that love to others.

Guide us Lord, in big and in small things. Guide the leaders of our country so that they may follow Your plan for each of us.

We ask that You have mercy on us when we face poverty, sickness, and loneliness. Be with the caregivers so that they can be strong when they need to be and tender toward those in their care.

Thank You for this.,- your church and for the people that are here today in person and in spirit. Lead us so that we can lead others to You and Your son.

In Jesus’ name we pray.

Amen

Scripture Readings: 1 John 1:5-10, Romans 6:23

1 John 1:5-10

6 If we claim to have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from all sin. 8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

Romans 6:23   23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.