I Hate Sin

Introduction

I don’t mean a shopping list and occasional list, but I mean a person whose life is organized, revolves around making list. Not always accomplishing list, but making list. I’m a list person. I have a list of things I need to buy the next time I go to the store. I have a list of books I want to buy, books I need to read. Before we go on a trip, I make a list of everything I need to pack and remember to bring. I even have a list of all my list. I want us to start just briefly this morning making a list, if but mentally. The first list I want us to make, and we’ll start with the good, is make a list of things you love.

Or at least just think about the concept of that list. What all would be on that list? Who all would be on that list? How long would that list be? You can think of a lot of things we love, can’t we? There would be little trivial things that we would put on that list. And they would be grand, memorable things that would be so obviously belonging on that list. But while we’re making lists, let’s make another one. Let’s make a list of things you hate.

But that list exists, doesn’t it?

I hate hangnails. Root canals. That feeling you get the day before you get a cold.

I want to talk to you this morning about something that’s on that list. And I’m sure it’s on your list too. It’s on our list for obvious reasons, and one of the obvious reasons it should be on our list and should be high on our list is because the Bible puts it on that list. In Romans chapter 12 and in verse 9, in a list of things that Christians ought to be doing, is one thing that I want to talk about this morning that’s on our list. Romans 12 and verse 9, among other things, says, abhor that which is evil. And so this morning I want to talk to you about something I hate.

It really means to really hate something.

1. The Suffering and Death It Causes

But I hate sin for other reasons as well. Not just because I was told to hate sin. That’s reason enough. But there’s some other reasons that I want to share with you this morning, why I hate sin. One is because of the suffering, the physical suffering and death that it causes. You realize that that was the first consequence of sin. Turn with me, if you will, in your old testament to the book of Genesis, chapter 3. Genesis chapter 3 is that chapter, isn’t it? It’s the chapter of sin, of temptation and sin, the introduction of sin. Genesis chapter 3 is the reason that we have the rest of the Bible. That was God’s plan to remedy the problem that was introduced. And the consequences that were introduced.

And some of those consequences were physical and rather immediate. In Genesis chapter 3, this chapter of sin. Look at the curse, some of the curses that were pronounced. Genesis chapter 3, verse 16. God to Eve, to the woman, he said, I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception. In pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you. Women, don’t ever forget who is to blame or what is to blame for the pain of childbirth. It is sin. But that’s not the only pain. That’s not the only anguish in this life that is here because of sin. Continue on, verses 22 and 23. To the man, he says, Behold, the man has become like one of us to know good and evil.

And now let us put out his hand, or lest he should put out his hand and take of the tree of life and eat and live forever. Therefore, the Lord God sent him out of the Garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken. Two other consequences of sin is that man’s work, his burden, and this very earth, he’s told earlier, was going to fight against him. That this life was no longer going to be a paradise, but was going to be a daily struggle.

And the tree of life would no longer be within our grasp.

Daily reminders of sin. Every pain, every anguish, every heartache, and understand this, every loss of life is because of sin. And I hate it.

But that it is cursed because of sin. I hate to read the headlines of a tornado, a flood, or a hurricane that takes out life. I hate getting the phone call or getting on Facebook and reading about somebody else that’s been diagnosed with cancer or heart disease or Alzheimer’s and given the veritable sentence of death. And I hate the heartache that comes with that of family members who have to suffer by watching a loved one suffer, knowing that the suffering is ending in death. We’re still experiencing it. In Romans chapter 8, the apostle Paul tells us by inspiration that we’re no longer in that paradise. That just like Adam and Eve, we have been excluded from that tree of life and all of the paradise that Eden had in it.

In Romans 8, look in verse 18 beginning. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing to the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it in hope. Because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pains together until now. The very physical earth on which we live, he says, is groaning. Every natural disaster, every flaw that we experience in this life, is because of sin.

2. Hearts Broken and Lives Ruined

Not only do we experience this, but all plant and animal life, this very planet is groaning because of sin. And I hate it. I hate sin. Because of the hearts that have been broken, and the lives that have been ruined as a result of sin. You and I hurt when we see the tears of a broken home, of a marriage, of a family that has been torn apart because of sin.

We see the tears in a courtroom. When someone is handcuffed and taken away. And the tears of a family who, though thankful for that justice, know that it’ll do little to bring back the life that has been lost. I see the tears of a parent and a child.

Teenager says, Mom, I’m pregnant. We see the tears shed at the clinic. When after the deed was done, she realizes that it wasn’t just a choice, that it was a human life, but not anymore.

And they pray through their tears that those children will have enough life and enough opportunity to come back. I see the tears of an alcoholic or a drug addict who swears this will be the last time when they really know the grip that that demon has on them.

And maybe selfishly, worst of all, I see the tears that I have caused. My own and those that love me because of the sin I’ve committed. And I feel like the psalmist, look in Psalm 38.

Where he says, There is no soundness in my flesh because of your anger, nor any health in my bones because of my sin. And let’s pause there. Is David saying that God has physically afflicted him directly because of his sin? Or is David saying that the anguish of my sin can best be described in physical terms? Or is David further saying the anguish and the heartbreak of my sin is actually affecting my health? For my iniquities have gone over my head like a heavy burden, they’re too heavy for me. My wounds are foul and festering because of my foolishness. I’m troubled. I’m bowed down greatly. I go mourning all the day long. For my loins are full of inflammation, and there’s no soundness in my flesh.

3. It Will Send So Many to Hell

I’m feeble and severely broken. And I groan because of the turmoil of my heart. I hate sin. And I further hate sin. Because the hurt that I experience and others experience in this life is but a hymn of the garment of the price that will have to be paid eternally for sin. I hate sin because it’ll send so many to hell for eternity.

The revelation letter says in Revelation 20, verse 15, we’ve talked about that a little bit already this morning. If anyone’s name was not in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. Our finite human minds cannot conceive of eternity. We cannot conceive of the bliss and the joy of heaven, and we surely cannot conceive of an eternity robbed of the presence, the blessings, and the life that God bestows. And because of sin, many will be there. And this is not just some theological academic discussion. There will be people in hell for an eternity that you and I know and love. Some of our good friends, some of our own family and flesh and blood will be in that lake of fire because of sin.

Can I say it again? I hate sin.

4. I Will Never Trivialize or Minimize My Sin

Now, what am I going to do with this hatred? It’s on my list. God tells me to abhor that which is evil, and it’s easy when I think about it just briefly. It’s easy for me to boil with red hot hatred for sin. But what do I do? Well, because of sin, certain things are going to happen. Number one, because I hate sin, I will never, never trivialize or minimize my own participation in it.

5. Seek to Avoid It and Resist Temptation

Never again will I make excuse for my sin. It doesn’t matter how easily it came to me. It doesn’t matter how many others were participating in it. It matters not how they enticed me into it. There’s no excuse. There’s no trivialization. I will use no other words to describe it. It won’t be an error in judgment. It’s not a mistake. It is that thing that I hate most of all. It is sin. And that’s what confession demands. That I own the horror of my own sin. And because I hate sin with every fiber of my being. I’m going to seek to avoid it. And to resist temptation. I see the heartache that it’s created already. I see the pain and the anguish that others have experienced, that I have experienced, that I have created.

I see the hell before me. And so I’m going to do everything within my power to resist it. On three different occasions, by inspiration, the apostle Paul gave this simple yet profound advice when it came to sin. Paul would say, flee. Flee, youthful lust, he told Timothy. To his Corinthian brethren, he said, flee fornication. Flee idolatry. We know what the word flee means. It means to run away from. With a keen understanding of what sin is, what it has and will do, this is the only response. Run away. That’s true metaphorically. I must avoid that sin. I see it for what it is. I see the danger. I see the heartache, the anguish, the death, and so I’m going to avoid it. I’m going to seek to be godly, to draw near unto him, to pull away from Satan, resist him so that he’ll flee from me.

But it may, it may very well be true not only metaphorically, but it may be true in my life that it must be done literally. That I have to just leave certain situations, certain relationships, certain jobs, even if that’s what it means. And what I understand, when I understand what truly sin is and what it’s created and caused in my life and will do for me in eternity, then there’s no price that’s too great to be paid for me to flee from sin. The apostle Paul, who told others to flee, said this of himself in 1 Corinthians chapter 9. To the work that he had done, the traveling he had done, the preaching that he had done, the work of the epistles that he had written by inspiration, Paul understood that still within himself there was the temptation to absolutely ruin his life.

6. Cherish the Tremendous Price to Wash Away Sin

And so he says this, 1 Corinthians 9, the last verse, verse 27. But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection. Lest when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified. The new King James maybe softens that word a little bit when he says, I discipline my body. I think the old King James says the word buffet my body. It literally means the idea of being yourself, bringing it under subjection. Why? Because he understood the gravity of sin. And because I hate sin, I’ll do whatever. Whatever it takes to resist temptation and avoid it. And because I hate sin, I’m going to cherish the tremendous price that it took to wash away my sin. The child of God doesn’t really need songs and Lord’s Supper talks and readings.

Although those are wonderful blessings. But we should not be solely dependent upon those for getting us in the right frame of mind to partake of this memorial. And as the apostle said, to discern that body and to partake in a worthy memory.

All I have to do is think about how much I hate sin. The Apostle Paul in Romans 4, verse 25 says, speaking of Christ who was delivered up because of our offenses. Don’t just look at the wounds from the scourging, from the nails that pierced his hand and feet. Don’t just contemplate the abject humiliation of having the very Son of God who was responsible for the creation, responsible for the very life of the people who spat upon him, who mocked him, who stripped him and nailed him to that cross. But look at what put him there. Sin. He was bruised, the prophet said, for our iniquities. And by his stripes we are healed? I hate sin. That’s going to do a couple things for me. It shortened that list.

All those other little trivial things that were there before have not only been supplanted, but they’ve been replaced. What’s on my list of things I hate is sin? And that’s going to change my week. Profoundly change the way that I act, my own personal behavior, my interactions with my fellow man, my interactions with my holy father are going to be changed because of that single item on my list.

Conclusion

Hate sin. And let it change your life and make your life a life of love. Are you a Christian? Are you a child of God? You hated sin enough that you’ve put it away and repented of that sin, confessed that sin, confessed your faith in the one who would redeem you of that sin. And have not argued with the plan of God, but have submitted to it and been baptized for remission of your sins. Why? Because of sin. And why not do that this morning? Why not hate sin enough that you want it out of your life? Become a child of God. Maybe you’ve done that and sin has, it will do that. It’s deceptive. It will pull you back in. Even that which you hate will pull you back in.

Then why not repent again this morning and live a life of hate for sin and love for God? Would you come right now as together we stand and as we sing?