Jesus Instruction Regarding Sin – Part 1
Luke 17:1-4 (1-3a)
January 26, 2020
This past Wednesday we were studying John 11 with our youth
And we came across that infamous “I Am” statement from Jesus.
John 11:25-26 “Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?”
That statement can almost read like a riddle or even a contradiction.
• How can a man “live even if he dies”?
• How can a man “never die”?
What we discussed and came to understand is that
Jesus is not referring to physical death, He is referring to spiritual death.
• We learned that there is a first death, which all men experience.
• And we learned that there is a second death which is for all who are lost.
Revelation 20:14 “Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.”
This certainly is a vivid truth in our minds
Even as last week when we studied about the rich man
Who experienced the first death, and then went to Hades for the second one.
CLEARLY THE SECOND DEATH IS THE ONE TO AVOID.
And yet we marveled that, the message of this world has next to nothing to say about avoiding the second death.
The message of this world is all about avoiding the first one.
• “Eat right, exercise daily”
• “Buckle your seatbelt”
• “Don’t run with scissors”
• “Lay off the bacon”
• “Get a mammogram”
The world is consumed with delaying the first death,
And so we are preached to relentlessly about
How to temporarily delay that first death from coming.
But the Bible sees the first death as necessary.
Paul said:
1 Corinthians 15:50-53 “Now I say this, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality.”
We see there that this body cannot inherit heaven.
And either through death or a miraculous transformation at Christ’s coming,
We have to step out of this fleshly body.
And so while we don’t seek out death, or hasten it, or anything like that,
We do understand that apart from being alive when the Lord returns;
The first death is natural, even necessary.
BUT IT IS THE SECOND DEATH THAT SHOULD BE AVOIDED.
It is the second death that we should focus on and desire to skip.
• The second death is not universal.
• The second death is for those who sin and whose sin is not atoned for.
• It is sinners who are judged.
• It is sinners who are thrown into the Lake of Fire, which is the second death.
Revelation 21:7-8 “He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son. “But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”
Revelation 22:14-15 “Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city. Outside are the dogs and the sorcerers and the immoral persons and the murderers and the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices lying.”
This second death is the due penalty for sin.
Romans 6:23a “For the wages of sin is death…”
1 Corinthians 6:9 “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals,”
Galatians 5:19-21 “Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.”
And as we read it becomes clear, that
The second death is the bad one and it is sin that causes it.
• It is sin that brings about the judgment of God.
• It is sin that causes a man to receive the second death.
• It is sin that sends a man into the lake of fire.
Sin is the culprit.
• It was sin that wrecked God’s glorious creation and caused the Fall of Man.
• It was sin that brought about the flood where God wiped out all but 8 people of humanity.
• It was sin that brought the fire which fell upon Sodom and Gomorrah.
• It was sin that caused an entire generation of Israelites to die in the wilderness.
• It was sin that brought affliction after affliction from Israel’s enemies in the times of the Judges.
• It was sin that toppled Kings and ultimately brought the Exile and Israel being removed from the Promised Land.
Behind every tragedy that ever occurred in human history,
You will always find the root problem, which is sin.
There is no greater threat.
There is no greater danger.
WHAT IS SIN?
The Westminster Shorter Catechism says this:
Q: What is Sin?
A: Sin is any want of conformity unto, or transgression of, the law of God.
https://www.shortercatechism.com/resources/wsc/wsc_014.html
That is to say, anyone who does what God says not to do,
Or doesn’t do what God says to do sins.
1 John 3:4 “Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness.”
James 4:17 “Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin.”
And it is this sin; this failure to conform to God’s righteous standard;
That brings with it the wrath and judgment of God.
As Westminster Confession states in chapter 6.6
VI. Every sin, both original and actual, being a transgression of the righteous law of God, and contrary thereunto,(n) doth, in its own nature, bring guilt upon the sinner;(o) whereby he is bound over to the wrath of God,(p) and curse of the law,(q) and so made subject to death,(r) with all miseries spiritual,(s) temporal,(t) and eternal.(u)
https://www.ligonier.org/learn/articles/westminster-confession-faith/
The point we are making is that there is no worse condition
Than to dwell eternally under the wrath of God in hell,
And it is sin that puts you there.
• Sin then is most of all the thing to be avoided.
• Sin kills
• Sin destroys
And because it is such a serious issue,
JESUS BEGINS TO ADDRESS IT WITH HIS DISCIPLES.
And this is so necessary because
The disciples had been given such a distorted model regarding sin.
Their examples, their spiritual models in Israel, had been the Pharisees.
And Pharisees where horrible examples regarding sin and righteousness.
Jesus exposed them as:
Matthew 23:25-28 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence. “You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also. “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. “So you, too, outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.”
Jesus called them hypocrites (the Greek word for “actors”)
• They were phonies.
• They were sinful men who pretended to be righteous.
• They didn’t model repentance, they modeled self-righteousness.
• They didn’t model self-examination, they concealed their sin behind religion
And if by chance someone’s sin was exposed or found out,
They certainly didn’t uphold a model of
Repentance, forgiveness, and reconciliation.
They walked in self-righteous judgment and condemnation.
Other people sinning was seen as an opportunity
To flaunt your own holiness and religious superiority.
Sinners weren’t forgiven, they were stoned.
Their model was totally superficial and wrong.
And so Jesus not only confronted them,
But it was also important to instill in His disciples
A true understanding of how to deal with sin.
Jesus had to reset their thinking on the issue.
AND I THINK HE MUST DO THIS WITH US AS WELL.
ON ONE HAND,
Many of us have seen or even participated in Pharisaical churches
Where people came to church on Sunday and pretended to be holy,
All while hiding their sin in their heart.
Like the song Casting Crowns sang. “Happy plastic people under shiny plastic steeple, with walls around our weakness and smiles to hide our pain.”
Many of us have been a part of phony and hypocritical religion
Where we walked in self-righteousness
And substituted religious involvement for true holiness.
ON THE OTHER HAND
But we have also seen the pendulum swing
that complete other direction in our current culture.
While pockets of hypocrisy still exist, by far the mood of the day now is relativism.
• Now all judgment is thrown off as bad.
• Now we aren’t to call anything a sin.
• Now we are just to accept and tolerate everything.
• The cutting edge churches are the churches that no longer pursue holiness,
but who instead pursue “transparency” & “vulnerability” and “tolerance”
It’s not wrong to be a sinner in today’s culture
So long as you are true to yourself and honest about it.
AND THIS TOO IS FAR OFF THE BIBLICAL MODEL.
SO WHERE ARE WE TO LAND ON THE ISSUE OF SIN?
We certainly don’t want to be people who conceal our sin and lie about it,
But we also don’t want to be people who flaunt it and accept it.
Jesus here trades that swinging pendulum for the righteous plum line.
Here in Luke 17 we read: “Jesus Instruction Regarding Sin”
Sin is our most dangerous threat,
And in Luke 17 Jesus tells His disciples how to view it.
In these first 4 verses Jesus gives us 4 very important truths regarding how we should view and deal with sin. (Two this morning)
#1 DON’T EVER CAUSE IT
Luke 17:1-2
“He said to His disciples”
This again is not primarily a message for the world
(though they should listen to everything He said)
THIS IS A MESSAGE FOR THOSE WHO ARE FOLLOWING HIM.
And first Jesus mentions a sad but true reality.
“It is inevitable that stumbling blocks come”
“stumbling blocks” is SKANDALON in the Greek.
It literally refers to “the bait stick in a trap”
Picture the little lever where you put the cheese on a mouse trap,
Or picture the trip peddle in one of those varmint live traps.
We are referring to temptations that arise
Which serve only to lead people into sin and ultimately destruction.
We are referring to the traps that lead men to commit sin against God.
And the sad reality is that in this world they are INEVITABLE.
• You will not get through this life without temptations.
• You will not get through this life without stumbling blocks.
• They are “inevitable”
WHY?
Well for one reason, because Satan is the god of this world.
Jesus said that Satan is a liar and the very father of lies.
Peter said
1 Peter 5:8 “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”
Satan’s objective in this life is simple.
He prowls around seeking someone to devour.
John 10:10 “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy…”
That is Satan.
A thief, a liar, a murderer, a destroyer, a devourer, a tempter.
Rest assured that he spends ample time every day setting traps.
WE CALL IT TEMPTATION.
There are stumbling blocks everywhere because of him.
But he’s not the only reason.
We also have fallen humanity who loves sin and who loves to drag others into sin with them.
You may remember how Peter addressed lost people who may have even been our friends before we were saved.
1 Peter 4:1-4 “Therefore, since Christ has suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same purpose, because he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for the lusts of men, but for the will of God. For the time already past is sufficient for you to have carried out the desire of the Gentiles, having pursued a course of sensuality, lusts, drunkenness, carousing, drinking parties and abominable idolatries. In all this, they are surprised that you do not run with them into the same excesses of dissipation, and they malign you;”
Peter knew that if you try to leave sin behind or walk a righteous path
Then you can rest assured that an attack is coming.
2 Timothy 3:12 “Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.”
The world also loves to set out stumbling blocks or traps.
• All you have to do is read the gospel accounts to see not only did Satan
specifically tempt Jesus,
• But also the religious leaders were continually setting traps for him.
But those aren’t even the only reason that stumbling blocks are inevitable.
They also occur because our flesh still loves sin.
Even as redeemed men, we fight a spiritual war daily.
• We are still those who live in the flesh.
• Granted we do now also have the indwelling Holy Spirit who wars against our
flesh, but it is an ongoing battle.
And unfortunately, sometimes the flesh wins.
James 1:13-15 “Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death.”
• There it certainly ISN’T GOD who is the tempter.
• But it’s also NOT THE DEVIL or other humans who are the tempter either.
• There James says the tempter is our “own lust” our own flesh
AND WHEN YOU TAKE ALL OF THOSE TOGETHER.
• The god of the world…
• The sinful people of this world…
• Our sinful flesh…
You understand that this life is filled with “bait sticks”
Or SKANDALONs or “stumbling blocks”
They are everywhere, and unfortunately they are inevitable.
But just because they are inevitable DOES NOT MEAN they are condoned.
For we notice what Jesus says next:
“but woe to him through whom they come!”
Stumbling blocks may be inevitable,
But you sure don’t want to be one.
Jesus uses that strong Greek guttural there, OUI – “woe”.
You don’t want to be that guy.
It brings to our memory what our Lord said about Judas betraying Him.
• Of course we know that the death of Jesus was inevitable.
• We know that the death of Jesus was necessary,
• It was even the predetermined plan of God.
And in order for Jesus to be arrested and crucified,
Someone had to betray Him.
And yet, we read:
Matthew 26:24 “The Son of Man is to go, just as it is written of Him; but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not been born.”
It has to happen, but you sure don’t want it to be you that does it.
It would have been better if Judas had never even been born.
It’s the same point Jesus is making here.
(2) “It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea, than that he would cause one of these little ones to stumble.”
A “millstone” was the large grinding wheel that they used to grind their grain into flour.
• They could be anywhere from 3 to 6 feet in diameter
• They could weigh hundreds of pounds.
And Jesus says here, IF FACED WITH A CHOICE
Of either leading someone into sin or having one of those millstones tied around your neck and having you thrown into the sea,
YOU’D BE BETTER OFF TO CHOOSE THE MILLSTONE.
That may seem strange to you,
But it goes back to the concept we learned last week about “the end”.
People think sin is no big deal right now,
Largely because it is inevitable.
“We’re all sinners”
But if people understood the wrath that is associated with even one sin
They’d think differently about it.
JESUS’ POINT is that leading someone into sin
Brings with it horrible consequences before God.
You may not see them now, but I can tell you this,
“It’s worse than being drowned in the depth of the sea.”
You don’t ever want to cause someone to sin.
AND SCRIPTURE HAS QUITE A BIT TO SAY ABOUT IT.
It was for this reason that Paul publicly confronted Peter.
Galatians 2:11-13 “But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. For prior to the coming of certain men from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he began to withdraw and hold himself aloof, fearing the party of the circumcision. The rest of the Jews joined him in hypocrisy, with the result that even Barnabas was carried away by their hypocrisy.”
Peter didn’t just sin, he led away his brothers into sin as well,
And Paul called him on it publicly.
This is to be a major concern of the Christian life.
We are called to see sin as so dangerous and so terrible
That we would never consider doing anything
To lead another into it.
Romans 14:13-21 “Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather determine this — not to put an obstacle or a stumbling block in a brother’s way. I know and am convinced in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself; but to him who thinks anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean. For if because of food your brother is hurt, you are no longer walking according to love. Do not destroy with your food him for whom Christ died. Therefore do not let what is for you a good thing be spoken of as evil; for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. For he who in this way serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men. So then we pursue the things which make for peace and the building up of one another. Do not tear down the work of God for the sake of food. All things indeed are clean, but they are evil for the man who eats and gives offense. It is good not to eat meat or to drink wine, or to do anything by which your brother stumbles.”
There Paul spoke of things as simple as personal freedoms.
• Jesus declared all foods clean.
• Christians are free to eat all foods.
• But not everyone knows that.
And Paul says, if you insist upon exercising your freedoms,
And it ends up wrecking the faith of your brother who sees you doing what he thinks is immoral then you are sinning against your brother.
Today this probably most easily rests in the arenas of alcohol.
• You won’t find the Bible condemning all alcohol; it just doesn’t.
• (The Bible does condemn drunkenness)
• But the issue here is not even if you drink without getting drunk.
• The issue here is what your drinking does to your brother’s faith.
If your freedom wrecks his faith then you are sinning against your brother.
You will cause him to stumble.
Or we read:
1 Corinthians 8:4-13 “Therefore concerning the eating of things sacrificed to idols, we know that there is no such thing as an idol in the world, and that there is no God but one. For even if there are so-called gods whether in heaven or on earth, as indeed there are many gods and many lords, yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom are all things and we exist for Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we exist through Him. However not all men have this knowledge; but some, being accustomed to the idol until now, eat food as if it were sacrificed to an idol; and their conscience being weak is defiled. But food will not commend us to God; we are neither the worse if we do not eat, nor the better if we do eat. But take care that this liberty of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak. For if someone sees you, who have knowledge, dining in an idol’s temple, will not his conscience, if he is weak, be strengthened to eat things sacrificed to idols? For through your knowledge he who is weak is ruined, the brother for whose sake Christ died. And so, by sinning against the brethren and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ. Therefore, if food causes my brother to stumble, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause my brother to stumble.”
You see the same thing there.
• Paul knows all idols are false.
• He knows they aren’t really gods.
• And he knows that eating meat that was sacrificed to an idol has no spiritual ramification whatsoever.
But not everyone knows that.
• Some are still mystified by their former way of life, and if they see you (a mature believer) eating that meat, you will wreck their faith.
Paul said that you will cause them to stumble.
In fact he says, “For through your knowledge he who is weak is ruined, the brother for whose sake Christ died.”
When you lead him into sin
You are actually working against the saving work of Jesus.
How horrible is that?
• To know that Jesus came and died to save men
• And you are actually working against that by leading them into sin.
And so the point is clear.
DON’T EVER CAUSE SOMEONE TO SIN.
• Sin kills people
• Sin destroys people
• Sin ruins people’s lives
• But worse than anything, sin invites the wrath of God.
Is there anything worse we can do to a person than that?
• Can we harm a person in any greater way than to lead them into something that brings the wrath of God upon their head?
1 Corinthians 13:6 “[Love] does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth;”
DON’T EVER CAUSE SOMEONE TO SIN.
And in reality, this was A DIFFERENT EXAMPLE
Than what the disciples had received from the Pharisees.
Jesus said:
Matthew 23:15 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around on sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.”
• In fact Jesus called them “blind guides” that lead men into a pit.
Or we remember
Matthew 15:4-6 “For God said, ‘HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER,’ and, ‘HE WHO SPEAKS EVIL OF FATHER OR MOTHER IS TO BE PUT TO DEATH.’ “But you say, ‘Whoever says to his father or mother, “Whatever I have that would help you has been given to God,” he is not to honor his father or his mother.’ And by this you invalidated the word of God for the sake of your tradition.”
Beyond that, when men desired to trust in Jesus and to follow Him, it was the Pharisees who tried to stop them.
• Mocking people for following…
• Threatening to kick people out of the synagogue for confessing Jesus…
• Even attacking Jesus to the point that they caused His disciples to scatter…
That was the example the disciples were accustomed to
AND JESUS HERE CORRECTS IT.
• Don’t be like them.
• Don’t ever lead anyone into sin.
• The punishment for such a crime is severe before God.
Don’t Ever Cause It
#2 GUARD YOURSELF FROM IT
Luke 17:3a
Here we simply read: “Be on you guard!”
In other words, your brother
Is not the only one you need to protect from sin.
Certainly you don’t want to set a trap for him,
But at the same time you must realize that
There are traps everywhere so you too must be alert.
Remember Peter?
1 Peter 5:8 “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”
You must understand that you are being hunted.
We’ve often used the deer feeder analogy.
• How fortunate a deer must feel to stumble upon a contraption that will sling corn out on the ground free of charge?
• What a wonderful blessing they have incurred in life.
• What the deer doesn’t know about is the blind a few yards away where the hunter lies in wait to kill the deer.
If you see the bait, just know there is a hunter.
“Be on your guard!”
1 Corinthians 10:12-13 “Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall. No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.”
You’ve got to watch out!
In Matthew’s gospel, Matthew recorded this same sermon,
But gave us more insight into what Jesus said here.
Matthew 18:8-9 “If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; it is better for you to enter life crippled or lame, than to have two hands or two feet and be cast into the eternal fire. “If your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and throw it from you. It is better for you to enter life with one eye, than to have two eyes and be cast into the fiery hell.”
Jesus wasn’t just talking about
Stumbling blocks that you set for others,
But also to watch out for stumbling blocks in your own life.
And another severe analogy is used.
Whereas you’d be better to be drown in the sea than to cause someone else to sin,
Here Jesus uses another drastic analogy.
He says you’d be better off to cut off your hand or gouge out your eye than to sin.
Now obviously, Jesus isn’t teaching self-mutilation as a means to holiness.
For one reason, sin originates in the heart, not the hand or the eyes.
A blind man can still lust after a woman and a thief can covet even without hands.
Rather, Jesus was illustrating how dangerous sin actually is.
• You’d be better off to cut off a hand than sin.
• You’d be better off to gouge out an eye than to sin.
Go back to that rich man in hades last week.
• If Abraham would have told him, “If you’ll simply cut off your hand you can leave that place of torment and come over here to this place of comfort.”
• Do you think he would have done it?
Absolutely! A man who is in such agony in the fire
Would hardly resist such a price.
AND THAT IS JESUS’ POINT.
Not only do you not want to lead your brother into sin,
But you had better guard yourself from it as well.
• If you only knew the wrath of God…
• If you only knew the severity of judgment…
• You’d do whatever it takes not to sin.
ANYTHING IS TO BE CHOSEN ABOVE SIN.
Nothing brings with it a worse consequence.
You must “be on your guard” so that you don’t sin.
Even when you are involved in ministry,
• Like that of dealing with your brother’s sin (which we will see next week) we read:
• And you have to sort of jump down into the pit with them.
Galatians 6:1 “Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted.”
Jude 22-23 “And have mercy on some, who are doubting; save others, snatching them out of the fire; and on some have mercy with fear, hating even the garment polluted by the flesh.”
• When you live in this world you just have to know that sin is out there.
• Even in ministry work sin is crouching at the door.
• Always be on your guard.
And if you need an analogy of just how badly God hates sin,
And just how horrible His judgment of it is.
We simply look at the cross, where Jesus was beaten and crucified.
But also where darkness fell over the land
• And He bore the full fury of the wrath of God,
• Even crying out “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”
Think of the grief Jesus bore on that day
• When you hear Him say, “Trust me you don’t ever want to be a stumbling
block”
Think of the pain Jesus suffered on that day
• When you hear Him say, “Trust me you don’t want to fall into sin yourself”
Jesus knew better than anyone the devastating consequences of sin
When He warned His disciples not to do it.
And this is His instruction regarding sin.
• Don’t Ever Cause it
• Guard Yourself From it
We’ll see the rest of His instruction next time.
