Before the lesson, everyone received q-tips in which they had a mark/target of a small Styrofoam cup that was about half the distance of the basketball court away from them. The objective was to throw the q-tip into the cup. None made it. We did it again with the group much closer, but still no one hit the mark. The distance between them and the 'mark...aka God' was sin.
We opened with the scene at 1:02 where Mike and Coach Gaines are in the car together after the game and Mike talks about feeling cursed, no matter how good or bad he is. Coach Gaines talks about how people dig their own holes in life.
So what are your thoughts on that scene between Mike and Coach Gaines? Do any of you feel that way? That you are surrounded by the things that Mike mentioned? How is that like Sin?
First off, what is sin?
A definition of sin that I found:
The Hebrew and Greek words translated "sin" throughout the Bible revolve largely around two major concepts. The first is that of transgression. To transgress means "to step across" or "to go beyond a set boundary or limit." This concept can be compared to an athletic playing field with lines delineating the boundaries within which the game is played. When a player crosses over those boundary lines, he has committed a "transgression" and gone out of bounds. Limits are set that define the playing area, and the players are to stay within the limits of that area.
Most of the other words translated "sin" in the Bible involve a second concept, "to miss the mark." Again, to use a sports analogy, if a player aims for the goal and misses, how many points does he get? None. He missed the goal, missed the mark at which he was aiming.
This view of sin includes the concept of our going in one direction but straying off course to the side and not continuing in the direction we intended to go, with the result that we don't reach the goal we intended. We miss.
This concept also encompasses the idea of failing to measure up to a standard. For example, most academic courses and tests are graded or judged according to a minimum standard. If we don't meet that standard, we fail that test or course. A minimum level of performance is expected, and anything less than that standard is failure. By not meeting that standard, we "miss the mark" and don't pass. We can miss the mark by either missing the goal at which we were aiming or by falling short of that goal. In either situation we fail to reach the mark set for us.
The the group heard the following true illustration:
In Aachen, Germany, police were forced to break up a fight between a husband and wife when the husband, who was seeking an encounter with a prostitute, discovered his wife moonlighting—as a prostitute.
Police didn’t report who was more surprised or dismayed: the husband or the wife.
We discussed the following:
The husband was seeking to commit adultery. The wife was prostituting herself. Both were deeply involved in sin.
Which of them was guilty of committing the “greater” sin? Why do you think that?
Not all sin is as blatant as prostitution or adultery, but all sin, no matter how small, is destructive to our relationship with Christ.
How many of you in here sin? When you think of the sins you tend to commit regularly, is it hard to think of these as destructive? Why or why not? What are some sins that we as a society commit that we tend to be ok with and justify, and how do we justify them?
We discussed that it is easier to point out the specks in other people's eyes rather than notice the plank in our own. That as a society we seem to condone things like war, abundance of wealth without giving to God, etc.
We then discussed if there are always victims with sin.
We then passed out the following verses on sin, although there are plenty more verses about Sin in the Bible, as well as rules/laws/commandments/examples that God has given us to live by. The verses are at the end.
Sin is essentially falling short of what God wants us to do. We sin by doing things that don’t please God, and we sin by not doing things that God wants us to do. Let’s see what the Bible says about this: ( Deuteronomy 25:16; Ephesians 2:1-3; James 1:14-15; 4:17; 1 John 3:4; 5:17 ).
All people in every age have sinned. Because of the sin nature introduced by Adam and Eve, without God’s help no human is able to refrain from sinning. Let’s see what the Bible says about this (See Genesis 3:1-13; 1 Kings 8:46; Job 14:4; Ecclesiastes 7:20; Isaiah 53:6; Romans 3:10-12, 23; 5:12; 1 John 1:8 .)
Sin causes both physical and spiritual death. God’s standard is perfection, and with one single sin we’ve lost all possibility of being perfect. Therefore, we’re cut off from God and destined for spiritual and physical destruction. Let’s see what the Bible says about this (See Genesis 2:17; Isaiah 57:20-21; 59:2; Matthew 5:48; Romans 6:23; Galatians 6:7-8 .)
This was shared from the above of what I found on some definitions of sin:
Both of the concepts that we mentioned earlier, transgressing and missing the mark, involve a basic requirement. If we transgress, which means to cross over a set boundary or limit, then we must have a boundary or limit to cross over. If we miss the mark, we must have a mark, target or standard to miss. Sin, then, is to transgress those boundaries that God has set for us or to miss the target He set for us.
This is where the biblical definitions of sin become important, because these scriptures define the boundaries and standards God set for us. They define the playing field on which we are to live our lives. They also define the goal we are to aim for, the minimum standard we are expected to meet. In other words, the biblical definitions of sin show us the standards God has given us that define what is acceptable to Him and what isn't acceptable. They show us what measures up and what falls short of those standards, the fundamental principles God has given us to live by.
The definitions of sin in the Bible are not simply arbitrary dos and don'ts. Instead, they show us the way God lives. They show the spiritual principles by which He lives, the same standard of conduct He expects His human creations to live by.
So this hasn’t been the most uplifting discussion, and study, but it is important that we address sin and missing the mark. That mark being a life of following Christ. As Mike said in the clip, we are cursed by sin, and we are going to lose. We just can’t win. Sin is something hanging over us always. And as Coach Gaines said: Our only curses are the ones that are self imposed and that we dig our own holes. It is all of our fault for falling into temptation with our decisions in using our free will.
Let’s think about all of that for this week, but know that next week we are going to talk about the Grace that Christ has given us, and the remedy that it is over this curse of sin. Close in prayer then pass out the little target reminders to each of them as a way to remember what we talked about.
Deuteronomy 25:16- But the LORD is disgusted with anyone who cheats or is dishonest.
Ephesians 2:1-3- 1In the past you were dead because you sinned and fought against God. 2You followed the ways of this world and obeyed the devil. He rules the world, and his spirit has power over everyone who doesn't obey God. 3Once we were also ruled by the selfish desires of our bodies and minds. We had made God angry, and we were going to be punished like everyone else.
James 1:14-15- We are tempted by our own desires that drag us off and trap us. 15Our desires make us sin, and when sin is finished with us, it leaves us dead.
James 4:17- If you don't do what you know is right, you have sinned.
1 John 3:4- Everyone who sins breaks God's law, because sin is the same as breaking God's law.
Genesis 3:1-13- The serpent was clever, more clever than any wild animal GOD had made. He spoke to the Woman: "Do I understand that God told you not to eat from any tree in the garden?" 2-3 The Woman said to the serpent, "Not at all. We can eat from the trees in the garden. It's only about the tree in the middle of the garden that God said, 'Don't eat from it; don't even touch it or you'll die.'" 4-5 The serpent told the Woman, "You won't die. God knows that the moment you eat from that tree, you'll see what's really going on. You'll be just like God, knowing everything, ranging all the way from good to evil." 6 When the Woman saw that the tree looked like good eating and realized what she would get out of it—she'd know everything!—she took and ate the fruit and then gave some to her husband, and he ate. 7 Immediately the two of them did "see what's really going on"—saw themselves naked! They sewed fig leaves together as makeshift clothes for themselves. 8 When they heard the sound of GOD strolling in the garden in the evening breeze, the Man and his Wife hid in the trees of the garden, hid from GOD. 9 GOD called to the Man: "Where are you?" 10 He said, "I heard you in the garden and I was afraid because I was naked. And I hid." 11 GOD said, "Who told you you were naked? Did you eat from that tree I told you not to eat from?" 12 The Man said, "The Woman you gave me as a companion, she gave me fruit from the tree, and, yes, I ate it." GOD said to the Woman, "What is this that you've done?" 13 "The serpent seduced me," she said, "and I ate."
1 Kings 8:46- (talking about enemies) When they sin against you—and they certainly will; there's no one without sin!
Job 14:4- There's no way a human can be completely pure.
Ecclesiastes 7:20- There's not one totally good person on earth, not one who is truly pure and sinless.
Isaiah 53:6- We're all like sheep who've wandered off and gotten lost. We've all done our own thing, gone our own way. And God has piled all our sins, everything we've done wrong, on him, on him. (prophesying the Messiah, who is the ‘Him’)
Romans 3:10-12- Basically, all of us, whether insiders or outsiders, start out in identical conditions, which is to say that we all start out as sinners. Scripture leaves no doubt about it: There's nobody living right, not even one, nobody who knows the score, nobody alert for God. They've all taken the wrong turn; they've all wandered down blind alleys. No one's living right; I can't find a single one.
Romans 3:23- All of us have sinned and fallen short of God's glory.
Romans 5:12- You know the story of how Adam landed us in the dilemma we're in— first sin, then death, and no one exempt from either sin or death.
1 John 1:8- If we say that we have not sinned, we are fooling ourselves, and the truth isn't in our hearts.
Genesis 2:17- GOD commanded the Man, "You can eat from any tree in the garden, except from the Tree-of-Knowledge-of-Good-and-Evil. Don't eat from it. The moment you eat from that tree, you're dead."
Isaiah 57:20-21- The wicked are a restless sea tossing up mud. But I, the LORD, have promised that none who are evil will live in peace.
Isaiah 59:2- There's nothing wrong with God; the wrong is in you. Your wrongheaded lives caused the split between you and God. Your sins got between you so that he doesn't hear.
Matthew 5:48- Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Romans 6:23- Work hard for sin your whole life and your pension is death.
Galatians 6:7-8- Don't be misled: No one makes a fool of God. What a person plants, he will harvest. The person who plants selfishness, ignoring the needs of others—ignoring God!—harvests a crop of weeds. All he'll have to show for his life is weeds! But the one who plants in response to God, letting God's Spirit do the growth work in him, harvests a crop of real life, eternal life.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment