“Sin is a cockroach not a cookie!”
“Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil;
cling to what is good.” Romans 12:9
Sermon by Pastor Dennis R. Gleason -- September 4, 2005
The Apostle Paul has been talking to us about Spiritual Gifts in this section of Romans. And while spiritual gifts are not our focus today, Paul tells us that our love must be without dissimulation…that is pretense or disguise. And he tells us here that we who believe in Jesus Christ…for he is writing here to true Christians…must get our love off the stage and into real life.
The Bible tells us that God is love.
The Bible teaches us that we who have accepted Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Savior have the Spirit of Christ living within us. That means that we have love within us, living there ready to change our lives for Christ’s sake.
Now if the chief characteristic of God is love, then love must become the chief character quality of our lives as true believers.
Paul says that love must be without pretense, or hypocrisy. It must not assume a false appearance of virtue or goodness.
There is no room for hypocrisy in our lives.
The image of the word Paul uses here is that of an actor on the stage. This was a very well known image in the ancient world. For actors would come out on the stage to perform and there would be no background or scenery. All they would have would be a mask that represented tragedy, comedy or melodrama. And periodically they would raise the mask over their faces to convey something to the audience.
God simply says to us through the Apostle Paul, love must take off every disguise and walk with the heart bared for the world to see. This is an openness that is foreign to most of our lives.
For you see our natural inclination is for us to protect ourselves, to keep our hearts from being wounded. We form a shell around ourselves, around our emotions and withhold what love would give. We do that because we are afraid of being hurt.
When Paul tells us to love without hypocrisy…he is telling us to be like Jesus.
The next thing Paul includes in this verse is that we should have the Christian virtue of hate. Does it sound funny to talk about the Christian virtue of hate. Paul says we are to “hate what is evil”. We often think that have should not be part of the life of the Christian. After all God is love, right? We hate the sin and love the sinner; just like Jesus did.
Jesus was and is God. The Bible clearly shows us God’s hatred of sin, of evil. He directs it against evil and yet loves sinners.
Jesus knew how to hate.
He hated hypocrisy, pretense.
He tore the masks from the faces of the Pharisees.
He revealed them for what they really were.
And they hated him; for by his penetrating questions he exposed their deceit, their guile and trickery.
Just by standing by them he revealed them for what they were.
And so, when Paul tells us that we are to hate sin…he is telling us that we are to be like God.
If you wonder about this and the supposition that I am making that hatred is a Christian virtue think about what Proverbs 6:216-19 tells us.
There are six things God hates; seven things that are an abomination to him.
- Haughty eyes…the proud look. The eye is the window to the soul.
- A lying tongue…God tells us that all lying comes from the devil. We are children of God and therefore, should be like Jesus…children of truth.
- Hands that shed innocent blood.
- A heart that devises wicked plans or schemes
- Feet that make haste to run to evil
- A false witness that breathes out his lives.
- A man who sows discord among his brothers
If God hates these things so should we.
God does not want our worship if it comes from a life of disobedience. The person who dresses up and attends church only on Easter and Christmas reveals that they are more concerned about their appearance than they are about their own souls. They might just as well stay home.
So it is that we are to hate evil and to cling to what is good.
We need to understand that.
Remember:
“When you have finished committing sin, sin is not finished with you. The first cost is high, but it is only the down payment. You keep paying in your conscience, in your body, in the suffering you produce for your family, your friends, and your community. — Ruth Copeland
**Do you know why most diets don’t work?
Because on that diet you are asked to go without things that you really enjoy...or at least you severely limit your consumption of those things. When you are on that diet what do I really want?
-I want a doughnut.
-I want a bowl of cereal.
-I want a piece of toast.
I personally really love "carbs"!
And as with any diet: Over time, what really sounds good is what you are not supposed to have!
***Your diet plan says- “use your human will-power to avoid eating things you really enjoy.” But...maybe the true KEY to dieting is understanding why certain foods are unhealthy and learning to "hate" all the foods that are bad for you!!!
***Let me ask you a Question. If I were to ask you this morning to make a solemn commitment to not to knowingly eat any insects for an entire year...how many of you could sincerely raise your hand and say “Pastor...unless someone slips me one that I don’t know is there...I will eat NO INSECTS in the coming year! No more flies! No more spiders! I’m laying off on the ants! Not even one more cockroach!
Show of hands?
WHY, with confidence and enthusiasm, could you make that commitment?
—Because YOU DON’T WANT to eat insects!!! You don’t like them! The thought of eating them makes you feel ill!!!
So here’s the question: Why is it so hard to follow through on our spiritual convictions and commitments to stop a particular sinful behavior? Why do we have certain patterns of failure and weakness that plague us for years???
BECAUSE:
-We don’t hate sin. In fact, we like sin...we enjoy sin...we crave sinful pleasure.
Like the dieter who is waiting for a “secret moment” to sneak a handful of potato chips or a piece of chocolate cake from a pantry filled with all the wrong things...we find ourselves surrounded by temptation and don’t know how to handle it.
There are some things that don’t give you victory over sin:
-Ignore it...pretend it doesn’t exist. (occupying same space...trying to resist.)
-Compromise...make a deal with it. (“just this once…” or "just once more...")
-Bad Mouth it...talk “tough” about sin and its consequences.
Some practical steps to learn to hate sin:
1.) Know God better.
Let’s be honest...we tend to “pick and choose” the facets of God’s character we dwell on. We contemplate His love and mercy...we focus on His grace and patience (and these are a wonderful part of God’s nature!!)
But what about His holiness and wrath. What about His promise to judge and to punish sin. These also flow out of God’s nature.
**To know God’s nature and to realize that we are completely known by Him should change our attitude toward sin.
2.) Remember the price of sin.
(Romans 6:23) For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Remember that our sin cost Jesus His life. Don’t minimize the seriousness of sin.
3.) Remember that God’s Spirit lives in you.
Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.
-Everywhere you go...He goes
-Everything you see...He sees
-Every secret place...you take Him too.
-Every relationship...you put Him right in the middle of it.
***Let’s make this very practical (in an impractical way): If you and I were “Duct-taped” together for a week so that wherever You went...I had to go… Are there any places that you currently go that you would avoid for a week? Any flirtations you would cool off? Any conversations you would skip? Any entertainment you would change?
If you would say “Yes”…then my question is “Why?” I’m nobody. I’m just a man...not the Holy God. Why would you change things for my sake...yet do it in the sight of God???
4.) Recognize the results of sin as they really are.
(Hebrews 11:24-25) By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time.
The Puritan writer said- “Look upon sickness, poverty, shame, despair, rottenness, and death...these will help you understand what sin really is.
SIN IS A COCKROACH...NOT A COOKIE!!!
Sin advertises itself as fun, friendship, excitement, adventure…as something you’ve earned or deserve...but sin always leads to pain, consequences and even death.
(James 1:15-16) but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers.
A few of the other Puritan directions for hating sin:
-Consider the reality of Hell. What is the truth about sin if its deserved penalty is eternal separation from God in a place of such torment???
-Stay far away from the temptations that move you toward the sins you want to hate. Every sin has steps and progressions that lead to them. Rarely does a person find themselves in the middle of a huge sin without knowing how they got there...they take small steps...they give themselves little-by-little to it. (Frog in a kettle)
-Be aware of your desire to be easy on yourself. We all tend to be most understanding and forgiving of our own passions and prides. When we take offense at another persons attitude or behavior...if you really allow God to search your heart...you will often find that you have that same struggle, but forgive it in yourself.
Friends...we need a change of attitude regarding sin. I hope there has been some practical help for you in this message.
The reality is this: If you LOVE God...love other brothers and sisters in Christ without hypocrisy. And then recognize that the reverse side of that relationship is learning to HATE sin.
Once we have successfully loved without hypocrisy, and we have successfully shown our hatred for sin, and evil, we must cling to what is good.
Make the love of righteousness a significant aspect of our lives.
--Dennis Gleason
