Sermonette: No Small Sin
#1868-PMs
James Beaubelle
Given 08-Apr-26; 18 minutes
description: During the days of Unleavened Bread, we are to do self-examinations, not as an act of self-centeredness, but as a work that draws us closer to God by strengthening our relationship. The Days of Unleavened Bread show that we have a fixed time frame and that our time on earth is limited. We are to use that time during our sanctification to eliminate our old traits and get rid of the old sinful man inside of us. There are several arguments against this being a time of self-examination. People wrongly argue that II Corinthians 13:5 only refers to the congregation and that an examination only need be made by the Corinthian church. These scoffers say that the over emphasis on looking at our own lives can lead us down a path of narcissism and putting ourselves instead of God at the center of the narrative. However, the path of redemption fully acknowledges that we cannot do that without God's help; it is to be done along with prayer and reading of the scriptures working with God every step of the way. Since Unleavened Bread represents a fixed time frame, let us work with God closely so we can be of appropriate character to enter His kingdom.
transcript:
We're now at the end of the spring holy days. And I hope they have had the effect God intended that we should consider each year. On the calendar these days begin with the Passover service, but consider we actually start to move much earlier towards them as men give messages and start to mention the topic of self-examination and of our walk and relationship with God as we approach the spring holy days. All of us having just gone over the events of Christ's sacrifice to redeem mankind. It's more than logical that God would want us to focus more on the evil that made it necessary that one so pure and sinless would need to forfeit his life on our behalf. The 7 days that we yearly watch over so carefully to avoid leavening, a representation of sin. There is a clear type or picture of our ongoing sanctification process. We all began when we accepted Christ's payment for our sins and were baptized into the family of God. 7, as we know, is a biblical number representing completion or perfection. This set time of 7 days is showing us. There is a fixed timeline for our preparation. And that sanctification for each of us has a beginning point and an ending point. For most of us, the time of our preparation ends upon the day of our death. But not for all Some have been called but failed to stay the course by trial or through persecutions from the world and from Satan's efforts. They walked away from God's offer of salvation. The parable of the silver goes into this thought clearly. In Matthew 13 and in verses 18 to 23, our Lord explains the reasons that so many come into the Church of God and only stay for a while. For those that continue in his word, that would be you. The Days of Unleavened Bread helps keep God's goal of having His people ready to inherit all things with Christ front and center in our minds. And so as we keep a yearly remembrance of what it costs to free a people from bondage, we draw ever more closely to our God. All of us here today share in the same goal of making choices to put sin out of our lives as we work to subdue a nature in us that is so easily tempted into making bad choices. It is our time today. To work with God in becoming a new creation by putting on the righteousness of our Savior and putting the old self, our old man, into the ash heap of our life's history. These holy days are reminding us that our old way of living with sin could and would only lead to death, as they teach us that putting on Christ will lead to a new and eternal life and a kingdom that can never end. These holy days work to keep us alert to how devastating sin is. How even the smallest amount of sin is to be avoided by us. We all know this The well-known commentator Matthew Henry was quoted as saying, There is no small sin because there is no small God. I would agree with him. In one degree or another, we each bear the marks of our past sins. Mostly we remember what Christ has taken from us and put on Himself. And what it costs to redeem our lives. Redemption is always costly. Add to this is what he does daily as he forgives us when we miss the mark. First John 1 verses 8 to 9 says it this way. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves. And the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Start turning over to I Peter 1. I Peter 1 verses 13 to 19. I know I jumped to this pretty quickly here. Peter is much better in conveying what I'm trying to explain. We'll start right up in 13. Therefore, Gird up the loins of your mind, be sober and rest your hope fully on the grace that is to be brought to you at the Revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lust as in your ignorance, but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct because it is written. Be holy, for I am holy. Verse 17 And if you call on the Father who without partiality judges according to each one's works, conduct yourselves through the time of your stay here in fear. Knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things like silver or gold from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers. But with the precious blood of Christ as a lamb without blemish and without spot. Peter just told us we are to be holy as the Father is holy. The bar of the way we live can't get any higher. And so we must keep a constant check on ourselves. Through constant prayer by repentance and an honest evaluation of ourselves that's willing to change when needed. So it begs the question with me. Why is the idea of self-examination as a means to an end something so many reject out of hand? For many years there have been arguments put forth from what I assume are well-intentioned people who tell us the practice we do to examine ourselves is not something the Bible teaches. And it's a misunderstanding of the two scriptures that Paul sent to the church in Corinth. We know these scriptures very well. One is in I Corinthians 11 verses 28 to 30. And the 2nd is in II Corinthians verse 5. And I will read that one for us. Examine yourself as to whether you are in the faith. Trust yourselves. Do you not know yourselves that Jesus Christ is in you? Unless indeed you are disqualified. We're told by those who would forego any self-evaluation that these scriptures were written to admonish some in the Corinthian congregation, and is not a message the rest of us need to follow. Adding that taking these scriptures out of their original intent has only worked to create despondency and misery for the call of God. I would agree that an honest self-judgment can create a degree of discomfort. But is this such a bad thing? That we should avoid asking ourselves the hard questions about our conduct and about our faith. Those two being the two main points that I see in Paul's letter. Purging out the leaven in one's life and riding roughshod over our carnality takes work. And a necessary and proper work and for this will undoubtedly require a correct direction, will it not? For us, a humble approach before our Savior and High Priest seeking that direction is always called for. The argument against any self-examination I read in this 1906, so we are going back a ways here, essay tells us this anti-examination topic has been around a long time. It stated that II Corinthians 13:5 is just a simple question that just requires a yes or no answer. Are you in the faith? Are you endeavoring to follow Christ and His teachings faithfully? Answer yes And you're done. Exam over. You can take that scripture off your list of scriptures to remember. Answer no And I guess you're done also, and you can go back to the world. Who would be glad you finally came to your senses. But there is more The second reason And they have more than 2, but 2's enough for today. The second reason for avoiding any time given to a self-introspection. it takes one's focus off of Christ and places it on ourselves. And in so doing creates a condition of seeking salvation by one's own righteousness that can never be found. This is starting to sound a bit familiar to me. For it is a pitfall that many have fallen into. Those who put their efforts into works-based religion and create a self-righteous approach to God. This is where the scribes and the Pharisees got trapped into, assuming by one's own efforts, it's enough to be accepted by God, totally missing or more likely ignoring that salvation is by grace through faith. They were, as we know from John 88, claiming to be in the footsteps of Abraham. Yet clearly ignoring the life that Abraham lived by faith. Certainly works alone can never justify a man before God, and they can never obligate God to anything. Works are the outward action of our faith, as the apostle James wrote it, I will show you my faith by my works. Good works are certainly a reasonable response for what God has done for each one of us. I would say they are a necessary actions for our character growth and a health in learning to love one another. But they aren't what saves us. We can't sacrifice ourselves for ourselves. What the detractors of doing any self-examination fail to see is self-introspection. is never done alone. But is accomplished with the aid of God's spirit within us. Asking God to reveal more truth about our own hearts, our own shortcomings, can bring an amount of personal anguish we would rather not have. I get it. But consider that the one who reveals is the one who loves us more than we can humanly understand. Self-examination is part of the process of drawing near to God, asking for Him to make in us a clean heart and wanting Him to draw near to us, allowing His Spirit to lead us in all truth. That never falters and showing us where we need to change. And it is a process of change that consumes our time. We call it sanctification. And it is represented by the 7 Days of Unleavened Bread. As we physically and spiritually are working to keep Levin far from us. The world, I'm sure, thinks we are crazy cleaning out and then avoiding 11 all week. Yet our God considers it a necessary function of bringing a people to holiness to keep the principles of getting sin out of our lives always in view. We are taught and we are tested, and we too often find failure before we find success. Sin can be very resourceful in hiding. It is certainly invisible to the untrained eye. Yet it is the work put before us that with His help we can overcome our sins. We can learn to see sin as the evil it is, and that growing into the statue of Christ, putting on the very character of His, requires we do this. As we read or as we read in John 15:5, without him we can do nothing of value. Those who would try to examine themselves without God's spirit will fail in their efforts, for they can only rely on their own ability to judge. We can overcome. This would be using one's own faculties, the same ability they were using when they sinned in the first place. This is the fox guarding the hen house. Without his help, it becomes easy to start comparing oneself with others. Then telling themselves, I'm doing OK. I see problems that others are struggling with. And say it's a nonissue with me. I'm in control of whatever it may be, and you can fill in the blank. It could be anger, pride, humility, lust, you name it. I'm doing OK. Could do better, but all in all, I'm all right. Flipped us around And one says to themselves, I'm not doing well at all, not as I think I should be. Others around me are doing great and appear to be very converted to the ways of God. As a matter of fact, I know I'm coming up short when it comes to fill in the blank. It's another endless list that can push one into spiritual despondency. We need to remember. Putting off the old man for the new is not done quickly. This is not an excuse but a reality. It only becomes an excuse if we do not try. For God works with each one of us one on one and gradually brings us to our maturity. We grow over time in service and our beliefs. He did this with Adam as they walked together in the garden, and he does this for each one of us. Allow an old man's imagination, that would be me. To make up an illustration, which I did, to explain what I'm thinking here, which I will do now. Two angels were sitting and talking with each other, and one said to the other angel, Why is the Lord going every day to walk with this Adam fellow? The second angel replies, he is teaching him what he needs to know about the world and about himself. He's teaching Adam what his responsibilities are and what a good steward is. First angel replies. I do not think you can learn all of that. Where the second angel says, maybe he can't. But he can learn the most important part. What's that? said the second angel. They're both learning to trust and love each other. And when they find that. Everything else will fall into place. The Days of Unleavened Bread pictures this learning in the sanctification process as God walks with each one of us, giving us instruction and doctrines for the perfection of His saints. It is our time today for learning, and one of the major lessons we learned to stay clear of sin are the laws of God. Unlike the way that too many people think the law is restrictive, God's laws never work against us and are not mankind's enemy to be avoided, but when understood and followed, they are like a wise friend that leads one to doing right doing. It is one of the many great gifts God has blessed man with, that he may find peace and joy. Sadly, men have turned their backs, as it were, to this truth and corrupted their ways. The days when the knowledge of God, this includes all of His laws, will cover the earth. Lie in the future today. For sin is in the world, and none of us can change that fact. What we can do as individuals is use our calling to learn from God, to see sin as the evil it is, and avoid its alluring entanglements. The putting out of leaven this week and seeking to consume the unleavened bread of life can greatly help in keeping us focused on this. As we embrace all of God's commandments, we learn just how destructive sin is. Romans 7 and verse 13 puts it this way, I will read this for us. That sin by the commandments might become exceedingly sinful. This is showing us that the commandments expose the magnitude of just how evil God sees sin as. The law strips sin of its deception and any mystery it may try to hide itself within. And shows it as the true rebellion against our Creator that it is. How it works to destroy each one of us as we strive for the narrow path that leads to righteousness. If we learn anything of these days of avoiding Levin. Let it be on all the laws of God that teach us how to live in this evil generation. And how to walk uprightly with our God.
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