Sin

We recently heard a good, no, GREAT message by Jason. His message left people squirming in their seats—as it should have. He talked about sin.

But what is sin?

I have talked to a lot of people who feel they are not that bad. They are not really sinners, because they have never done anything REALLY bad. So I have often used this illustration.

I have a tree in my back yard. It has nice green leaves on it and in the spring time it blossoms with pretty white flowers. After a while the flowers fade and little buds start to grow. Then the buds get larger and soon turn into apples. So what type of a tree do you suppose it is?

Most people would assume it is an apple tree, and they would be right.

But what type of a tree was it in the fall and winter, before it even grew leaves? Surely it wasn't an apple tree then. Did it become an apple tree by growing apples, or did it grow apples because it was an apple tree?

Yes! It grew apples because it is an apple tree. It's nature is to grow apples, even though there are seasons in which it does not grow apples. It can't help itself because that is the tree's nature. Even when it was a tiny little tree, it was still an apple tree.

And so it is with sin. We do not become sinners by sinning. We sin because we are sinners. That's our nature and our natural inclination. David wrote in Psalm 51:5, "Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me."

Ah, but I don't like to eat apples. I would rather have sweet bananas. Suppose then that I cut all the apples off my apple tree and tie bananas into the tree. What would happen? Would it turn the tree into a banana tree? No, before long the bananas would rot, turn brown, fall to the ground, and I would have a stinking mess on my hands.

The same would happen if I tried to become righteous by stopping doing sin and instead tried doing good deeds. Doing righteous deeds does not make me righteous. And before long even my righteous deeds would turn rotten. I may become proud of my righteousness like the Pharisee in Luke 18.

If I wanted a banana tree in my yard I would need to call the gardener and have him cut down the apple tree, throw it in the trash heap, and plant in its place a banana tree that, by nature, would produce bananas. I wouldn't have to coax the tree to grow bananas or show it pictures of bananas. It would abundantly produce bananas because that's the tree's nature.

And so it is with us. We need a new heart, a heart with a new nature that by nature produces righteousness. And that's what God promises in Ezekiel 36:25-29.

25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. 26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. 28 Then you will live in the land I gave your ancestors; you will be my people, and I will be your God. 29 I will save you from all your uncleanness. (NIV)