What is Sin?
A Sermon on Sin from Isaiah 1:4
Originally preached Feb. 17, 1963
Scripture
4Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward.
Sermon Description
What is sin? There are many answers given to this question in the modern world, but the Bible gives one: sin is the breaking of God’s law. Sin is saying no to God, and yes to one’s own desire. This rebellious spirit is nothing new in the world. It came about when the first humans, Adam and Eve, rejected God’s wisdom in place of their own. The presence of sin, as described in the Bible, is the only thing that can explain why the world is full of pain and suffering. Only God’s word explains why all sin against God and against one another. The world cannot repair the damage of sin; it cannot make right what humanity has done. The only true hope for this sinful world is found in God’s gracious sending of Jesus Christ. The whole Bible looks forward to the time when God will make everything right again in the person of His Son, Jesus Christ. In this sermon on Isaiah 1:4 titled “The Effect of Sin,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones forces all to ask the questions: “do I believe in what God has done? Have I turned from my sin and trusted in Christ?” Christ is the only one who can redeem from sin and the wrath of God.
Sermon Breakdown
- The prophet Isaiah wrote to the people of Israel because they were in trouble due to their sin.
- The message of the prophets and the Bible is a call to repentance and faith.
- Sin is man's wrong relationship and attitude toward God that leads to trouble.
- Isaiah calls the people a "sinful nation" and "laden with iniquity" to show them their sin.
- Sin makes people forsake God, despise Him, and go backward to corruption.
- People think sin leads to freedom but it leads to corruption and making God an enemy.
- The world thinks it's progressing but without God it's going backward to corruption.
- Sin spreads from individuals to corrupt communities, societies, and nations.
- God still speaks to call people to repentance, faith, and salvation.
- Though man's sin is great, God's grace, love, and salvation are greater for those who repent.
Old Testament
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) was a Welsh evangelical minister who preached and taught in the Reformed tradition. His principal ministry was at Westminster Chapel, in central London, from 1939-1968, where he delivered multi-year expositions on books of the bible such as Romans, Ephesians and the Gospel of John. In addition to the MLJ Trust’s collection of 1,600 of these sermons in audio format, most of these great sermon series are available in book form (including a 14 volume collection of the Romans sermons), as are other series such as "Spiritual Depression", "Studies in the Sermon on the Mount" and "Great Biblical Doctrines". He is considered by many evangelical leaders today to be an authority on biblical truth and the sufficiency of Scripture.