Transcript Public vs. Private Sins

Public vs. Private Sins
QUESTIONS:
What is sin?
Are there private sins?
When does a private sin become public?
How should we seek forgiveness for a private
sin?
WHAT IS SIN?
Translated
Meaning
Passages
Sin
Missing the mark, short of the target
Romans 6:23; James 4:17
Sin
Act of disobedience to Divine will
Romans 3:25
Error
A wandering, forsake right path
James 5:20; Jude 11
Iniquity
Lawlessness, wicked, crookedness
Matthew 7:23
Iniquity
Law breaking
2 Peter 2:16
Unrighteous
Condition of not being right
Luke 16:8; James 3:6
Iniquity
A wrong, injury, misdeed
Revelation 18:5
Evil
Bad, evil, worthless, wickedness
Romans 1:29; Mark 7:22
Trespass
A false step, blunder, deviation from
the truth
Galatians 6:1; James 5:16
Transgression
A going beyond the prescribed limits
Romans 4:15; Romans
5:13; Galatians 3:19
WHAT IS SIN?
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Breaking God’s law is sin.
Crossing the limits which God set is sin.
Falling short of God’s requirements is sin.
Most descriptions of sin include “action” –
murder, adultery, stealing, lying
• But – There are sins of the heart – internal – in
our mind.
SINS OF THE HEART
• Proverbs 4:23 – Above all else, guard your
heart, for it is the wellspring of life.
• Matthew 12:34-35 34 Brood of vipers! How
can you, being evil, speak good things? For out
of the abundance of the heart the mouth
speaks. 35 A good man out of the good
treasure of his heart brings forth good things,
and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings
forth evil things.
SINS OF THE HEART
• Matthew 15:17-20 17 Do you not yet
understand that whatever enters the mouth
goes into the stomach and is eliminated?
18 But those things which proceed out of the
mouth come from the heart, and they defile a
man. 19 For out of the heart proceed evil
thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications,
thefts, false witness, blasphemies. 20 These are
the things which defile a man, but to eat with
unwashed hands does not defile a man."
THE BIBLICAL “HEART”
• The Biblical “heart” refers to our:
• WILL – What I want or decide to do – “Love
God with all your heart”
• INTELLECT – What I learn or know – “heart
waxed gross, closed eyes, stopped ears”
• REASON – What I think and analyze – “As a
man thinks in his heart”
• PASSION – My emotions – Lust – adultery in
the heart
SINS OF THE HEART
• UNJUST ANGER
– Ephesians 4:32 – be angry, but don’t sin
– Matthew 5:21-22 21 "You have heard that it was
said to those of old, 'You shall not murder, and
whoever murders will be in danger of the
judgment.' 22 But I say to you that whoever is
angry with his brother without a cause shall be in
danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his
brother, 'Raca!' shall be in danger of the council.
But whoever says, 'You fool!' shall be in danger of
hell fire.
SINS OF THE HEART
• PARTIALITY
– We must treat everyone with respect – James 2:110
– God is not partial
– We must not show partiality to power, position,
wealth, beauty, fame, race, gender
– Acts 10:34-35 34 Then Peter opened his mouth
and said: "In truth I perceive that God shows no
partiality. 35 But in every nation whoever fears Him
and works righteousness is accepted by Him.
SINS OF THE HEART
• ENVY OR JEALOUSY
– Envy is the feeling of displeasure at the advantage
or prosperity of others
– Jealousy is the desire to have or keep the same
things for ourselves
– Envy wants what others have.
– The sin of jealousy is jealous to the extreme.
SINS OF THE HEART
• PREJUDICE
– Judging is wrong – Matthew 7:1
– Judging according it appearance is wrong
– Wrong judgments involve:
• Motives – intent
• Eternal destiny
– Prejudice is the making of judgments before we
have sought to collect all the facts
SINS OF THE HEART
• INGRATITUDE, THANKLESSNESS
– An ungrateful heart is a step to apostasy – Romans
1:21-32
– When one is not grateful – their life turns to:
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Cynicism
Grumbling
Complaining
Bitterness
SINS OF THE HEART
• PRIDE, ARROGANCE
– Arrogance is the attitude of exalting oneself so
that he is better than others
– We call it a “holier-than-thou” attidude
– God hates pride – Proverbs 6:16
– Pride often leads to destruction – Proverbs 16:18
– God will humble the proud – James 4:6
– Luke 18:9-14 – Pharisee and publican
– This is Jesus’ “sneakiest parable”
SINS OF THE HEART
• SELFISH AMBITION
– A contentious struggle for personal profit or
power
– Selfish ambition battles others for immediate
gains and empty honors, which have no eternal
value.
– The church can accomplish much if we don’t care
who gets the credit
SINS OF THE HEART
• BITTERNESS, REVENGE
– Bitterness describes a twisted way we respond to
pain, trauma, or disappointment
– Revenge is the paying back of evil for evil –
Matthew 5:38-48
– Vengeance belongs to God – Romans 12:11-21
– Revenge harms others; Bitterness destroys us
SINS OF THE HEART
• GREED
– 1 Timothy 6:10 For the love of money is a root of
all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from
the faith in their greediness, and pierced
themselves through with many sorrows.
– We can not serve God and money at the same
time – Matthew 6:19-24
– Greed = covetousness
– Covetousness = idolatry – Colossians 3:5
SINS OF THE HEART
• HATRED
– Hatred is the result of anger at a person, rather
than their actions
– We must hate the sin, but love the sinner
– When that anger becomes deep seated – it
becomes hatred
– 1 John 3:15 Whoever hates his brother is a
murderer, and you know that no murderer has
eternal life abiding in him.
SINS OF THE HEART
• LUST
– Lust is the forbidden or unlawful desire in our
heart
– Lust is most often thought of in connection with
sexual sins
– When we seek, dream, or desire, that which is
forbidden – we begin to seek ways to make our
desire become a reality
PRIVATE SINS – BECOME PUBLIC
• What begins in the heart soon finds
expression in our actions
– We tell others about our thoughts
– They can see our body language
– We act on our sinful thoughts
• When others become aware of our heart,
thoughts, desires – our private sin has become
“public”
SEEKING FORGIVENESS
Public Sins
1. Repent – Realize the wrong, decide to make
the necessary changes in our thoughts and
actions so that sin is not repeated
2. Pray – Ask God for forgiveness
3. Confess to those you hurt, wronged, sinned
against
4. Inform the church of your changes and seek
their prayer for support and strength
SEEKING FORGIVENESS
Public Sins
• A couple of side notes here:
• Note #1 – Preachers or elders do not have the
power to forgive sins. Only God (Deity) has
that power. Our forgiveness of each other will
not “hold it over their head.”
• Note #2 – Do not turn the front pew into a
“confessional” The command in James 5:16 is
to confess “to one another” – not a one-way
street.
SEEKING FORGIVENESS
Private Sins
1. Repent – Realize the wrong, decide to make the
necessary changes in our thoughts and actions so that
sin is not repeated
2. Pray – Ask God for forgiveness – Acts 8:22-24
22 Repent therefore of this your wickedness, and pray
God if perhaps the thought of your heart may be
forgiven you. 23 For I see that you are poisoned by
bitterness and bound by iniquity." 24 Then Simon
answered and said, "Pray to the Lord for me, that
none of the things which you have spoken may come
upon me."
3. Inform the church of your changes and seek their
prayer for support and strength