Sin's Cure
Sin has far-reaching consequences and affects not just the individual, but also those around them, but there is a cure for sin through confession and forgiveness through faith in God.
A.W. Tozer emphasizes the far-reaching consequences of sin, illustrating how individual actions can lead to widespread suffering, from global atrocities to domestic turmoil. He argues that no sin is private, as the effects ripple through families and communities, ultimately impacting the church and society at large. Tozer highlights the importance of recognizing our unchristian conduct and its influence on others, stressing that even secret sins can lead to moral decay within the church. However, he offers hope by proclaiming that there is a cure for sin through confession and God's faithfulness to forgive and purify us. The message calls for personal accountability and the transformative power of God's grace.
Text
Only God could reconstruct the world and allow for such reversals of fact; but anyone can tinker at it theoretically. Had Hitler, for instance, been a good and gentle man, six million Jews now dead would be living (making allowance for a certain few who would have died in the course of nature); had Stalin been a Christian, several million Russian farmers would be alive who now molder in the earth. And consider the thousands of little children who died of starvation because one man had a revengeful spirit; think of the millions of displaced persons who wander over the earth even today unable to locate mother or father or wife or child because men with hate in their hearts managed to get into places of power; think of the young men of almost every nation, sick with yearning for home and loved ones, who guard the empty wastes and keep watch on frozen hills in the far corners of the earth, all because one ruler is greedy, another ambitious; because one statesman is cowardly and another jealous.
To come down from the bloody plains of world events and look nearer home, how many wives will sob themselves to sleep tonight because of their husband's savage temper; how many helpless, bewildered, heartbroken children will cower in their dark bedrooms, sick with shock and terror as their parents curse and shout at each other in the next room. Is their quarrel private? Is it their own business when they fight like animals in the security of their home? No, it is the business of the whole human race. Children to the third and fourth generation in many parts of the world will be injured psychologically if not physically because a man and his wife sinned inside of four walls. No sin can be private.
Coming still closer, we Christians should know that our unchristian conduct cannot be kept in our own back yard. The evil birds of sin fly far and influence many to their everlasting loss. The sin committed in the privacy of the home will have its effect in the assembly of the saints. The minister, the deacon, the teacher who yields to temptation in secret becomes a carrier of moral disease whether he knows it or not. The church will be worse because one member sins. The polluted stream flows out and on, growing wider and darker as it affects more and more persons day after day and year after year.
But thanks be to God, there is a cure for the plague. There is a balm in Gilead. "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9).
Sermon Outline
- I. The Public Nature of Sin
- A. Sin affects not just the individual, but also those around them
- B. Examples from world events and personal relationships
- II. The Spread of Sin
- A. Sin can have far-reaching consequences, affecting many people
- B. The church is not immune to the effects of sin
- III. The Cure for Sin
- A. Confession and forgiveness through faith in God
- B. The promise of purification and righteousness
Key Quotes
“No sin can be private.” — A.W. Tozer
“The evil birds of sin fly far and influence many to their everlasting loss.” — A.W. Tozer
“There is a balm in Gilead.” — A.W. Tozer
Application Points
- Recognize that sin has public consequences and affects those around us.
- Make confession and forgiveness a regular part of your spiritual practice.
- Seek to live a life of righteousness and purity, not just for your own sake, but also for the sake of those around you.