This week, we continued our "WHY?" series, tackling the topic “Why is sin such a big deal?” Christians talk a lot about SIN. In fact, we even SING songs about how God has saved us from SIN. Just next week, Christians all around the world will celebrate GOOD FRIDAY and EASTER SUNDAY—this holiday weekend that’s not about some weird bunny that clucks like a chicken…but even MORE STRANGELY, it’s all about celebrating the fact that when Jesus was brutally killed on a cross a couple thousand years ago, something incredibly mysterious and miraculous happened—where he took the sins of the world on himself! But what exactly is sin- and why is it such a big deal?
SIN IS A SERIOUS PROBLEM
I shared a few stories of some EPIC messes, including when my daughter found a sharpie left on the table and preceded to draw all over our white couch, or the time I spilled the blood of a roast I was going to cook all over our white carpet. When I saw those stains, I was horrified! I knew that I had ruined something good. The Bible lets us know that our sin is just as horrifying.
Isaiah 64:5-6 says, “We've sinned and kept at it so long! Is there any hope for us? Can we be saved? We're all sin-infected, sin-contaminated. Our best efforts are grease-stained rags.”
When we do things that we know are wrong, when we choose to ignore what God wants us to do and do what we think is best instead, it leaves us with this nasty spiritual stain. As a result, we become disconnected and grow farther away from God—we might even feel a lot of regret, guilt, and shame. God doesn't want us to experience life apart from him. He doesn't want us to be filled with regrets and shame. Because he knows and wants the very best for us, he shows us the right way to live. "Sin" is simply the name for our choices to go our own way instead of God's way. In fact, the actual definition of the word is to "miss the target" (Think of an archer who shoots her arrow in the wrong direction).
This week, we took a look at the story of King David in 2 Samuel 11. The Bible actually records his greatest moment of failure. He was someone who loved and followed God, but when he faced temptation and gave in to it, it ruined his life. It started with him watching a woman bathing. He then sent his servants to get the woman and he committed adultery. When David found out she was pregnant and realized that his sin would be found out, he actually had her husband killed on the battlefield! David had walked so far away from God that God sent a prophet named Nathan to give him a bit of a wake-up call. Nathan made David aware of his sin--but it wasn’t just to lay a guilt trip on him—it was for him to repent (which is a fancy word that means to ask God for forgiveness and to turn from the direction you’re headed in, to stop doing those same things that are destructive for your life and that pull you far away from God).
In Psalm 51, it records David crying out to God. David realized the wrong he had done and asked God to forgive him. He said, "Remove the stain of my guilt. Create in me a clean heart".
JESUS IS THE ULTIMATE STAIN REMOVER
I shared with the teens how I used a cleaning product that really was miraculous. It cleaned the bloodstain out of the rug completely! The Bible tells us that Jesus is the Ultimate Stain Remover. It's very mysterious, but when Jesus died on the cross, the Bible tells us that something amazing happened. He took the sins of the world on himself! Your sin! My sin! If we repent, like David did, we can experience God's love and forgiveness. We can be made clean from the stain of sin!
Isaiah 1:18 says, “Though your sins are like scarlet, I will make them as white as snow. Though they are red like crimson, I will make them as white as wool”.
When my kids get filthy and dirty playing outside—as a good parent, I’m not going to leave them all dirty and gross and let them sleep in their filth and go days without washing. NO WAY! That would be super unhealthy! Me letting them stay all dirty would actually be a form of child abuse—neglect! As a good parent, I’ll start the tub—I give them a good scrubbing, I dry them off and give them clean clothes! That’s just basic hygiene!
God is interested in our spiritual hygiene. He wants to clean us up! He wants to wipe away all of the guilt and shame. He wants that "wall of sin" that we've built up between us to be knocked down. He wants to give us a brand new start! And what's amazing is that, despite what we deserve, if we ask him to come into our lives and clean us up, he will! If he could do that for David, he can certainly do that for us.
That's why we talk so much about sin. It's a REAL problem. When Christians celebrate Good Friday and Easter, they remember how God did something miraculous and made a way for us to be close to him and to have all of our sins forgiven.
DISCUSSION FOR HOME
1. Share some funny stories with your kids about a time when you (or they) made a horrific mess. How did you manage to clean it up? Did someone help you? Did you use a cleaning product that actually did what it said on the label? Remind them about Isaiah 64:5-6. It says that our sin is such a big deal, that we can't clean it up by ourselves. We need Jesus to help us.
2. Share about how you experienced God's love and forgiveness (maybe for the very first time). Why did you ask God to help you? What was the spiritual mess that you needed help cleaning up? Remind them that God doesn't want them to live with guilt or shame, or to go through life far from him-- and that's why he made a way for the spiritual mess in our lives to be cleaned up- through Jesus!
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