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My wife is really sick.  Typical symptoms: headache, nausea, vomiting, aches, pains, tiredness…the works.  You name it she’s got it.  For the last three weeks, she has been sick nearly every day: sometimes multiple times a day.  She can only eat a little bit of food at each meal and is going to bed early in order to avoid another round of sickness.  I wanted to ask her for sickness pictures, but I was afraid I would get punched.

But I’m not worried.  In fact, I’m encouraged.

No…I am not some insensitive, ruthless husband.  I am encouraged because I know what is causing the sickness. 

My new little baby is the culprit.  This is our next baby…right now at 10 weeks and 4 days old.

Sarah is struggling with the typical sickness associated with the first trimester of a new pregnancy.  And while she is experiencing all of the above symptoms and is miserable at times, her symptoms are not cause for concern. We are not running out and filling her full of medicine, rushing her to the hospital, or doing multiple medical tests.   We know where the symptoms come from and that gives us great encouragement to know how to deal with the symptoms.

And this is vital knowledge.  In life, in order to properly address any symptoms, you better know what the real problem is or you will find yourself missing the diagnosis. Were we to treat the symptoms, we might believe that Sarah has some type of horrible virus.  But she doesn’t, she is pregnant. 

UNDERSTANDING THE CAUSE EXPLAINS THE SYMPTOMS.

It is the  distinction between the symptoms and the cause that is critical to understanding Paul’s explanation of the human condition in Romans  1 as he writes:

26For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; 27and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.

28And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. 29They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, 30slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32Though they know God’s decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.

What a fun passage!  All kinds of juicy sin.  If you are like me, when you read this passage you have a picture of some overweight dude in a tie, behind a pulpit, pointing fingers at a humiliated audience, while further exposing the intense sweat stains that are gathering on his overly starched shirt.  All the while he is pointing out all the things that people typically think of when they discuss sin.

And we must admit that the sin list is impressive:  Homosexuality, unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice, envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness, gossip, slander, hate of God, insolence, haughtiness, boastfulness, inventors of evil, disobedience to parents, foolishness, faithlessness, heartlessness, and ruthlessness.  Horrible sin. The real problem. Avoid these.  Right?

Maybe not.

While this is a clear picture of sinful humanity, I would argue that this list is not the point of the passage.  This list comprises the symptoms of the human condition and not the cause.    Notice two critical phrases in this passage which serve as the foundation for its understanding: 1. “For this reason” and 2. “And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God.”  Both of these phrases reveal that the sin list (the symptoms) is the result of something else (the cause).

Clearly, the impetus of these phrases is that the sin list points to something else which undergirds, motivates, and causes these sinful actions.  The main problem is actually much deeper than any individual sins.  The list of items above is rightfully labeled as sinful, but they are not the SIN.  The SIN is the fatal exchange that humanity makes when they exchange worship of God for the worship of gospel substitutes.  Anytime a person elevates himself to the place rightfully belonging to God, SIN has occurred.  This SIN leads to various sinful actions described in the sin list above. 

If we were to diagnosis the human condition, we could rightly say that everyone is guilty before God of SIN, which leads to guilt of sin.  This SIN which leads to sin is a result of a worship disorder inherent to all makind. (Paul David Tripp and Timothy Lane, How People Change, 153).   We are all born with a nature inclined to worship ourselves.  As with our ultrasound, the symptoms (sin) reveal something deeper (SIN).  For my wife, the developing life on the inside motivates and causes symptoms on the outside.  For you and me, the rotting death of SIN on the inside leads to sin on the outside.

With this in mind, I would make a few observations about how we should respond to SIN and sin.

1.      Repent of SIN and sin.

The main problem between each of us and God are not the individual sins that we commit, but the one fatal SIN of worshipping ourselves rather than God.  Therefore, when each of us is convicted of sin, we must acknowledge our guilt before God for SIN and sin.   For example, in times of anger, the response to God should be: “God, I have sinned against you not simply because I got angry, but because I attempted to take a place that rightfully belongs to you.  I have made myself God in my life and that has led to my angry actions.  Would you forgive me for worshipping and serving someone other than you?”  This is the same way to respond to lust, pride, doubt, or any other sinful action mentioned above.  We must address our repentance to the heart of the problem and not simply to the symptom.

2.      Apply the gospel to SIN and sin.

The gospel is not about changing your behavior.  The gospel is about changing your worship.  Due to the sacrificial death of Jesus on one’s behalf, that individual is given the privilege of having someone other than themselves to worship.  And this change in worship should be the focus of our understanding of the gospel. Now certainly behavioral change should result from a rightful understanding of the gospel.  But this behavioral change happens when one begins to rightly worship God and not the other way around.

3.      Teach about SIN and sin.

Whether you are discipling someone else, preaching a sermon, or raising kids, we must begin to teach people that the problem with humanity is SIN.  Rather than endless railing about the ills of video games, movies, music, sex, and drugs, we must understand that those are symptomatic of a deeper issue.  If this was not the case, the hope for humanity would be better schools, a new president, or purging our world from the steady stream of godless media.  While these may be good things, they will do little to change the human heart.  It is only when people are taught that their problem is not their “sin list” but their SIN.

And praise God that Jesus died to pay the price for our SIN.

“For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures.”

1 Corinthians 15:3

By the way…this is Corrie, our now 19 month old daughter, at our 8 week ultrasound. 

Amazing!