Your sin is a gift…if you know it.

Steve Brown:
Your sin is a gift…if you know it. Let’s talk about it, on Key Life.

Matthew Porter:
That was author and seminary professor Steve Brown and this is Key Life. We’re all about radical grace. Because of what Jesus has done, God’s not mad at you. Keep listening and that message will set you free to live a life of joy and surprising faithfulness.

Steve Brown:
Thank you Matthew. If you have your Bible, you might want to keep it there because I’m going to be jumping to a lot of different places as we talk about the doctrine of the Holy Spirit. We’re talking about sin and the Holy Spirit. I may have told you before, but my late mentor, Fred Smith would sometimes, and I heard him do this a number of times, would say to guys, if you were arrested for drunken driving on Saturday night, would you go to church on Sunday morning? You ought to see some of the answers he got. Almost always they would say, are you crazy? No, I wouldn’t. I’d wait until it all died down and maybe I’d go back to church, but I’m not going to go the next day, if it’s in the paper, that’s crazy. And then Fred would point out some very good teaching. That’s like you get hit by an automobile and you’re in bad shape and they come from the hospital to fix you up and you say, leave me alone, I’m not going to the hospital. I’m going to go home and get cleaned up. And once I get cleaned up and bandage some of these wounds, then I’ll go to the hospital. And Fred always said the church is not a place where good people gather, it’s a hospital for sinners, and it really is. So, let’s look at the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit’s part in that. First, the Holy Spirit is God’s way of reminding you that you’re a sinner. John 16:8.

And when he comes, the Holy Spirit will convict the world

And you are included in that.

convict the world concerning sin, righteousness, and judgment.

I’ve given you that statement by Jack Miller a thousand times, and I love it. And every time I say it, I feel better about myself, and about the world, and about Jesus. So, listen up. Jack used to say.

That the whole Christian faith can be summarized in two sentences. First, you’re a lot worse than you think you are. And secondly, cheer up, God’s grace is a lot greater than you think it is.

I’ve also said that your sin is a gift, if you know it. In fact, it’s one of the most important gifts that God has given you or allowed to you, when you know it. And your obedience is your most dangerous place when you know that. Why is that? Sin is the thing that when it is discovered and understood, and we know how profound it is in our lives, sin is the very thing that the Holy Spirit says, run to Jesus and don’t do it in a couple of days, do it right now. And what happens when you run to Jesus? You’re forgiven, you’re embraced, and we’re going to see later, you’re made even better. And your obedience has a tendency to morph into self righteousness, at least it does for me. I sometimes say, Lord, don’t let me get discouraged, show me the places where I’m getting better, where I’m growing, where I’m in the process of sanctification, where I love more, where I’m more faithful, where I’m more obedient. And God says, I’m not doing that. If I give you an inch, you’ll take a mile and you’ll become a self righteous jerk. So, he lets me see it occasionally, but never too much because he knows that my obedience and my faithfulness is my most dangerous place if I know it. And so, the business of the Holy Spirit is to teach you in a far better way than I just taught you that you’re a sinner, that I’m a sinner. And that we have a great Savior. And so, the Holy Spirit plays a part in our salvation and in the revelation of who we really are. And in that sense, the Holy Spirit is attracted to sin. But there’s more to this than that. When you talk about sin and the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit not only convicts, lets you know who you are. The Holy Spirit is God’s way of sending you to the throne when you have sinned and reminding you who you are and whose you are. Prove it, Galatians 4:6-7.

And because you were sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying “Abba! Father!”

Now, that could, that’s an endearing name for God. Abba means daddy or Papa.

“Abba! Father!” So, you are no longer a slave, but a son. And if you are a son, then an heir through God.

You know what happens when we’re angry, when we are unfaithful. When we turn away from what we know is right. When we say things that we know are not true. When we hurt other people, when we’re greedy, when we are upset with other people, when we don’t give people slack that God has given to us, you know what that is a sign of, let me tell you, because hardly anybody puts it this way. But if you know about the Holy Spirit, it means when you are there, and when I’m there, and we all go to those places sometimes, we are acting like an orphan. And somebody ought to say to us, don’t you have a daddy? Don’t you have a home? Don’t you have somebody who loves you? Don’t you have somebody who will accept you? If Jesus were coming back, tomorrow, I know what you would do. You, you would, you would repent, and you would probably fast. If you knew he was coming back tomorrow, you would give up everything that you’re doing, tell him all your sins and get on your knees and cry out for mercy. I know you. Do you know what I would do if I knew for sure that Jesus was coming back tomorrow. Well, first thing I’d get drunk. Now wait, I’m a teetotaler and you ought to be drunk once before you die. And I can’t get that stuff down, but I could take it like medicine just so I’d have the experience before Jesus returned. And not only that, I’d get a Mercedes. I wouldn’t have to pay for it. I’d put it on a credit card because I’m getting tired of my Honda. In fact, if I knew Jesus was coming back tomorrow, stay with me, don’t turn off the radio. If I knew that Jesus was coming back tomorrow, I’d run up the credit cards. I mean, I’d get stuff I’d always wanted but couldn’t afford because you wouldn’t have to pay it back, you’re going to be gone. And you say, Steve, I don’t believe you said that. Why did you say that? Because I wanted you to know that Jesus likes me more than he likes you, because the things I’ve been teaching you about the Holy Spirit and sin are a part of my life. The Holy Spirit is attracted to sin, but the Holy Spirit also reminds me of who I am. I am greatly valued. And when you get it, when you really understand it, when it becomes a part of your life, one of the things you have to struggle with is arrogance because I’m special and those who don’t know him are not. I’m loved and I’m going to live forever. That’s a cool thing. And it’s a good thing. And when we sin and I’m not making light of sin, sin is awful. Sin will destroy you and everybody that you love and everything you care about. I’m not encouraging sin because I, you first, you don’t need encouragement. And secondly, because I know what sin does. God doesn’t say don’t do that because it’s nasty, or don’t do that because everybody says it’s wrong. God says don’t do that because I love you, and that’ll destroy you, and that’ll do bad things to you. Yet, with all of that being said, the business of the Holy Spirit is to say to you over and over again, even in the midst of your sin, hey, don’t forget who you are. Don’t forget who you belong to. Don’t forget to run to him. Don’t forget that you haven’t surprised him one bit. And so, the Holy Spirit’s part in sin is to remind us and send us home. You think about that. Amen.

Matthew Porter:
Steve Brown there. Thank you Steve. We are doing a new series right now, not going through a specific book like we typically do, but instead exploring the doctrine of the Holy Spirit. And we will continue our exploration tomorrow. Hope you will join us for that. So, who is the Holy Spirit? What does he do? What are the gifts of the Holy Spirit? Does God still do miracles? If you have any of these questions, you may want to get our free booklet, it’s called Questions About the Holy Spirit. Get your copy right now for free by calling us at 1-800-KEY-LIFE that’s 1-800-539-5433. You could also e-mail [email protected] to ask for that booklet, or to mail your request, go to keylife.org /contact to find our mailing addresses for the U.S. and Canada. Again, just ask for your free copy of the booklet called Questions About the Holy Spirit. And finally, if you value the work of Key Life, would you join us in that work through your financial support? Giving is easy. You can charge a gift on your credit card or include a gift in your envelope. Or you can now give safely and securely through text. Just pick up your phone and text Key Life to 28950 that’s Key Life, one words or two words. It doesn’t matter, text that to 28950 and then follow the instructions. Key Life is a member of ECFA in the States and CCCC in Canada. And as always, we are a listener supported production of Key Life Network.