What is Sin?
A Sermon on Sin from Isaiah 1:4
Originally preached Feb. 17, 1963
Scripture
4Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward.
Sermon Description
What is sin? There are many answers given to this question in the modern world, but the Bible gives one: sin is the breaking of God’s law. Sin is saying no to God, and yes to one’s own desire. This rebellious spirit is nothing new in the world. It came about when the first humans, Adam and Eve, rejected God’s wisdom in place of their own. The presence of sin, as described in the Bible, is the only thing that can explain why the world is full of pain and suffering. Only God’s word explains why all sin against God and against one another. The world cannot repair the damage of sin; it cannot make right what humanity has done. The only true hope for this sinful world is found in God’s gracious sending of Jesus Christ. The whole Bible looks forward to the time when God will make everything right again in the person of His Son, Jesus Christ. In this sermon on Isaiah 1:4 titled “The Effect of Sin,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones forces all to ask the questions: “do I believe in what God has done? Have I turned from my sin and trusted in Christ?” Christ is the only one who can redeem from sin and the wrath of God.
Sermon Breakdown
- The prophet Isaiah wrote to the people of Israel because they were in trouble due to their sin.
- The message of the prophets and the Bible is a call to repentance and faith.
- Sin is man's wrong relationship and attitude toward God that leads to trouble.
- Isaiah calls the people a "sinful nation" and "laden with iniquity" to show them their sin.
- Sin makes people forsake God, despise Him, and go backward to corruption.
- People think sin leads to freedom but it leads to corruption and making God an enemy.
- The world thinks it's progressing but without God it's going backward to corruption.
- Sin spreads from individuals to corrupt communities, societies, and nations.
- God still speaks to call people to repentance, faith, and salvation.
- Though man's sin is great, God's grace, love, and salvation are greater for those who repent.
Sermon Q&A
What Does Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones Teach About Sin in Isaiah 1:4?
What are the general characteristics of sin according to Dr. Lloyd-Jones?
According to Dr. Lloyd-Jones, sin in its essence is a wrong relationship to God. Based on Isaiah 1:4, he explains that sin is fundamentally rebellion against God. He states, "If man had never originally broken that relationship between himself and God, there would never have been trouble in the world. That is sin, the essence of it, rebellion against God." He also notes that sin makes a person blind, unable to think or reason properly, and prevents them from knowing what is good for them.
How does Dr. Lloyd-Jones describe what happens when people forsake God?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones explains that when people forsake God, they leave His presence, His laws, and His way of life. Using the Prodigal Son as an illustration, he says people leave their Father's home thinking there's something better elsewhere. He states, "They have forsaken the Lord, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel to anger. They have gone away backward." This forsaking of God leads to corruption, where people not only corrupt themselves but also corrupt others, leading to moral degradation, impurity, and a loss of everything that is "clean and pure and chaste and wholesome."
What are the three principles of sin that Dr. Lloyd-Jones identifies in Isaiah 1:4?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones identifies three main principles of sin from Isaiah 1:4: 1. Sin makes a person forsake the Lord and go backwards 2. Sin makes a person despise the Holy One of Israel 3. Sin leaves a person in ignorance of and disregard for the consequences to which their actions inevitably lead
He elaborates that these principles show how sin is a progressive journey away from God toward corruption and judgment.
How does Dr. Lloyd-Jones describe the end result of sin?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones describes the end result of sin as facing God's judgment. He explains that those who live in sin are "treasuring up unto yourself wrath against the Day of Wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God." He emphasizes that there will be a day of judgment when everyone will stand before God. The punishment for unrepentant sin is what the Bible calls hell, which he describes as "a place of torment, suffering, misery, unhappiness, evil, spite and malignity" - an eternal separation from God's glory, purity, and holiness.
What is the remedy for sin that Dr. Lloyd-Jones presents?
The remedy for sin, according to Dr. Lloyd-Jones, is repentance and faith. He says that the Bible's message has "two sides" - "a call to repentance, and then a call to faith." He urges listeners to "repent, recognize what you're doing, see the utter folly of it all." He then points to God's love and forgiveness through Jesus Christ: "I sent my son to die for you to bear your punishment. Believe in him, and I'll receive you back." Through repentance and faith in Christ, God will take away our sin, clothe us in righteousness, and restore us to relationship with Him.
How does Dr. Lloyd-Jones connect sin with contemporary issues in society?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones makes clear connections between sin and the moral decline he observed in society. He speaks of "the filth of the newspapers, the filth of the television screens, the horrible suggestion, the innuendo, the playing with sex." He laments how marriage, purity, and noble things have become objects of ridicule. He says the modern world is "full of confidence and full of pride" in its achievements while rejecting God's standards, yet this has only led to corruption and moral degradation. He asserts that political solutions cannot fix these problems because "they're all being handled by men who are sinners."
Old Testament
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) was a Welsh evangelical minister who preached and taught in the Reformed tradition. His principal ministry was at Westminster Chapel, in central London, from 1939-1968, where he delivered multi-year expositions on books of the bible such as Romans, Ephesians and the Gospel of John. In addition to the MLJ Trust’s collection of 1,600 of these sermons in audio format, most of these great sermon series are available in book form (including a 14 volume collection of the Romans sermons), as are other series such as "Spiritual Depression", "Studies in the Sermon on the Mount" and "Great Biblical Doctrines". He is considered by many evangelical leaders today to be an authority on biblical truth and the sufficiency of Scripture.