The Lie of Sin
A Sermon on Psalm 107:17-22
Scripture
17Fools because of their transgression, and because of their iniquities, are afflicted.
18Their soul abhorreth all manner of meat; and they draw near unto the gates of death.
19Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he saveth them out of their distresses.
20He …
Sermon Description
God is to be praised with one’s whole life because He is God. Sin is the singular cause of all troubles in this world, manifested in various ways. In this sermon on Psalm 107:17–22 titled “The Lie of Sin,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones looks at the third representation of sin—sin as disease. This is the illness of the soul, of humanity, of life. Sin is not only rebellion, but it is also transgression–a deliberate and continual going against God’s indicated will, thus taking the health of one’s soul. People are architects of their own troubles. The extraordinary paradox is that everyone is chasing happiness, but the result is unhappiness because it is not being sought in the right way. People search for the best, but find the worst. Sin always robs people of innocence, refinement, delicacy, judgement, and energy. The craving for evil exponentially continues to increase. Christ came to kill the poison of this disease through His death so that all could be reconciled to God.
Sermon Breakdown
- The psalmist calls upon people to praise God because he is good and his mercy endures forever.
- The psalmist calls upon the redeemed in particular to praise God because he has redeemed them from the hand of the enemy.
- The psalmist's message is that all of mankind's troubles stem from sin, though sin manifests itself in many different ways.
- The psalmist uses four examples to illustrate how sin manifests itself in different ways, though they all share the same solution: crying out to God.
- The first example is of men lost in the wilderness, crying out to God, who brings them to a city. This illustrates sin as going astray and missing the mark.
- The second example is of men in prison, bound in fetters, crying out to God, who delivers them. This illustrates sin as bondage and slavery.
- The third example is of a sick man in bed, losing appetite and nearing death, crying out to God, who heals him. This illustrates sin as sickness and disease.
- The fourth example is of men in a storm at sea, crying out to God, who stills the storm and brings them to their desired haven. This illustrates sin as being in peril and danger.
- Sin is transgression, which means walking away from and offending against God's will and way for us. If we don't live according to God's laws, we will suffer.
- Sin is iniquity, which means we deliberately do wrong and commit crimes against God.
- We are fools for sinning and bringing affliction upon ourselves. We think we know better than God.
- Sin always robs and takes from us. It robs us of innocence, purity, refinement, balance, peace, health, and taste for good things.
- The habitual sinner even loses taste for sin and needs new sins and stimulants. Sin reduces us to refuse and throws us on the scrap heap.
- But when we cry out to God, he sends his word and heals us. He deals with our sin by forgiving us and giving us new life in Christ.
- Christ gives us abundant life, health, joy, and rejoicing in place of misery. He enables us to live according to God's laws.
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.