Genesis: A flood of evil, a flood of judgement, a flood of grace

Genesis 6 & 7

Rev. Dwight Yoo

Noah's ark is a story told to children. There are even toys. But it isn't really a cute story. There's depravity, death, and judgement. Noah's ark probably floated in a sea filled with bodies of men and animals. Our reaction should be awe rather than aww.

What God Sees

In creation, God saw and He saw good. Now He only sees evil. In mankind leaving God behind and turning our backs on Him, we have devolved to become less than human. Some evolutionists would say we are improving over time. Yet the bible describes the cancerous disease called sin.

Total depravity is a doctrine telling us that the total extent of us are corrupted. Not the amount but the reach. We are like a cup of water. Just a drop of poison pollutes the entire cup. Every aspect of ourselves is corrupt. Every inclination of our hearts are sinful. Everything is mixed motives, even christians. The heart of sin is turning from God and calling our own shots. It is the same heart in Adam and Eve.

What God Feels

God feels our sin. He is regretful and grieved. He feels it personally. We may feel God is distant and emotionally detached, but He is not. He decided to be connected to His creation. Our sin personally pains Him. The grief in genesis 6:6 is the most horrific emotion used in scripture. It is felt by the brothers of Dina, who was raped. The death of David's son, Absalom. The feelings of a deserted wife. Sin makes God feel like a rape, the death of a son, and the deserted wife. That is the pain God feels with each sin we do. God is patient and He endures. But at some point, God's patience runs out.

What God Does

God is love, but He is also just. God is patient, but He will also judge. God's judgement is not harsh, but just. Sin is turning from God, essentially treating God as if He was dead. Deicide, killing God. While we can't literally kill God. We live as if He was dead. So in taking a life, we are sentenced to death. Hell is simply God choosing to take Himself away from people who do not want Him. In doing so, God takes away life, love, joy, and all good things that He is the source of... The absence of God is what makes Hell hellish. The ruin of the world was already done, so God let them have their way. Utter destruction.

Noah found grace. This is the first mention of grace in the bible. Noah is far from perfect. (He gets drunk and wasted later...) God gives Noah his favor. Not only did Noah and his family go into the ark, but sin also went into the ark. So why the flood? God was pointing towards a future judgement and a future grace. Jesus, the seed of Noah, will save more than one family. The coming judgement will make sure that evil will be completely purged. Only Jesus will save us and stop these cycles of evil and judgement. He will usher in the new Eden.

Application

Believe

Pray for those who have yet to believe

Recognize the personal nature of sin

Genesis: Life East of Eden - Where Sin Abounds, But Grace Prevails

Genesis 4

Rev. Charles Han

These chapters show the spread and ramping up of sin. The area to the east of eden show how sin plays out.

The character of Cain's sin

Cain's offering is rejected, Abel's accepted. Cain brings a offering of produce. Abel brings the first-fruit of his animals. This can be interpreted to say that Cain brought a second rate offering. So Cain is rebuked for his cheap sacrifice. Hebrews 11:4 speaks of Abel's faith. Cain's sacrifice was to get God's blessing. Abel was seeking God. Cain was characterized by a faithless, loveless, & cheap sacrifice. Abel was giving a faithful, loving, and costly sacrifice.

Faithless and loveless towards God

When God rebukes Cain, he gets angry. Cain could have turned towards God and repented. Instead he gets angry and depressed. He doesn't get the reward he wanted. So the brokenness between God and Cain turns into brokenness between Cain and Abel. Envy is worse than covetousness. Covet makes a person steal. Envy makes us wish to destroy the thing someone has. In both cases, the person has empty hands, but in the case of envy...the desire is to empty the hands of the other person.

Envious and murderous towards Abel

The murder, the envy, the hatred is all forgivable. So why is the punishment so harsh? Cain has no concern for his brother. He excuses himself from that. He has more concern over the punishment than what he has fine. So God punishes hoping Cain will repent. Cain follows in the footsteps of his parents, Adam and Eve.

Stubbornly unrepentant

Consequences of sin

Sin is trying to destroy us. There is no middle ground with sin.

Sin devours.

Our relationships with others is distanced. Our walk with god is distant. We are never quite at home.

Sin alienates.

Sin gets worse. Adam and Eve sin. By the second generation, Cain murders his brother over a sacrifice. By the seventh generation, we see Lamech. Seven represents completion. Lamech can be seen as the finished endpoint of sin. Cain asked God for protection. Lamech has no such desire. He also introduces polygamy into the world. He breaks the institution of marriage. He is vengeful. He kills people for injuring him. He is without remorse. The disease of sin had run the full course. It ends with unloving and blind hearts, rock hard towards God.

Sin progresses.

Cure for sin

We bring second-rate sacrifices to God. So God brings the first-fruit sacrifice in our stead: Jesus.
Hebrews 12:22-24 Abel's blood cries out for justice, condemnation, and a curse. Jesus' blood cries out for mercy, forgiveness, and grace.

If the grace of God in Jesus dwells in your heart, you will bring first-rate sacrifices to God. You will walk closely with God.

Genesis: Free... Free fallin'

Genesis 2:1-24 ESV

Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.
These are the generations

of the heavens and the earth when they were created,

in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens.
When no bush of the field was yet in the land and no small plant of the field had yet sprung up—for the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the land, and there was no man to work the ground, and a mist was going up from the land and was watering the whole face of the ground— then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature. And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground the Lord God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. A river flowed out of Eden to water the garden, and there it divided and became four rivers. The name of the first is the Pishon. It is the one that flowed around the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. And the gold of that land is good; bdellium and onyx stone are there. The name of the second river is the Gihon. It is the one that flowed around the whole land of Cush. And the name of the third river is the Tigris, which flows east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates. The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, "You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die." Then the Lord God said, "It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him." Now out of the ground the Lord God had formed every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him. So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. Then the man said,

"This at last is bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called Woman,
because she was taken out of Man." Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.

The nature of temptation and sin

The serpent is crafty and has evil intent. Revelation 20:2 alludes to the serpent as Satan. Yet he was created and became evil by choice. And more importantly, he is not God's equal.

How does temptation work?
   Questioning God's word
   Questioning God's character
   Doubt the reality of consequences and judgement
   Twisting of God's word
   Prioritizing pragmatic values over God's word
   Delighting in Aesthetic Appearance and Sensual Desires over God's word
(Matthew 4:1-11 is another example)

The consequences of sin

Sin turns everything upside down. The serpent, representing creation, tells the woman what to do. The woman leads her husband into sin. Man is absent from guarding and leading his wife. The original hierarchy of creation is flipped.

Layers of brokenness
   Man's relationship with God
   Man's relationship with himself
   Man's relationship with others
   Man's relationship with nature

The nature of God

A pursuer of sinners: seeker of the astray
A promise keeper: He promises redemption in His curse on the woman
A prodigal God: covering sin, guilt, and shame with a sacrifice (wastefully extravagant)

Church Matters: Disciple

1 Corinthians 5:1-13 ESV

It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans, for a man has his father's wife. And you are arrogant! Ought you not rather to mourn? Let him who has done this be removed from among you. For though absent in body, I am present in spirit; and as if present, I have already pronounced judgment on the one who did such a thing. When you are assembled in the name of the Lord Jesus and my spirit is present, with the power of our Lord Jesus, you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord. Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Let us therefore celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people— not at all meaning the sexually immoral of this world, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler—not even to eat with such a one. For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? God judges those outside. "Purge the evil person from among you."

A community that takes discipline seriously will do more for your spiritual growth than any interesting sermon will.

This message will not be popular with the culture around us.

How it is the mark of a gospel centered church

Paul is not surprised that this man is in a relationship with his step-mom. This was so beyond the pale even the pagans didn't tolerate it. Corinth is known for wild behavior, but even this is something they didn't tolerate.

Paul is appalled by how the church is acting in this situation. The church in Corinth had a gospel with grace that had no bound in behavior. It doesn't challenge or call people to live differently. This gospel does not call us to hate sin and cheapens grace.

The motivation of church discipline

We are God's holy people.

"Cleansing the old leaven" means instead of using yeast they used spoiled dough to make their bread rise. Why get rid of all the leaven? Because this can cause effects to the entire batch of dough. A little sin can cause contamination to the whole of the dough. We are not cleansing to become pure. God calls us pure, therefore cleanse yourselves of find. We are holy, so act accordingly.

We are God's family.

The LORD disciplines those he loves. All good discipline comes from love. We also need to be willing to cause some pain in the cause of loving them. We discipline those within the family, not non-believers. "Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? Our lifestyle is to match the faith we profess.

We are God's ambassadors.

Whether we like it or not, we represent God on earth. Non-believers look to the church for a glimpse of God. What appeal do we have for the glory of Christ to those who don't know Him? To act otherwise is to dirty the image of God to unbelievers.

The method of church discipline
Kicking people out and handing people over to Satan is not the first step of church discipline. This is the last resort.

How you go: gently and humbly

Galatians 6:1 ESV
Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.

This should happen informally and privately on a regular basis, especially within community groups.

Matthew 18:15-17 ESV
"If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother.  But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses.  If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.

The process looks like this:

One-on-one (informal)
Bring one or two along (informal)
Tell it to the church (formal)
Treat them as unbeliever (formal)

To get from informal to formal discipline,  judgement comes from an unrepentant heart, as a characteristic. Not just fighting greed, but just straight greedy. There is not  any attempt to fight sin. There is no fruit that is found in those who have the Spirit. No evidence of life-saving faith. Then we are called to treat them as unbelievers; one in need of the gospel. The reason to push him out of the church is to show him or her that they have strayed from the path of Christ. We are not to be mean to them. We are to call them to repentance, just like any unbeliever. To follow the one LORD and Savior.

Life, liberty, and the pursuit of holiness: Spirit-Minded

Romans 8:1-8

Rev. Dwight Yoo

Today, we will speak of the greater power dwelling within us.

Sinfulness and rebellion in our hearts.
Condemnation by the law.
Justification by Christ.
Sanctification by the Spirit.

It is not trying harder in the flesh rather it is walking in the Spirit.

A proper understanding of spirituality.

We hear much about people who are claiming to be spiritual but not christians, not religious... We even hear about how some christians are more spiritual than others.  They are more intense, have charismatic gifts, etc.

When spirituality is spoken of here, it talks of the Holy Spirit. Spirit with a big S. The Spirit is a he not an it. He is not some sort of animated force. The Holy Spirit is a person. The holy spirit acts like a floodlight. He is not something to be admired. No one looks at a floodlight. The Holy Spirit is there to illuminate and highlight Jesus.

Anything glorifies, illuminates, or highlights anything other than Jesus... is either a sham or worse satanic.

What does it look like to live Spirit minded

We are all supposed to have our minds set on the spirit. This is not just for some Christians. It is for all of us. To live spiritually minded means to be preoccupied with Christ. That is how we grow. To live with our minds on the flesh, hampers our growth. We live for self-gratification and whatever idols we are hoping in.

Practically living spirit-minded.

The Holy Spirit uses the Word, the truth to work in us. Stay in the Word.

Behind every sin is a lie. God's word reveals lies.

God's word reveals our hearts. It convicts us of our sins. The bible gets examined much, but how often have we allowed the word to expound us, to tell us what is going on in our hearts.

When we behold the glory of Christ, we become more like Him. People change when they encounter the glory of God. They are transformed.

Life, liberty, and the pursuit of holiness: Spirit-Minded

Romans 8:1-8

Rev. Dwight Yoo

Today, we will speak of the greater power dwelling within us.

Sinfulness and rebellion in our hearts.
Condemnation by the law.
Justification by Christ.
Sanctification by the Spirit.

It is not trying harder in the flesh rather it is walking in the Spirit.

A proper understanding of spirituality.

We hear much about people who are claiming to be spiritual but not christians, not religious... We even hear about how some christians are more spiritual than others.  They are more intense, have charismatic gifts, etc.

When spirituality is spoken of here, it talks of the Holy Spirit. Spirit with a big S. The Spirit is a he not an it. He is not some sort of animated force. The Holy Spirit is a person. The holy spirit acts like a floodlight. He is not something to be admired. No one looks at a floodlight. The Holy Spirit is there to illuminate and highlight Jesus.

Anything glorifies, illuminates, or highlights anything other than Jesus... is either a sham or worse satanic.

What does it look like to live Spirit minded

We are all supposed to have our minds set on the spirit. This is not just for some Christians. It is for all of us. To live spiritually minded means to be preoccupied with Christ. That is how we grow. To live with our minds on the flesh, hampers our growth. We live for self-gratification and whatever idols we are hoping in.

Practically living spirit-minded.

The Holy Spirit uses the Word, the truth to work in us. Stay in the Word.

Behind every sin is a lie. God's word reveals lies.

God's word reveals our hearts. It convicts us of our sins. The bible gets examined much, but how often have we allowed the word to expound us, to tell us what is going on in our hearts.

When we behold the glory of Christ, we become more like Him. People change when they encounter the glory of God. They are transformed.

Life, liberty, and the pursuit of holiness: Spirit-Minded

Romans 8:1-8

Rev. Dwight Yoo

Today, we will speak of the greater power dwelling within us.

Sinfulness and rebellion in our hearts.
Condemnation by the law.
Justification by Christ.
Sanctification by the Spirit.

It is not trying harder in the flesh rather it is walking in the Spirit.

A proper understanding of spirituality.

We hear much about people who are claiming to be spiritual but not christians, not religious... We even hear about how some christians are more spiritual than others.  They are more intense, have charismatic gifts, etc.

When spirituality is spoken of here, it talks of the Holy Spirit. Spirit with a big S. The Spirit is a he not an it. He is not some sort of animated force. The Holy Spirit is a person. The holy spirit acts like a floodlight. He is not something to be admired. No one looks at a floodlight. The Holy Spirit is there to illuminate and highlight Jesus.

Anything glorifies, illuminates, or highlights anything other than Jesus... is either a sham or worse satanic.

What does it look like to live Spirit minded

We are all supposed to have our minds set on the spirit. This is not just for some Christians. It is for all of us. To live spiritually minded means to be preoccupied with Christ. That is how we grow. To live with our minds on the flesh, hampers our growth. We live for self-gratification and whatever idols we are hoping in.

Practically living spirit-minded.

The Holy Spirit uses the Word, the truth to work in us. Stay in the Word.

Behind every sin is a lie. God's word reveals lies.

God's word reveals our hearts. It convicts us of our sins. The bible gets examined much, but how often have we allowed the word to expound us, to tell us what is going on in our hearts.

When we behold the glory of Christ, we become more like Him. People change when they encounter the glory of God. They are transformed.

Life, liberty, and the pursuit of holiness: the enemy within, part 2

The Enemy Within Kris Lundgaard

Distillation of Jon Owen, a Puritian writer.

What is deception?

To make someone believe that things are not as they are...

Ephesians 4:22 tells us that we are to put off our old selves.

The mind tells us what is good. The affections will follow. Lastly, the will puts us into action.

So in order for the enemy to win, it must deceive our mind. Once our mind is captured, our heart will follow. We will then imagine and think about the sin. It will appear good to us.

Two schemes used against the mind:

1)  The flesh gets us to abuse the grace of God to separate the design of grace from it's remedy. We remember the remedy but forget the end goal.

Anxiety about obedience is not legalism. Legalism is about the remedy, not the design. The gospel ends in a holy people.

2) The flesh wants to drive every thought of God from our minds by filling it with thoughts of the world... And it does it under the guise of necessity.

How then do we fight? The practice of meditation and prayer.

How will the enemy attack?
Physical weakness - tiredness, laziness, undisciplined. Hit the snooze, sit on the couch.
Tyranny of the urgent - never enough time, so private time with god gets squeezed out.
Duty Swap - you think you can get by without private meditation and prayer because you went to service, small group, congregational prayer
The big promise - next week, next month, next year...another time. We are too busy, too much...another time.

Seven first-love dousers..

The flesh knows how to eat an elephant: one bite at a time
The flesh dresses us up in tuxedos and evening gowns: we go through spiritual rituals without the spirit and power
The flesh sends us down rabbit trails: we can get lost in things other than the gospel
The flesh turns sin into a cuddly pet: we play with sin thinking it is okay
The flesh puffs up the mind and shrinks the heart: we understand theology but our hearts are not moved.
The flesh gets is to do our own thing: we do our own thing
The flesh is a cat that gets our tongue: we don't talk to the love of our lives. We don't commune with God

In Christ, sin has been dealt the death blow. We are only called to bury it, in faith and love.

WHEN YOU GLOSS OVER SIN, JESUS IS NO BIG DEAL.

Life, liberty, and the pursuit of holiness: the enemy within

Romans 7:13-25 ESV

Did that which is good, then, bring death to me? By no means! It was sin, producing death in me through what is good, in order that sin might be shown to be sin, and through the commandment might become sinful beyond measure. For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin. For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.

Rev. Dwight Yoo

The law does not enable us to do what is right. It gives us the standard, but we don't have the power to do it.

It is like a poster of the ideal body given to a morbidly obese person. This poster shows them where they need to be, but it does not empower or enable. They can't eat the poster and lose weight. They can't roll it up and lift it. It only shows them their need.

Change is not easy. It is not a straight line. It is not like we accept Jesus and we just change. We have times of success and times of failure. Even in the same day. That is the experience of the christian life. So much struggle. It is like a battle or war going on.

Who is the Enemy?

Indwelling sin or the flesh is the enemy. Not flesh like physical body, but the part of us under sin's influence. We believe in a bodily resurrection, so the body is not bad.

From our last sermon, we know that sin is not our master. It no longer has power over us. But we still feel the influence... We are no longer slaves to sin, but we still let it tells us what to do.

We are like slaves immediately after emancipation. Even though the slaves are legally free, they still let their old masters control and influence them. So it is with us and our old master, sin.

Why do we have to take this Enemy seriously?

• It is always there and it never rests.

Even though sin has been dealt a deathblow by Christ. It is still fighting. It is like an guerilla war. It is waiting and hoping for an opportunity to attack.

"The Enemy Within" - Kris Lundgaard

• It seeks to do the worse at all times

Sin nature always seeks to try and drive you to it's worse end. Adultery, murder, and atheism. That is sin's goal. Subtle compromises and attempts to manage our sin result in horrible consequences. Sin wants to destroy us and those around us. If we play with sin, we are deluded.

If you have no tension, no fight with the inner man, no struggle...beware, sin has snuck up on you. Anything is better than apathy. Praise God that you are fighting sin.

What do we do?

• Be encouraged, if you feel the battle.

God is at work. Take heart. Sin will lose.

• Know your enemy.
• Kill the enemy.

Take the battle to the one you are fighting with. To battle well, you need to know who you are fighting. And how to fight. How to fight in the Spirit.

Walk in humble vigilance and confident resolve.

Humble in our vigilance over our soul, knowing our weakness and sin's strength and strategies.

Confidence in the promise of God, that sin will die and Jesus has opened the door into heaven.

Life, liberty, and the pursuit of holiness: becoming what you are

Romans 6:1-14

What shall we say then? mAre we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 By no means! How can nwe who died to sin still live in it? 3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.
5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that ythe body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. 7 For zone who has died has been set free from sin. 8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. 10 For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. 11 So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. 13 Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but ipresent yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. 14 For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.

Rev. Dwight Yoo

If our standing with God is secure in Christ, why should I do anything?

That is the question answered by Paul. The response is the most emphatic way to say no, without cursing.

What are you without Christ

Romans says there are two groups: slaves to sin our slaves to Christ (Romans 6:17-18). Those who do not follow God will seek out another master. There is no one sitting on the fence. If you are not worshiping God, if you have something above God, then you will worship and devote your life to something else. Without a love for God, all we can do is sin. No matter what we do, if Christ and God is not a reference point, we cannot live rightly.  Those without christ are blind to God and brainwashed into serving idols. How do we know we are serving idols? An idol promises much and delivers little or temporary satisfaction. What do we get for chasing these idols? The wage of sin is death. So we only get death as our award.

What happens to you in christ

God needs to break through to us to show us reality. We are brainwashed and mindless slaves to sin. Those who think otherwise are deluded. When God breaks through, we are in union with Christ. We have been given everything through Him.

In our union, Christ and our old self died. The part that is a slave to sin is now dead. We are now no longer slaves to sin. Because of this, the wages of sin have been paid. We no longer owe anything to death or sin. We are free. We are now new creations.

Another way to think of this is domains. Colossians and Ephesians speaks of our transfer to the kingdom of God.

Practical implications for change

What does all this have to do with my day to day? We must consider ourselves dead to sin. This does not mean we are perfect and sinless. We are free from sin's power and mastery. We can now choose to serve God. We no longer call sin our master. So why do we find our lives still mired in sin? There is a difference between being given a status or position and acting like it. People who have been slaves for so long, still act like slaves...even when they are free. We cringe at the sound of our old master's voice. But that is the old master, we have a new LORD and KING. That is Jesus.

If you are bothered and discouraged, take heart. God is at work. If there is only apathy, then worry. Those who see sin and are bothered, be encouraged: God has started the good work!

First, remember that you are children of light.
Then act like it.

In the specific moment of temptation, talk to yourself. Don't listen to yourself. Preach to yourself. You can tell yourself that sin is not your master. You can tell yourself that you are God's and need sin and idols no more.

Redeeming Sex: Let's Get Practical

[Various Passages]

{Rev. Dwight Yoo}

Today, we will get practical. Maybe a little too practical... some of us might get uncomfortable.

For married couples

Sex is about servanthood

"Now concerning the matters about which you wrote: "It is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman." But because of the temptation to sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband. The husband should give to his wife her conjugal rights, and likewise the wife to her husband. For the wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. Likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. Do not deprive one another, except perhaps by agreement for a limited time, that you may devote yourselves to prayer; but then come together again, so that Satan may not tempt you because of your lack of self-control." - 1 Corinthians 7:1-5

Don't deprive the other of sex except by agreement. We are not our own... rather they are one flesh and belong to one another. To withhold sex from one another without mutual agreement is defrauding each other. The heart of marriage is not to demand things from the other. It is to love and serve the other. The attitude behind this is not of demanding conjugal rights... but rather one of serving. This is also one of the main reasons that masturbation is wrong. Masturbation is self-seeking pleasure, it is not serving the other. Sex is not about fulfilling our desires and urges. It is not about satisfying our demands/desires. When sex is selfish, it becomes an act of mutual masturbation instead of an act of love. That kind of sex is destructive. Even when the couple is married. Selfish sex is destructive.

Good Sex Starts Outside the Bedroom

One of the concepts we discussed is that sex is a representation of the oneness that a couple has achieved. When a couple feels close spiritually, emotionally, and mentally, they will have a good sex life. The way to fix a bad sex life is not in the bedroom. They need to stay close and not feel withdrawn or distant. They need to reconnect as friends, on dates, and doing the things they did when they were courting. Speaking words of love and appreciation. That is the way to a good sex life.

Sex should make us appreciate Jesus more

"The LORD your God is in your midst,
a mighty one who will save;
he will rejoice over you with gladness;
he will quiet you by his love;
he will exult over you with loud singing." - Zephaniah 3:17

When we experience the joy of sex, it is a signpost to the one who's love is incomprehensible. Every great love song could apply to God's love for us.

For Singles


Honor the boundaries God has established reserving sex and all forms of physical intimacy for marriage.

Consider the fact that rivers runs fastest and is most powerful when it is constrained. The design of sex to be reserved for marriage is for a reason. The sharper boundaries empower sex to be better. Not only sex, but foreplay is also reserved for marriage. Foreplay is like an on-ramp... it gets us up to speed to have sex. If you are not planning on having sex, you should not be having foreplay. If you are not planning on going on a highway, you have no business being on an on-ramp.

"But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints." - Ephesians 5:3

Guard against entertaining lustful thoughts and actions that follow

The average age of marriage has increased. The challenge for Christians is greater than ever. But the standard is clear.

"You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery.' But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart." - Matthew 5:27-28

It is ok to notice someone is attractive. That is normal. But when we dwell on them, that is a sin. There is a difference between temptation and sin. The standard is not only physical, but it also applies mentally. We are constantly tempted by the sexually charged culture we live in. Don't entertain lustful thoughts... it is easy to say. But this is a serious struggle. It feels nearly impossible. Boundaries alone are insufficient.

The battle begins in the heart.

"For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander." - Matthew 15:19

We cannot fight sin by changing the behavior. There is a sin behind the sin. For those who look at internet porn and masturbate, there is the sin of sexual immorality. But behind that is something else, perhaps there is someone who's life seems out of control and nothing is going right... the act of porn becomes a measure of peace and pleasure. The battle is in your heart.

The war is already won.

Be reminded, that war is already won. Sexual sin brings with it an enormous amount of guilt. This guilt can really cripple us. But the gospel shines in this.

"There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." - Romans 8:1

There is a little legalism in all of us. We think we have to earn it back. When we've fallen, there is no condemnation. God is not angry and scowling. God sees us through Jesus. Sin makes us want to cover up in shame. But the blood of Christ covers all of our sin... God still loves us perfectly.

"So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus." - Romans 6:11

Keeping in mind the grace we have in Christ, we consider ourselves dead to sin. We should get back up and fight again. Sin is like a chicken with its head cut off. It is still running around, but it is dead. When Christ died, He conquered sin and death. We keep failing and falling into sin, but it is the flails of a dying foe. Christ has already struck the deathblow. We get up and fight sin because we know it is already dead. It is just a matter of time.

Recognize that fasting from sex makes you appreciate Christ more

Consider the fact that Paul says that fasting from sex to devote time to prayer is permissible. It is saying that focusing on Jesus is recognizing He is the bread of life. When we abstain from sex, it is to focus on the true bread... the true life-giver. It is to look at that which sex points to... the one who satisfies and gives us ultimate joy. Consider the reason why we fast during Lent. There is a bad way to fast and there is a good way to fast. As we fast from sex, may we draw closer to Christ.