Sin According to the Apostle Paul

What do you think about when you have an unsaved neighbor who is one of the nicest people you ever met? Or when someone on your team, at your job, or in your class seems to do more "good" towards others than a number of "believers" you know? Are these unregenerate acquaintances really "totally depraved"? Are they indeed totally incapable of righteousness before God?

We must not get caught up when understanding one of the most essential components of the Gospel message, taught nearly on ever page of the Scriptures--the sinfulness of man.

To understand what sin really is we must understand sin first and foremost as withholding worship from the Worthy One. Even the most "moral" people in this world are NOT doing good unto the glory of God. Yes, relative good can be done by non-believers because of God's common grace (Matt 5:45), but NO ONE can do anything to receive a right standing before God.

I recently came across this pointed quote in Thomas Schreiner's New Testament Theology that summarized the Apostle Paul's definition of sin. I confess it caught me off guard, but upon second thought made more sense than ever.

The fundamental sin, according to Paul, is not the failure to keep God's law--as serious as such infractions are. The root sin is the failure to praise and worship and thank God, to glorify him as God (Rom 1:21)...Refusing to honor God as God and to give him glory, to worship and adore him, constitutes sin according to Paul. 

Preaching with Courage

"When faithfulness to God becomes the primary aim of our preaching (and the grace of his love our greatest security), we are freed from inordinate ("disproportionately large") concern about personal acceptance, reputation, and offense (Acts 4:29)." -Bryan Chapell, Christ-Centered Preaching, 343

As I have been preparing this week to preach Ephesians 1:7, 8 on the redemption of Christ, I was refreshed with this encouragement from one of my favorite preaching books. My prayer is to be faithful to God and to fear Him alone. If in my mind I begin to entertain thoughts characterized by the fear of man (see Prov 29:25), then all I will care about is personal acceptance, my reputation, and whom I might offend/displease.

Acts 4:29 says, "And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness...31 And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness."

Pray that we all have a deep conviction that when we say what the Bible says, we speak what God desires. So preach with courage for God.