Sermon: Life on Wings
Scripture: Matthew 5:4
In this week’s lessons, we learn what it means to mourn for our sin, and the comfort that Jesus promises.
Theme: Deliverance in the End
Then, too, the deliverance of Jesus Christ also means a deliverance from present sin and from its power. If you are a Christian, Christ lives in you through his Holy Spirit. You are united to Christ, and you are united to him in order to make a victorious, triumphant life possible.
I know that there are some who teach that there is no victory over sin in this world. And I know that even according to the Bible sin will always be with us. John says, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8). This is true. But in spite of the fact that sin will always be with the Christian as long as he lives, it is simply not true that he needs to be defeated by it. Galatians says, ”Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh” (5:16). And it goes on to tell what sins we shall not fulfill if we do walk in Christ’s Spirit: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, strife, jealousy, wrath, factions, seditions, heresies, envying, murders, drunkenness, reveling, and the like. According to Galatians the Christian is supposed to have victory over these things.
The presence of sin in our lives is a bit like the presence of carbon monoxide in the exhaust system of an automobile. As long as the car runs the deadly gas will be present. If it is unchecked, it will bring death to the occupant of the car. But when the car is properly run and properly maintained, the carbon monoxide is contained within the exhaust system so that it does not break forth in death and only a slight smell is present as it is mixed with the burning oil and gas fumes. In the same way, there will always be the smell of sin about us and in what we do. But it need not break out to bring death. The restraining power of Christ through the Holy Spirit will prevent it and the contamination of death need not spread from us. In this, too, there is great comfort for the Christian.
The final aspect of God’s comfort lies in the fact that one day Christ will remove sin and all of its effects from the believer forever. This will mean a deliverance even from sin’s presence; and it will mean an end to pride, hate, suffering, sickness, and death. Now, we are aware of our sin. The smell of it is about us. But the day is coming when we shall be taken from this world to Christ’s presence. In that day there will be no more sin to confess, for we shall be like him (1 John 3:2). We shall know an unmixed good. We shall be “delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God” (Rom. 8:21). That will truly be “life on wings.” And we shall know that those who mourned for their sin have been comforted. Praise God, through Jesus Christ our Lord!
Study Questions:
What is the second aspect of the deliverance that Christ brings? What does it look like in our Christian lives?
What is the final element of God’s comfort?
Application: Is there sin that is harder to get rid of than others? What steps will you take in accordance with Scripture?
