“Overcoming Sin”

Finding Value (Part 1)

March 13, 2011

Isaiah 49:8-16a Matthew 6:24-34 1 Corinthians 4:1-5

Four years ago, as I prepared for our Good Friday worship service, I received a phone call from my
wife, Patti, that she had received a phone call from the Cleveland Clinic. At that time, Patti had been
on the transplant waiting list for more than a year and we had been told that we should probably
expect to wait another year. Instead, we had now been notified that Patti was a match to an available
donor and we should make our way to the hospital as soon as possible. One year later, after Patti had
largely healed and was beginning to feel “normal” again, something seemed to be wrong. Patti would
occasionally be unable to eat without experiencing pain and it was discovered that she had developed
hernias all along her original transplant incision line. As a result, Patti was readmitted to the hospital
and the entire incision was reopened and the entire incision was repaired. Almost a year after that,
Patti again began to have trouble with her digestion, not all the time, but periodically. We went back
and forth to the hospital and to various doctors as they searched for why this might be happening
while they looked and as they tried to find answers, Patti kept losing weight. Two more years have
passed and Patti has lost over one hundred pounds since her transplant and again she is in the
hospital, this time diagnosed with a nasty bacterial infection in her digestive tract that has affected
both her kidney and her pancreas function. Obviously, something is wrong. If the doctors knew what
caused her infection and her other ongoing trouble they would be well on the way toward curing her.
If such things were possible, we would love to go back in time and avoid whatever it was that caused
this problem in the first place. Just as obviously… we can’t.

One of the great truths of our lives is that once something has been done, there is often no way to go
back and undo it. Once a course of action has been set in motion it is often impossible to turn back.
Once we have made choices that cause us harm, or that cause harm to others, there is no way to undo
the damage that has been done. This is not only a great truth in our physical lives, but it is a great
theme of our spiritual lives as well. (Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7)
15
The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. 16
And the LORD God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you
must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will
certainly die.”

Genesis 3:1-7
1
Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to
the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”
2
The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say,
‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or
you will die.’”
4
“You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “For God knows that when you eat
from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
6
When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also
desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was

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with her, and he ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were
naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.

The message from the very beginning of humanity’s relationship with God is that humans have made
choices that have irreparably damaged our relationship. Our greed and selfishness has separated us
from the intimate relationship that God intended and that God desires. Sin entered the world when
human beings decided that what they wanted was more important than what God wanted. Even now,
every day, human beings damage their relationship with God when we decide that what we want is
more important than what God wants. As much as we wish it were otherwise, we often find
ourselves just as helpless against sin as Patti and I have felt against our unknown adversary. As much
as we might desire to go back in time and avoid whatever it was that caused this problem in the first
place… we can’t. We know that once a course of action has been set in motion it is often impossible
to turn back. Once we have made choices that cause us harm, or that cause harm to others, there is no
way to undo the damage that has been done. Spiritually, that is the way that things were for
millennia, but in his letter to the church in Rome, Paul tells us that something incredible has
happened. The impossible has been accomplished. What has been done… has been undone…
(Romans 5:12-19)
12
Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way
death came to all people, because all sinned—
13
To be sure, sin was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not charged against anyone’s
account where there is no law. 14 Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of
Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who is a pattern of the
one to come.
15
But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much
more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to
the many! 16 Nor can the gift of God be compared with the result of one man’s sin: The judgment
followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought
justification. 17 For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much
more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign
in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!
18
Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous
act resulted in justification and life for all people. 19 For just as through the disobedience of the one
man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be
made righteous.
20
The law was brought in so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace
increased all the more, 21 so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through
righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Paul reminds us that sin entered the world through the actions of one human being and because of
Adam’s sin, death entered the world and since then sin and death have afflicted all of humanity for all
time. The message of the Gospel however is incredible because it proclaims that just as one human
being caused death to enter the world, likewise the actions of one human being, through the
outpouring of God’s mercy and grace, has overcome the power of sin and death. What was done has
been undone. The judgment of Adam’s sin brought condemnation upon all of humanity but God’s
gift, after centuries and even millennia of sin, trespass, greed and selfishness had removed our
condemnation and justified us in the eyes of God. Through the disobedience of Adam we all became
sinners, through his selfishness we all became selfish, through his offence we all became offenders

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but through the righteous action of Jesus Christ, God has poured out his grace and has overcome sin
and death for us so that we can have eternal life. What we could not do, Jesus has done for us. The
impossible has been accomplished. What has been done… has been undone.

As we journey through this season of Lent, and as we examine the story of Easter, we will look at
where the characters in the Easter story found value. Since we have seen that Jesus is the one who
has overcome sin on our behalf and who has conquered sin and death, let us also look to see how his
values allowed him to overcome. (Matthew 4:1-11)
1
Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 After fasting forty
days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of
God, tell these stones to become bread.”
4
Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes
from the mouth of God.’”
5
Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. 6 “If
you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written:
“‘He will command his angels concerning you,
and they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”
7
Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
8
Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world
and their splendor. 9 “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”
10
Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and
serve him only.’”
11
Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.

Jesus was completely human and just as subject to the laws of nature as you and I. After forty days in
the desert without food, just as you would expect, Jesus was hungry. Satan speaks to Jesus and
tempts him by telling him that he could eat whenever he wanted by transforming stones into bread.
Having something to eat when we’re hungry would seem to be a natural thing to do, but more than
likely, Jesus’ intent was to fast for forty days. Forty was considered to be a number, like the number
seven, that was related to perfection. By saying this, Satan tempts Jesus to settle for less than
perfection, to give up on honoring God, to choose what he wanted over what God wanted. Instead,
Jesus chooses to honor God.

Again, Satan tempts Jesus, this time by reminding Jesus how God will miraculously protect him and
suggesting that such a public display will undoubtedly reveal his nature to the people of Jerusalem.
Satan suggests that Jesus help God’s plan along by forcing God to work faster. Satan’s suggestion is
that Jesus might make plans for God that follow Jesus’ timeline instead of allowing events to unfold
as God intended. Instead, Jesus chooses to let God, be God.

Finally, Satan takes Jesus to the top of a mountain and shows him the kingdoms of the world. Again,
Satan offers to hurry things along by offering Jesus all the power and honor and glory that God has
promised to give him, but to give it to him now instead of at the time of God’s choosing. Satan offers
Jesus the very thing God has promised, but without the suffering and the waiting. Instead, Jesus
chooses to serve God, to worship God, and to honor God and no one else… without shortcuts.

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As we look at where the characters in the Easter story found value, today we find that Satan finds
value in what is good for Satan, what Satan wants, when Satan wants it. The focus of Satan is
entirely inward toward the same greed and selfishness that are responsible for separating us from the
love of God. Not surprisingly, today we also find that Jesus finds value in what is good for God,
what God wants, when God wants it. The focus of Jesus is entirely upward, a pursuit towards God.

As I think about my wife, I would do almost anything to be able to go back in time and find a way to
undo the damage that has been done to her, but that isn’t the way that things work. Instead, I will
choose to accept the challenges that God has set in front of me. Like you, I struggle with selfishness.
I want what I want, when I want it, but I am working, every day, to desire what God desires, to accept
his plan instead of mine and to patiently wait for his timing when I wish things would happen faster.
The good news is that the impossible has been accomplished. What has been done… has been
undone. What we could not do, Jesus has done for us. Through the righteous action of Jesus Christ,
God has poured out his mercy and grace and has overcome sin and death for us so that we can have
eternal life.

Here, we find value.

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date noted at the top of the first page. Rev. John Partridge is the pastor of Barnesville First.
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