Sin: Its Nature and Remedy

Taken from Handsful On Purpose  Series I   Page 136

Matthew 8:28-34  And when he was come to the other side into the country of the Gergesenes, there met him two possessed with devils, coming out of the tombs, exceeding fierce, so that no man might pass by that way.  (29)  And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time?  (30)  And there was a good way off from them an herd of many swine feeding.  (31)  So the devils besought him, saying, If thou cast us out, suffer us to go away into the herd of swine.  (32)  And he said unto them, Go. And when they were come out, they went into the herd of swine: and, behold, the whole herd of swine ran violently down a steep place into the sea, and perished in the waters.  (33)  And they that kept them fled, and went their ways into the city, and told every thing, and what was befallen to the possessed of the devils.  (34)  And, behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus: and when they saw him, they besought him that he would depart out of their coasts.

              In these two demon-possessed men we have some of the most terrible and heart-humbling revelations that we have in the entire Bible. 

              We see Jesus battling evil, (sin,) if we don’t know that evil and sin are two words meaning against God, being in enmity with God.   In part this story is about Jesus conquering evil, it is also about Jesus’ love for man.  He wants all to come to the Lord.

Luke 19:10  For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.

He came to save regardless the cost, regardless the depths of depravity.  He is willing that all come to Him.  The problem we have is sin and sin is evil no matter what we call it.

I.            SIN IS CLOSELY CONNECTED WITH MAN. 

A.           These Men Were "Possessed” (v 28). 

1.               Sin takes possession of the sinner,

i.                It controls his actions 

ii.               It controls his thoughts, and

iii.             It com­pletely masters his whole life.

(Matthew 12:43-45)  When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none.  44 Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished.  45 Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation.

2.           Sin is an awful, a perfect tyrant;

i.                It claims and affects every power and faculty of the being.

3.           When we fix ourselves

i.                We have no protection without Jesus

ii.               No security

iii.             No power

a.               To stop the next wave of sin

II.           SIN IS ALLIED WITH DEATH. 

              "They dwelt among the tombs"                                                  (v 28) 

A.           They Preferred The Company Of The Dead To That Of The Living.

1.               They loved darkness;

i.                Rather than the light. 

2.           Such is the effect of an evil heart.

(John 3:19)  And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

B.           The Sinner Loves The Things That Holy Men Dread.

1.           They prefer the company of those who are dead “in sin”

i.            Rather than the com­pany of those who are alive unto God. 

(1 John 1:7-8)  But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.  8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

2.               They love separation from God; death.

i.                We deceive ourselves

ii.               The truth is not within us.

III.         SIN IS THE ENEMY OF FREEDOM

              “...no man might pass by that way"                                           (v 28)

A.           Sin Always Hinders Our Freedom. 

1.           There are many still who are afraid to pass the tomb (grave) because of sin. 

(Galatians 5:1)  Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.

2.           As long as there is un-forgiven sin in the heart there will be fear,

3.           be not entangled with bondage (sin)

B.              Perfect Love Casteth Out Fear.

John 3:16  For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

IV.         SIN SHUNS THE PRESENCE OF CHRIST. 

              "What have we to do with Thee...?"                                            (v 29)

A.              They That Are Living In Sin

1.           They Are Satisfied With It,

i.            Hate The Holiness Of God.

2.               They will have nothing to do with Christ,

i.                Yet they are afraid of being tormented by Him. 

3.           They can see no hope-in the Holy One of God.

V.           SIN HAS ONLY ONE DIRECTION; THAT IS TOTAL DESTRUCTION. 

A.              When The Demons Entered The Swine

1.           They did with the pigs what they were trying to do with the men,

i.            Drove them into destruction. 

B.           Sin Always Chooses The Shortest And Steepest Way To Ruin. 

1.               It is always easy running downhill.

i.                For a while then it gets to fast

a.           We get out of control

VI.         SIN’S POWER IS TO GREAT FOR MAN. 

A.           Those Pos­sessed Ones Had No Power Of Resistance Whatever;

1.           They could do nothing to save themselves. 

i.            No more can you. 

2.           Sin, is a poison,

i.            Becomes an integral part of the being;

ii.           It cannot be shaken off when I want it gone.

VII.        ITS ONLY CURE IS TO BE CAST OUT. 

A.           It Cannot Be Tamed Or Reformed.  (v 32)

1.           Christ said to the demons, "Go."

2.           The mighty, never-failing, cleansing Word of the Son of God

i.                Jesus alone can change the heart and

ii.               Separate the sin from the soul,

iii.          Just as the demons were separated from the men. 

3.         He speaks, and it is done. 

CONCLUSION:         JESUS is unwelcome in a lot of our town, just as He was in this area where He found these men.           "They besought Him to depart out of their coasts"   (v 34) 

            These hog merchants didn’t want victory over their sins, they wanted their livelihood back.  The pigs were gone and Jesus was the cause and they don't want the Lord Jesus anywhere around. 

              We see it on our TV and most programs.  I saw Bret Hume a news commentator on the Bill O’Reilly show telling the world what Tiger Woods needed to do.  Accept Jesus and ask for forgiveness.  Bill O’Reilly even intimated that maybe Bret was proselytizing when he first stated it on another show.  Bret defended himself and O’Reilly came back and stated that if Tiger did that it would be seen as a sham.  Bret said he was talking true conversion that Tiger would know and others would see.

If you want sin put away, there is only one way; Receive the Lord Jesus. 

(John 3:3)  Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

If you want to die in your sins, that is YOUR choice.

That is why Jesus died on the cross so you could decide between Him and Satan and his emissaries.

Call on the only sin-separating Saviour.   You cannot have it another way, it isn’t a “I can have my cake and eat to.”  It is a choice between evil and good.

Luke 16:10-13  He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.  (11)  If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?  (12)  And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's, who shall give you that which is your own?  (13)  No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

Where is your faithfulness, if you cannot call yourself faithful, then if you are saved, revival is needed within your heart.

              You cannot walk out of here today after serving and worshipping the God of Heaven and go home and partake of the sin of your heart.

              What do you love?  Is it God and His Son Jesus?  Or is it the sin that is occupying your heart?  If it is the sin, then YOU are an enemy of God.  If you are an enemy, then do you REALLY know Jesus?  Jesus tells us you cannot love both.

              If you claim salvation and are still dabbling in sin, then revival of your heart is needed, not only needed, but required.  Again Jesus says you cannot have it both ways.  Do you know Him?  If not do know:

Romans 3:23     Romans 3:10   Romans 5:8    John 3:16   Romans 10:9