Why is sin so bad? God’s laws are living laws–they produce results no matter what we do. If we please God, He blesses us. If we do wrong, we cause harm to ourselves and others. We truly reap what we sow–either good or bad. The Bible gives many specific examples of how wrong actions actually return to the sinner in the same manner as was intended for someone else.

It is not God’s intent to destroy His people, but He deals with them as is necessary so as to bring about repentance. Israel would not repent and faced serious punishment unless they did. God urged Israel to seek Him spiritually, individually, with a repentant heart and a changed attitude. What about us? Do we sincerely seek God in this way?

Why did God allow Satan to try Job? Because Job was so righteous in his own eyes that he thought he should not suffer trials. He focused on what he had done according to the law and failed to see the intent in his own heart. God says that there is no one who who doesn’t sin. God had to bring Job to repent of his self-righteousness so that he could eventually be in the Kingdom. God also works with us through various trials so that we can learn the lessons that we need to learn in order to be in His Kingdom.

After Christ died and was resurrected, He still had to be accepted by the Father, as represented by the Wave Sheaf Offering. He was the FIRST of the firstfruits. In Ancient Israel, the firstfruits of the early harvest were given to the Levites–the priesthood. We who are spriritual Israel today–spiritual firstfruits–BELONG to Christ. God intends that we make use of His gifts to us–His Word and His Spirit–to make changes in our life. What changes? Putting sin OUT! God is in the process of enlarging His family, and He will not allow sin to come before Him!

Job was “blameless and upright, and one who feared God and shunned evil.” Why, then, did he suffer such affliction? While Job’s friends groped for answers to this question, Job sought only to justify his own righteousness. He had, in fact, become proud of his righteousness, but failed to see that that was his problem.

The people of ancient Israel (descendants of the 12 sons of Jacob) were a people who were chosen by God for a special purpose. However, they turned against God, becoming self-centered, covetous, and inflicting social injustice. Amos brought a warning message from God about their impending punishment if they didn’t repent and change their ways. There is a parallel lesson for true Christians today, who are called “the Israel of God.” Judgment is now on us and we must repent and to turn to Him before it is too late.

Sin is like a drug–it never satisfies–and its grip on us is totally destructive. Sin destroys the will–the mental faculty by which the mind makes choices and then carries out the choice. We can become hardened and calloused to the fact that we are even sinning. But God has called us to RULE OVER SIN. Just how can we do that? This sermon will help you understand the nature of sin and how to put it out of your physical life, indeed, for the sake of your eternal life.

God used Amos to warn Israel of the error of their ways. They had become wealthy and prosperous but instead of setting the right example for the nations around them so that they, in turn, might learn about God’s way, Israel had became corrupt and idolatrous, mixing truth with error. This book could just as well have been written to the end-time churches of Philadelphia and Laodicea.

Jesus Christ, as a human being, was sinless. He died so that OUR sins would be forgiven and so that we would be reconciled to God. Why was this necessary? What does His sacrifice mean to you? This message will deepen your understanding and your appreciation of the mercy God extends to us through the sacrifice of His Son.