Introduction: The doctrine of sin (Hamartiology) is one of the building blocks of Christian doctrine. It determines what we think about Soteriology, Theology Proper, Ecclesiology and Pneumatology. Paul begins the Book of Romans (chapters one to three) with a strong discussion of sin, that sets the tone for the entire book. You cannot really understand salvation until you understand sin.

In Romans 3:9-20 Paul tells us Five Important Facts About Sin...

I. EVERYONE IN THE ENTIRE WORLD WITHOUT EXCEPTION IS A LOST SINNER (vss 9-10).

• Men, women
• Children (Deut 21:18-21; Isaiah 1:4-6)
• Infants (Psalm 51:5)

• 18 ¶ If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who does not obey his father and mother and will not listen to them when they discipline him,
• 19 his father and mother shall take hold of him and bring him to the elders at the gate of his town.
• 20 They shall say to the elders, "This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious. He will not obey us. He is a profligate and a drunkard."
• 21 Then all the men of his town shall stone him to death. You must purge the evil from among you. All Israel will hear of it and be afraid.
  (Deut 21:18-21)

• 4 Ah, sinful nation, a people loaded with guilt, a brood of evildoers, children given to corruption! They have forsaken the LORD; they have spurned the Holy One of Israel and turned their backs on him.
• 5 Why should you be beaten any more? Why do you persist in rebellion? Your whole head is injured, your whole heart afflicted.
• 6 From the sole of your foot to the top of your head there is no soundness-only wounds and bruises and open sores, not cleansed or bandaged or soothed with oil.
  (Isaiah 1:4-6)

"Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me." (Psalm 51:5)

Americans, Germans, Japanese, Israelites Rich, poor, wise, foolish, educated, uneducated, upper class, lower class, politicians and citizens, city folk and country folk...

Our committment to missions at home and abroad hinges on our belief that everyone everywhere is a lost sinner and needs a Savior
Romans 10:11-15

• 11 As the Scripture says, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame."
• 12 ¶ For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him,
• 13 for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."
• 14 How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?
• 15 And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"
  (Romans 10:11-15)

II. NO ONE IN THE WORLD UNDERSTAND SPIRITUAL TRUTHS APART FROM GOD'S REVELATION (vs 11).

All the world's wise men. All the founders of cults and world religions. Confucious, Buddha, Zoroster, Mohammed, Mary Baker Eddy, Joseph Smith, Judaism, Christian Science, Mormonism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Islam, Wicca, Paganism and all the other isms. None of them understand the truth of Almighty God.

• I Corinthians 1:20-25
• 20 Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?
• 21 For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe.
• 22 Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom,
• 23 but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling-block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles,
• 24 but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
• 25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength.
  I Corinthians 1:20-25

Mankind knows there is a God. Mankind knows that God is great and righteous, from God's creation. But to know and understand much more than that, we must have revelation from God Himself.

III. NO ONE IS SEEKING GOD -- ALL HAVE TURNED AWAY FROM HIM (vs. 11).

The fallacy of "seeker sensitive" churches: leave off the cross. Take down the stained glass windows. Get rid of the pipe organ and put in a praise band. Don't let your building look like a church. No more pews, put in theater seats. No more hymns, sing only new songs with a beat, from the projector screen. Don't preach about sin. Preach about felt needs. Preach the power of positive thinking. Robert Schuler of the Crystal Cathedral in California is the foremost exponent of seeker sensitive churches: "Sin is the lack of self-esteem."

The Four Spiritual laws: #1 "God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life." Well, yes. But don't forget the 2nd spiritual law: "Your sins have separated you from God and His love."

People will seek God only if God is first putting that desire in their hearts, and God doesn't do it for EVERYONE. (Romans 2:4 and Acts 13:46-48 and Jesus' words in John 6:35-37, 43-44, 61-65). Man in his natural state WILL NOT SEEK GOD!

"Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realising that God’s kindness leads you towards repentance?" (Romans 2:4)

• 46 Then Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly: "We had to speak the word of God to you first. Since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles.
• 47 For this is what the Lord has commanded us: "‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’"
• 48 When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honoured the word of the Lord; and all who were appointed for eternal life believed.
  (Acts 13:46-48)

• 35 Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.
• 36 But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe.
• 37 All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away.
• 43 "Stop grumbling among yourselves," Jesus answered.
• 44 "No-one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day.
• 61 Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, "Does this offend you?
• 62 What if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before!
• 63 The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life.
• 64 Yet there are some of you who do not believe." For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray him.
• 65 He went on to say, "This is why I told you that no-one can come to me unless the Father has enabled him."
  (John 6:35-37, 43-44, 61-65)

And we need not try to create watered down "seeker sensitive" churches. If God has put it in a person's heart to seek Him, then that person will be looking for spiritual meat, for Bible preaching, for hymns that strike to the heart of sin and salvation. If people come looking for meat, will we give them watered down sugar water? I hope not. If they are looking for salvation, let's give them the cross and the resurrection.

IV. EVERYONE IS WORTHLESS (vss. 12-18).

Nothing we do is good. Our speech is corrupt, deceitful and poisonous. Our deeds are murderous, miserable and violent. We don't fear God. We are dead in trespasses and sin (Ephesians 2:1-5, 8).

• 1 ¶ As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins,
• 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.
• 3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath.
• 4 ¶ But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy,
• 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions-it is by grace you have been saved.
• 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-
  (Eph 2:1-5,8)

Our total inability and worthlessness is emphasized in scripture (Is. 40:17; Is. 64:6; Job 25:4-6).

• 17 Before him all the nations are as nothing; they are regarded by him as worthless and less than nothing.
• 6 ¶ All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away.
• 4 How then can a man be righteous before God? How can one born of woman be pure?
• 5 If even the moon is not bright and the stars are not pure in his eyes,
• 6 how much less man, who is but a maggot-a son of man, who is only a worm!"
  (Is. 40:17; Is. 64:6; Job 25:4-6)

Why then does God love us? Not because we are so great, but because His mercy and grace are so great. Why did He choose to save us? We are trophies of His grace that bring glory to Him (I Cor 1:26-31).

• 26 Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth.
• 27 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.
• 28 He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things-and the things that are not-to nullify the things that are,
• 29 so that no-one may boast before him.
• 30 It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God-that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.
• 31 Therefore, as it is written: "Let him who boasts boast in the Lord."
  (I Co 1:26-31)

Our generation rebels at the idea that we are worthless. "I'm OK, You're OK" was the best seller when I was in college. Since then we have seen many, many books about Self-Esteem, and how we should feel better about ourselves. But if you are a poor sinner looking for salvation, self-esteem is just putting a band-aid on a bloody wound. We NEED to see ourselves as we really are, to appreciate Christ's salvation.

We have edited at great hymn "At the Cross" (#188) and watered down the theology. (It should read "for such a worm as I.") "Just As I Am without one plea" really tells the truth (Hymn # 342).

V. THE LAW WAS GIVEN BY GOD TO SHINE AN ARC LIGHT ON OUR SIN (vss 19-20).

The law makes us see our sin. An honest reading of the 10 commandments shows us that we have all broken each of them. We are all sinners. We all stand condemned by the Law. The Law was given to make us hopeless in ourselves, and to drive us to Christ our Savior (Gal. 3:24).

"So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith." (Gal 3:24)

CONCLUSION: Summarize these five facts about sin...

• 1. Everyone without exception is a lost sinner.
• 2. No one apart from the revelation of God Himself understands spiritual truth.
• 3. No one of his own volition or goodness will ever seek God.
• 4. Everyone is worthless in God's eyes. We can never save ourselves.
• 5. The Law of God shines a spotlight on our sin, and drives us to Christ.

Finally: Rejoice O Christian! God has saved you through Jesus, in whom you have put your trust. Romans 8:1-4

• 1 ¶ Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,
• 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.
• 3 For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man,
• 4 in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.
  (Romans 8:1-4)