During the previous two weeks, we sought to define sin, looking for a biblical definition of sin. Today, I'd like us to begin by focusing on a key characteristic of sin as we continue in our study of the doctrine of sin. And that key characteristic would be its deceptiveness. In Titus 3.3, the apostle says, we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient and deceived. Thus, prior to our salvation, we weren't just sinful. We were deceived by that sin that was so much a part of our life. But you know, the truth of the matter is, even after we get saved, we still struggle with sin and hence with its extreme deceptiveness. So today, I'd like us to begin considering five different ways in which sin attempts to deceive us. But before we actually look at the scriptures, would you join me for a word of prayer? Our Father in heaven, we commit this time to you and our simple petition is you would illumine our understanding and thy light help us to see the light. And this we ask in Christ's name. Amen. The first way in which sin deceives us is that it tries to deceive us in terms of what actually even constitutes sin, and this it does in a couple of ways. First of all, it tries to get us to rationalize it away. How prone we are simply to try to rationalize away our sin and several different ways we try to do that. First of all, sometimes we just plain excuse it. Notice what Paul says in Romans chapter two, verse 14 through 15. In this regard, he says, for when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these having not the law are a law unto themselves, which show the work of the law written in their hearts. their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts, the meanwhile, accusing or else excusing one another. He talks about the conscience, wherein God has written some basic laws and precepts so that nobody is without excuse, nobody is totally ignorant of God's moral demands and God's holy character and His concern for our holiness, because He gave us all a conscience. Now, based upon that knowledge, those laws that are written on our hearts, sometimes our conscience will kick in and it will accuse us, it will condemn us. But just as easily, Paul observes that often, however, the conscience does the opposite. It excuses us. We begin to rationalize away. We begin to make allowances. Well, in light of circumstances, what else could I do? Though, of course, that doesn't really count as sin. That is one of the most basic ways right there in which sin begins to deceive us as we begin to rationalize away its very existence when we begin to excuse it. It doesn't count in light of circumstances. Other ways as well. John talks about this somewhat at length in his first epistle. Look with me to 1 John 1. It presents to us here several ways in which we begin to rationalize away or justify our sin. In 1 John 1 in verse 6, he knows what he says here. 1 John 1 in verse 6. We talk about the phenomenon of minimizing our sin. He says here in verse 6 that if we say that we have fellowship with him and walk in darkness, we lie and do not the truth. See, John, he really is talking about this concept of minimizing the importance of sin. Well, it doesn't really matter that I've got this stuff going on in my life. I know there's some dark things here, but that doesn't really matter. You know, it doesn't really affect my standing with God. God and I, we're fine. We're OK. Pay no attention to that stuff in my life here. I can have this stuff in my life and I can still be OK with God. I can have this stuff in my life and I can still be a good Christian. God doesn't really care about that stuff. So we begin to dumb it down or to make it where it just doesn't really matter. It's just not that important. And that certainly is human nature. And so time and again in the Scriptures, we find the warning from the Apostle Paul. Be careful. Don't be deceived in this regard when we begin to minimize our sin. Let me give you an example of what I'm talking about. Look at 1 Corinthians 6. You might want to hold your place here if you haven't already lost your place in 1 John, because we're going to come back to 1 John. for some further observations, but it's a cross-reference here in 1 Corinthians 6, verses 9-10. Notice the wording of Paul here, and it's a strong warning. He says in 1 Corinthians 6, 9-10, Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. He gives us here, as we had observed last week, revisited this passage in a different context in defining the term righteousness or unrighteousness. But we find here then a whole catalog of areas wherein man deviates from God's standards. Remember, that is the definition of righteousness. Righteousness is conformity to the standard. You measure up. There's a whole catalog of areas where man deviates from God's standards. And can often minimize that, well, but that doesn't really matter. That's not really that important. It doesn't really affect my standing with God. And so Paul issues this warning. Don't be deceived. It does matter. When you deviate from God's standards in these areas, that means you will not inherit the kingdom of God. So stop rationalizing it away. It doesn't really matter. It doesn't really count. It's not that important. It is important. Your soul. Your soul. And its eternal destiny. is determined by whether or not you can measure up to God's standards. And of course, you can't. So he placed faith in the only one who did. And that's the Lord Jesus Christ. If you think it doesn't matter and you don't need to get saved, well, then you have been deceived by this very stuff that's in your life. Let me give you just another example. There are more we could look at, but look at Ephesians 5 where Paul again has to issue the warning. Be careful that you don't get taken in by the deceptiveness of sin, that you find yourself trying to minimize its importance. It doesn't really matter. Ephesians 5, verses 3-6. Ephesians 5, verses 3-6, the Apostle says, "...but fornication and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once made among you, as become its saints." Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting which are not convenient, but rather giving of thanks. For this you know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no man deceive you with vain words. For because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience. And again, he provides a representative list of things here that we need to be careful about. In verse 3, various forms and expressions of immorality. In verse 4, dirty talk and profanity, unclean language. In verse 5, more immorality and a reference to covetousness. And then we get to verse 6, and there's the warning. Now, don't be deceived. This stuff does matter. It does count and it does affect your standing with God. See, how easily the world would think, oh, a little covetousness. You know, so what? I'm not hurting anybody by this covet. It's not like I actually stole their stuff, right? Nobody got hurt just because of what I was thinking in my heart, right? How can covet really be that bad of a thing then? As long as nobody gets hurt, right? It doesn't really matter. Oh, I'm ok with God. Or the profanity. They're just words. Just sounds coming out of my mouth, right? It's not that big of a deal. Well, that's not what God said. He says the wrath of God comes down against people who talk that way. It does matter. And when sin can get us to rationalize it away. Oh, so what? We're living together outside a wedlock. What's a marriage license anyway? It's just a piece of paper, right? It's not that important. Can't I be a good Christian and kind of live together with this person? No. It's sin. And if you claim that you're a good Christian, you're okay with God, things are alright in your soul between you and God, and these things are in your life, it's not so. Let us not minimize it. And turn our attention then back to 1 John 1, the latter part of verse 6, what does John say when he says, we make the claim that we're okay with God, that means we're walking in fellowship with Him. Everything's okay between God and me, and yet these things are in our life. What does he say in the latter part of verse 6? He says, we are lying. We're not doing the truth. It's not so. It's a lie. We have been deceived by sin. And when sin convinces us, well, sure, I'm a sin, but I'm a little sin. So much so it doesn't matter. So we have to be very careful about being dishonest with others when our claim is, hey, I'm a good Christian. My testimony is I'm saved. I'm OK. Don't worry about me. Things are OK between me and God. When these things are in our life, that's a lie. And will they lie to others when we tell them? No. I'm okay with God. A third way in which we try to rationalize away sin, John deals with, continuing here, in 1 John 1, verses 7-8, as we progress down to verse 7, he says, 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, cleanses us from all sin. Now, if we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves And the truth is it's not in us. You know, the truth of the matter is we're all sinners. Even saved people still have the old sin nature. But one of the ways, again, in which we find ourselves deceived is we try to deny the sin. We simply want to deny it's there. But the truth of the matter is, none of us is perfect. None of us has His act together. We desperately, desperately, desperately need the grace of God and the cleansing of the blood of His Son. Yes, we have a terrible problem, but the point is that Christians know the solution to the problem. You see, some people miss the point. They refuse to acknowledge the problem of sin in their lives. Oh, no, they say, I don't believe a sin problem. Sin's not really the issue. Yeah, I got some issues with some things I'm struggling with going on in my life. Oh, it's not a spiritual issue. It doesn't have anything to do with sin. Sin is not my problem. And thus, they are in a state of denial. And it's so often the case, admitting that you have a problem is the first step to getting help. And I often say it's very difficult to help somebody who doesn't want to be helped. And so we continue to deny, no, I don't have sin. Well, then we are really not going to be thrust at the foot of the cross. We won't run to the blood of Christ for the cleansing we desperately need as long as we've refused to acknowledge the problem. I was struck this past week, I heard the testimony of a student who had just graduated from Bob Jones University. He was sharing his testimony, how when he went off to the university as a student, as a freshman, early in his experience there, he was struggling a lot with a lot of depression and anxiety and stress. And he said, I wouldn't admit that there was any spiritual orientation to this for me. And, you know, in my case, yeah, I got depression and a lot of anxiety, but it's not a spiritual issue, not a spiritual issue. But in my experience there, they really stressed the importance of pursuing and developing a relationship with the Lord so that I was safe. But I really didn't develop a relationship with God. I was not really pursuing that. I was not spending quality time in the Scriptures. I really wasn't praying. I was safe. But other than that, I wasn't living in sin. But I wasn't actually pursuing getting to know God in a personal way. But they really stressed the importance of doing that in your heart. And so I began really reading the Scriptures and spending quality time in prayer. And you know what? Incredibly began to happen. The more I pursued my relationship with God, the depression began to go and the anxiety and the stress was gone. So he wouldn't admit that there was a spiritual orientation to it, but incredibly, the more he got to know the Lord, the less that was a problem in his life. But you see, as long as he if he would have continued in denial, like, look, you're a sinner like the rest of us. Just admit there are spiritual issues in your life. Just admit it. Then you can find the cleansing and the help of the Lord. But what John tells us in the latter part of verse 8, that if we won't admit that we're fallen creatures, we're broken people, we've got this sin problem, then what's true? He says in the latter part of verse 8, we are deceiving ourselves. We have given in to this deception. We're lying to ourselves. When we simply deny it. Continuing on verses nine through 10 here in 1 John, he talks about another way in which we tend to rationalize verse nine to 10. He says, if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar and his word is not in us. He's moved the discussion here from sin, the general principle of sin within us, our fallenness, to specific expressions of our sin nature in concrete acts, specific deeds, sins. He's moved the discussion from sin to sins, specific sins and deeds. And the solution, of course, is to analyze the specifics of our problem. To acknowledge, yeah, not merely that I am a sinner, OK, and I'm an imperfect person. Sure, nobody's perfect, who is? But rather to acknowledge and to confess particular sins in our life. What are the specific ways in which your sin nature has manifested itself in your life? So beyond acknowledging that we're fallen people, let us be very specific about the particulars. What are my sins? Because, you know, a lot of people are willing to make sure I'm not perfect. Nobody is. but they don't want to get any more specific than that. Yeah? Give me some examples of the imperfections in your life. Let us be concrete. Let us face up to and analyze the specific sins in our lives. But often, we don't want to go that far. Then we begin to redefine our sin, and that's another way in which we rationalize. We redefine why this wasn't really sin at all. This specific act isn't a sin. So, sure, I'm not a perfect person, but that's not a sin. Oh, well, that's not a sin. Well, then what are the sins in our lives? And the result is when we play this game and we begin to redefine it, so this isn't a sin and this isn't a sin and we won't confess. And that's what the word confess means. It means to say the same thing that God is about to call what God calls it. And that means calling it a sin. Instead of redefining it. And when we refuse to call certain actions a sin that God calls a sin, why now we're calling God a liar. Because God says those things are sins. In the previous two instances that John talked about here, denying sin and minimizing sin, in those instances, we are guilty of lying. We're lying to others and we're lying to ourselves. In this instance, we have the audacity to accuse God of lying. So we must be careful not to redefine it. And then finally, let me turn your attention to the book of James as one more example of the way in which we tend to rationalize when it comes to the issue of sin in our lives. James 1, verse 22. James 1, verse 22. James ultimately deals with the phenomenon of just plain ignoring it. Not dealing with it at all in any way. James 1, verse 22, he says, But be doers of the Word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. Well, we can hear the truth, but I've ever really applying it. And so you're not really applying the truth of the Scriptures to your life. Then there are areas in your life that need work or sins that need to be confessed and repented of. But if we never actually become doers of the word, then we're just we're just leaving that sin unaddressed. How easy it is for people to come to a church service and listen politely, politely and respectfully to the preaching of God's word, shake the preacher's hand on the way out the door and then leave and nothing in their life changes. They listen politely, but nothing in their life actually changes. And they don't actually take the stuff to heart and say, OK, this week, how can I apply this principle? How can I do better this week in my life? By God's grace and the power of His Spirit, of course. How can I address some of these issues in my life? Now, if you're not consciously, intentionally trying to apply God's Word to your life, then you're really just ignoring the sin and those issues in your life that need work. And coming down to verse 26, verse 26 here in James 1, notice what he goes on to tell us, that if any man among you seem to be religious and bridle not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain. James is reminded that again, you can seem to be religious and you can go through all the motions, but if you're not really making progress in your life, for example, if you're not dealing with the area of your speech and who doesn't need to work on the area of his speech and bridling his tongue, then you are deceived. You've deceived your own heart. Once again, you've been deceived by sin. So these are examples of how sin deceives us, gets us to rationalize it away by excusing it and making allowances for it, you know, in light of circumstances or minimizing its importance. Well, I can have these things in my life and still be in fellowship with God or just flat denying it. Well, I don't really have, you know, I'm not a fallen, broken creature. I just won't face up to my fallenness. or redefining specific things and activities in our life. Well, those aren't really sins. Those don't count as sins or sometimes just plain ignoring it. Those are all ways in which sin can deceive us. It gets us to rationalize it away in one fashion or other and make it not even a matter of concern. But another way in which sin deceives us is the fact that sometimes it just plain keeps us in the dark. We're sometimes just plain ignorant. Let me turn your attention to Numbers chapter 15 in this regard. The law of Moses, of course, recognizes that this is a part of the human condition, and it's a reality of something that we struggle with because of our fallenness, because of our fallen nature. And sometimes we are just plain ignorant. Numbers 15, verses 27 through 28, talks then about the fact that ignorance plays a role in our sin. Numbers 15, verses 27 through 28, he says, If any soul sin through ignorance, Then he shall bring a she-goat of the first year for a sin offering. And the priest shall make an atonement for the soul that sinneth ignorantly, when he sinneth by ignorance before the Lord, to make an atonement for him, and it shall be forgiven him. Notice he speaks several times here of sinning through ignorance. And the Hebrew term we translate as ignorance can mean one of two things, though the ideas kind of overlap and they're related. First of all, it can mean that the sin is unintentional. Meaning, we weren't being consciously defiant and rebellious against God. I just wasn't thinking. This was not a premeditated act of sin. It's the type of thing that if I were asked in a thoughtful moment, I might honestly reflect and acknowledge, well, yes, that would be a wrong thing to do or wrong way to respond in this circumstance. But perhaps we didn't stop to think and we didn't reflect and we gave in in a moment of weakness or a moment of temptation. That would be one idea that is conveyed by the word or translated as ignorance. It's unintentional. But it can also just plain mean ignorance in the sense that we just don't know it all. Later, I might have become informed and it's like, oh, I didn't realize that was a violation of the Law of Moses. You mean we're not supposed to do that? It just never occurred to me. If I had not had some clear instruction in the Scriptures, I just honestly wouldn't have known I was wrong. And even with the most thoughtful reflection, it wouldn't have occurred to me that that's something God doesn't want us doing. It just doesn't strike me as a bad thing. And so, ignorance in the truest and purest sense of the term. Let me turn your attention to Psalm 19, the prayer of the psalmist, where the psalmist recognizes again that owing to his fallenness, ignorance is a part of the human condition. And sometimes we sin in ignorance. In Psalm 19, verses 12-13, here then is the prayer of the psalmist to the Lord. Psalm 19, 12-13. He says, Who can understand his errors? Cleanse thou me from secret faults. Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins. Let them not have dominion over me. Then shall I be upright. Then shall I be innocent from the great transgression. Now, in verse 13, his request of the Lord is that you'll keep me back from presumptuous sins. The presumptuous sin would be the premeditated sin. That's the deliberate, willful act of defiance. And he says, Lord, please protect me from that kind of pride and that kind of rebellion. I don't want to be a rebel, so keep me from presumptuous sins. But back in verse 12, he brings up the concept of errors. And the Hebrew term here translated errors is the same term back in Numbers that was translated ignorance. You know, the question that he raises rhetorically is who really can understand all of the sin that he commits in life? Nobody. Nobody. The truth of the matter is we often sin and do not even know that we are sinning. We're fallen creatures, and that fallenness affects our spiritual discernment and our capacity to understand. So we all sin all the time in ways that we don't even know we're sinning. I mean, we're falling woefully short of God's standards and don't even know that we've done it. It's still a sin, of course. We talked about that concept last week. Just like the law isn't going to tell you. He doesn't care whether you knew the speed limit or not. In other words, the law has no excuse. He's going to write the ticket for you. And so we're guilty of sin whether we know it or not. But the truth of the matter is we often don't know it. And so in my experience as a pastor, I often hear people say, well, why does the pastor or the church preach against this? I don't see what's wrong with such and such. To which I say, of course you don't see what's wrong with it. Because if you had all perfect knowledge and had your act all together and knew everything, you wouldn't need to be in church sitting under the preaching and teaching of God's Word. Of course you don't see it. You're a fallen creature. And that fallenness has affected your spiritual perception. I don't think you're lying to me. You're right. You probably really don't see what's wrong with it. Does that mean that therefore it's not wrong? It's because you don't see it? Ah, there is a logical policy. If I don't see it, it must be okay. And so our sin nature deceives us to what even constitutes sin. We just don't see it. And that's why the psalmist asked God to be gracious then and to cleanse him in light of his own ignorance. There are hidden sins, sins, he says, that are secret faults. I don't even see them. But Lord, you forgive me and cleanse me for the things I can't confess because I don't even know to confess them. Look with me, if you would, at Psalm 139, because as we progress in the Psalms, we find then that the psalmist recognizes this is why we need God to enlighten our eyes and our understanding, to help us with our spiritual perception. Psalm 139, verses 23-24. Psalm 139, verses 23-24. You may recognize these words. They sound a lot like the song we sang just before. The preaching of the sermon for the psalmist prayer is search me, oh God. And know my heart, try me and know my thoughts and see if there be any wicked way in me and lead me in the way everlasting. See, the psalmist doesn't say, oh, I'll stand in judgment of my own life and actions, and if I don't see anything wrong, then, hey, I'm OK. No, the psalmist says, Lord, you search me. You examine me. You're the standard. You're the one with perfect knowledge. So you're the one that needs to be searching me and examining me and seeing what is in my life that's not there. And then, Lord, if there's any way in me that's wicked, he says in verse 24, leave me in the right way. Leave me in the way of everlasting. You show me what in my life that I don't even see is wrong and help me to go on the right path. And look at Psalm 90, the 90th Psalm in verse 8. We again come to this concept of recognizing that it is God in His light that has to reveal our wickedness and our sin because our fullness blinds our perception. So sometimes we are just ignorant. Psalm 90, verse 8. The psalmist says, Thou hast set our iniquities before Thee, our secret sins, in the light of Thy countenance. So what Moses says in this psalm is, again, you know, we've got secret sins, meaning they're hidden, dark away in the resources. I can't even see it. Unless, Lord, You shine the light. And it is the light of God's countenance. The light of God's presence that shows the sin. How then does God enlighten us? How does He shine a light upon our sins? Through His Word. It is through His Word that we come into fellowship with God. We pursue our relationship with God by spending time in the Scriptures. The more time you spend in the Scriptures, getting to know God, the more the light of His countenance reveals our sin. So this means all of us have to spend time consistently in the scriptures. It simply will not do just to be a good Christian. Basically, I'm living my life in OK ways. I'm not engaged in any kind of deep sin. I'm kind of going through the motions, you know, so no immorality, no apostasy. And I attend church regularly. And isn't that good enough? No. You have to pursue a relationship with the Lord. You can't just be going through the motions, well, I'm not engaging in a lot of sin, and there it ends. No. Christianity is first and foremost a relationship with Christ. Christianity is Christ. It's not just being a moral person and a good person. If all you've got is, well, basically a good person, you ain't got Christianity. You've got a works-oriented lifestyle that entirely misses the point. You've got what everybody else has in their religions, works. What you should be pursuing is a relationship with Christ. And the more you pursue relationship with Him, the more time you spend in His Word, guess what happens? It begins to open our eyes. The more we grow spiritually, the more time we spend in the light of God's presence, the more sensitive we become to sin and the things that grieve God. The closer you draw to the Lord, the more you see things you never saw before. That's why if you're a growing believer, you look back and say, you know, there were things that ten years ago in my life I was comfortable with. I was okay with that. But now, I'm not so comfortable with that. Why? Because the closer I've gone to the Lord, I see things in a different light. I see it differently now. That's what ought to be happening in a growing Christian experience. Your perception increases. You become more sensitive. Well, it didn't bother my conscience then, but now it bothers me. I wasn't uncomfortable with it then, but I am now. Well, that's only because you're closer to the Lord. The closer you draw to Him, the brighter the light shines, the more you see. And so we have to spend time consistently in the Scriptures. It is why also as believers, we have to be willing to follow the leadership of mature believers. They are further down the road in their life experience. They know all the bends and the turns. And and so we should be willing to listen to other mature believers, the elders and Christian leaders, not assume that we've reached some state of perfection where we have perfect discernment. And so, boy, if I don't see what's wrong with such and such, well, then I don't need to listen to him. Of course, a point of clarification of a spiritual leader such as a pastor is teaching unorthodox doctrine. If he's a radical or if he is seriously leading a direction in the wrong way philosophically, that's not a biblically, philosophically sound approach to the ministry. Then, of course, that, you know, that needs to be challenged and that needs to be addressed. No man is infallible and no man is beyond accountability. But if a pastor is doctrinally sound, philosophically sound, if he suggests an application of biblical principle to our lives, there's a general principle. Here are the specifics of the culture and the day and age in which we live. Let's take this general principle and apply it to this specific circumstance in this way. If he calls upon them to raise the bar, to maybe adopt some standards and some convictions in their life, then we ought to be willing with a due degree of humility to follow and jump on board as a part of a local assembly of believers and say, we're going to covenant. to have these kind of standards in our life and to accept these applications of biblical principle. If a believer instead responds, well, I don't see that in the Bible. What is that but pride and rebellion? A little humility on our part would do us all well. So I think the willingness to follow leadership of mature believers is important as well. But you know, unfortunately, this whole concept of the light of God's Word The more you're in the light, the more it exposes the sin in our life. I think that principle is precisely why some people don't read the Scriptures very much. It's why some don't like sound Bible preaching in God's Word. That's not what they want in the church. They might want a good music program or a very entertaining speaker, a pastor who tells a lot of jokes, you know, I laugh, I cry, and all that kind of thing. They might want a great experience in church, but they don't want a church that really just focuses on solid, meaning preaching of God's Word. Why? Because they don't want the light to expose them and their sin. They'll take a little Christian entertainment, but they will not have them and their sin being exposed. They want their sin. And they don't want anybody or anything, including the Creator, through the authority of His Word, condemning them or their sin. But you know, Jesus talks about that phenomenon in John 3. Let me turn your attention to John 3. where Jesus deals with this concept again, the importance of recognizing that the light exposes what's in the darkness. And then it's just a simple matter of what are we going to do with that principle? Now, John chapter 3, verses 17 through 18. John chapter 3, verses 17 through 18. Then we find the words of Jesus as he is talking to Nicodemus and dealing with him about the whole concept of the fallenness of human nature and why you have to be born again and can't just adopt a lifestyle of good works. So in John chapter 3, verse 17 through 18 now, here Jesus says, For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned, but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. Now, he makes the point here that Christ didn't come to condemn us. That's not what he wants to do. He wants to save us. But even though that's why He came and that's what He wants to do, the truth of the matter is, as He goes on to tell us in verse 18, is that some are condemned. It's not what He wants. He doesn't want to condemn them. But nonetheless, that's the end result. They are condemned. Why? Because they will not let Him save them. Why won't they let Christ save them? Why is it some people will not let Jesus be their Savior? This is what he goes on to tell us in verse 19 through 20. Notice what he says then as he continues. And this is the condemnation. That light is coming to the world. And men loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. For everyone that doth evil hated the light. neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved." See, now, that's the problem. I come to save people, but not everybody gets saved. Not everybody will come to me. Why? Because I'm the light. I'm the light of the world. My light exposes what's in the darkness, and they don't want what's in the darkness to be exposed. In the dark corners of their heart, there are things they don't want exposed. They don't want the light shining on it. They don't want to be condemned. They don't want that sin being condemned. But the point is, Christ ultimately isn't about to condemn. He's out to save. But the light will expose what's going to have to be dealt with. It's going to clean the dark corners of the heart. They don't want that. There are parts of my life, areas of my heart that are just off limits to anybody, including the Creator. And I will not have Him shining the light in that dark corner of my heart. This is why people end up being condemned. They don't want their sin exposed. And so they run from the light. Ever had this experience? You wake up during the middle of the night, and you're a little hungry. You decide, well, a midnight snack would be nice. So you get up to work your way to the kitchen. Every light in the house is off. It's pitch black in that house. But you reason in the pride of your heart, this is my house. I know my way around this house. Who needs lights? And so you start working your way to the kitchen. You'll bump into the wall, bump your shoulder. You stub your toe on the corner. You trip over the chair that somebody forgot to scoop back down to the kitchen table. In short, you fall and you get hurt, and it hurts to stub your toe. It hurts to trip over the chair, especially the older you get. You don't trip so well. Right? You know what? I'd rather just turn on the light. That's a whole lot easier if you would just turn on the light. Some people complain, ah, you don't understand. I've been in all this darkness. It's so dark. I just turn on that light. It's going to hurt my eyes. It's too much. It hurts. It's just blinding. Well, yes, temporarily it does hurt until your eyes adjust. Then it doesn't hurt anymore. And so, yes, temporarily it hurts. It hurts to admit our fallenness, our brokenness, our stubbornness, And our, yes, sin, not mistakes, not errors, not imperfections, sins. It hurts to admit the failure of our ways. But once again, salvation comes only to those who admit they have a problem. But once we own up to our failure and our stubbornness and come to the light, once we give it over to Christ, the pain quickly fades under the blood of Christ. And then we can walk in the light without the discomfort, without the pain. But alas, too many people refuse to walk in the light and rather stumble and trip, saying, oh, the light hurts my eyes, so I will not come to the light. And so we are deceived by sin, first, because we rationalize it away. We're deceived as to what even constitutes sin, often because we're ignorant. And sometimes we're in the dark. Sometimes we choose to be in the dark. And so we don't even know what constitutes sin. We don't see what's wrong with such and such. So we're deceived in that manner of not even knowing what it is. But I want to switch gears here and make a second point about how sin deceives us. It also deceives us as to the demands that it makes in our lives. Not only as to what constitutes sin, but as to the type of demands that it makes. This principle is illustrated in the Scripture by a simple little sin that seems so minor. Proverbs talks about this. Proverbs chapter 6. Notice in the Proverbs, chapter 6, verses 10-11, you see the phenomenon of just a tiny little sin, no big deal, but at the end, At the end, what are the consequences of a little thing? Proverbs 6, verses 10 through 11. Proverbs 6, 10 through 11. This verse really spoke to me this morning when my alarm clock went off. Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep. And so shall thy poverty come as one that trembleth, and thine want as an armed man. And those who like to sleep a little too much, those who don't have a strong work ethic, enough initiative and ambition. Oh, I do like to sleep. Yeah, I'll sleep in a little bit. No big deal, right? Well, the consequences are strong. Verse 11, poverty. I mean, it comes on with all the force of an armed robber. I mean, you'll be as broke as if a man had pointed a gun at you and took everything you owned and possessed. That's what will happen if you don't have a strong work ethic. It seems so little, but the consequences are so big. This is just a simple illustration of the principle that comes across in the Scriptures time and again, that sin only asks, and this is where we need to understand this point lest we be deceived by it. Sin only asks ever so politely and innocuously for just a little. Just a little. But it always takes more than it asks. Sin asks for the proverbial inch, but it always takes the proverbial mile. Do not be deceived by what it is asking. Take, for example, the matter of pornography. To some in our society that seems to legitimize this as a harmless little pastime, victimless entertainment. And that those that get involved in it are very soon and very quickly enslaved by it. Because they begin to encounter force that they never reckoned with and never foresaw. I often liken the problem of pornography to the issue like a fellow that, you know, you got a dog in the backyard and you've got a fence around there to keep the dog in. And that dog's perfectly happy and content there in your backyard. You know, he's got that great big fence. Why? He can't get over that fence, so he's just stuck in the yard. And that's his life. That's all he's ever known. And so you never had a problem keeping the dog in the backyard. But one day, you know, the squirrel is dancing across the yard and, you know, dogs stop chasing after that squirrel, gets all excited. Not even thinking, not paying attention. I mean, he's just all focused on the squirrel. Squirrel works his way over the fence. Dog jumps right over the fence as he's pursuing the squirrel. And afterwards, the dog kind of realized, wow, I got over that fence. I didn't know I could jump over that fence. Now, there is no keeping that dog in. You won't keep him in that backyard anymore. He's going to keep jumping over that fence over and over and over and over. You give him the pornography, you jumped over that fence. But you see, most people aren't thinking about that. Sends only asking for a little. They don't know they're about to get set up for a lifelong addiction. They don't know it's addictive. What about gambling? Oh, again, just a little fun way to get a little time, a little disposable income. But what they're not thinking about that though sin ever so nicely is asking for a little bit of their disposable income, what they're not banking on is the fact that that gambling creates a temporary high, that it actually releases chemicals in the brain. They weren't thinking about that. These chemicals that actually produce a sense of euphoria. And the problem is, once the bet is decided, once it's decided, the chemical effect is gone, they drop, they bottom out. And the only way they can get that high back is to place another bet, to live on the edge once again, to hope once again, this time, this time. And so the cycle begins and it never ends. I wish my poor aunt had known that gambling was asking way more than she thought. When she got into that so deeply, she knew there was no way out. She could see no way out. And so she took a gun to her head. It took far more than it asked. What about addictive substances like drugs and alcohol? People often rationalize, well, I'll only partake in moderation. But come now, everybody's different. Different height, different weight, different responses to chemicals and drugs. So any doctor will tell you anytime he puts you on a prescription, he has no idea in the end what are going to be the side effects. You can't predict that. You don't know. Nobody knows. Nobody knows how much of a given substance his body can handle and tolerate and what would be moderation for him, unless he has actually tried it. You don't know how that prescription drug is going to affect you until you take it. The problem is, for some, they are addicted to alcohol from the time of their very first drink. Like that, it grabs them. So, what then? Somebody tries and then he gets addicted. Now it's too late. You know, the best prevention for drug and alcohol addiction is never trying the substance at all. You know what? You just can't get addicted to something you've never ingested. It's not going to happen. But you see, sin just asks for a little bit. How often we end up in slavery. It takes so much more from our lives than we ever thought it was asking. And so you see, the devil, he doesn't ask to control us. He doesn't ask to dominate your life. He's not asking you to sell your soul and come into lifelong slavery to Him. He's just asking us to try it. Experience a little bit. Live a little bit. That's all He has to ask for. Just try it. Because He knows if He can get us to try it, He can enslave us. And so sin deceives us as to the demands it's really making in our lives. In summary, then, we've seen two of five key ways about how sin deceives us. We'll address the next three ways next week. But what we've seen so far this morning, first of all, it deceives us as to what actually constitutes sin. By getting us to rationalize it away or make it seem so insignificant, it doesn't really count, it's not really an issue. Or it blinds our perception and our discernment so that we really, truly do not recognize things that are sinful. And secondly, it deceives us as to the demands that it makes. It asks little, but always takes much. And so the question for you this morning is, are you willing to come to the light? Are you willing to have your sins exposed in the light of God and His Word? If so, then do you come regularly and consistently to the Word for that very purpose? The admonition of Paul, in Ephesians 5, 13, he says, All things that are reproved are made manifest by the light. For whatsoever doth make manifest is light. Wherefore, he saith, Awake thou that sleepest and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light. Are you coming consistently to the Scriptures? If not, why not? Why not come to the light? Is it because you are unwilling to be honest with yourself about your sin and be honest about your sin? Is it because you would rather live a lie? Which is truly easier? To be a hypocrite. Who walks about and stumbles in the darkness. or to learn to love the light. Let's pray. Our Father in Heaven, we thank you for the opportunity we've had to hear the Scriptures today and be warned about the deceptiveness of sin. Help us now conduct our lives knowledgeably in light of these warnings. Help us hear the admonition of the Apostle Paul not to be deceived. In this we ask in Christ's name, Amen.