I have a bit of “windshield” time on Sunday mornings as I travel between churches – I can listen to the radio from about 7:20 until almost 8; from a bit after 9 until about 9:30 and from 10;30 to 11. There are a lot of religious programs on as you can imagine and there are direct broadcasts from churches worship services. It is not an exhaustive sampling as you can imagine but I am stunned at what I hear, or better yet what I don’t hear. These Sunday morning samplings became so fascinating that I have actually kept a log to see if in any sermon or part of sermon that I hear during that time frame actually mentions sin, the forgiveness of sins or the reason that Jesus came into the world was to save sinners.
How strange it is that in these grey and latter days that we should actually have to tell people that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners and that the mission from the cross was for the forgiveness of sins.
Roman 5:6 For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 5:20 20 Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more,
1 Timothy 1:15-16 15 This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief. 16 However, for this reason I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show all longsuffering, as a pattern to those who are going to believe on Him for everlasting life.
And of course the angel message to Jesus mother and guardian – “call Him Jesus because he will save his people from their sins”.
Why don’t we hear more about sin in sermons or on television worship services? I believe the part of the reason is when we counter the negative reality that Original Sin is confessed as an abominable and dreadful inherited disease by our Lutheran confessions that has corrupted the entire nature of man. That becomes an affront to people; that becomes a stumbling block; that becomes a scandal. People deny original sin because it is unfair to acccept responsibility for a guilt is not the result of our own doing something actually wrong. The Bibles teaching of the total depravity of every human being. It tells us that the actual sins that we commit are the consequence of the deeply ingrained estrangement from God. The Bible plainly teaches that human beings live in total hatred towards God and within them is a strong desire to do bad things.
