We have been looking at what a life of sin does to us from Jeremiah 2. The people had expressed the feeling that they were captured by their sins and it was hopeless to return to the Lord. In Jeremiah 2 God is describing to the people what their sins have done to them. We are using these descriptions to help us be strong in the Lord and combat sin. We are going to look at the final three pictures God gives about sin which we will use for the fight against Satan and his schemes.
Sin Makes Us Stubborn (Jeremiah 2:29-31)
A life of sin makes us stubborn against God. Look at what God proclaimed in verse 29. How can you bring charges against Lord when it is you who have rebelled against the Lord? The charges belong on the people, not on God. Please think about how true this is in our world right now. People want to contend with God. People want to blame God and reject God. But God’s response to us is that we are the ones who have broken his rules and rebelled against him. The problem is not with God. The problem is with us. But sin makes us stubborn so that we won’t listen to this. In fact, you know this temptation and you have probably seen this happen as well. If you confront a person about their sins, the typical response is that it is not their fault. Everyone else is as fault. God is at fault. Your spouse is at fault. Your friends are at fault. You will see people contend with anyone and everyone else. But they will not see that this is their own sins and their own problem. The problem is that sin makes us stubborn. You see this even in the world today where everyone else is to blame for their problems. We are right and we stubbornly remain in our sins.
But even worse, look at what God says in verse 30. God says that he punished the people but they did not respond to the correction. God says that you were so stubborn that you did not listen or respond to the correction I made. Did you have children like this? Did you parent children that were so stubborn that you continued to discipline them but they refused to respond? It is shock and head-scratching. Why keep suffering under the discipline? Just listen and turn. But God says that the problem is that sin makes us so stubborn that we cannot see how God is trying to correct us and turn us around. We need to let the times of difficulty turn us. We need to let the consequences of sin correct us. Can’t you see how your sin is hurting you? Can’t you see how your rejection of God is destroying you? Unfortunately, the answer is frequently no. Sin makes us blind and stubborn to the reality of our suffering.
God goes even further in verse 31. God asks a rhetorical question about his blessings. God has not been an empty desert to Israel or a land of darkness. God has blessed them and given them light in their lives. But what do the people do with God’s goodness and blessings? Look at the end of verse 31. The people take God’s freedom and blessings and say they will not come to the Lord any longer. Even though God has blessed us, we refuse to come to him. God has cared for us and is trying to correct us. But are we willing to listen to how God is trying to direct our lives and change our course?
Sin Makes Us Forgetful (Jeremiah 2:32)
The second picture God describes is just as strong and shocking. Look at verse 32 where God offers a great visual. Would a young woman making preparations for her wedding day forget to put on her wedding dress and wedding jewelry? I have been to a few weddings and I am sure you have been to a few weddings in your life. How many times has the bride walked down the aisle wearing shorts and a t-shirt? How many times has the bride come out without their makeup and jewelry on? The answer is never. The bride will make sure that everything is carefully prepared for her wedding moment. It is such an amazing moment that you prepare for!
But now look at the rest of verse 32. “But my people have forgotten me, days without number.” God says it should be completely impossible that we would forget him. The ability to forget God should be as impossible as forgetting to put on your wedding clothes on your wedding. But my people have forgotten. They have not forgotten God once. God says if you tried to count the number of days that my people have forgotten me, you could not even count them all because it has happened so often. This might be one of our greatest sins. We forget God. We forget what he has done for us. We forget his blessings. We forget his help. We forget his care. We forget how he got us here. We forget to be thankful. We sin because we forget God. Sin is thinking about me and not about God. The apostle Peter tells us that the reason we are not moving toward greater faithfulness and godly devotion is because we forget God and what he has done for us.
For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. (2 Peter 1:8-9 ESV)
Every day needs to given to remembering who God is and what he has done for us.
Sin Makes Us Live In Denial (Jeremiah 2:33-37)
Finally, a life of sin makes us live in denial. In verses 33-34 God describes who skillfully the people are going after sin. Innocent blood is on their hands and they seek after wickedness at every turn. But listen to what is happening at the end of verse 34. In spite of all the people’s sinning, the people say they are innocent and that God is not angry with them. Have you noticed that this is the nature of sin? Sin becomes so ingrained into us that we deny that we are even sinning at all. We clearly break God’s laws but we will quickly tell God or tell others that we didn’t do anything wrong. Or worse yet we will say that God approves of our sinful decision. Think about how often people justify their sinning. It is staggering that we can clearly break God’s law and live in denial that we did not do anything wrong.
Now I want us to carefully notice verse 35. Notice that God says he will pass judgment on the people. But look at why God will pass judgment on the people. God will pass judgment for saying, “I have not sinned.” Notice that God does not say, “I can’t believe you have sinned.” Rather, God says, “I can’t believe you think you have not sinned.” The problem is that we deny our sins. Denying our sinning is what makes repentance impossible. Denying our sinning makes us think that God will not judge. Listen to how the apostle John had to convince us of this.
If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 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 we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. (1 John 1:8-10 ESV)
John says that if we say we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves, making God a liar, and God’s truth and his word is not in us. We have no hope if we live in denial. But the more we sin, the more we deny what we are doing. The more we sin, the more we think that God is not angry at us and will not do anything about it. A life of sin blinds us from seeing the truth about ourselves which keeps us from turning back to him.
Eight Key Truths For Overcoming Sin
So let’s pull together what we have learned in the last three lessons from Jeremiah 2. These are eight key truths for overcoming sin that God expresses to the people through his prophet Jeremiah. First, we learned that a life of sin makes us worthless to God. The picture is that we are not fulfilling our God-given purpose. We are not doing what we were made to do. We were made to reflect God to the world through good works. Second, a life of sin is exchanging the glory of God for worthlessness. We are trading satisfying waters for broken cisterns that cannot hold any water. The life of sin is a life of complete emptiness. Third, a life of sin is a life of slavery. You are giving power to your flesh which is going to control your life. You will not be able to do what you want to do and you will not be able to enjoy what God has in this life because you will be dominated by your addiction to sin. Fourth, sin stains. The consequences of sin never stop. The pain of sin always continues. You are not finding freedom and joy. You are finding slavery and misery. You are staining your life with the consequences of sin. Fifth, sin shames. There is nothing but shame that will come from a life of sin. No one is getting away with their sins even though everyone thinks they are. Great shame is coming from your life of sin, not great joy. Sixth, sin makes us stubborn. God will be working in our lives to correct us and move us a new way, but we will refuse to listen. Everything that God will be doing to lead you to eternal life will be for nothing because we will stubbornly stay in our sinful ways. God will be trying to rescue us from disaster but we will stubborn refuse. Seventh, sin makes us forget God and all he has done. Sin blinds our eyes and clouds our judgment from being able to see the beauty of God and all he has done for us. So we will be angry toward God rather than grateful to him for all he has done. Finally, sin makes us live in denial. We think that we are not doing anything wrong and that God is not angry. We will justify our sinful ways rather than turning back to him before it is too late. Please grab hold of these eight truths and use them to fight the life of sin so that you will not be swallowed by the addiction of sin.