This message is primarily for those who call on the name of Jesus Christ as their own Lord and Savior from sin, and serve as a Chaplain or a gospel minister in a jail, prison or a follow-up ministry such as a rescue mission – in the United States.
All Scripture quotes are usually taken from the New King James Version (NKJV) of the Bible, copyright 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. When quoting a text, any deviation from the NKJV text is placed within parenthesis signs (). These usually occur as direct translations from the original languages, or as notes from the original setting to help apply the text to today’s culture.
ALL CAPITAL LETTERS are sometimes used to emphasize words in a text, or to make a comment about a biblical text, or emphasize a statement.
Dear gospel ministers, I hope you are in the habit of listening to good Bible teachers on the radio. I can highly recommend at least five daily programs, which you can look up on the internet. The web sites should give you local stations and broadcast times. In alphabetical order they are:
1. “Grace To You” with Dr. John MacArthur “
2. “In Context” with Dr. Michael Easley
3. “Running To Win” with Dr. Erwin Lutzer
4. “Truth For Life” with Pastor Alistair Begg
5. “Verse By Verse” with Pastor Steve Kreloff (in the Tampa Bay, FL, area only)
They were discussing the most serious of all sins, the refusal to believe in Jesus Christ, which as I have pointed out many times, is disobedience to God. This is so because 1 John 3:23 says it is God’s command to believe on His Son Jesus Christ.
During the discussion, Bob Lepine raised an important issue by saying something like, "As I think about it, it occurs to me that a denial of sin is also unbelief."
This comment set off a round of discussion about our society today, and how just about everybody tries to blame somebody else, and give an excuse for doing wrong. This habit of giving excuses when caught in sin and wrongdoing is connected to human pride.
My experience in correctional chaplaincy ended over 15 years ago. When I started that ministry and throughout the 20 years of chaplaincy that began for me in 1973, I sensed the average inmate was more accepting of the fact that they had sinned against God than were people in the general populace, in "free society."
I am not sure if that still holds true in 2009. I say that - because the thinking of the majority of Americans has changed for the worse. Societal morays and values also have an influence on inmates. Today, it is A VERY RARE THING to find anybody who fully admits to doing wrong, without an excuse or a defense for it.
That being the case, maybe it’s time for you to raise the issue with your inmates or residents. Do they really see themselves as guilty sinners? Do they honestly admit they have offended God and man by their specific actions? Or, do they sort of admit it when caught and immediately offer up excuses and shift the blame to others, or even to "society."
The practice of blame shifting instead of taking full responsibility for sin, really began with our first parents in the Garden of Eden. Adam blamed Eve and ultimately even God Himself, because He had created her for him (Genesis 3:12). Then of course, Eve in Genesis 3:13, blamed the serpent (Satan).
Moving forward in biblical history, we see Aaron, the first high priest of Israel. He led the Israelites into idolatry. When confronted by Moses, he blamed the people and even Moses’ delay in returning to him, for his leadership into that idolatry. He did that in Exodus 32:22,23.
Yet another prime example of this bad habit of blame shifting is the first king of ancient Israel, Saul. This man repeatedly received God's instructions and commands from Samuel, God's prophet, yet he disobeyed them and ended up rejecting God as His true Master.
When caught in sin, Saul shifted the blame to others.
If you study this tragic person Saul in 1 Samuel, you will see his biggest problem was his pride and insecurity. He wanted to be top dog, so he was willing to disobey the LORD if he thought doing so would make him look better in men's eyes. When he did what he did to save face, or to enhance his reputation with men, he willfully forgot God.
When he was confronted with his sins of disobedience, the pride within him prompted the excuses and his blaming of others for his wrongdoing. Here are two examples -
1. He had clearly been commanded by God in 1 Samuel 10:8, to wait for His prophet Samuel to come and oversee sacrifice to the LORD at a place called Gilgal.
Then, in 1 Samuel 13:8-14 – he blamed Samuel’s delay and the pressure of the moment, for his disobedience and intrusion into the priestly work of making sacrifice. He did what he did by sight rather than by faith. Get this down and communicate it to those you teach – biblical faith always believes and acts in obedience to what God says.
2. In 1 Samuel 15:3 God explicitly told Saul to totally wipe out everything of the grossly idolatrous Amalekites. God said, "Now go and attack Amalek, and UTTERLY DESTROY ALL that they have, and DO NOT SPARE THEM. But kill both man and woman, infant and nursing child, ox and sheep, camel and donkey."
Saul did not do it. He spared Agag the king of Amalek, and many animals, probably the best animals. Then, in 1 Samuel 15:10-26 - he blamed the people (while the real culprit was his own desire to be admired, which is pride) for his disobedience.
Saul even used a religious excuse for his disobedience, saying the animals he was sent by the LORD to destroy were spared “to sacrifice to the LORD." (1 Samuel 15:21). In other words, "I disobeyed so that I might worship God!" In today’s vernacular, "How lame!"
Here’s a key principle - WHEN WE DISOBEY GOD, WE ARE NOT ACTIVELY BELIEVING HIM. God’s response to such a lame thing was and still is classic. Note it in 1 Samuel 15:22,23
22 …"Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices (an outward display of worship) as in OBEYING THE VOICE OF THE LORD? Behold, to obey is BETTER THAN SACRIFICE, and TO HEED (‘is better’ implied) than the fat of rams. 23 For rebellion is as (just like) the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected (this word can also be translated ‘refused’ or ‘despised’) the word of the LORD, He also has rejected you from being king."
So let me restate what Bob Lepine said on the "In Context’ radio program. A resistance to admit full guilt for our sin by blaming others amounts to unbelief. That is true BECAUSE GOD CLEARLY SAYS WE ALL HAVE SINNED. If we reject what He says in His word, we are unbelievers. If we refuse to agree with God we don’t believe Him.
There are many ways you ministers of the gospel could introduce the subject of denying sin or not taking full responsibility for it, but instead offering excuses for it. You really should introduce and talk about this subject with the inmates or residents.
I believe it is always best on any subject to start with God. We need His perspective rather than mankind’s view. He is the standard of reality and truth. He knows what is right and he knows the truth about every human being. He has said each one of us has sinned. He has said each one of us is guilty without an excuse.
As you teach, show your inmates the verses where God says they have sinned against Him. They are not hard to understand or interpret.
2 Chronicles 6:36 “When they sin against You (for there is no one who does not sin) …”
Romans 3:10 “…There is none righteous, no, not one;”
Said another way – if among humans there are none righteous, then ALL OF THEM ARE UNRIGHTEOUS.
Romans 3:12 “They have all turned aside; they have together become unprofitable; THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD, NO, NOT ONE.”
Romans 3:23 “…all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”
Romans 5:12 “… THUS DEATH SPREAD TO ALL MEN, because all sinned –“
Then show them 1 John 1:8-10. It says:
8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
10 If we say that we have not sinned, (point blank or by blame shifting) we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.
Compare verse 8 with verse 10. Verse 8 focuses on the self-deception of not accepting personal responsibility for sinning. Verse 10 goes further and focuses on rejecting what God clearly has said, which is a form of unbelief.
But, verse 9 is the solution for those that admit and agree with God about the truth about their sinning against Him. That is what confession means, agreeing with God about the sinfulness of our sin.
Look in our Chaplain’s Corner archives for the message given for April 2005, "Inmates Need To Take Full Responsibility For Their Sins." That message examines true confession of sin as seen in king David in Psalm 51.
Quite the opposite of his predecessor Saul, David fully admitted his sin and sought the all holy God’s mercy and forgiveness. He did not come up with lame excuses, but fully admitted his culpability in his specific acts of sinful disobedience to God.
That is what we need to do. That is what you need to urge the inmates and residents to do also.
Show them from God’s word that the difference between Saul and David was not that one sinned and the other did not. They both disobeyed God in sinful acts of unbelief.
The difference was that when Saul didn’t obey - he persisted and continued to disobey in unbelief, whereas David’s disobedience was followed by true believing and obedience to what God said to do about personal sin. That is to repent and believe, trusting completely in what He said He did to take away any truly repentant sinner’s sin.
God’s solution was to pay for it by the substitutionary sacrifice of the Sinless One who became sin judged for the true believer’s sin. Therefore again, 1 John 3:23 commands-
23 ...this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ ...
To "believe on" His "name" means to fully trust in who He really is and what He has done to take away our sin. He died on the cross fully paying for every sin of every true believer.
Another difference to point out between David and Saul was that David did not really WANT to sin, whereas Saul DID WANT to continue to sin by putting his selfish desires above God’s directions. We need to teach on that. Sin puts our selfish desires above God’s commands.
That brings me back to where this message started. We should ask, why would anybody want to deny what God says, specifically, that they are a sinner? The answer is - because they want to pursue their sinful lifestyle without guilt or correction. That is plainly taught in John 3:18-20, which says:
18 “He who believes in Him (the reference is to Jesus Christ) is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
19 And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world (in Jesus Christ), and men loved darkness (this means their sin) rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
20 For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds (his sinful deeds) should be exposed.”
Dear Chaplains and gospel ministers, implore unsaved sinners to agree with God that they have in deed, sinned against Him. Tell them: God in His incredible love now commands you as sinners to stop making excuses and to obey His command to commit yourself whole-heartedly to follow Christ.
Also, teach believers in Christ to repent of the bad habit of blaming others for their sin. Certainly, almost everyone they see around them in jail is in the habit of doing that. Teach them to repent of that, because when they do that, they are not believing God. Remind them of what the Holy Spirit said through a repentant king David, ”Behold, You (God) desire truth in the inward parts,” (Psalm 51:6).
Tell them this means God wants us to be HONEST with Him about our sin. He wants us to believe everything He says about it! He wants them and us to believe what He says about our guilt, and His provision for its forgiveness. Think about these things and teach them.
Rich Hines
Minister To Chaplains, Aurora Ministries
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