1 Samuel 15:1-9 – What Does Sin Look Like? – Bible study

1Sam 15:1-9 What Does Sin Look Like? One of the most common topics that real preachers mention is the topic of sin. Granted, many pastors do not mention it much any more but I am speaking today of the true ministers, Yet many do not have a clear understanding of what sin looks like. Lets study it a bit this morning. I. \#1-3\ Directions A. God, through Samuel, gave King Saul some directions, some instructions. B. God told Saul to destroy, to exterminate the people of Amalek. 1. I know that seems extreme. However, there are some things you need to know. a. They were sinners. Romans 6:23 The wages of sin is death. b. The Amalekites had declared war on God and His people. (1) They had attacked the old and weak of Israel. Deut 25:17 Remember what Amalek did unto thee by the way, when ye were come forth out of Egypt; 18 How he met thee by the way, and smote the hindmost of thee, even all that were feeble behind thee, when thou wast faint and weary; and he feared not God. 19 Therefore it shall be, when the LORD thy God hath given thee rest from all thine enemies round about, in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance to possess it, that thou shalt blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven; thou shalt not forget it. (2) \#Ex 17:8-14\ They had directly attacked Israel. (3) Friend, you cannot declare war on God and win! 2. God had told Israel that for these acts, they would one day completely destroy Amalek. a. \#1Sam 15:1-9\ is Amaleks payday. b. What is the wage of sin? It is always the same price, death. 3. There is something else of interest to me. a. By my calculations, at least 330 years have passed since Amalek had committed their sins against Israel. b. For some reason, people think that if God doesnt execute judgment quickly, He forfeits the right. (1) Not so. All sin will be judged. It is up to God when and how He does it. (2) Why does God wait? Mercy. (3) God often gives people the opportunity to either justify His mercy or to justify His sentence. C. The first sin in this chapter is the sin of the Amalekites. D. By the way, there is an important political lesson to be learned. 1. Do not go against Gods people, especially if you are in the wrong. 2. God has a standing promise to the Jews. Ge 12:3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: II. \#4-9\ Disobedience A. Events: 1. \#4-5\ Saul set out to do what God told him. 2. \#6\ Saul rightfully showed mercy to the Kenites. Many in that region of the world are nomads. They live in tents and just travel around, staying mostly to themselves but temporarily joining groups as it serves them. The Kenites had temporarily joined the Amalekites and Saul gave them an opportunity to leave. 3. \#7\ Saul began the attack. 4. \#8\ But Saul spared the king, Agag. If the account stopped here, we might could give Saul the benefit of the doubt because the kings were often saved to die until LAST. 5. \#9\ However, this settles it. a. "Saul and the people" spared the king and the best of the livestock. b. These two together to disobey God. Whether Saul lead them to this thought, whether they lead Saul to it, or whether they all came to the idea at the same time does not matter. They disobeyed God. B. What is sin? Sin looks like disobedience to God. 1. How do we know when we disobey God? a. Some things you just KNOW are sinful. Romans 2:15 Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;) (1) God wrote some rights and wrongs on your heart. (2) It is called a conscience and even though it can be seared and perverted so that it doesnt bother you anymore, it is still there and you could have know it if you wanted to. (3) Our public schools and television are desensitizing our conscience. b. And then there is the Word of God. (1) God wrote in a Book called the Bible the things that are wrong. (2) Most of the people of the world now have a copy of it in their own language. (3) And God continues to send preachers, radio waves, and the printed Word to the lost regions of the world so that. Ac 17:30 And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: (4) You need to get to know this Book. It is going to judge you one of these days. 2. \#10-11\ Notice, as soon as Saul sin, God knew about and had a sidebar with Samuel. 1Sam 15:10 Then came the word of the LORD unto Samuel, saying, 11 It repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be king: for he is turned back from following me, and hath not performed my commandments. And it grieved Samuel; and he cried unto the LORD all night. a. \#11\ It repented God. (1) Repent means to change directions. (2) When Saul sinned, God immediately changed directions. (a) God had wanted a man over Israel who loved Him with all of his heart; but the people of Israel had asked Samuel for a king like all the other nations. \#1Sam 8:5\ (b) God knew that was not going to work and He told Israel that \#1Sam 8:11-20\, but God gave them what they asked for. (c) Now God removed the anointing from Saul because of his sin. (d) From this point on, Saul would sit on the throne but God would not bless him. In fact, God would hinder Saul. (3) Notice – Whenever you and I sin, someone is going to repent. (a) Either we are going to repent before God or (b) God is going to repent toward us. (c) If we repent to God, God will forgive us our sin and minimize the consequences of our sin. (d) If God repents toward us, we are going to lost more of His blessings. Some cant afford to do without any more of Gods blessings! b. \#11\ It grieved Samuel. Watching people you love suffer under the bondage of sin is always heart breaking. III. \#12-15, 20-21\ Deceit. Sin looks like disceit! A. Samuel goes to confront Saul. 1. That is always toughfor both parties. 2. I have been the one both confronted and doing the confronting. Both sides are uncomfortable. B. How do sinners respond to their sin when confronted? There are only four ways and the first three are the ones most popular. 1. \#13\ We lie. 1Sam 15:13 And Samuel came to Saul: and Saul said unto him, Blessed be thou of the LORD: I have performed the commandment of the LORD. a. The first words out of Sauls mouth were a lie! b. Notice Samuels rebuttal! The evidence that Saul was lying was walking in right behind him! c. Sometimes liars are the dumbest people and, strange enough, liars usually think the people they are lying to are the dumbest people. d. Lying offends God about as much as any sin can. (1) \#Pro 6:16-19\ It is listed second on the list of Gods most hated sins. (2) \#John 8:44\ Jesus said it was the mark of those who belong to the devil. (3) \#Pro 19:9\ God promised it would be punished. (4) \#Pro 12:22\ God called it an abomination. e. Friend, anytime you feel the need to lie, you are involved in something wrong. f. If the truth wont hold it together (relationship, job, a deed, whatever), then its not worth keeping. 2. \#15, 20-21\ We blame. 1Sam 15:15 And Saul said, They have brought them from the Amalekites: for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed. 20 And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the LORD, and have gone the way which the LORD sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. 21 But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God in Gilgal. a. We pass the buck and blame someone else. b. This must be one of our most basic instincts because this is what Adam did to Eve in the Garden, "The woman thou gavest me did give me and I did eat." c. That is cowardly. 3. \#15, 21\ We justify. a. Yes, God, I did it so that I could give a gift to you. b. I dont know if there was any truth to that or not. (1) Maybe there was because God actually tried to teach Saul something important. (2) \#22\ God would rather have your obedience than your gifts. (3) The most prized possession you have to give God is to obey Him. (4) He does not want your things. He wants you. (5) Rebellion is really the heart of all sin. It is us refusing to obey God. 1Sam 15:23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king. C. Do you think Saul was helping his situation or hurting it? 1. He had simply gone from digging his hole with a shovel to digging it with a backhoe. 2. You cannot get out of your sin by denying it. D. \#24\ There is one more option and Saul did it last. 1Sam 15:24 And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned: for I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD, and thy words: because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice. 1. It is never too late to confess sin and be forgiven, but sometimes it is too late to confess sin and have the effects of your sin minimized. 2. \#27-28\ Saul lost his place and his anointing. 3. You say, "What did he keep?" a. He kept his life! b. The wages of sin is DEATH. c. Sadly, Saul did not learn his lesson. He would continue to sin until God finally killed him, but today, he walks away a winner because he walked away. IV. Deliverance A. For this story to have a happy ending, there needs to be some deliverancebut there is none. B. There is no deliverance because there is no repentance on Sauls part. C. For Saul, there is going to be DESTRUCTION. 1. Why? 2. Because he is "stubborn" man. God told him he was. 1Sam 15:23 stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. D. Stubbornness is standing when you dont have a leg to stand on. E. It is standing when you have no reason, no right, and no justification. F. Some think that is a honorable thing to do. It is a sin. G. Dont be stubborn. Do right. Repent. Trust Jesus if you never have.