What God Does with Sin

Nikolle Bauder • February 2, 2022

Notes from Minister Scott Sutton's message on Zechariah 5:


Have you ever been speeding or driving with an expired registration and you pass a police officer? You know that feeling of dread, like, all of the sudden you take on the persona of a fugitive… Oh no, it’s the law! Try to look normal! I’m not going back to prison!


It’s funny because you were not concerned about your law breaking at all until you got caught.


This feeling is similar to what Zechariah must have felt when he saw this vision of a giant scroll.


“A scroll likely caused Zechariah’s heart to skip a beat. As a prophet representing a generation returning from exile in judgement, a symbol of God’s chastisement must have been most alarming.” - Richard D. Phillips


On Sunday, Scott gave the example of what it might feel like if a random person handed you a piece of paper with all of your sins written on it. How would that make you feel?


Then imagine, if like the scroll in Zechariah’s vision, that piece of paper is 30 feet by 15 feet (a billboard!) that floats above your head as a curse. The curse represented here is the law. In the passage, the curse goes out over the WHOLE land for EVERYONE who has transgressed the law. It paints this picture where there is no pocket of righteous people anywhere in the land. There is no remnant that has somehow managed to do the right thing and live in perfect righteousness.


This passage reminds us that…


All sin is seen by God.

Recall the aforementioned billboard illustration. Imagine that all of your sins are spelled out on this billboard for all to see. Imagine then that this billboard hovers over you and makes your sins known wherever you go.


Eventually you think, “I need to go home. I can’t have my sins known by others.” So, you go home, but this 30 x 15” billboard follows you into your house!


Zechariah 5:4 says, “I will send it out, declares the Lord of hosts, and it shall enter the house of the thief, and the house of him who swears falsely by my name. And it shall remain in his house and consume it, both timber and stones.”


All sin is judged and punished by God.

God, in His infinite wisdom and holiness, is telling Zechariah that this sin problem will come into the homes of people and consume them. This is a picture of God’s wrath!


Thankfully the story does not end there, verse 5 says, “then the angel who talked with me came forward and said to me, ‘Lift your eyes and see what this is that is going out...’”


You can see the tenderness and mercy of the Lord saying that there’s more to see than just the giant billboard of sin.


Verses 6-8 continue, “...And I said, “What is it?” He said, “This is the basket that is going out.” And he said, “This is their iniquity in all the land.” And behold, the leaden cover was lifted, and there was a woman sitting in the basket! And he said, “This is Wickedness.” And he thrust her back into the basket, and thrust down the leaden weight on its opening.”


The woman of wickedness here represents all evil in the world. 


What does God do with evil?


Verses 9-11 explain, “Then I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold, two women coming forward! The wind was in their wings. They had wings like the wings of a stork, and they lifted up the basket between earth and heaven. Then I said to the angel who talked with me, “Where are they taking the basket?” He said to me, “To the land of Shinar, to build a house for it. And when this is prepared, they will set the basket down there on its base.”


This illustrates that all sin will ultimately be removed by God!


In this vision, evil is taken out by two stork ladies taking the basket of evil to Shinar. This same prophetic imagery is picked up again in Revelation 17, where (in verse 4) a woman “arrayed in purple and scarlet, adorned with gold and jewels and pearls, holding in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the impurities of her sexual immoralities. And on her forehead was written a name of mystery: ‘Babylon the great, mother of prostitutes and earth’s abominations.’"


Babylon/Shinar is where sin was taken and set up in a house, far away from God’s realm. It goes on in the next chapters to say of her, “Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the great! She has become a dwelling place for demons, a haunt for every unclean spirit…” And another voice from heaven said, “Come out of her my people, lest  you take part in her sins… for she will be consumed by fire and the smoke of her will go up forever and ever.”


The important question here is, how do we come out of Babylon? How do we come out of this reality of eternal punishment and step into the reality of eternal blessing in a place free from evil in the presence of our Heavenly Father?


Answer: not by works, but by faith!


"Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us - for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree" - so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith." - Galatians 3:13-14


Your penalty for your sin will be paid by you, or by Jesus.


Consider that flying scroll, like a billboard of sin, being snatched (like a bill) by Jesus and taken out of the sky.


Jesus paid it all.

Freed to Serve

April 28, 2025
Notes from Scott Sutton's sermon on Sunday, April 27, 2025. Sermon text: 1 Peter 2:11-17 This is the beginning of a section addressing how God's people now function in this world. It begins with aliens and exiles and continues with servants, wives, husbands, and finally, all of you. 1.) Our identity defines our actions. We are sojourners and exiles (temporary, passing through, not at home) We have a heavenly citizenship Actions We abstain from the passions of the flesh Keep conduct among the Gentiles honorable (our conduct is for the benefit of other people) Honorable conduct wins souls… sojourners, exiles, and soul winners “Peter’s point is that believers’ behavior creates a context in which people will listen to God’s word. He is not teaching that ‘good deeds’ in themselves convert unbelievers, but they establish an environment for the Gospel-word to do so.” -Barnett 2.) Our identity defines our expectations (Unbelievers will respond to honorable conduct in 1 of 2 ways) Some will speak evil against us as though we are evildoers Some will see our good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation 3.) Our identity defines our view of authority (Does anyone here ever just want to do whatever you want to do, whenever you want to do it? That’s why laws exist) Be subject to every human institution (for the Lord's sake) This includes governors and emperors (no distinction between good/bad) The will of God... by doing good, we silence the ignorance of foolish people 4.) Our identity defines our view of freedom Don't use freedom as a cover-up for evil We are freed to serve God Honor, Love, and Fear Discipleship Questions: 1.)Why is it so important to understand our identity before talking about our behavior? 2.) How might this reality impact your parenting? For real, what are 3 ways that you can apply that this week? 3.) How is good conduct a form of evangelism? 4.) What do these verses say that we can expect from others? 5.) How can we honor a government that isn't always honorable? Seriously, what are 5 things we should immediately stop doing and 5 things we should immediately start doing? 6.) What are some tangible ways to honor others? Love the brotherhood? Fear God? Honor the Emperor? 7.) Should we fear the Emperor?

Cornerstone

April 22, 2025
Notes from Ky Martin's sermon on Sunday, April 20, 2025. Sermon text: 1 Peter 2:4-10 Everyone must accept or reject Jesus. He is the cornerstone. We choose to accept Him as the foundation of our lives or toss the truth aside. When we come to Jesus… We become part of His People 1 Pe 2:4-5 As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, 5 you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. The cornerstone is The New Temple. From this we learn that following Christ entails joining his community, the church…The freelance Christian, who follows Jesus but is too good, too busy, or too self-sufficient for the church, is a walking contradiction. -Daniel M. Doriani We join a royal, holy, priesthood 1 Pet. 2:9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Because of who Jesus makes us. We receive God’s mercy Fallen man is not simply an imperfect creature who needs improvement: he is a rebel who must lay down his arms….Now repentance is no fun at all. It is something much harder than merely eating humble pie. It means unlearning all the self-conceit and self-will that we have been training ourselves into for thousands of years. It means undergoing a kind of death. Acts 17:30-31 The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, 31 because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.” Discipleship Questions: Why is it impossible to be neutral about Jesus? Why do you believe that Jesus truly is the Son of God? Do you ever have doubts about this? If yes, what are they? According to 1 Peter 2:9, who are we after we come to Christ? Why does Paul say (in 1 Corinthians) that if Christ is not risen, our faith is in vain?

Born Again

April 16, 2025
Notes from Scott Sutton's sermon on Sunday, April 13, 2025. Sermon text: 1 Peter 2:2-3 Why do our souls ache for certainty? We are so eager for certainty that we will look for it in all the wrong places. - Certainty in our Finances [show slide from news] - Certainty in our Jobs [Acts 17:24-27] - Certainty in our Health [Covid] - Certainty in our Abilities [Ecclesiastes 3:11 “God has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.”] “Things that have never happened before are happening every day.” -Morgan Housel In these verses, God gives us what our souls ache for! 1.) You must be born again of imperishable seed - We have all been born of perishable seed o Impure souls o Disobedient to truth o Unloving insincerity toward others o Lack of loving effort o Impure hearts - We are withering grass and falling flowers - The imperishable seed is the living and abiding Word of God o Does not wither o Does not fall o Does not let us down o It remains forever o It MUST BE PREACHED! But still, how can we be certain that we have been born again? 2.) If you are born again, hope will be seen in your relationships When your relationship with God changes, God changes your relationships! - Sincere brotherly love - Love earnestly - Put away… o Malice o Deceit o Hypocrisy o Envy o All Slander 3.) If you are born again, hope will be seen in your appetite for God’s Word - Like newborn infants - Long for the pure spiritual milk Discipleship Questions: 1.) Where are some unhealthy places where you look for certainty? 2.) Why do you do that? 3.) What were some evidences of your perishable seed before you came to Christ? Any of that still lingering that needs to be repented from? 4.) Why does Peter call the Word of God the imperishable seed? 5.) In light of the text, how would you describe being "born again" to a 5-year-old? 6.) How has imperishable hope proven itself in your relationships? OR How might it if you lean into loving others earnestly? 7.) Why does Peter tell us that hope will be seen in our appetite for God's Word?
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