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.

Arm Yourselves

June 11, 2025
Notes from Ky Martin's sermon on Sunday, June 8, 2025. Sermon text: 1 Peter 4:1-6 Prepare to suffer Is. 50:6-8a I gave my back to those who strike, and my cheeks to those who pull out the beard; I hid not my face from disgrace and spitting. 7 But the Lord God helps me; therefore I have not been disgraced; therefore I have set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be put to shame. 8 He who vindicates me is near. The martial language indicates that discipline and grit are needed to live the Christian life, particularly in view of the suffering believers encounter. -Thomas R. Schreiner Some people won’t like you if you follow Jesus When a culture abandons biblical standards, when extramarital sex, cohabitation, and birth outside of marriage become normal, people attack the church for its moral snobbery and judgmentalism. Peter warns us that if we do take a stand, we need to expect slander, not applause. -Daniel M. Dorian This is one of the hardest things a new Christian has to face. Your friends liked you because you shared in “the same flood of debauchery.” It seemed great fun at times, but then you came to embrace Christ… But your friends have not… They will be surprised when you say “No.” -Juan Sanchez. Keep an eternal perspective Our outcome is glorious Suffering is good for us Let’s remember that suffering accomplishes God’s purposes. It exposes what or whom we are trusting (1 Peter 1:6–7). - Juan Sanchez Ecc. 7:2 It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting, for this is the end of all mankind, and the living will lay it to heart. Discipleship Questions: Verse 1 tell us to arm ourselves by thinking as Christ did about suffering. How did Christ arm himself for and against sufferings? What does it look like for us to do that? Have you ever lost friendships (or had them change) because you were following Jesus? Do you fear that we (or our kids) will experience greater persecution in the future? If yes, how should we handle that fear?

I Believe That We Will Win

June 3, 2025
Notes from Lance Shumake's sermon on Sunday, June 1, 2025. Sermon text: 1 Peter 3:18-22 Jesus suffered and died in order to bring us to God Jesus conquered death by his resurrection “A wonderful text is this, and a more obscure passage perhaps than any other in the New Testament, so that I do not know for a certainty just what Peter means.” —Martin Luther Problem #1 - he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison —Jesus preached through Noah to those who lived at that time (1 Peter 1:10–12) —Jesus proclaimed His victory to evil angels (see Genesis 6:1-4) Problem #2 - baptism now saves you —Scripture is clear - we are saved by grace not works —baptism pictures our salvation from God’s judgment through the resurrection of Christ “The waters of baptism, like the waters of the flood, demonstrate that destruction is at hand, but believers are rescued from these waters in that they are baptized with Christ, who has also emerged from the waters of death through his resurrection. Just as Noah was delivered through the stormy waters of the flood, believers have been saved through the stormy waters of baptism by virtue of Christ’s triumph over death.” —Thomas R. Schreiner, 1, 2 Peter, Jude —in baptism we are appealing to God for a good conscience "This appeal is an act of the heart looking away from itself and from all human instruments and calling on God, appealing to God, for grace to save.” —John Piper —in baptism we are pledging to God to live in a manner worthy of the gospel Jesus ascended to heaven and now reigns over everything “We can face suffering as Christians with confidence rather than panic, and hope rather than despair, because the road marked with Christian suffering is, no matter what its twists and turns are, the road to vindication and glory. The God who vindicated Jesus will vindicate you, and he will sustain your faith until that day.” –Juan R. Sanchez, 1 Peter For You Discipleship Questions: How does Jesus’ death and resurrection encourage us when we suffer? Why did we need Jesus to suffer and die to bring us to God? How does Jesus’ victory over death give us eternal hope? What are your thoughts regarding some of the problems in this passage? How does what Peter says about baptism elevate the importance of baptism? When were you baptized and how does this passage inform your understanding of baptism? How does knowing our victory is secured help us with all the things this life throws at us?

Who Can Be Against Us?

May 27, 2025
Notes from Ky Martin's sermon on Sunday, May 25, 2025. Sermon text: 1 Peter 3:13-17 Nobody can (truly) hurt Christians Psalm 118:6 The Lord is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me? Rom. 8:31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? The train of thought is as follows: “No one will be able to harm believers on the future day if they are zealous for good” (v. 13). Indeed, even present suffering is not a sign of punishment but of blessing both now and especially in the future, on the day when God rewards his people with eternal life. -Thomas R. Schreiner Honoring Christ Erases Fear Share your faith with strength and gentleness Embrace balance Be prepared to share The truth of the gospel is a public truth that can be defended in the public arena. This does not mean, of course, that every Christian is to be a highly skilled apologist for the faith. It does mean that every believer should grasp the essentials of the faith and should have the ability to explain to others why they think the Christian faith is true. -Thomas R. Schreiner Be prepared to suffer “I’ve spent a number of years in India and Africa where I found much righteous endeavor undertaken by Christians of all denominations; but I never, as it happens, came across a hospital or orphanage run by the Fabian Society [a British socialist organization], or a humanist leper colony.” -Malcolm Muggeridge Be bold! We will likely suffer as Christians in this world, but that suffering is slight and temporary compared to the eternal inheritance that awaits us. The worst thing that can happen to us is that we die and receive our promised inheritance. Can you imagine how emboldened Christians would be if we only believed what Peter is saying? -Juan R. Sanchez Discipleship Questions: Does the fact that nobody can (truly) harm us comfort you? What would change if we lived like we really believe that? Are you a more confident person as someone who knows Christ? Does your security in Christ embolden you to take some risks in life, knowing that the worst that could happen is death? How equipped / prepared are you to give a reason for the hope that you have? What would grow your confidence and competence in that? Have you considered joining Michael Clark one day for evangelism at the harbor? Well….you should….
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