When Sin Destroys

If you have your Bibles, turn to Genesis chapter 6.

Genesis 6 · chapter mention

Genesis chapter 6.

Genesis 6 · chapter mention

We've been blessed so much in music, we can just go home now.

But we're not.

It began with an innocent Adam and Eve.

Then they wasn't innocent anymore.

Sent it in.

And then it hit the next generation with Cain and Abel.

And it didn't stop there.

It continues.

Like a snowball rolling downhill, the impact of sin just kept getting larger.

Destroying more lives.

It led to future generations.

Not only being born into a sinful atmosphere, but born into sin.

With innate appetites that poisoned, that were poisoned with wrong motives.

And misguided ventures.

And the consequences of all of that were huge.

The consequences of all of that are huge.

The evil of the day is explained along with a significant development that makes matters that much worse.

In Genesis chapter 6.

Genesis 6 · chapter mention

Beginning in verse 1.

And it says this.

When man began to multiply on the face of the land and daughters were born to them.

The sons of God saw that the daughters of man were attractive.

And they took as their wives as they chose.

Then the Lord said,

My spirit shall not abide in man forever, for he is flesh.

His days shall be 120 years.

The Neaphalom were on the earth in those days.

And also afterward, when the sons of God came into the daughters of man, and they bore children.

These were the mighty men were of old, the men of renown.

The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth.

And that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth.

And it grieved him to his heart.

So the Lord said,

I'll blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land.

Man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens.

For I am sorry that I've made him.

I don't want you to miss verse 5 in that passage.

Because I believe it is the most significant of what I just read.

When it says,

It says,

The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth.

And that every intention of the thoughts of the heart was only evil continually.

I believe it's significant when understanding what went wrong.

However,

I'm not going to avoid verses 1 through 4.

It is further evidence of the persistent evil that was in the land.

And it is hard to understand.

And I'll be honest.

It is hard to explain.

However,

I want to do justice to the word.

And I believe it'd be an injustice not to grapple with this with you.

And that's exactly what we'll do.

Because the difficult passages are in verses 2 and verse 4.

When it talks about the sons of God.

So who are these sons of God?

Well, there are two possibilities of who these sons of God are.

One of them is that they are strong, mighty warriors from the line of Seth.

We talked about Cain and Abel last week.

But after Cain and Abel, Adam and Eve had another child named Seth.

And this third son of Adam,

some believe that these are people that came from Seth.

Strong, mighty warriors.

The term sons of God were often used for kings and warriors in that day.

And so if that was the case, if that's what happened,

what you have here is an unequally yoked kind of situation.

Where you have godly people marrying ungodly people and bearing children with them.

If that's what it meant, good godly men went after the women of the world

and brought about an offspring that was even more rebellious against God.

And their influence was paramount

and played a significant role in the overall sinfulness of society.

Therefore, they are spoken of in that way.

God speaks against that often

and it is destructively sinful

to marry those that are not believers.

The other possibility is this.

That it was angelic beings

that came down from heaven

and married women.

That is much harder to understand.

It is much harder to explain.

But it appears that it has some scriptural support to back it.

For one, when the term sons of God are used in the Old Testament,

it is referring to angels.

We see that common in the book of Job.

Right there at the beginning and all that negotiation of Job.

We see him dealing with that

and calling the angels in heaven the sons of God.

There appears as well to be New Testament evidence

that this is the case.

That this really happened.

Some have said that 2 Peter 2, verse 4 speaks of this.

2 Peter 2:4

When it says,

Now you look at me and say,

Well, preacher, how do you know that's talking about Genesis 6?

Because the very next verse mentions Noah in the context.

So there's a possibility of that.

Actually, Jude chapter 6,

not chapter, there's only one chapter in Jude,

if there's a chapter at all.

Jude verse 6 seems to point to that as well

when it says,

Now, I'll just be honest with you,

that's not easy to take in.

Because Jesus said in Matthew 22, verse 30,

Matthew 22:30

that the angels in heaven are neither married nor are given in marriage.

And what that means, frankly, is that the focus of heaven is not personal relationships.

That's really what that's pointing to.

Therefore, either this is a reference to mighty kings who God had blessed,

who in the midst of their blessing were filled with pride,

went after worldly women, and faced a disaster.

And that's what I call the Solomon syndrome.

Because that's exactly what happened to Solomon.

Solomon had 700 wives.

300 concubines, because who can live with just 700 wives?

And those thousand women that were in his house were from around the world.

And they brought their gods in with them.

And he was not only intoxicated with them,

but he was intoxicated with their gods.

And it says in 1 Kings 11, verse 4,

1 Kings 11:4

that he turned away his heart after other gods,

and his heart was not fully true to his Lord, his God.

And it was because of the influence of all those people in his home.

Now, that sort of thing is a recurring theme throughout history.

Makes a lot of sense.

Or, is this a reference to something that's not common?

Apparently a one-time, supernatural, unmatched event

when angels left their normal spiritual bodies

to assume an abnormal physical form

to cohabitate with human women.

It is interesting when you look into this,

because the book of Enoch is considered a well-respected historical work.

It is a collaboration that was written over a few hundred years

and put together, beginning in about 300 B.C.

Enoch, which we'll talk about in a week or so,

it was attributed to him, but he didn't really write it,

because it was written thousands of years after Enoch lived.

So I want to be clear about something.

The book of Enoch is not inspired by God.

It does contain error.

It is not God-breathed.

It is not authoritative,

but it does really make this conversation interesting,

because it was an often referred-to book when it was written.

And Enoch says this,

And it came to pass,

when the children of men had multiplied,

that in those days were born upon them beautiful and comely daughters.

And the angels, the children of heaven,

saw and lusted after them,

and said to one another,

Come, let us choose us wives from among the children of men,

and beget us children.

They were in all two hundred.

They, like unto themselves wives,

and each chose for himself one,

and they began to go in unto them,

and defile themselves with them,

and they taught them charms and enchantments,

and they became pregnant,

and they bare great giants,

whose heights were three thousand ales,

and there arose much godlessness,

and they committed fornication,

and they were led astray,

and became corrupt in all their ways.

End of quote.

Now, that describes the offspring as being hundreds of feet tall.

That is interesting,

but it is not inspired.

I want to be clear about that.

Have I said that already?

However,

Genesis chapter 6 verse 4 tell us

Genesis 6:4

that from this was produced the nephalom.

The nephalom,

that's actually a Hebrew participle,

and if you look at the meaning of the word,

the meaning of that word is literally

the ones who have fallen,

or the fallen ones.

To me, that very well could be speaking

of the products of falling angels,

but it also could be talking about the angels

that fell themselves.

Neophalom also spoken of in Numbers chapter 13,

Numbers 13 · chapter mention

when Moses sent the spies out into Canaan

to check it out.

You know the story.

They were in the desert for 40 years,

wandering around,

lost like a bunch of Baptists that can't get along,

and spent way too much time

on a journey that shouldn't have taken,

but not long at all,

and spent that time in the desert,

and in aims of getting to the promised land of Canaan,

and when they got close,

they sent spies over to check out the land,

and when those spies came back,

most of the spies, except for two,

were scared to try to take the land

that God had promised to them,

because as Numbers 13.33 says,

they responded,

when they saw the people,

we seemed to ourselves like grasshoppers,

and so we seemed to them.

Therefore, the Neophalom

is sometimes translated giant,

because of that verse.

So no doubt,

the name shows

that although mighty and well-respected,

they did fall.

They are the fallen ones.

So what does all that mean?

And which is correct?

Well, I'm going to tell you this.

Either way,

it tells us

that demonic power

has too great an influence.

That's what it says.

Now, most say

that the angels

caused this.

I don't believe

we can be dogmatic about that.

I could pick either point

and argue with you about it

if you want to argue,

but I don't care to.

But what is clear,

and is a clear-cut point

in this passage,

and the point of this sermon

is this.

The cause

of their soon-coming disaster

was sin.

That was the problem.

A holy God

was going to cleanse

the earth.

That wipes out

the evil of the world,

but the flood

also changed

the atmosphere.

I believe a lot

of our geological marvels

that we look at

in the world today

are due to the flood.

Personally, I believe

the Grand Canyon

gets its shape and form

from the flood,

and such is that.

Not an authority on that.

Just telling you

my convictions.

In addition to that,

it changed the atmosphere

in which we live.

Humans would not live

near as long

as they had,

and the evidence

of that sin nature

would become

much more pronounced.

Verse 3 says

that we would not live

near as long.

We are weakened by it.

Our lives are shortened by it.

And I'm going to deal

with some genealogies

in the coming days,

so I don't want to get

too much into this,

but the genealogy

in Genesis chapter 11

Genesis 11 · chapter mention

shows lifespans

much shorter

after the flood

than the genealogy

in Genesis chapter 5

Genesis 5 · chapter mention

before the flood.

And with every generation,

it got shorter.

And by Moses' day,

the longest man

could hope to live

would be about

120 years

versus Methuselah

who lived 969 years

before the flood.

In other words,

God saw

what he had made

and he grieved.

What we see

in verses 5

through 7

is the portrait

of a father

watching his children's

mistakes.

We also see here

the real cause

of disaster on the earth.

And the real cause

of disaster on the earth

is sin.

The real cause

of disaster on the earth

is a sinful society.

And it is an

ever-growing problem.

And so let's look

at that

for just a few minutes

from God's perspective.

And I want you

to notice

what it says.

First,

I want you to notice

what God sees.

It says in verse 5,

the Lord saw

that the wickedness

of man

was great

in the earth

and that every intention

of the thoughts

of his heart

was only evil

continually.

What God saw

was the extensive

and intensive

nature

of his creation's sin.

Not only the depravity

of their actions

but also the state

of their heart.

It was to the core.

And when the Old Testament

refers to the heart,

it's talking about

the will of a man

or a will of a woman.

It's talking about

the understanding.

It's talking about

them being changed,

perverted of sorts.

in the midst

of how they think

and what they do.

In other words,

when sin is there,

it is life-saturating.

And in reality,

humanity has then

ripped the clay

out of the potter's hand

and tried to form it itself.

And God sees all of that.

People were attempting

to be self-made,

self-led.

It is a trait

in the accounts

of Genesis

again and again.

And being self-made

and self-led

is not only a trait

in the accounts

of Genesis,

it's a trait

in the account

of any generation.

You see it again

and again.

And sadly,

the sinful hearts

of humanity

has erupted

into sin

and it's like

a hot lava

coming out

of a volcano

that has erupted

and its impact

is rolling down.

It is influencing

others.

It is seducing

others.

It is condemning

everyone that it touches,

which is everyone.

I wish I could say

that the problems

of Genesis chapter 6

Genesis 6 · chapter mention

with the wickedness

of the world

was taken care of

with the flood,

but the reality is

the same is true today.

You want to know

why our world

is so chaotic?

The sin

and the sinfulness

of the world.

You all draw it

back to that.

When sin

is rampant

in our lives,

God sees it.

And I want you

to notice

the sad contrast

because we just

looked at creation

a few weeks ago

and every day

that God created

something different.

He ended the day

saying,

that's good.

That's good.

Now he looks at it

and in Genesis chapter 6

Genesis 6:5

verse 5

it says that

he saw the wickedness

of man

was great in the earth

and that every intention

of their thoughts

of his heart

was only evil continually

and the Lord

regretted

making man.

It's clear.

Also I want you

to notice

what he feels.

What God feels

and that's in verse 6.

And the Lord

regretted

that he had made

man on the earth

and it grieved him

to his heart.

We see

in God's response

his anger

is mixed

with anguish

but we also

see his love

for us

because God's

heart

was broken

over our sin

and

that's not

an old thing.

God's heart

is still broken

over our sin.

It is filled

with grief.

It is filled

with affliction.

It is filled

with disappointment

in humankind.

His hand

of judgment

will not be

restrained

even though

he loves

the crown

of his creation

which is us.

But like a truly

loving parent

God loved us

enough to discipline

and as a truly

loving parent

God was heartbroken

over what he

had to be done.

It was to show

his sovereignty

and it was to show

his holiness

of God.

And that word

grieve there

literally means

that he repented.

Now when we

repent and when

God repents

that's something

different.

But the true

meaning of repentance

is to turn

180 degrees

around.

That's the true

meaning of it.

Repentance means

to walk in one

way and then

decide one day

to change

and turn around

and walk 180

degrees the other

way.

Not 360 degrees

because if you do

you'll keep going

in the same direction.

But 180

degrees and to

change and God

changed here

radically.

The heart that

looked at his

creation and said

good now changed

his action because

God is too holy

to let it go.

That's what God

feels.

I also want you

to notice what God

says.

It says in

verse 7

Genesis chapter 6

Genesis 6:7

verse 7

so the Lord

said I will

blot out man

whom I've created

from the face

of the land

man and animals

and creeping

things and birds

of the heavens

for I am sorry

that I made

them.

God works

through life

even through

nature to take

care of the

source of the

problem.

and as our

sin not only

affects ourselves

and if you

think your sin

only affects

yourself you're

wrong.

Their sin not

only affected

themselves but

God's judgment

upon them

affected more

than just them.

And God's judgment

upon your life

will affect more

than just you.

So how can

God do it?

How can he

take the

creation that he

made and flood

it and destroy

so many lives?

Well I want you

to think about it

like a house

fire.

When a house

is on fire

only water

can put that

fire out.

And that fire

has to be put

out regardless

of what that

water may do

to that house.

They continue

to pump water

into that house.

And if it's

your house it

looks like they

continue to pump

water well beyond

what they need

to.

But the reality

is they want to

put out every

ember, every

possibility of

that fire coming

back and starting

again and being

stronger.

Like a mighty

water hose

God's discipline

comes quenching

the sin but also

leaving his own

mark.

He will rebuild

what has been

destroyed.

As a matter of

fact 1 Peter

1 Peter 3:21

chapter 3 verse

21 speaks of the

flood as if it

was like a

baptism.

Symbolically

removing the

evil and cleansing

the earth.

The flood was the

way that the Lord

cleansed the earth

from the continual

degradation of sin.

It was a temporary

fix.

It was something

that he would never

do again.

Peter uses

baptism as an

illustration of the

cleansing of the

flood.

And baptism is

normally used as an

illustration of the

cleansing that comes

to the cross of

Christ.

And do you know

why Christ went to

the cross?

He goes to the

cross because of

what he sees.

He sees a lost

humanity that has no

hope outside of him.

He goes to the

cross for what he

feels.

And thank God he

feels grace for the

repentant.

He's willing to

extend grace to us.

He goes to the cross

for what he says.

And Romans 10

13 says for

everyone who calls

upon the name of

the Lord will be

saved.

No matter how

wicked.

No matter how

sinful.

No matter how

dirty we are.

God can

cleanse us.

And it is the

heart of God

to do what it

takes

to cleanse us

if we'll just

turn to him

and surrender our

lives to him.

King David was

caught in his

sin.

The sin became

much greater than

he intended.

The ripple

effects became

much more than

what he first

thought when he

first entertained

the notion of

sin.

That usually

happens.

God

and in

Psalm 51

after he's

been approached

with his

sin

he approaches

God

and asks for

forgiveness

and he says

this

have mercy on

me oh God

according to

your steadfast

love according

to your abundant

mercy blot out

my transgressions

wash me thoroughly

from my iniquity

and cleanse me

from my sin.

I am thankful

that the same

God that

destroyed the

earth as we

knew it

with a flood

to remove sin

is the same

God that

sent his son

Jesus to the

cross to die

for us

to shed his

blood

to remove sin

from all of

those who

would repent

and come to

Christ.

I'm thankful

today

that no matter

who you are

no matter where

you come from

or what you've

done

that the Lord

Jesus Christ

will receive you

under himself

if you'll just

surrender your

life to follow

him.

He hates

sin

it's destructive

and God in

his response

will do what it

takes to remove

it.

It's such a big

deal to him

that he brought

the flood

thousands of

years ago

and 2,000 years

ago he allowed

his son to die

in our place

so that our

sins could be

forgiven

and it's because

of that

that I can

stand here

today

in the midst

of the sinful

society in which

we live

and say

our hope is

only found in

Christ Jesus

and you can

rest in him

and he'll save

your life.

What

can wash

away my

sin

help me

nothing but

the blood

of Jesus

what

can make

me

whole

again

nothing but

the blood

of

Jesus

oh

precious

is the

flow

that

makes me

white

as snow

no

other

fount

I

know

nothing

but

the

blood

of

Jesus

with every

head bowed

and every eye

closed I want

you to know

you can come to

Christ as you

are today

he's not

surprised at the

sinfulness in

your life

he's not amazed

by that

he's seen it

all

and he'll

take you as

you are

if you'll

surrender your

life to him

if there's an

unction in your

being at all to

come to Christ

today I want you

to know you

didn't bring it

about

that's the

Holy Spirit of

God reaching out

to you

impelling you

to come

telling you

to follow him

if you've never

given your heart

and life to the

Lord Jesus

Christ I

encourage you to

come today

surrender your

life to follow

him this

very day

I'll be happy to

guide you in

that process

maybe you're

here and you

have done that

but you've never

acknowledged that

through baptism

baptism is the

physical representation

of what Christ

has done in your

heart

and if you've

never made your

personal salvation

public through

baptism I

encourage you to

come to simply

be obedient to

his commission

and his example

to just simply

follow him

maybe you're here

and God's drawing

you to this church

you know this is

where God would

have you to serve

we'd be happy to

talk to you about

that to welcome

you in as one of

us maybe you're

here and there's

just stuff stuff

you need to deal

with you've been

confronted with

maybe through song

maybe through sermon

maybe through prayer

stuff that you need

to deal with lay

down before the

Lord I encourage

you don't just sing

through this hymn

and go on out the

door you settle

things with God

whether that's where

you are whether it's

at this altar or

whether with a

pastor praying for

you either way

you just obey God

as he speaks to

your heart and

life Lord Jesus

I love you

I thank you Lord

that you loved us

enough to do

something for us

that we could

never imagine

I thank you Lord

for Christ

and I ask dear God

that you'll help us

each one to respond

in obedience as you

speak to our hearts

and lives right now

oh God

move and work in our

midst as only you can

and it's only in

Jesus name we pray

amen

stand

moment

by

you

you

remember

Mariah

that you