Sermon preached at Our Savior for the First Sunday in Lent, February 21, 2010. Text: Joshua 7:16-26
The High Price of Sin
There's a serious condition that afflicts millions of people, and more fall prey to it every day. You could be next, if it hasn't gotten you already. You know what I'm talking about: sticker shock. This condition typically presents itself with an eyes-wide stare, a mouth that drops open, and words being repeated again and again -- usually a variation of, "I can't believe they'd charge that much!" This condition can be caught almost anywhere, from commercials on tv, to car dealerships, to opening your phone bill. There is no known cure for this condition.
Yes, many things in our lives cost a ridiculous amount of money. We're shocked at the prices...though we usually keep paying. In fact, when prices stay high, it gets to the point that we're not that shocked anymore. You just eventually get used to paying that much.
I think that's how we tend to think with the high price of sin. Sin is missing the mark, crossing the line, breaking God's laws, his commandments -- any one of them, even just a little bit. Have you ever stopped to consider what the actual price of even one of those sins really is? It's astronomical. It's eternal. It's something not one of us can afford.
Yet we spend anyway. We spend and spend; we sin and sin. Maybe we think it's not that big a deal. Maybe we think, well, I already sinned once, just one more isn't going to make much difference. Or -- scariest of all -- we think, "That's what Jesus is for! So it doesn't matter, I can sin all I want! God will always forgive me..." And we use our Savior's love as an excuse to sin more.
Friends, the high price of sin is eternal punishment. The high price of sin is owed by everyone, and it must be paid. During this season of Lent, keep in mind what Jesus did to pay that price for you. Look to Jesus, not as an excuse, not as your license to sin more, but as your Savior from that sin. The price of sin is frighteningly high. But Jesus paid it in full for you.
Our text takes shows us an example of the high price of sin in this world from the book of Joshua. When the Israelites had left Egypt, walked through the Red Sea, and then wandered for 40 years in the wilderness, they finally entered the promised land. Once there, God commanded them to wipe out all the people who were living in the land. It was God's way of punishing those people for their unbelief and his way of rewarding the Israelite's with their own land.
The first military victory they had was a big one: Jericho. This is the city where the walls came tumbling down after the people had marched around it for seven days. God showed his power in giving his people the victory. But he had a command for this victory: after the people defeated Jericho, all the gold, silver, and bronze was supposed to go to the treasury of the Lord, and everything else was to be completely destroyed.
So after they defeated Jericho, they went on to the next city, Ai. This place should've been easy. It was tiny. The Israelites didn't even think they needed their whole army to beat it, just a few thousand soldiers. But when they attacked, they got defeated -- bad. Thirty-six soldiers died and the rest had to retreat in what should've been an easy victory. Why? What had happened? God finally revealed to Joshua what it was: someone had taken some things from Jericho that they shouldn't have. They needed to find those things, and the person who took them would have a high price to pay.
That's where our text begins. "Early the next morning Joshua had Israel come forward." (Jos. 7:16) This must've been some scene. The whole nation had to assemble before Joshua, and then they probably did some form of casting lots. (Of course, God was in control of the lots and made sure that they revealed the right answer.) They started with the tribes, and the lot came up Judah. Then they went to clans, then to families, then man by man, until the guilty man was found: a man named Achan.
I wonder how many of you are acting like Achan right now. Is there a sin in your life that you think no one knows about, that you think you won't get caught for? Is there something you think you're getting away with? Because you're not.
Sure, maybe no one in your life will find out. True, maybe your sin didn't lead to the death of 36 people like Achan's did. Maybe your sins wouldn't lead to you having a press-conference to apologize. Maybe most people wouldn't think your sin is a big deal.
But God thinks it's a big deal. God says it is. God says one sin is enough for death. He says, "the soul who sins is the one who will die." (Ezek. 18:4) But maybe you think you haven't done anything deserving death. God disagrees. The book of Romans lays out our sinful state: "There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one." (Rom. 3:10-12)
You are guilty of those sins. There's no denying it. And just like Achan's heart must have beat faster and his stomach must have been twisting itself in knots knowing he would be caught, we too are already caught. God knows everything! He knows your sins before you commit them! He knows your sins in thought, word, and deed. And what does he say about all these sins? "Those who do such things deserve death." (Rom. 1:32) Death, physical and eternal, is the high price of sin.
It seems so harsh, that price. It was certainly a harsh price for Achan. All he did was take one robe and some silver and gold, and because of it, he had to die. In fact, not only Achan, but his wife and children and everything he owned had to be destroyed. Joshua gave him the harsh sentence when he said, "Why have you brought this trouble on us? The Lord will bring trouble on you today." (Jos. 7:25)
It was so harsh. But that's just physical death that Achan had to face. Eternal death, eternal separation from God and all his blessings, that's much, much worse. And that is the high price of sin that is due from all of us.
But did you hear our gospel reading today? Did you hear about Jesus and the devil, dueling it out in the wilderness? (Lk. 4:1-13) The devil came at Jesus with all the temptations he could think of. You'd think he would have known better, trying to tempt the Son of God. But he didn't. He tried. And he failed. Jesus stood up to every temptation.
That might seem like just an interesting story in the life of Jesus, but it's way, way more than that. Because in that story, you can start to see the high price of sin being paid in full. Jesus never sinned! He never gave in, like we do. He had no secret sins, like we do. He never tried to hide, like we do; he had nothing to hide about. No, instead, he faced the temptation and won!
And then, as we will be thinking about this Lenten season, Jesus went to the cross. He didn't hide, but he went to pay for sins he didn't commit. He paid for your sins, and he paid for mine. The high price for sin was paid in full.
Does this mean your sins don't matter? No. It means your sins matter so much that Jesus gave his life for them. Like Achan, none of us can be sure how long our life, our time of grace in this world, will be. But as of right now, we all still have time in this world. We can still put those sins behind us. We can still look to God's mercy. By the grace of God, we can still trust that Jesus has paid those sins in full.
It's easy if you think of this little rhyme: in Lent, remember to repent. In Lent, remember to repent. Remember your sins. Remember how Jesus paid their price. Trust in his forgiveness, and then get rid of those sins in your life. Those secret sins that you hope no one finds out about -- God already knows, and he's forgiven you. Now turn to his forgiveness and live! Those sins you've committed already today? God knows them, and in Christ he's forgiven them. Repent and believe the good news! In Lent, remember to repent!
I hope that this season of Lent will give you lots of opportunity to reflect on what Jesus did for you. But remember, Lent isn't about feeling sorry for Jesus. It's about feeling sorry for your sins, and rejoicing that Jesus did something about it. No sin is too big for him. Jesus took the high price of sin -- your sin and mine -- and he paid it in full. Live in the assurance of that forgiveness now and forever.
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