3-Day Bible Reading Plan - “When Sin Makes Us Blind and Crazy, the Truth is Our Hope”
“Sin is a big word that the Bible uses to describe a brokenness and distortion of humanity that causes us to turn our backs on God’s original design for us and pursue meaning, value, and identity without regard for how God designed us or how our pursuit impacts other people. Through Jesus, we believe that this changes. We believe that when we place our faith in Jesus, he sets us free from sin and its entanglements. Yet, what many of us have found is that we aren’t totally free. We still have blind spots and places in our lives where our hearts don’t fully belong to Jesus, some of which we can see and some of which we can’t.” - Pastor Daniel Johnson, 9/15/24
Day 1
Featured Verse: 2 Samuel 12:12 - “For You Did it Secretly, But I Will Do This Thing Before All Israel and Before the Sun”
Cross References:
Psalm 51:4 - “Against You Only Have I Sinned”
If David’s sins were against both Uriah and Bathsheba, why do you think he confesses to God that he has sinned against God alone?
Matthew 18:7 - “Woe To the One By Whom the Temptation Comes!”
Christ acknowledges our sinful world, but says the greater evil is the one who entices others to sin. Why does Jesus say “woe” to a sinfully enticing man or woman?
Mark 9:42 - “It Would Be Better For Him if a Great Millstone Were Hung Around His Neck”
Being dragged to the bottom by a millstone is an illustration given by Christ as a greater mercy than what will happen to those who cause one of His little ones to sin. How does this sobering word-picture help you better understand the crushing weight of God’s wrath against sin?
“Jesus saw the realities of future retribution, and deliberately declares that death is a less evil than such an act. The 'little ones' are sacred because they are His. The same relation to Him which made kindness to them so worthy of reward, makes harm to them so worthy of punishment. Under the one lies an incipient love to Him; under the other, a covert and perhaps scarcely conscious opposition. It is devil's work to seduce simple souls from allegiance to Christ…He does not speak exaggerated words; and if a solemn strain of vehemence, unlike His ordinary calm, is audible here, it is because what He knew, and did not tell, gave solemn earnestness to His veiled and awe-inspiring prophecy of doom. What imagination shall fill out the details of the 'worse than' which lurks behind that 'better'?” - Alexander Maclaren
Day 2
Featured Verse: Psalm 32 - “When I Kept Silent, My Bones Wasted Away Through My Groaning All Day Long”
Cross References:
Proverbs 28:13 - “Whoever Conceals His Transgressions Will Not Prosper”
Hidden sin is the decaying fruit that contaminates the whole basket. It is a slippery slope, for where one sin is excused, others will follow until you and the world don’t look much different. How might allowing a concealed sin in your life keep you from God?
1 John 1:9 - “If We Confess Our Sins, He is Faithful and Just to Forgive Us Our Sins”
Confessing your sins and admitting you’re a sinner is humbling yourself before God. In doing so, you are agreeing with His judgment and asking for His mercy. However, repentance also involves turning away from sin. What are some ways to keep yourself from falling into the same trap?
Psalm 32:5 - “I Acknowledged My Sin To You”
Nothing can cleanse us from our sin except the blood of Christ and the mercy of God. Consider: there are two types of grief over sin. One worldly, the other godly (2 Corinthians 7:10). Only godly grief leads to true repentance while worldly grief is more saddened about having to give up their sin. The difference is what breaks your heart—that you’re a sinner against a holy God? Or that the rules say you can no longer sin? Examine yourself and ask God to give you true, godly repentance.
“A broken heart cannot keep secrets. Now is all revealed, now its essence goes forth. Far too much of our praying, and of our worship, is like closed up boxes; you cannot tell what is in them. But it is not so with broken hearts; when broken hearts sing, they do sing. When broken hearts groan, they do groan. Broken hearts never play at repenting, nor play at believing…with broken hearts, the hymn is a real hymn, the prayer is a real prayer, the hearing of sermons is earnest work, and the preaching of them is the hardest work of all. Oh, what a mercy it would be if some of you were broken all to pieces! There are many flowers that will never yield their perfume till they are bruised.” - Charles Spurgeon
Day 3
Featured Verse: Psalm 84:12 - “O LORD of Hosts, Blessed is the One Who Trusts in You!”
Cross References:
Romans 8:33-34 - “Who Shall Bring Any Charge Against God’s Elect?”
If God has forgiven, who can condemn? (Romans 8:1) Sometimes our biggest enemies are ourselves. What are some ways you might change the way you think to get beyond your own self-condemnation?
Romans 8:31 - “If God is For Us, Who Can Be Against Us?”
If God has declared us clean, nothing can make us unclean. Consider: Christ was the only man in the world who ever spread health through His touch. Since He has touched us, we, too, are now spiritually healthy. How might your touch spread health to others in Jesus’ name?
1 John 4:18 - “Perfect Love Casts Out Fear. For Fear Has to Do With Punishment, and Whoever Fears Has Not Been Perfected In Love”
What gives a Christian a lionheart for Jesus? Their fear of punishment has been removed. The only thing that remains for these is God’s abiding love. If the charges against us have been dropped, if God is for us, if no one can condemn, then indeed, whom shall we fear? What might you pray to become a lionhearted Christian?
“Those that truly love Christ, his Gospel, and his people, they are not afraid of men; the spirit of power, love, and of a sound mind, is opposite to a spirit of fear, nor can they stand together; and such strength there is sometimes in brotherly love, that the saints are not afraid of death itself, but freely lay down their lives for one another.” - John Gill