1John 2:1-3
The Sinner’s Rights
If you have watched much television or been arrested, you will be
familiar with these words:
You have the right to remain silent. If you give up that right,
anything you say may be used against you in a court of law.
You have the right to an attorney. If you can not afford one, one
will be provided for you.
These are a few of the rights of every suspect in the eyes of the
law. This morning, I want to talk to you about your rights as a
sinner.
Some may not think so, but God is very concerned about human rights.
So much so, that He has granted to you certain rights or privileges.
He did not have to grant these rights, but He did; and He wants you
to know these rights and to take full advantage of them.
This morning, let me give you some of your rights as sinner before
God.
I. You have the right to know the charges against you.
A. Every sinner has sin charges against them—every one of them.
1. God does not randomly choose some out for condemnation and
let others go free.
2. No. There are rights and wrongs and unlike our justice
system, they never change and not any of them are
secretaries.
B. The charges are listed in the Bible. Allow me to turn to one
of the better known section and read some of the charges:
Ex 20:3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven
image, or any likeness of any thing that is in
heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath,
or that is in the water under the earth:
5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor
serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous
God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon
the children unto the third and fourth
generation of them that hate me;
7 Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy
God in vain;
8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
12 Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy
days may be long upon the land which the LORD
thy God giveth thee.
13 Thou shalt not kill. \\#Matt 5:21\\
14 Thou shalt not commit adultery.
15 Thou shalt not steal.
16 Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy
neighbour.
17 Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house,
thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor
his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox,
nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy
neighbour’s.
C. Here is the thing. If you have broken one law, you are as
guilty as if you broke all of the laws.
James 2:10 For whosoever shall keep the whole
law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of
all.
1. God is not as concerned about HOW MANY LAWS you
broke or WHICH LAWS you broke as He is
over the fact that you BROKE THE LAW.
2. God’s standard is perfection.
II. You have the right to know the penalty for your charges.
A. It can be very difficult to understand the penalty for
breaking a law in our country because there are so many laws
and each can have several different penalties.
B. Understanding the penalty for breaking one of God’s laws is
simple because it is the same penalty for them all - death.
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death….
1. The penalty is tough and it gets tougher still.
2. There are two deaths.
a. As far as the first death, you have been dead every
since you were conceived.
(1) This is the death that God told Adam about:
Ge 2:17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good
and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the
day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely
die.
(2) That death is eternal separation from God.
(3) You and I are born separated from God; we have
lived every day and every moment of our lives
separated from God.
(4) If we cease to breath in this life, we will be
forever separated from God and our souls will go
to a place called the Lake of Fire and Brimstone
where God’s presence and attributes—such as
mercy, peace, and love—will be totally absent.
b. The second death is when we stop living and breathing
in this world.
(1) Of the two, we fear the last one most!
(2) The last one simply finalizes whatever choice we
made concerning our relationship with God.
(3) If the charges are still on our account when we
quit living, we will be separated from God
forever.
(4) However, if there are no charges on our account
when we quit living, we will live in God’s
presence forever.
III. You have the right to an Attorney.
A. That is actually what our text said.
1John 2:1 My little children, these things write
I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin,
we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus
Christ the righteous:
1. The word "advocate" means an intercessor, a go-between;
someone to plead our case for us.
2. This "advocate" is to represent us in the courtroom of
justice concerning our charges.
B. That Advocate is Jesus.
1Ti 2:5 For there is one God, and one mediator
between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
1. God sent Jesus into this world for several reasons.
2. One was so that He might represent you against the charges
of sin.
C. Not just anyone can represent you.
1. I do not know the requirements for being a lawyer, but I
understand there are some and they are difficult.
2. To call yourself a lawyer, you have to pay the price
and prove yourself.
3. Jesus paid the price and proved Himself!
D. We need to understand that there is no defense against our
charges.
1. We hover all sinned and we are all guilty.
2. There are no plea bargains or deals.
3. We must seek after is MERCY.
IV. You have the right to mercy.
Psalm 86:5 For thou, Lord, art good, and ready
to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them
that call upon thee.
Ps 52:1 Why boastest thou thyself in mischief,
O mighty man? the goodness of God endureth
continually.
2Pe 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his
promise, as some men count slackness; but is
longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any
should perish, but that all should come to
repentance.
A. Sinners are facing a hopeless case.
1. They are all guilty.
2. They are all condemned.
3. They are all separated from God.
B. But they have the right, the privilege of mercy.
1. Mercy can gain you pardon. That is, mercy can have the
penalty removed.
2. Mercy can have the case expunged. That is, the charges and
the record of the case can be totally removed, hidden out
of sight.
3. Mercy can grant to you more than what you deserve.
a. Adoption into God’s family.
b. Placement in God’s home.
c. These were things that even Adam and Eve did not have!
C. You also have the right to refuse mercy.
1. That is your privilege.
2. But if you are going to do so, please quit complaining
about God.
a. God’s penalty may be stiff, but the same God who
decided the penalty also paid it.
b. If you refused it, you should bemoan your foolishness
not God’s justice.
3. I have noticed that the people who complain about God
being unfair and harsh are the ones who know about the
sin and the Savior and refused it!
a. If anyone has a legitimate problem with God’s justice,
it would be those who do not know about sin and
mercy; but they don’t complain because they don’t
know.
b. If you exercise your right to refuse mercy, please do
God the courtesy of keeping your whining to
yourself.
D. On what grounds can this mercy be applied?
V. You have the right to a Savior.
A. Your Advocate is bi-vocational!
1. Usually, being a Jack-of-all-trades means the individual
is a master-of-none.
2. Not so with Jesus!
B. Since there is no defense for the charges against you, Jesus
took the penalty for you.
2Co 5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us,
who knew no sin; that we might be made the
righteousness of God in him.
VI. You have the right to make a call.
Ps 55:16 As for me, I will call upon God; and
the LORD shall save me.
Isa 55:6 Seek ye the LORD while he may be found,
call ye upon him while he is near:
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