The Scarlet Letter is a famous fiction in a historical setting – 17th century Puritan Boston, MA, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne in 1850. It tells the story of Hester Prynne, who conceives a daughter through an affair and struggles to create a new life of repentance and dignity. She is required to wear a scarlet "A" ("A" standing for adulteress) on her dress to shame her. Her lover, Arthur Dimmesdale, remains unidentified and is wracked with guilt and finally falls ill and dies of guilt and his inner turmoil. Hester experiences with the extreme legalism of the Puritans and chooses not to conform to their rules and beliefs. She begins to believe that her sin has been paid for by her penance and good works and to establish her own different moral standards and beliefs. But at the end, she realizes that her sin constantly condemns her and resumes wearing the scarlet letter.[1]
Why Sin Matters
Although the Scarlet Letter is a fictional story, it tells us the truth about sin. Sin never goes away by itself. It only accumulates. That is the gravity of sin. Probably, many of you have seen the buildings and roofs that collapsed under the weight of snow. Sin is just like that. We don’t feel the difference. We don’t feel like we are accumulating sins. But the day will come like a thief. Romans 2:5 says, “But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God's wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed.” Whether willing or not, each of us will face up to this gravity of sin. What are the consequences of sin? The Bible says, “The wages of sin is death – separation from God” (6:23) and “after that we have to face judgment” (Heb 9:27).
Be Cleansed
What can wash away our sin? Our sin is like the scarlet letter that permanently engraved on the tablet of our heart. It condemns us constantly. It never goes away. Leviticus 16 helps us understand the seriousness of sin. On the Day of Atonement once a year Aaron chose two goats to bear symbolically the sins of the people – one for a sin offering (a blood sacrifice for atonement) and the other for a scapegoat. Aaron laid both his hands on the head of this living scapegoat, confessing all the Israelites’ sins. He put their sins upon the head of the goat and sent the goat into the wilderness. The goat vicariously carried the sins away. But here, we need to remember. This goat did not completely take away their sins, but it just delayed judgment until next year. That’s why they had to do this act of atonement year after year (cf. Heb 7:27).
So what can wash away our sin? In today’s passage John the Baptist gives us the answer. He saw Jesus coming toward him and declared, “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29) Jesus is the only one who is able to take away our sins. In John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress the main character Christian enters the narrow gate and arrives at the Interpreter’s house. The Interpreter took Christian into a large hall full of dust because it had never been swept. The Interpreter called for a man to sweep. As he swept, the dust rose in such clouds that Christian was almost chocked. The Interpreter told the maiden, “Bring water and sprinkle the room.” The room was then swept clean. “What does this mean?” Christian asked. The Interpreter answered, “This hall is the heart of man; the dust is the sin that has defiled him. The first one is the Law, and the second one is the Gospel. The law only revives and increases sin in the soul instead of cleansing the heart from it. But when the gospel of Christ comes in, sin is vanquished and the soul made clean!”[2] “What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus!” So repent and believe in the gospel and be cleansed!
The Baptism of the Holy Spirit
The Blood of Jesus Christ cleanses from all sin. Jesus came to take away our sins. But there is more! Not only did he come to take away sin, but also Jesus came to make us live the victorious life over sin by baptizing with the Holy Spirit. John the Baptist cried out, “Jesus is the one who will baptize you with the Holy Spirit” (34). On one occasion evangelist D.L. Moody held up an empty drinking glass and asked, “How can I get the air out of this glass?” One man said, “Suck it out with a pump!” Moody replied, ‘‘that would create a vacuum and shatter the glass.” After numerous other suggestions Moody smiled, picked up a pitcher of water, and filled the glass. “There,” he said, “all the air is now removed.” He then went on to explain that victory in the Christian life is not accomplished by “sucking out a sin here and there,” but rather by being filled with the Holy Spirit.
In Acts 19 Paul asked some disciples at Ephesus, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” They answered, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” At that time almost 20 years had already passed since the Pentecost Day. But they were still living as believers without knowing the Holy Spirit for 20 years! How about you? Have you been baptized with the Holy Spirit? In John 3 Jesus said to Nicodemus, “The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit” (8). Yes, we don’t know where the wind comes from or where it is going. But when the wind blows us, we do know for sure there is a wind. People around us also can tell at a glance. In the same way, we don’t fully understand the Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit is a mystery. But when we are baptized with the Holy Spirit, we know what it is. And people around us also notice about this.
Be Filled
The baptism of the Holy Spirit is for everyone who believes in Christ. Before he was ascended into heaven, Jesus said to his disciples, “For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 1:5). Then, what is the evidence of the filling of the Holy Spirit? The sure evidence of the filling of the Holy Spirit is “power.” Jesus said, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you” (8) — power to be an effective witness for Christ, power to serve Christ, power to do God’s will, power to overcome sin, power to endure suffering, power to love the unlavable, and power to bear the fruit of the Spirit. Before we were born of the Spirit, we didn’t have the power to choose not to sin. We were slaves to sin (John 8:34). We didn’t have control over ourselves. But when we believe in Jesus’ name, by the blood of Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit, we are set free from the power of sin and now have the power to choose not to sin.
As I close, I want to share a story of an old Cherokee chief. One day an old Cherokee chief was teaching his grandson about life. He said to the boy, “A fight is going on inside me. It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One is evil. He is anger, resentment, envy, greed, self-pity, inferiority, guilt, lies, arrogance, pride, and ego. The other is good – he is joy, peace, love, hope, humility, kindness, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. This same fight is going on inside you – and inside every other person, too.” The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, “Which wolf will win?” The old chief simply replied, “The one you feed.” Actually, this parable is quite biblical. According to Galatians 5 every Christian fights the same battle – the battle between sinful nature and the Holy Spirit. The filling of the Spirit is not a once-for-all experience. It’s a daily walk with Jesus. The evil wolf needs to be starved and the good wolf needs to be nurtured day by day. As beloved children of God, as disciples of Jesus Christ, let us crucify the sinful nature and keep in step with the Spirit day by day. Let us resist the devil and submit to God moment by moment. Then, we will be filled, guided, empowered with the Holy Spirit, and Christ will be exalted in our lives. Amen.
[1] The Scarlet Letter, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Scarlet_Letter
[2] John Bunyan, Pictorial Pilgrim’s Progress (The Moody Bible Institute of Chicago, 1960), 61-2.
Why Sin Matters
Although the Scarlet Letter is a fictional story, it tells us the truth about sin. Sin never goes away by itself. It only accumulates. That is the gravity of sin. Probably, many of you have seen the buildings and roofs that collapsed under the weight of snow. Sin is just like that. We don’t feel the difference. We don’t feel like we are accumulating sins. But the day will come like a thief. Romans 2:5 says, “But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God's wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed.” Whether willing or not, each of us will face up to this gravity of sin. What are the consequences of sin? The Bible says, “The wages of sin is death – separation from God” (6:23) and “after that we have to face judgment” (Heb 9:27).
Be Cleansed
What can wash away our sin? Our sin is like the scarlet letter that permanently engraved on the tablet of our heart. It condemns us constantly. It never goes away. Leviticus 16 helps us understand the seriousness of sin. On the Day of Atonement once a year Aaron chose two goats to bear symbolically the sins of the people – one for a sin offering (a blood sacrifice for atonement) and the other for a scapegoat. Aaron laid both his hands on the head of this living scapegoat, confessing all the Israelites’ sins. He put their sins upon the head of the goat and sent the goat into the wilderness. The goat vicariously carried the sins away. But here, we need to remember. This goat did not completely take away their sins, but it just delayed judgment until next year. That’s why they had to do this act of atonement year after year (cf. Heb 7:27).
So what can wash away our sin? In today’s passage John the Baptist gives us the answer. He saw Jesus coming toward him and declared, “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29) Jesus is the only one who is able to take away our sins. In John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress the main character Christian enters the narrow gate and arrives at the Interpreter’s house. The Interpreter took Christian into a large hall full of dust because it had never been swept. The Interpreter called for a man to sweep. As he swept, the dust rose in such clouds that Christian was almost chocked. The Interpreter told the maiden, “Bring water and sprinkle the room.” The room was then swept clean. “What does this mean?” Christian asked. The Interpreter answered, “This hall is the heart of man; the dust is the sin that has defiled him. The first one is the Law, and the second one is the Gospel. The law only revives and increases sin in the soul instead of cleansing the heart from it. But when the gospel of Christ comes in, sin is vanquished and the soul made clean!”[2] “What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus!” So repent and believe in the gospel and be cleansed!
The Baptism of the Holy Spirit
The Blood of Jesus Christ cleanses from all sin. Jesus came to take away our sins. But there is more! Not only did he come to take away sin, but also Jesus came to make us live the victorious life over sin by baptizing with the Holy Spirit. John the Baptist cried out, “Jesus is the one who will baptize you with the Holy Spirit” (34). On one occasion evangelist D.L. Moody held up an empty drinking glass and asked, “How can I get the air out of this glass?” One man said, “Suck it out with a pump!” Moody replied, ‘‘that would create a vacuum and shatter the glass.” After numerous other suggestions Moody smiled, picked up a pitcher of water, and filled the glass. “There,” he said, “all the air is now removed.” He then went on to explain that victory in the Christian life is not accomplished by “sucking out a sin here and there,” but rather by being filled with the Holy Spirit.
In Acts 19 Paul asked some disciples at Ephesus, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” They answered, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” At that time almost 20 years had already passed since the Pentecost Day. But they were still living as believers without knowing the Holy Spirit for 20 years! How about you? Have you been baptized with the Holy Spirit? In John 3 Jesus said to Nicodemus, “The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit” (8). Yes, we don’t know where the wind comes from or where it is going. But when the wind blows us, we do know for sure there is a wind. People around us also can tell at a glance. In the same way, we don’t fully understand the Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit is a mystery. But when we are baptized with the Holy Spirit, we know what it is. And people around us also notice about this.
Be Filled
The baptism of the Holy Spirit is for everyone who believes in Christ. Before he was ascended into heaven, Jesus said to his disciples, “For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 1:5). Then, what is the evidence of the filling of the Holy Spirit? The sure evidence of the filling of the Holy Spirit is “power.” Jesus said, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you” (8) — power to be an effective witness for Christ, power to serve Christ, power to do God’s will, power to overcome sin, power to endure suffering, power to love the unlavable, and power to bear the fruit of the Spirit. Before we were born of the Spirit, we didn’t have the power to choose not to sin. We were slaves to sin (John 8:34). We didn’t have control over ourselves. But when we believe in Jesus’ name, by the blood of Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit, we are set free from the power of sin and now have the power to choose not to sin.
As I close, I want to share a story of an old Cherokee chief. One day an old Cherokee chief was teaching his grandson about life. He said to the boy, “A fight is going on inside me. It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One is evil. He is anger, resentment, envy, greed, self-pity, inferiority, guilt, lies, arrogance, pride, and ego. The other is good – he is joy, peace, love, hope, humility, kindness, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. This same fight is going on inside you – and inside every other person, too.” The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, “Which wolf will win?” The old chief simply replied, “The one you feed.” Actually, this parable is quite biblical. According to Galatians 5 every Christian fights the same battle – the battle between sinful nature and the Holy Spirit. The filling of the Spirit is not a once-for-all experience. It’s a daily walk with Jesus. The evil wolf needs to be starved and the good wolf needs to be nurtured day by day. As beloved children of God, as disciples of Jesus Christ, let us crucify the sinful nature and keep in step with the Spirit day by day. Let us resist the devil and submit to God moment by moment. Then, we will be filled, guided, empowered with the Holy Spirit, and Christ will be exalted in our lives. Amen.
[1] The Scarlet Letter, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Scarlet_Letter
[2] John Bunyan, Pictorial Pilgrim’s Progress (The Moody Bible Institute of Chicago, 1960), 61-2.
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