“Games People Play”
“Oh the games people play now
Every night and every day now
Never meaning what they say now
Never saying what they mean …”
(Joe South)
Games Sinners
Play
James 1:12-16
Introduction
Sinning is serious
 Factor
for all (Romans 3:23)
 Deadly consequences (Romans 6:23)
Not taken seriously by some
 Try
to “play games” with God
 Tragic outcome
“I’ll Repent Tomorrow”
Based on God’s promise to forgive
 All
past sins (Acts 2:38)
 Sins as a Christian
(Acts 8:22; James 5:16; 1 John 1:7-9)
“I’ll Repent Tomorrow”
Variety of situations
 “Sow
wild oats” (Galatians 5:19-21)
 Responsibility of youth
(1 Timothy 4:12-16; 2 Timothy 2:22)
 Obey just before dying?
“I’ll Repent Tomorrow”
Attempt to take advantage of grace
 Grace
not a license to sin
(Romans 6:1)
 Time not on our side (James 4:14)
 Don’t delay (Acts 24:25)
“The Devil Made Me Do It”
Popularized by Flip Wilson
 Old
as mankind (Genesis 3:13)
 Still doesn’t work
“The Devil Made Me Do It”
Widely used
 “Lose
our temper” and sin
(Ephesians 4:26, 29)
 Cheating on taxes (Romans 13:1)
 Homosexuality (1 Corinthians 6:9-11)
“The Devil Made Me Do It”
“Players” memory loss
 Can
resist (Genesis 4:7; James 4:7)
 Way of escape (1 Corinthians 10:13)
 Can change (1 Corinthians 6:11)
“Let’s Trade”
Attempt to “balance the scales”
 Lie
about your neighbor this week
 “Solve” it next week by helping him
“Let’s Trade”
Worked out in advance
 Plan
to go fishing on Sunday
 Promise to study more
“Let’s Trade”
Will not work
 Usually
no follow through
 Sin offset only by forgiveness
(1 John 1:7-9)
“Just One More”
Based on future ability to resist
 Diet
tomorrow
 “One last drink”
 Promise to quit after that
“Just One More”
Game belongs to Satan
 Wants
us to procrastinate
(James 4:17)
 Uncertainty of life
 Certainty of death (Hebrews 9:27)
“Think How Bad I Could Be”
Always find someone “worse”
 The
Pharisee (Luke 18:10-14)
 The lawyer (Luke 10:29)
“Think How Bad I Could Be”
Used in a variety of circumstances
 Cuss
a little, but avoid taking God’s
name in vain (James 3:10-12)
 Smoke but don’t drink
(1 Corinthians 9:27)
 Lust but don’t commit adultery
(Matthew 5:27, 28)
“Think How Bad I Could Be”
Ignores the standard of judgment
 Another’s
life is not the standard
 God’s word is the standard
(John 12:48)
“Maybe It’s Not A Sin”
Pretend not to know for sure
 Generally
know what is sin
 Helps ease our conscience
“Maybe It’s Not A Sin”
Very popular game
 Gossip
becomes “concern”
(Matthew 18:15; Ephesians 4:31)
 Dancers just “exercising”
(Mark 6:22; Galatians 5:19)
“Maybe It’s Not A Sin”
Sin is defined
 Transgression
John 3:4)
 We can know
of God’s Law
(1
Conclusion
Self-examination
Don’t play games with God