What Is Your Problem?
Have you ever heard this?

Introduction
This question is asked quite often during a confrontation.
Either a parent or a boss asking the child or employee the question, or the child/employee asking the boss or parent this question.
Now to interpret this phrase is not hard to do.
It is code language that means: “Are you really that stupid?
It does not mean that all the time.
Sometimes, out of concern someone may ask if you have a problem.
Perhaps they saw you in some sort of distress and they are inquiring if they can be of assistance.
That is another way to interpret the phrase.
Every now and then someone might utter the phrase “I know what your problem is” instead of asking “What is your problem”.
When this phrase is uttered, you can be sure the conversation will get mighty colorful and emotions are about to run very high.

What Is Your Problem?
You do not have to feel slighted when asked this question.
Because the answer is obvious.
You are not alone, and you have the same problem that everyone else has.
Your problems can be summed up in one word.
SIN

There is no reason to get upset about it.
Because all have sinned (Romans 3:23).
And you can make the choice to remove the sin from your life.
But you cannot do it alone.
Your determination to stop the sin must be accompanied by your obedience to the gospel so that your sins can be washed away.
What you do not want is for SIN to become: SIN
If you can stop sin while it is manageable, it does not need to get out of hand.
Trying to hide a sin is harmful to yourself and possibly to others.
Look what happened when David tried to hide his sin with Bathsheba.
Psalm 32:3-4 “When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away, through my groaning all day long. For day and night, Thy hand was heavy upon me; my vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer. I acknowledged my sin to Thee, and my iniquity I did not hide; I said I will confess my transgression to the Lord And Thou didst forgive the guilt of my sin”.

Only God can take away your sin.
And
Only You can keep yourself from sin.
You might think this a near impossible task, but God provided for you a church family willing to help you avoid sin.
Another glaring problem that should be obvious to everyone is in how we view sin.
The Bible tells us how God sees sin.
If we are wise, we would look at sin in the same way God sees it.
And we would most likely change our ways.

How Does The World View Sin?
Sin
As long as we just keep it in the corner and out of mind,
It does not pose a problem.
It is no big deal.
Because everyone does it.
That is how the world views sin.

How Does God View Sin?
SIN
God hates sin
God despises sin
God considers any sin an abomination.
God does not want anything to do with sin.

Now Why Do We Sin?
Someone might say that it is our human nature to sin.
The problem with that statement is the fact that God designed us to live a life free from sin.
While everyone eventually sins, it is not fair to claim that it is our nature to sin.
No, the Bible is quite plain and clear that our sins originates within ourselves, and we should not blame the human race.
This is nothing more than an excuse.
James 1:13-15
“Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am being tempted by God’; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death”.
Once again, why do we sin?

There are several reasons.
The one major reason above all else is:
Because "I Want To" a.k.a. selfishness
All the other reasons we will give are secondary to this.
Let’s just mention a few:
Ignorance
Deception
Rebellion
Arrogance
Impatience
Peer pressure
Curiosity
Lack of self-control
We have done it so long it just became a habit.
Materialism
No fear of God
Lack of love for God
Lack of love for others
Lack of love for yourself.
I don’t want to stop
I don’t care
My priorities are wrong.
Lack of urgency to correct the problem.
Not filling our lives with good things.
Let’s just face it—any reason or excuse will do for this list.

Conclusion
God does not like sin in any form.
Any sin will keep you out of heaven.
I do hope you realize that we could have used many passages on these reasons given.
In fact, we could preach entire sermons on each of these and still not cover it all.
In the end, it will be your choice to leave life with sin or with Jesus.

By Carey Scott

Return to the Sermon Outlines page

Home / Bible studies / Bible Survey / Special Studies / General Articles / Non-Bible Articles / Sermons / Sermon Outlines / Links / Questions and Answers / What Saith The Scriptures /Daily Devotional / Correspondence Courses / What is the Church of Christ / Book: Christian Growth / Website Policy / E-mail / About Me /