The Blame Game: Why No One Wins
This sermon unpacks the human tendency to assign blame for our circumstances and responses. It challenges listeners to embrace personal responsibility and the freedom found in forgiveness.
This sermon exposes the destructive nature of the 'blame game,' arguing that it stunts spiritual growth and prevents true peace. It calls believers to embrace personal responsibility and choose forgiveness, following Christ's example.
Overview
The sermon introduces the 'blame game' as humanity's oldest and most played game, noting that it creates a negative atmosphere and ultimately yields no winners. It highlights that this tendency to shift fault, first seen with Adam and Eve, prevents individuals from growing up spiritually and taking accountability for their reactions.
The preacher emphasizes that while people do genuinely hurt us, our response must not be to blame others. He presents Jesus's prayer on the cross—'Father, forgive them for they know not what to do'—as the ultimate pattern for responding to wrongdoing. God, too, held Adam and Eve responsible for their sin despite their attempts to blame.
Playing the blame game carries severe personal and national consequences. Personally, it encourages sin, stunts spiritual growth, damages fellowship with God, and promotes disharmony and bitterness. Nationally, a culture of blaming and 'victimization' undermines justice and obscures the biblical concepts of sin and disobedience.
The sermon concludes by presenting the only effective way to handle the blame game: assume full responsibility for one's own actions and choose to forgive others. Just as God has forgiven our immense sin debt through Christ, believers are called to release the debts of those who wrong them, thereby finding freedom and fostering love.
Key points
- The 'blame game' is humanity's oldest coping mechanism, but it is ultimately a losing game that no one wins.
- Blaming others is an escape from personal responsibility for our own reactions, even when genuinely wronged.
- Jesus set the pattern for believers by forgiving those who wronged him, demonstrating that blame is not the godly response.
- God holds each person responsible for their sin and responses, just as he did with Adam, Eve, and Satan in the Garden.
- The Holy Spirit living within believers provides the capacity for love, joy, peace, goodness, and self-control, regardless of external circumstances.
- Playing the blame game has severe consequences, including encouraging sin, stunting spiritual growth, damaging fellowship with God, and promoting disharmony and bitterness.
- The only way to overcome the blame game is to assume responsibility for one's actions and choose to forgive others as an act of will, reflecting God's own forgiveness.
In Charles Stanley's words
“There is no way to win in the blame game.”
“I am responsible for my responses.”
“It is an act of your will. You choose to forgive that person or those persons.”
Outline
- I. The Blame Game: Humanity's Oldest Game
- A. A game all of us have played, but nobody ultimately wins.
- B. It began with the first family in the Bible (Adam and Eve).
- C. It is an escape mechanism to refuse to assume responsibility.
- II. The Godly Response to Being Wronged
- A. We cannot hold others indebted and walk in the spirit of God.
- B. Jesus laid down the pattern: "Father, forgive them for they know not what to do."
- C. God ignored Adam and Eve's blame, holding them responsible for their sin.
- D. We are free moral agents with the Spirit of God to enable us.
- E. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, goodness, and self-control, without conditions.
- III. Consequences of the Blame Game
- A. Personal Consequences
- 1. Encourages sin.
- 2. Stunts spiritual growth.
- 3. Damages our fellowship with God.
- 4. Promotes terrible disharmony.
- 5. Promotes bitterness, hostility, and anger.
- 6. Hurts the blamer's testimony and discredits the blamed.
- B. National Consequences (Victimization Mentality)
- 1. Undermines the judicial system by excusing actions based on circumstances.
- 2. Replaces concepts of sin and disobedience with victimization.
- 3. It has eroded a whole nation, leading to suffering.
- 4. It can lead to blaming God for our inability to keep the Commandments.
- IV. The Only Way to Handle the Blame Game
- A. Assume responsibility for our actions.
- B. Assume responsibility no matter who wrongs or hurts us.
- C. Be forgiving; choose to forgive to release the debt of others.
- D. God's payment of our sin debt through Christ means we have no right to hold anything against others.
- E. For salvation, one cannot blame others (ungodly Christians, upbringing); personal responsibility to trust Jesus.
- F. Practical steps for current hurts: an act of the will to forgive, thanking God, re-orienting thoughts towards love.
Insights
Blaming others stunts our own spiritual growth.
Peace and joy are inner conditions, not outcomes of external situations.
Forgiveness is a choice of the will, freeing us from the debt others owe.
Questions & answers
What is 'the blame game' according to the sermon?
The blame game is humanity's oldest game, involving the tendency to shift responsibility for one's actions, feelings, or circumstances onto others rather than taking personal accountability. It's an escape mechanism to avoid responsibility for how one reacts.
Why should Christians avoid playing the blame game?
For Christians, playing the blame game encourages sin, stunts spiritual growth, damages fellowship with God, promotes disharmony, and fosters bitterness. It does not align with walking in the Spirit of God or being a godly person.
How does Jesus's example relate to the blame game?
Jesus, when profoundly wronged and crucified, did not blame his accusers but prayed, 'Father, forgive them for they know not what to do.' He set the pattern for responding to hurt with forgiveness, even when blame was deserved.
What are the personal consequences of constantly blaming others?
Personally, blaming others encourages further sin, halts spiritual growth, damages one's relationship with God, creates disharmony in relationships, and cultivates bitterness, hostility, and anger within oneself.
How does the sermon suggest dealing with deep emotional hurts caused by others?
The sermon encourages an act of will to lay down blame and forgive. It involves acknowledging the wrong, choosing to forgive the person or persons, and thanking God that as you lay it down, you no longer carry that burden.
Can circumstances or other people be blamed for one's decision not to accept Jesus?
No, the sermon argues that individuals cannot blame ungodly Christians, their upbringing, or any other circumstance for not trusting Jesus as Savior. Each person is responsible for their own choice to look to Christ for salvation.
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Source
Unofficial AI summary for study purposes. Watch the full sermon on In Touch Ministries. Sermon Insights is not affiliated with or endorsed by the pastor or church.