SIN ENTERS THE WORLD

In order to understand ourselves we must know what went wrong. We are not what we were intended to be. We have fallen from our original perfection.

The first thing we need to realise is that temptation comes from outside man. God did not introduce sin into the world, neither did he tempt man (James 1:13). Sin is an invasion of God's perfect creation.

According to the Bible this invasion has a personal source: Satan (Genesis 3:1, Revelation 20:2).

Satan is an Angel.

WHAT IS SIN ?

We are created creatures (Genesis 1:26). We are not here of our own free will. God has designed, built and placed us here in His creation. We are property, the same as a car or a toaster in our own home. Do we not have power over those things that we own ? Do we not expect them to perform their tasks for us ? If they fail, do we not throw them out ? In the same way, God owns us and has power over us to make of us whatever he pleases (Romans 9:21).

Sin therefore is nothing less than open rebellion against God. When we reject God and follow our own purpose, we sin.

THE CONSEQUENCES OF SIN

There are five basic consequences of the entry of sin in the world:

Man knows evil by experience. In the beginning Adam and Eve knew only the goodness of God. Now we know the consequences of evil because of the effect it has on our lives.

Communion with God was broken. A sense of guilt and fear keeps us from reaching out to God in trust and love as we should. The part of our nature which was "God sensitive" has been destroyed by sin. We are not aware of God the way that Adam and Eve would have been.

Man's nature was contaminated by sin. We no longer have the image of God in us as it was in the beginning. Rather than being "moral and responsible" we tend to blame others for our own faults. Rather than worshiping our creator, we run from him and worship other things in his place.

Probably the most important aspect of sin is that it brings with it rejection and punishment. Like a machine that is broken, mankind has been cast out from the presence of his Creator, doomed to rot on the garbage heap of evil and destruction. We ourselves are very harsh toward those of our nation who betray us, condemning them to death or imprisonment. God has a much greater right to do so. Every grave is a testimony that we are a fallen race on the road to destruction (Romans 6:23).

Not only was mankind condemned by sin, but all creation was plunged into decay. Entropy began its relentless rule over the entire universe. This decay is all consuming. The Bible speaks of it in terms of "the curse".

SIN'S ONLY SOLUTION

As sin is open rebellion against God there can be only one solution to it. We must repent of our rebellion and turn again to God. Unless we repent of our rebellion we shall all perish (Luke 13:3). It is by God's mercy that He allows us to restore our allegiance to Him.

God sent His Son Jesus to offer himself as a ransom for every man, woman and child (1 Timothy 2:6) and give them an opportunity to be free from sin, "for by the offense of one man judgment came upon all men. So by the righteousness of one man the free gift came upon all men unto justification and life" (Romans 5:18). Thus Jesus has become the "Saviour of the World".

However, this is only half of the solution. We must also yield our rebellious nature to Jesus so that He becomes Lord of all. God rules in the kingdom of men and gives it to whomever He pleases (Daniel 4:25). In this case He has handed all things to His Son (Matthew 28:18) and committed all judgement to Him so that all men should honour the Son and anyone who does not honour Him does not honour the Father who sent Him (John 5:22-23).

Therefore, God's solution to sin is two fold:

Jesus died and rose again to pay our punishment so that God's justice may be satisfied.

Jesus has been made Lord so that all who willingly yield their will to Him may be forgiven their rebellion.

So both faith and submission are involved. Faith that God loves us and has made provision for us through Jesus and submission to God's new order established through His Son's Kingdom. As it is written, "If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved" (Romans 10:9).

We are all guilty of rebellion. The real trouble is that many of us deceive ourselves that we can continue this rebellion right under God's nose and still think we can escape His justice. We ask God's forgiveness, justifying ourselves by Jesus sacrifice, without ever turning away from our rebellious attitude. We are still following our own purpose and not turning again to God's Purpose.

Maintainer: Graham Brodie, Email