Notes:
- Sin is not just some impersonal, arbitrary, heavenly regulation
- Sin => breaking of a relationship, rejection of God himself- His rule, His care, His authority, His right to command those whom He gave life
What Went Wrong
- God's intention for creating human beings- they live under His righteous rule in perfect joy, worshipping, obeying Him, living in unbroken fellowship with Him
- God had job for humans Genesis 1:28 God blessed them; and God said, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth."
- Adam & Eve's rule over creation x ultimate, authority give to them by God
- God placed tree of knowledge of good and evil in center of garden => reminder authority limited, they were creatures, dependent on God for their lives
- when Adam and Eve ate of the fruit X just violate arbitrary command but rejected God's authority over them, declaring independence from Him ex. Potter made a jar, jar says "I reject you as my creator! You don't have the right to use me for your will."
- Serpent promised that they would be "like God"- both took opportunity to take crown for themselves, made conscious decision to reject Him as King
- Genesis 2:17 But from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die."
- disobedience=sin= death
- x just physical, but spiritual death- cast from presence of God, become enemies of God vs. friends & joyful subjects
- sin: literally means "missing the mark," but biblical meaning much deeper; Adam & Eve x just miss bulls-eye by few inches, but shot arrow in opposite direction; had goals & desires opposed to God's
- Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
- crucial we understand both nature & depth of our sin' x approach gospel thinking sin is something else/ less than what it really is => badly misunderstand gospel
Confusing Sin with Sin's Effects
- fashionable lately to say Jesus came to save humanity from innate sense of guilt/ meaninglessness/ emptiness/ purposelessness
- but Bible teachers humanity's fundamental problem x above- just symptoms of deeper problem: our sin
- we are in predicament of own making- have disobeyed God's word, ignored commands, sinned against him
Reducing Sin to Broken Relationship
- human beings made to live in fellowship with God- specific kind of relationship- btwn. King & His subjects
- sin x just relationship tiff between man & God x just lover's quarrel
- Bible teaches sin is breaking of relationship- consist of rejection of His majesty
- x just adultery but rebellion; x just betrayal but treason; sin- traitorous rebellion of beloved subject against good and righteous King
Confusing Sin with Negative Thinking
- sin x just matter of negative thinking holding back from health, wealth & happiness
- Bible teachers big part of problem- we think too highly of ourselves x too lowly
- *How did serpent tempt Adam & Eve?- told them they thought too neg of themselves, needed to think more pos., extend grasp to reach full potential...to be like God- told them to think bigger
(be careful of when you work toward self-improvement, check your heart to make sure you aren't doing it to make yourself bigger, but to glorify God in all that you do, okay?:])
Confusing Sin with Sins
- sin x isolated little mistakes inn otherwise pretty good life
- God shows us sin runs to very depths of our hearts, deep-running deposits of filth & corruption x even knew & we ourselves x expunge
- Bible says sin is not just on us or of us, but in us
- Ephesians 2:3 Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.
- Matthew 15:19- "For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders."
- sin x isolated incidences, but rise out of evil from our own hearts
- Romans 8:7 Because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God, for it does nor subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so.
- only when we realize our very nature is sinful- we see how good the good news is!
God's Active Judgment against Sin
- one of Bible's most frightening statements- Romans 3:19 Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, so that every mouth may be closed and all the world may become accountable to God
- What would it be like to stand before God in the end w/ no explanation/ plea to escape punishment for sin?
- God is holy and righteous x excuse sin, God will punish us for sin with death
- Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death- physical & spiritual death- separation from presence of Holy God
- Bible says final destiny for unrepentant, unbelieving sinners- place of eternal torment "hell"
- Rev 20:10 And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
- Mark 9:42 "If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life crippled, than, having you two hands, to go to hell; into the unquenchable fire,
- Bible's sobering verdict on us- There is not one righteous, not eve one. Because of that one day every mouth will be silenced & whole world will be help accountable to God for their sin, BUT...
Confusing Sin with Sins
- sin x isolated little mistakes inn otherwise pretty good life
- God shows us sin runs to very depths of our hearts, deep-running deposits of filth & corruption x even knew & we ourselves x expunge
- Bible says sin is not just on us or of us, but in us
- Ephesians 2:3 Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.
- Matthew 15:19- "For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders."
- sin x isolated incidences, but rise out of evil from our own hearts
- Romans 8:7 Because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God, for it does nor subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so.
- only when we realize our very nature is sinful- we see how good the good news is!
God's Active Judgment against Sin
- one of Bible's most frightening statements- Romans 3:19 Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, so that every mouth may be closed and all the world may become accountable to God
- What would it be like to stand before God in the end w/ no explanation/ plea to escape punishment for sin?
- God is holy and righteous x excuse sin, God will punish us for sin with death
- Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death- physical & spiritual death- separation from presence of Holy God
- Bible says final destiny for unrepentant, unbelieving sinners- place of eternal torment "hell"
- Rev 20:10 And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
- Mark 9:42 "If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life crippled, than, having you two hands, to go to hell; into the unquenchable fire,
- Bible's sobering verdict on us- There is not one righteous, not eve one. Because of that one day every mouth will be silenced & whole world will be help accountable to God for their sin, BUT...
