MAN AND SIN
This chapter will answer many of the questions that you have been asking about man, pain, sin, fear, suffering, wickedness, etc.
Exercise: tell the teacher about a world where people do not die, suffer, fear, no guns etc. How will life be in such a world?
The source of the pain and troubles in the world,
Many people have tried to blame God for the bad things in the world. Some actually think that God is dead and that is why all the bad things are happening in the world. Many do not seem to believe that God is still in control of things in the world given that many people still die, wars, strikes, hunger, droughts, etc.
Do you think that God could be wicked to create a “very good” world and still destroy it with all the bad things we are seeing today? Surely not.
Where then is the suffering and pain in the world coming from? It is as a result of the sin of man. Sin is man’s disobedience to God.
How sin first came into the world
What is sin? Sin is lawlessness 1 John 3: 4 “Everyone who makes practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness” Sin is any violation of God’s laws or ordinances. Romans 1:28 -32 and Galatians 5 : 19 -21 gives a list of sins; killing, lies telling, abortion, fighting, hatred, pride, jealousy, stubbornness, stealing, etc. No sin is bigger than another in the eyes of God.
How Adam Disobeyed God
The first sin on earth occurred when Adam disobeyed God’s command in the Garden of Eden ( Genesis 3 ). The command that Adam disobeyed was given in Genesis 2:16-17 “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for the day you eat, you shall die” Adam disobeyed and ate this fruit and from that time, sin entered the world. Romans 5:12 states that sin came into the world through one man.
Who brought sin into our world? The answer is Adam. Sin did not exist in the world until Adam disobeyed God. So Adam was the originator of sin in the world. God did not create sin. All humanity born into the world suffers from this sin ( Psalms 51:5 ). Since mankind continues in sin, that is why the world continues in pain and disobedience.
Note:the forbidden fruit was not sex as some people say today. Adam and Eve were husband and wife, so they could have sex. The fruit was actually a fruit.
The Effects of sin on mankind and the world ( what happened when man sinned )?
The sin of man had many consequences some of which are;
1) Man was distanced from or seperated from God. That is to say that he lost fellowship with God. So any child born into the world today do not have fellowshipwith God.
2) Fear came into man. When he realized the consequences of sin. Every human born into the world, naturally has fear. This is as a result of sin.
3) Sorrow, sweat, thorns came into the world.
4) Death, both physical and spiritual came into the world. This was the most painful result of sin Romans 6 : 23 ” for the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord”
5) Enmity, strife, fighting and killing came in to the world. Jealousy, and pride also came in to the world.
6) All what angers us in the world today is as a result of sin. What can we do then about this problem of sin that is disturbing all of us in the world today ?
How Man has tried to Solve the Problem of Sin
Man is so aware of the consequences of his sin that he is disturbed and has tried in many different ways to solve the problem. But the trouble is, ‘can man’s efforts help him’?
A) Trying to be good it is common to hear someone tell you that he thinks he will go to heaven because he is good. Some have even asked that “why do bad things happen to good people “? He does not steal, lie, cheat, fornicate, drink etc. Because they do not do all the sins that other people might be doing, they see themselves to be better and so God will prefer them. No, Romans 3 : 23 ” All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God ” Isaiah 64 : 6 ” all our righteousness is just like a filthy rag before God “ We are born sinners and because you are not doing bad things like your brother does not mean that you never do wrong. You should only say that you are good if you compare your goodness with that of God and still see yourself good.
Can anyone of us claim that we never do anything wrong? Definitely Not. Then all of us are born sinners.
B) Receiving Baptism there are people who have received baptism because they want to wash away their original sin and by so doing be ready for heaven. Baptism is an outward sin of an inward change. It is a prove of the dead, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. it is an initiation into the church, done to someone who had already confessed Christ. Romans 6 : 1-3 you never become a Christian because you are baptised. You should be a Christian before you baptize because Baptism does not wash away sin. If it did, how many times will you need to be baptized, since even after baptism you still sin?
C) Obeying the commands of God the sad thing is that those who claim this only think of the ten commandments. They do not know that there are over six hundred and ten commandments in the Bible. Can you actually obey the commands of God? James 2 : 10 ” for whoever shall obey the whole law and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all ” it proves that all of us cannot claim that we perfectly obey the law. This tells us that no one of us can be save by obeying the law.
Going to church some people think that just being among Christians in the church will male them Christians. There is this story about a rat that ate a lot of biscuits and soak itself in biscuits that as it was running around the house, people were only smelling the scent of biscuits. Sad enough, this rat was never a biscuit. The fact that you are among christains should not make you feel that you are one if you are not actually one.
What can we do then?