01.04. Chapter 2 Sin
Chapter 2 Sin Pulled in opposite directions The creative activity of God reached its grand climax with the arrival of the first man and the first woman. But these two people, and the human race descended from them, were uniquely different from even the highest animals; for they alone were made in God’s image.
God created the world morally good and intended the human race to live with him in a happy relationship. But as we look at the world we see that people are not at ease with God. Although something in them causes them to seek after God, something else in them causes them to rebel against him. This rebellion is what the Bible calls sin.
People in general do not like the word ‘sin’, and often give it restricted or special meanings so that it does not sound offensive. The Bible uses the word to refer to all human rebellion against God, whether in its source or in the wrong acts that flow from that source. The problem of evil In view of the tension people experience between good and evil, a question arises. If God wanted the world to be good, why is evil present in the world? If God is a perfect creator, why are human beings, the highest of his earthly creatures, sinful?
God is not the originator of evil, and he has never had any desire that people be sinful. But because he made them as intelligent and responsible beings with a freedom to make their own decisions, the possibility existed that they might misuse their freedom. God’s purpose was not to create robots. He wanted the people he had made to obey him and live in harmony with him, but he wanted them to do this by their own choice. His desire was to live with them in a relationship of mutual love, but people could not love if they were not free. Machines cannot love. The sad fact, today as in the past, is that people have chosen not to obey God, and the evils of sin, conflict and suffering are the result. The fault lies with people, not with God. If an irresponsible driver causes a motor car to crash, we blame the driver, not the inventor or maker of the car.
Human nature
Because of sin, nothing in the world is as God intended it. Instead of enjoying the life God intended for them, people have conflict on every side. They are in a state of conflict with their environment, with other people, within themselves and with God. They have brought sin not only into the world but also into human nature, so that all people are born with a tendency to sin. No one needs to teach a child to do wrong. Wrongdoing comes to it naturally.
Wrong actions and wrong words are only the outward signs of a deeper problem – a sinful mind, heart and will. Jesus once said, ‘From the inside, from a person’s heart, come the evil ideas which lead him to do immoral things, to rob, kill, commit adultery, be greedy, and do all sorts of evil things; deceit, indecency, jealousy, slander, pride and folly – all these evil things come from inside a person and make him unclean’ (Mark 7:21-23).
Notice that the things Jesus calls evil are not just obvious sins such as robbery and murder. Even bad thoughts, deceit and jealousy, things hidden within where the closest friends may not see them are sin. When we consider the cruelty, corruption and immorality in the world, we may at times feel satisfied with ourselves. But at the same time we deceive ourselves, for we too are imperfect andour standards imperfect. The only perfect one is God, and his standards are perfect. That is why the Bible says that sin is the falling short of God’s standards, the breaking of God’s law (1 John 3:4).
All are answerable to God
Although the Bible gives people a fuller understanding of God’s character and standards, even those who have never read the Bible have a basic knowledge of right and wrong. We have seen how God has placed this knowledge within human nature. He has given people a conscience, which, in spite of sometimes being dull or hardened, is still some sort of guide. People may know what they should do, but not do it. Something within them shows them the way that is right, but they refuse to go that way. They refuse God; they break God’s law. Being morally responsible, people are answerable for their actions. If they were no more than very clever animals or skilfully programmed computers, they would not be responsible. Neither animals nor computers are taken to court for breaking the law.
People are answerable for their behaviour; in particular, they are answerable to God, because he is their creator, ruler and judge. And since they have broken his law, they are subject to his punishment. They may do right on some occasions, but that does not excuse them for doing wrong on others. We are accountable to God for all our actions, and the good we do does not cancel out the wrong we do. A person may do good by helping a neighbour in need, but that will not help him escape justice if a police officer catches him driving through a red light.
Sin and death
God warned from the beginning that the penalty for dis- obeying him was death, and this warning is repeated in various ways throughout the Bible. Paul expressed this pictorially when he said, ‘Sin pays its wages – death’ (Romans 6:23). But what is meant by death? Clearly, people do not die physically the moment they sin, though physical death is one of the results of sin. Human beings are more than mere physical creatures. If physical death meant no more than bringing earthly life to an end, people would have no need to fear death. If death was as simple as switching off the electricity, there would be no reason to fear it. The reason people fear death is that they know that when they die they are not escaping the consequences of their previous behaviour, but going to face them.
People have always sensed that there is some sort of life after death, and this feeling again results from their existence in the image of God. But how can this personal existence in the afterlife be called ‘death’? The answer has to do with the Christian view of human life. God has given people both physical and spiritual capacities, so that they might enjoy life in full harmony with him. Through sin, however, they are cut off from God. We might say that when a thing is cut off from its source of life it is dead. In that sense, sinners are spiritually dead. Their sin has taken them out of a condition where life dominates into one where death dominates. Spiritually they are cut off from God, and physically they are doomed to die.
Whatever separation from God in the afterlife might mean, we know it is a punishment that people instinctively fear. Jesus repeatedly warned that it would mean suffering and despair worse than anything people could at present imagine.
God as judge
Immediately we begin to wonder how a God of love could punish so severely. Perhaps that is because guilty people never like the thought of punishment. Love, however, does not mean an absence of punishment, as every parent knows. Neither does love mean that justice can be overlooked. God has no pleasure in punishment, and the message of Christianity is that he has provided a way for people to escape it. At the same time he must maintain a consistency in his character and actions. No one wants a fickle God.
God is holy, perfect in purity and goodness. He loves what is good more than we can know or understand, and therefore he is angry when he sees what is not good. His anger at sin arises from his holiness.
Though angry at sin, God still loves his rebellious creatures. He wants people to come back to him so that he can give them new life, life that they can begin to enjoy now and will enjoy to the full in the hereafter. But as usual, God does not force people. They have the freedom of responsible beings and a whole lifetime of opportunity to turn to him. With death, that opportunity ends. ‘Everyone must die once, and after that be judged by God’ (Hebrews 9:27).