By now you probably have read some or all of the Bible and you have realized that we are operating on a set of given presuppositions about life, the universe, God and man. Namely:
1) God exists and is real.
2) God created the world.
3) God created man.
4) Jesus was also God
5) We have disobeyed God’s commands.
6) God will test our resolve to obey Him.
7) God must deal with our sin.
8) Our sins are in our fallen nature.
9) Death is the penalty.
10) Christ died in our place.

So sin and its result, death, must be resolved satisfactorily in order for us to be restored to fellowship with God. It is probably an inaccuracy to say that God has a problem. He is God almighty so nothing really bothers Him but He has shown us that in Christ He is in a certain sense depending on us for the fulfillment of His plan. When we sin, then to that extent at least for us His will is thwarted. Many people blame God for the world’s problems and suffering. However, God is not the author of sin or evil. We cannot shift blame for our own failure. We are His agents in the world and the choices we make affect not just ourselves but everyone around us. Nevertheless, even when we do harm or evil, God can make good come out of it. We are responsible and accountable for the extent to which we understand God and His ways. Let’s not kid ourselves; the world is messed up and hurting because we have made it so.

In building our theology, we must take into account sin. So what is sin? Scripture uses several words to describe sin and teaches us the dangers and consequences of violating God’s holiness. This chapter may leave you with bitterness, remorse, guilt, shame, sorrow and sadness but that is necessary to lead us to genuine salvation. There is definitely a positive answer for the sin problem so hang in there; the next chapter will deal with the solution. For now we will define sin as: disobedience to God’s commands, inability to follow God’s will, lawlessness and moral failure.
We all have experience with sin because we are all sinners. The bible is very clear on this question. Some see gradations of sin like regarding stealing a potato because you are hungry is not as bad as committing adultery. In Luke’s gospel, Peter has an encounter with Jesus that is a telling illustration of what happens to a human being when confronted by the presence of a holy God. Luke 5:8 When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!” Now maybe you are just an average person who drinks a little too much occasionally. You are faithful to your spouse and morally a good example. There are many people who are not aware of how they might be offending God.

Most of us know the 10 commandments- No! Not the movie but the revelation of God’s law on Mt. Sinai.
Exodus 20:3-17
“You shall have no other gods before Me.
4 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; 5 you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, 6 but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.
7 “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.
8 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.
12 “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may b.oe long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you.
13 “You shall not murder.
14 “You shall not commit adultery.
15 “You shall not steal.
16 “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.”

Think about what this passage of Scripture does to you when you read it. What is your reaction? Does this portray a capricious God who is only concerned with making no and do not statements in order to control us? Why does God give us commands? For me, I see a holy God who cares for His creation and families and desires for us to live in peace with others. I know that I cannot possibly obey completely the moral law but even though I am living under God’s grace I at the same time am failing Him. Faced with the sight of my wretchedness-for that is what the law shows me-the knowledge of my own sinfulness motivates me to turn to God for His forgiveness.

And then I realize that maybe God is teaching me things about life. He wants me to see that these apparent restrictions serve to protect me from evil and bad outcomes. Teachings that I can meditate on and derive real lessons for life. Proverbs 6:23
For the commandment is a lamp,
And the law a light;
Reproofs of instruction are the way of life
If I walk in God’s law, my path is pointed out by light and I will live. When reading God’s commands and being made aware of how radically sinful we are, we become God conscious. If we try and rationalize that we are not that bad or outright deny any culpability, we are ridiculing God’s word. How well we learn these lessons, will determine the truth for us and if we love God or not. I John 1:8-2:2 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us. My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 2 And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.” For many years I believed I was lost; that God would not forgive me for my sins because they were so terrible. I was consumed with guilt and shame. The condemnation of the devil had a firm grip on my soul and I could not break free. I believed in Christ, practiced my faith yet I struggled mightily with the feeling that I was still lost. I had no assurance of salvation. Gradually I learned to not trust in my feelings or circumstances. I depended more on my attitude and concept of the cross of Christ. I looked to Scripture and began to accept it as God’s word. This passage in I John helped me immensely. As long as I continued to confess my sin, God would do His part.

Now almost without exception, scholars will discuss the Fall of Adam and Eve and attempt to explain what evil is and how God allows it or give an explanation of original sin. But this too is a mystery. And some of these mysteries are harder than others to comprehend. Sinning is about making the wrong choices. Adam and Eve wanted to be as God was. They were bucking authority. They somehow were tricked into thinking that God did not mean what He said; that His word and command were false. When we fail as humans we often will try and cover up and hide. But God always finds us. He searches us out and leads us back from where we were lost. We must place our trust in God and His revealed word no matter what others may say. Jesus said: “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15).

Paul the Apostle, the Lord’s theologian, writes in his letters doctrine that is meant to be used in our churches to instruct us about these matters. He used a Greek word often for the “flesh” or “sinful nature”: sarx. For some reason, this sin principle exists in all human beings. It is the main problem we have in our battle to do God’s will. Positionally, our flesh died on the cross with Christ and we became new creatures. Our sins were cleansed but the insidious thing about the flesh is it just does not want to die. Remember the movie the Blob? How this ugly mass of goo was terrorizing a whole town and they just could not kill it. Experientially, the sinful nature reawakens in us our rebellion and we revisit sinning even after accepting Christ. The old man just does not want to die. Notice how you feel when you have not eaten for a day. Your flesh is screaming: feed me! feed me! For us coffee drinkers, what is it like when we miss our coffee? This is how our sinful nature behaves when we do not indulge it. Romans 7:18 “ For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find.”

The reason we must know and understand about sin is it relates in many ways to some of the other teachings of Scripture. If we are not clear about sin, then we will have difficulty with much of the Bible which is full of stories about great people who are human like us and still sin. There is one notable exception however; Jesus Christ. He was tempted like we are, yet was without sin. Comprehending this mystery will lead us into eternal salvation. That is the subject of our next chapter. Be aware that at any moment the light will dawn in your heart and you will receive the forgiveness of sins and enter into the blessedness of the Kingdom of God.
Psalm 32:5
“I acknowledged my sin to You, And my iniquity I have not hidden. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,”And You forgave the iniquity of my sin.”