Thursday, February 17, 2011

Sin & Salvation - Part 1

Exodus 34:6-7 The LORD passed before him and proclaimed, "The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty.

A friend writes: “A new believer class sounds like a really good thing, I wish I'd had one when I was first saved. I spent many years as a very immature Christian, not really having any direction, but being held onto by Him.” Isn’t that just the truth of how the Lord meets us where we are at, but doesn’t keep us where we are at? I’m sure that God enjoys immature Christians, because where else could we start? It is necessary for each of us to truly realize what sin really is and the severity of its affect on our lives physically, psychologically, and spiritually in order to be motivated to properly deal with the situation. It’s always good to get a clear understanding of what the "root" problem is and why it is so important to keep from trying to remedy the situation in the wrong direction, manner or method. First, the bad news, and then the “good news”.

Jeremiah 17:9 “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; Who can know it? I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give every man according to his ways, According to the fruit of his doings.”

This is especially true concerning the greatest problem facing mankind – SIN. There is always the school of “hard-knocks” or “trial & error” that teach us by discovering what to do or what is right in doing what not ought to be done or what is wrong. And there is a lot to say about experience and time tested ways. Sometimes, even though a loving parent may say “don’t touch the oven door because it is hot and will burn your hands”, a child just seems to have the need to feel it for themselves. Then they know what you’re talking about. Ouch! Ahh yes, I see now. But in the case of sin, ignorance places and keeps us in bondage of going in the wrong direction seeking that which promises joy, but is really empty and has tragic eternal consequences, because God deals with sin.

Ezekiel 18:4 Behold, all souls are mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is mine: the soul who sins shall die.

What exactly is sin? Basically, disobeying God. It’s a term in the sport of Archery, which means to “miss the mark or target”. What is the mark? It is the Word and will of Lord God, the Creator of Heaven and Earth and found in His Holy Bible (our moral compass). Sin is not only missing God’s standards, but by our thoughts, words, attitudes, and deeds hit another that is not His. There is not only sins that are actively committed by don’t what we ought not to do (when God says “don’t”), but there are also sins that are committed by not doing what we ought to be doing (when God say “do”. Isaiah 53:6 says, “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way”. And God does not grade on a scale.

Habakkuk 1:13 You (God) are of purer eyes than to behold evil and can not look [inactively] upon injustice.

Since the “fall of mankind”, when sin was introduced into the world by Adam & Eve, the sin nature of the flesh, that which is contrary to the will of God, is battling for our hearts, minds, emotions, bodies and souls in psychological and sensual warfare in envy, lusts, greed, position, power, pleasure and riches that focus on self-gratification. Romans 3:23 says that “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” Like it or not, and no matter how unpopular this may sound, we have got to come to the reality that every man, woman, and child is a sinner and can not save ourselves on our own. Sin is the root problem. And just as an earthly Judge must punish a convicted criminal of their crimes or else they would not be serving justice, our heavenly Father must punish sin, for He is Holy & Just. Romans 6:23 tells us, “For the wages of sin is death”. We have a problem. We need saved. God had a solution.
Romans 8:6-8 For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

Next post is the “good” news.
In Christ, Brian

3 comments:

Alice said...

Getting people to understand sin is tough, we are SO prideful,

I JUST wrote a lost loved one again yesterday and used Romans 3:23- one of my favorite verses when I started reading the scriptures.

I am not the only sinner, we are all in need of the Savior!

child of God said...

I agree with Ma, it is hard to get people to understand that they, we, are sinful. Satan blinds them with pride and perfection that they just don't see it.
Not all of my family is saved and when I try to talk to them about God their response is, "I'm not a bad person. I give to the church and look after my neighbour." They don't realize that we are born into sin so even a sweet little baby is full of sin. They don't see that.
Thank you for this post for we all need to read this and understand.

Blessings,
<><

Brian Ray Todd said...

Great points Ma & C.O.G.! There is an ignorance and blind eye to sin that is epidemic today, and an obsticle for the lost keeping so many from finding salvation and true happiness from the only real source. Reminds me of the Israelites wandering in the wilderness seeking the promised land of God. Even before I attended a evangelism course, I realized this key: "You have to realize that you are lost before you can be found". My mentor, the late Bill Stiles used to say:"You must know from what you have been saved "from" (meaning sin and it's consequences), to know who & what you have been saved "to". As you said, people try to define the term "bad person", but not based on God's definition and standards. Notice that they always exclude themselves in their definition. Their scale always tips to the side of "good". But actually de-thrones God and puts themself as lord of their lives, deciding what gets them into heaven. Therefore, they are putting their trust in themselves and their own works rather than the TRUTH, salvation,regeneration of the spirit, restoration of their spiritual relationship and true happiness. Recognition of what sin truly is and what it truly does drives us to the only remedy ... a Savior provided by our Creator. It also drives us, witht he help of the Holy Spirit, to get the truth (good news of Jesus Christ)out to the deceived and lost. Thank you for the comments.