Sin- Says to God "Jesus" I don't need you
Sin is so misconstrued, because the powers that be, our teachers, biblical scholars and preachers, deal with the byproduct of sin and not the root of it. The only person I knew that ever came close, but still does not get it, was my pastor, Bill Monroe. He preached a message about the root of sin and said that the tap root of that tree of sin was pride, yet pride is a product of sin.
The first mention of sin in the Bible is in Genesis 3. The word itself is not mentioned, but it is inferred from Adam and Eve’s actions when they ate of the forbidden fruit.
Genesis 3:5 – For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
The whole premise of sin is that we can be god, which I call Self Independent Nature, because sin says to God, I do not need You! Isn’t that what got Lucifer kicked out of Heaven?
Isaiah 14:12-15 – How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! 13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: 14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. 15 Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.
The word sin is first used in story of Cain and Able:
Genesis 4:7 – If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.
And if you read the Scofield Study Bible, the word “sin” here has a footnote that reads as this: “(4:7) Or, sin-offering. In Hebrew the same word is used for ‘sin,’ and ‘sin-offering’ thus emphasizing in a remarkable way the complete identification of the believer’s sin his sin-offering (cf. John 3:14 and 2 Cor. 5:21). Here both meanings are brought together. ‘Sin lieth at the door,’ but so also ‘a sin-offering croucheth at the [tent] door.’ It is ‘where sin abounded’ that ‘grace did much more abound’ (Rom. 5:20). Able’s offering implies a previous instruction (cf. Gen. 3:21), for it was ‘by faith’ (Heb. 11:4), and faith is taking God at His word; so that Cain’s unbloody offering was a refusal of the divine way. But Jehovah made a last appeal to Cain (Gen 4:7) even yet to bring the required offering.”
Scofield speaks of the need of the sin offering and that the shedding of blood was required to restore our broken relationship with God. He doesn’t fully describe that relationship as being separated from God at the moment Adam and Eve ate from the forbidden fruit. But God taught us how we should come to Him, and Scofield gives another explanation for Romans 3:23.
Romans 3:23 – For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.
In Scofield’s note, the word “sinned” is summarized and not fully and completely broken down: “(3:23) Sin, Summery: The literal meanings of the Heb. and Gr. words variously rendered ‘sin,’ ‘sinner,’ etc., disclose the true nature of sin in its manifold manifestations. Sin is transgression, an overstepping of the law, the divine boundary between good and evil (Psa. 51:1; Lk 15:29); iniquity, an act inherently wrong, whether expressly forbidden or not; error, a departure from right (Psa. 51:1; Rom. 3:23); missing the mark, a failure to meet the divine standard; trespass, the intrusion of self-will into the sphere of divine authority (Eph. 2:1); lawlessness, or spiritual anarchy ( 1 Tim. 1:9); unbelief, or an insult to the divine veracity (John 16:90. Sin originated with Satan (Isa. 14:12-14); entered the world through Adam (Rom. 5:12); was , and is universal, Christ along excepted (Rom. 3:23; 1 Pet. 2:22); incurs the penalties of spiritual and physical death ( Gen. 2:17; 3:19; Ezk. 18:4,20; Rom. 6:23); and has no remedy but in the sacrificial death of Christ (Heb. 9:29; Acts 4:12) availed of by faith (Acts 13:38, 39). Sin may be summarized as threefold: An act, the violation of, or want of obedience to the revealed will of God a state, absence of righteousness; a nature, enmity toward God.”
This is how people get so confused. They are taught that sin is something you think, say and do, but where is it written in the Holy Scriptures that Jesus died so the alcoholic could stop drinking, or so the drug addict could stop using, or the glutton to have self-control, or those addicted to sexual perversions can be delivered? When it comes time—and that time will come—that the payment comes due for such behavior, there will be no excuses in that person’s life that will get them off the hook. All you have to do is read the story of the rich man, and you’ll see it is easier for a camel to go through an eye of a needle than for him to enter the kingdom of God. Indeed, consider the following story from Jesus:
Luke 18:9-14 – And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: 10 Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. 11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. 12 I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. 13 And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. 14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the .other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.
When a person looks at sin from man’s perspective, even one as knowledgeable as Scofield, one can get it wrong. I for one believe much of what he says to be true, except on this subject. Let me show you why, and you can judge for yourself.
Romans 5:12 – Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.
Scofield’s notes on this verse read: “The first sin wrought the moral ruin of the race. The demonstration is simple. (1) Death is universal (vs. 12, 14), all die: sinless infants, moral people, religious people, equally with the depraved. For a universal effect there must be a universal cause; that cause is a state of universal sin (v. 12). (2) But this universal state must have had a cause. It did. The consequence of Adam’s sin was that ‘the many were made sinners’ (v.19) - ‘By the offense of one judgment came upon all men unto condemnation’ (v. 18).”
Scofield’s note here on sin and death seems to be an oxymoron, for there is no such thing as a sinless infant—not when one understands death in Genesis 2:16 and 17. What will it take for us to get it right? We understand we were all made sinners because of Adam’s disobedience, but his death occurred instantly, not 900 years later when Adam physically died.
Sin is not an action, a deed, a thought, or a word said, these are the fruit of sin; Like butter is to milk. It is a position, a state of being, a life lived apart from God. In itself, it impossible to live apart from God, for if we could, we would be alive and not dead. Life only comes from God and Life is given to us at the moment of Salvation.
John 5:24 – Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.
We have been taught that sin somehow affected all of creation and that it changed the world into what it is today. That is not true, however. Only Adam (man) was changed as he died, both physically and spiritually. This death has now passed upon all men, women, and children. Sin is not without consequences. There is always an effect to what we do. God gave Adam only one commandment, and he broke it by making the decision to eat of the tree apart from God.
My definition of sin is Self Independent Nature since sin says to God, “I don’t need You!” Sin is a life lived apart from God and Jesus, who is God!
Every sin one can think of comes down to something done apart from God. It is said that Jesus was without Sin, for He is God and cannot sin. He cannot do anything independent of Himself. He said He and the Father were one and that He does His Father’s will:
John 5:30 – I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.
John 14:6-11 – Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. 7 If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him. 8 Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us. 9 Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father? 10 Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. 11 Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works' sake.
So, for Jesus to Sin, He would have had to be separated from God, which is impossible! He is God!
Romans 5:12 – Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.
This is the dilemma we have found ourselves in. The word “world” here in verse 5:12 is not speaking of creation, but the world of man and all of humanity, which will be explained later, but for now, we will put God’s Word into context.
You see, sin separated man from God, and it is repentance through faith in Jesus that restores man back to God. It seems so simple, but when man falls to his knees, due to the consequences of sin, Satan appears on the scene as an “angel of light.”
Let me give you a perfect example of a life lived without God:
Judges 10:6-18 – And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD, and served Baalim, and Ashtaroth, and the gods of Syria, and the gods of Zidon, and the gods of Moab, and the gods of the children of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines, and forsook the LORD, and served not him. 7 And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and he sold them into the hands of the Philistines, and into the hands of the children of Ammon. 8 And that year they vexed and oppressed the children of Israel: eighteen years, all the children of Israel that were on the other side Jordan in the land of the Amorites, which is in Gilead. 9 Moreover the children of Ammon passed over Jordan to fight also against Judah, and against Benjamin, and against the house of Ephraim; so that Israel was sore distressed. 10 And the children of Israel cried unto the LORD, saying, We have sinned against thee, both because we have forsaken our God, and also served Baalim. 11 And the LORD said unto the children of Israel, Did not I deliver you from the Egyptians, and from the Amorites, from the children of Ammon, and from the Philistines? 12 The Zidonians also, and the Amalekites, and the Maonites, did oppress you; and ye cried to me, and I delivered you out of their hand. 13 Yet ye have forsaken me, and served other gods: wherefore I will deliver you no more. 14 Go and cry unto the gods which ye have chosen; let them deliver you in the time of your tribulation. 15 And the children of Israel said unto the LORD, We have sinned: do thou unto us whatsoever seemeth good unto thee; deliver us only, we pray thee, this day. 16 And they put away the strange gods from among them, and served the LORD: and his soul was grieved for the misery of Israel. 17 Then the children of Ammon were gathered together, and encamped in Gilead. And the children of Israel assembled themselves together, and encamped in Mizpeh. 18 And the people and princes of Gilead said one to another, What man is he that will begin to fight against the children of Ammon? he shall be head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.
This example above is played out in the life of Israel over and over where God is set aside. In Judges10:6, Israel forsakes God and serves other gods. Because they no longer needed God, they were given into servitude of other nations (Judges 10:7-9). Finally, it got so bad that they acknowledged their sin and their need of God, but God told them to ask deliverance of the false gods they were worshiping (Judges 10:11-14)!
This was quite eye opening to me. I can look back in my life like reading today’s headlines. It all started with Enron and then WorldCom, WorldCom a company I worked for. Who would have thought that the 2nd largest communications company in the world would fall the way it did—all stemming from greed. With everything that has befallen America in recent years since Regan, it makes one wonder if we are in the Last Days. Or will there be one more revival in America or has God become fed up with everything? I know this: He still has a work in the life of Israel. The church has accepted the world’s philosophy in dealing with addictions and has handed their congregations over to Satan’s plan of works for deliverance. They call it recovery in 12 Steps or 10 Principles of Reformers Unanimous.
Jesus gives us a promise, but Satan wants a contract. Just look at the programs that are in place today that help men and women to be free from the bondage of sin like Alcoholics Anonymous and the many different forms of support groups that have spun out from it. Other programs, as noble as they seem, have made its way into the church like Reformers Unanimous.
Jesus says believe in Him and we will receive life eternal.
Satan says do the 12 Steps and 10 Principles, and he will give you life in this world. You just have to work for it.
Matthew 1:21 – And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their “sins”
Not the fruits of Sin, but sin itself - your life lived apart from Jesus, Who is LIFE.
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