Br John Wesley
“Give me one hundred men who fear nothing but sin and desire nothing but God, and I care not whether they be clergyman or laymen, they alone will shake the gates of Hell and set up the kingdom of Heaven upon the earth.”
Sin is a word that really has a deep impact on our minds. There are many definitions of sin – a) It means missing the mark b) It means not to do the right thing 3) It is also considered as an immoral act considered to be a transgression against divine law. 4) Also as an act regarded as a serious offense or regrettable fault 5) One definition also says that Sin means offense against God or a person or a principle.
The nature of sin is very peculiar. No man in the world today can claim that he/she has not sinned. Romans 3:23 says
“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”
Romans 6:23 says
“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
My friends all of us have sinned and Bible says that wages of sin is death. How is it possible?
When we read the word of God we know the origin of sin. Bible says in the book of Genesis 1:26-28 says
Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all[b]the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
Man was given dominion over everything that God made on earth. Genesis 2:16,17 says
” And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
The above verse clearly says that God commanded man to freely eat from any tree except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, along with it there were consequences that if eaten then there were sure consequences i.e. death. Death means the Glory would depart from them and ultimately it brought in and resulted in natural death.
My friends we know in Genesis 3:2-6 says
And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’”
Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.
Genesis 3:13 says
And the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?”
The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
Lord God was grieved and HE asked the woman – “What is it this you have done?”
GOD had given everything but mankind lost the way. Sin had its origin now, as a result of disobedience to God. In the above verse it clearly states that it was deception that paved the way for sin. Satan when in Heaven, deceived the one-third Angels and as a result all those fell from heaven and became fallen angels. Now satan uses the same weapon to deceive people and cause them to sin.
With the entrance of sin, came the curses and then sicknesses and ultimately death.
My friends Adam used to walk in the glory of God. He hid himself from God when sin entered him as a result of disobedience to God. This was the first thing happened to man that he was separated from direct fellowship with God. The consequences of sin became visible. God came searching for Adam to commune with him, but alas he couldn’t face God. Similarly today people are not able to know the voice of God and bear guilt as a result of sin in the blood inherited.
The second thing we notice that sin entered as a result of deception from satan. Today people get easily enticed with the things of the world and become an easy prey for the devil. Even if people are taking the name of the Lord and are not able to forsake the things of the world i.e. the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life (1 John 2:15,16), then it means they are already deceived. The problem is that the people are not able to know that it is deception by the devil until they get deceived. It is the the Lord who convicts as per John 16:8 on-wards.
to be continued…
