Sin and Salvation

The sin factor Bet the only place you are likely to hear the word ‘sin’ mentioned in our present day would be in church and even at that it is not often that you would. You would not hear it in a drinking parlour, a pub, in a brothel or in a casino. It would be unlikely for the inmates to refer to such a word or think of their occupation in those terms. It is undoubtedly a proscribed word in some business circles; in our households it is in undertones that it is alluded to, or we just turn a blind eye. In other circles it is trodden under foot. Our society has succeeded in banning its use from our everyday vocabulary because it is not user friendly, it is frowned upon.

We have become such a liberal and permissive society with license to transgress God’s laws with impunity, without raising eyebrows. In our day we are prone to accept any and everything the devil thrusts at us as the norm, as accepted behaviour - all in the name of civil liberty.

But has it got to be that way? No. Could the cause have been the modern times and the breathtaking strides civilization has attained or the negative claims of the technological advances of our age? Must progress be at the cost of overturning all the barriers put in place to restrain humanity and uphold its moral values? I wonder. There seems to be few deterrents these days. Lust and greed govern our every motive as we continue to drift steadily into a perilous future and an inevitable doom.

Sin has gained a firm foothold in every stratum of society and has become a popular form of entertainment; something we take great delight in and even laugh about. A cursory look around us would reveal how sin has influenced every aspect of our being, regrettably though. Yes, sin has ceased to be objectionable, it hardly disturbs us; it has become an integral part of the décor that we rarely would qualify as offensive to God. The media glosses over it; no one has the nerve to speak up against it without having to count the cost.

Would not the sins of Sodom and Gomorrah be considered ‘more bearable’ or milder in intensity in comparison to what pertains now? (Matthew 10:15) Visibly, we continue to move further and further away from the truth, and from the word of God. We have become colour blind to sin. Our world is in peril and our complacency is the cause. We are sitting on a time bomb and don’t seem to be aware of it.

The Bible is sounding an alarm that we need to sum up courage like John the Baptist in order to tell the King Herods of the 21st century to the face about ways that do not please God. (Matthew 14:3-5)

Sin has so permeated our world, and is being justified whether discretely, openly, unknowingly, timidly and unwillingly to our detriment. God condemns every wrongdoing. He cannot call evil good.

Against this backdrop there is a need to heed this warning: “There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.” (Proverbs 14:12) Unfortunately that is the way most of us have chosen. Because our sins have not resulted in immediate death, we think God is no longer appalled by them.

Humanity is at the brink of the abyss and every one of us needs to show concern for the current trend of things. The time has come for humanity to confront sin. The Bible offers the key to combat the desire to and love for sin.

Sin through Adam Sin came into the world through our ancestors Adam and Eve and has left its indelible mark in the lives of human beings ever since. Sin never existed until this act of disobedience was committed. Prior to sinning Adam and Eve could boast of a special relationship and enjoyed a perfect communion with God. God gave Adam the authority to name all living creatures; “… all the livestock, the birds of the air and all the beasts of the field.” (Genesis 2:19-20) This relationship became broken and the communion severed when the couple blatantly disobeyed God’s instructions. “… but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil for when you eat of it you will surely die.” (Genesis 2:17) Adam and Eve were thereafter thrown out of the Garden of Eden as the penalty of ultimate separation from God – death - was implemented.

Sin in the Bible is defined as lawlessness (1 John 3:4) because when we sin it is a deliberate choice to go it our own way – consciously disregarding God’s laws. When God instituted His laws, He required His creations to abide by them. When we fail to do so, the sanctions fall. Adam and Eve lost their status for failing to observe and respect God’s orders. We have inherited that fallen state. “There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, .…” (Romans 3:23)