A Conversation With Sin:
An Interview With Sin (A History/
Biography of Sin)
For
just a moment, let us think of sin as if it were a person
(personification). We understand that
sin is simply a word used to describe mankind's rebellious behavior against the
will of God. But, for just a little
while, imagine having a conversation with Sin as if it were a person. What
insights could we gain from such a conversation?
RJ: Hello Sin, we cannot say we have not
seen you for a while, but thanks for having this conversation. It seems you are pretty popular in the world
right now. Is there anything you would like to say to begin our discussion?
Sin: Well, I would like to begin by saying that
there is a lot of bad press out there about me.
I get a lot of blame for the problems of the world and for the problems
people have with God. I readily admit that I ruin everything I touch. But keep in mind that I only exist because
God's creation has chosen to ignore and disobey Him. So please do not think of
me apart from the people who give me power and ability to do so much harm. Man is the creation of God. I am the creation
of man. I mention this because
throughout history my creators have consistently tried to deny me or blame my
existence on others. I am always an
invited guest in the lives of my creators. It would be far less confusing if people
would just take responsibility for their own decisions to bring me into their
lives. God will hold all people
accountable for their own actions. God said through Ezekiel, "The soul that
sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father,
neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the
righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon
him." (Ezek 18:20). I know
I bring death and destruction to this world, but I am never the one who pulls
the trigger. I have no say in man's decisions,
I just appear when he creates me.
RJ:
I can see how this kind of behavior makes things confusing. People can never overcome a problem if they
deny its existence or refuse to take responsibility for it. I agreed that those
who create you must accept their role in
your existence. But rest assured that
many of us recognize that you are real and want to understand you better.
Sin: I appreciate your
understanding. Now what would you like to ask me?
RJ:
Okay, let us go back to the day you first appeared in the human
world. I believe you remember Adam and
Eve. Can you explain to us what really
happened that day?
Sin: I will try, but keep in mind
that I was not there until Eve actually ate the fruit of the forbidden tree. It is only when she broke God's command
that I came into existence. What I know
is that God had created them and set them up in a paradise called Eden. He gave them everything they needed and asked
them to tend to the garden. They could
eat of the tree of life which would have allowed them to live forever. But, God desired that they love and obey him because they wanted to, not
because they had to. To give them this freedom
of choice, He created the tree of knowledge of good and evil. He told them that if they ate of that tree,
they would surely die. I guess I would
not exist if it had not been for that tree.
Anyway, as I have learned since that time, humanity
has a tendency to be self centered and dissatisfied with their lot in life no
matter how blessed they might be. I
suppose that Adam and Eve (especially
Eve?) were curious about something they might be missing out on. In their imaginations, rebellion must have
promised them something good. I think
that is what Paul was thinking of when he warned the church about the
"deceitfulness of sin." (Heb 3:13). People universally invite me into their lives thinking I will bring them something good, but boy are
they always wrong about that. While I
might bring some pleasure or fun with me, it is always temporary and has
terrible consequences. One fellow
described this false expectation very
well when he said, "Sin always promises more than it can deliver, costs
you more than you planned to pay, takes you farther than you planned to go and
keeps you longer than you plan to stay."
RJ: Excuse me, I hate to interupt, but I am surprised that you have quoted the Word
of God several times. I never thought of
you as a student of the Bible.
God's Word Identifies and Verifies Sin:
Sin: You should not be surprised, but your
reaction is understandable. I (sin) am
synonymous with rebellion, wickedness, evil and corruption. But, I have a very close connection with the
truth. In fact, if it were not for the truth of God,
I would not even exist. Don't forget
that "sin is a transgression of the law." (1 John 3:4). If there was no law (knowledge of right and
wrong from God's perspective), there could be no sin. Paul said that without
the law he would not have known sin (Rom 7:7).
One of the most beneficial purposes of the Bible is that it reveals my
existence and my identity to the world so they can avoid me. Some think of God's law as a bad thing
because it condemns their behavior. But,
one of its main purposes is to reveal the reality of my existence. As Paul said, "Was then that (law of God) which is
good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin, working
death in me by that which is good; that sin by the commandment might become
exceeding sinful." (Rom 7:13). The Bible clearly reveals and proves my existence and the problem I bring to each
human life.
Most would agree that It
is always good to obey God. We also know
that God has revealed His will through the scriptures (2 Tim 3:16,17). As you know, when people choose not to do
that which is good (obey the will of God), I appear. "Therefore
to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin." (Jas
4:17). I do not have a problem with the
truth. It is truth that verifies my
existence. In fact the number one way my
creators deny my existence is to deny the truth of what God says in the
scriptures. When this happens, it does
not mean I am not present, it just leads to my not being recognized. I can
always do more damage when I am denied and not recognized.
RJ: Very interesting. Thanks for that explanation, can you
now continue telling us about that day in the garden?
Desires, Rebellion and Lies Create Sin:
Sin: Okay. While Eve was obviously struggling with her
human tendencies, Satan showed up in the form of a talking Serpent. Sounds unusual to us now, but who knows how
long Eve had existed? How was she to
know that all serpents did not speak? As
you know, Satan is known for his hatred of God and everything that God loves. Kind of like a rebellious and hateful child
with his father. That is why he is
constantly seeking to do harm to the human race. Some say Satan is proud and obsessed with his own
importance. Some say he is jealous of
the love God has for the human race. I
cannot explain all his motivations for sure.
But, he is always trying to prove
that God is unworthy of love, respect and obedience. There are always plenty of humans willing to help
him with his obsession. Satan can never
defeat God, but he takes great delight in bringing Him dishonor. The problem with his obsession is that there
is nothing true he can say against God for God is good and pure. So Satan has transformed himself into the "father of liars." (John
8:44). You might think that people would
want to avoid lies and liars at all costs.
But, it has been my experience that they are so often ready and willing
to believe a lie when they are trying to justify their disobedience to
God. The stage was set for my entrance
into the human world. There were two people tempted to disobey God and a liar
there to tell them everything they wanted to hear.
Now Satan approached Eve and
pretended not to know what God had said.
He asks if God had prohibited them from eating of all the trees of the
garden. Eve corrected him, saying they
could eat of all the trees of the garden except one in the middle of the
garden. Eve also shared her knowledge of God's will by telling Satan
of the promised consequences of eating of that tree. She said if we eat of that tree, "we
shall surely die." (Gen 3:4). Satan
then boldly lied to Eve and said "you shall not surely
die." Satan was the first to
suggest that God did not mean what He said and that He would not do what He said
He would do. Already Satan was twisting
God's Words (he just added one word: "not"). Satan probably knew there was more than one way to
"die". There is physical death
(when the human soul is separated from the body, James 2:26) and there is
spiritual death (when our soul is separated from a close relationship with God
by me, Isa 59:2). Did Eve understand the seriousness of being
separated from God's presence and favor?
Did she know she might be separated from the tree of life which would
put her on the path to physical death?
Surely she understood at least
some of the consequences. But she wanted
to eat the fruit of that tree so much she was ready to believe Satan's
lies.
Satan then tells Eve that God was
keeping this fruit from her, because He did
not want her to know as much as Him.
Satan said that if she ate, she would become like a god herself, knowing
good and evil (Gen 3:5). Then the three
big desires of mankind tempted Eve ("Lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes
and the pride of life" 1 Jn 2:16).
"And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that
it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she
took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with
her; and he did eat." (Gen 3:6). In
an instant, I now existed. A product of
lust (human desire) and lies.
At first, I did not understand how a
couple of people snacking on some fruit could have brought me into
existence. But, as I began to understand
the bigger picture, I realized that what had happened was horrifying. The first two people on earth had just put
their trust in a lying God hater. They had made their choice to rebel against their
Holy and Loving Creator, all for the temporary pleasure of a piece of
fruit and the false hope of benefits it would bring them. When I fully got it, I actually felt sad that
the Good Lord had been so dishonored and rejected.
RJ: Thank you so
much for explaining your arrival on
Earth. Sin, now that you are in the world, tells us your thoughts about your
place and purpose here.
I Separate People From God Eternally:
Sin: Well, the first
thing I realized was that I was really
bad for mankind. I learned immediately
that my presence in a human life brought them serious consequences. It turns
out (I learned this later from Habakkuk 1:13), that God is too pure to be in my
presence. Because of me, Adam and Eve
could no longer live in the presence of God and were cast out to live in a
world separated from God's closest presence.
They destroyed their close relationship with God and lost their access
to the tree of life. The Bible would
later describe their soul's spiritual
condition as death. Because they chose
to invite me in, life for them and all their descendants would now be difficult
and painful. God also cursed the
serpent to crawl on his belly in the dust.
God promised Satan that one day a descendant of Eve would crush his
head. I remember Satan was so proud that
he had helped bring me into the world. He
did not seem at all worried about God's promise concerning his future defeat.
All he could say as he crawled away laughing was, "I knew I could
prove to the humans that God is not worthy to be obeyed."
But to answer your question, I
actually felt pretty bad. From that day till now, my presence in human life
guarantees that they will be condemned and separated from God forever. Satan has done everything he can to downplay
this awful consequence. He likes to
deceive people into thinking that a little "sin" is not such a big
deal. One church even decides if I am "mortal" or "venial"
depending on what was done to create me.
Others think in terms of big sins, little sins, many sins or few
sins. But, Adam and Eve are proof that
any sin at all separates souls from God. I hate to be the bad guy, but do not
be deceived. If I am in your life at
all, you are lost and separated from God. And If you are old enough to make
moral choices, I am certainly in your life.
"For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God" (Rom
3:23). I am like a fatal worldwide
epidemic which everyone eventually chooses to invite into their life. As you said in the beginning, I am
universally popular. But please
understand this. You should not think
of me as big or little, but maybe more like a virus or an infection. Once you are infected with me, even once, you cannot enter into God's holy
presence.
To answer your question, my presence
separates people from God. I guess you
could say that my purpose and place is to be a visible symptom, or sign here to identify this terrible
separation.
RJ: We understand
that your presence in a human life is spiritually fatal. But some say that
after you came into existence, you are automatically inherited at birth by
every human descendant of Adam and Eve.
They call this original sin or total hereditary depravity.
Can you explain this to us?
Sin Is Not Inherited:
Sin: Yes, I have heard of that belief. It does not make any sense when you look at
my original arrival which I just explained. I am a permanent stain on the human soul which
separates them from God. But, like the
original sin, I only become a part of a person's life when they choose to rebel
against God. It is true that every
person since Adam has been born into a world infected and dominated by my
existence in the lives of so many. Some
have decided that since this infection is so widespread that it must be
something that all humans have received at birth. That is bad logic. If the whole world was
infected by some fatal disease, would that prove that all people had been born
with it? No. It would prove that the disease was very
contagious.
My presence in this world and the
awful consequences of my presence are quite
overwhelming and universal in people old enough to know better. King David, while overwhelmed with his own
horrible sin, once said, "Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did
my mother conceive me. (Psa 51:5). David
could have been thinking about a lot of different things. He could have been referring to a curse
imposed on his family for several generations because of an ancestor's
sin. He could have been referring to the
fact that both his mother and father were themselves sinners. But in the context, He was probably just overwhelmed at my universal and awful
presence everywhere and all the time. I assure you that I was all around David
at his birth, but I did not affect his relationship with God until he was old
enough to invite me in himself. David in
this verse is grieving over his bad decision and my overwhelming presence in
this world.
Here are the facts. Adam, Eve and all their descendants were
created in the image of God (Gen 1:26; James 3:9; 1 Cor 11:17). No person was ever born separated spiritually
from God because of something Adam did (Physically
separated from Eden? Yes). I only stain
the souls who have by their choice somehow invited me into their lives. If every human since Adam was born a sinner, then Jesus was also
born a sinner for He "became flesh (human) and dwelt among us" (John
1:14). Jesus was the only human that
ever lived who did not invite me into
his life when He was tempted. (Heb 4:15).
Babies are not sinners, stained and separated from God spiritually. But when they grow up they all invite me into
their lives for the same reasons Adam and Eve did. They share the human tendency (some say
nature) to be selfish and self centered.
Everyone is affected by the consequences of my presence in this
world, but I have never permanently stained one soul in God's eyes until they have exercised their freedom of choice and
dishonored their Creator. Man was and is
created in the image of God. I am not
present or a part of any man's creation.
It may be the human tendency to be selfish and easily tempted which
people mistake for my presence. But,
being tempted is not the same as actually acting on the temptation which brings
me into a person's life. James explains
my arrival very well. "But every
man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth
forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. Do not err, my beloved brethren. (Jas
1:14-16). Now does that sound like I am present with every baby, or am I born
out of human choice and actions?
RJ: Wow, how you
explain that makes it seem so simple. Thanks
for talking with us. Next time can we
talk about how to get you out of our lives? Is there any way we can be restored to
a close relationship with God? We look
forward to the answers to these questions.
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