Episode 8: Sin—One Strike and You’re Out

Special Guest – Dr. Alan Gomes

Trinity Broadcasting Network

What is Sin?

Sin is anything that is contrary to God’s holy nature. The Bible describes both our actions and our nature as sin when we rebel against God.  Let’s look briefly in the Bible for the language of rebellion against God:

• Transgression – Conveys the idea of crossing over the boundary of what God finds acceptable (Ephesians 2:1)
   
• Unrighteousness – Not hitting the target of what God finds acceptable (Romans 3:5)
   
• Lawlessness – Breaking accepted rules of right and wrong (1 John 3:4)
   
• Rebellion – Going beyond a limit (1 Kings 12:19)
   
• Godlessness – No reverence for God (Romans 1:18)
   
• Wickedness – Evil deeds (Romans 1:18)
   
• Evil – (Matthew 7:11)

Why Sin Matters

Sin matters to God because it saddens Him, because sin brings His children consequences, and because it separates us from Him.

Sin matters to humans because we are accountable to God for our actions, because sin brings consequences, and because it separates us from Him.

Satan and the Big Lie

Satan tempted Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.  He did it by telling them four lies in response to what God had told them.  Here’s what God said:

And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 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 2:16).

Here are Satan’s four lies:

Big Lie #1 – God is placing an unreasonable restriction on you.  (He won’t let you eat the fruit of that beautiful tree.)

Big Lie #2 – This restriction is bad because you would be better off without it. (If you eat the fruit, then you will be like God.)

Big Lie #3 – Therefore, God’s rule is bad. (He is unfairly restricting your knowledge.)

Big Lie #4 – You would be better off if you didn’t pay attention to the restriction. (Eat the fruit.  Don’t worry, you won’t die.)

Rather than believe and obey God, Adam and Eve believed Satan’s lies, and the result was the darkest day in the history of humankind. It’s known as the Fall.

Fallout From the Fall

• For both Adam and Eve:
• Physical and spiritual death (Genesis 2:17)
• Expulsion from the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:23)
• For Eve and all women who fallow her:
• Pain in childbirth (Genesis 3:16)
• Submission to husband (Genesis 3:16)
• For Adam and all men who follow him:
• A lifetime of “painful toil” to get food from the earth (Genesis 3:17-19)
• For the Serpent:
• Cursed to forever crawl on its belly and eat dust (Genesis 3:14)
• For Satan:
• God declared that Satan would injure the heel of woman’s offspring but that her offspring would crush the head of Satan (Genesis 3:15).  This is the first Bible reference to the future events when Satan’s evil influence over humankind would bring about the crucifixion of Jesus (thereby “injuring the heel” of woman’s offspring).  But Jesus will eventually crush Satan when the devil is forever cast into a lake of fire.

The Double Death Penalty

The Bible clearly teaches that the sin of Adam and Eve, as with all sin, carries the penalties of:

1. Natural death, or death of the physical body (Romans 5:12-14).  If there had been no sin in the Garden of Eden, there would have been no death for Adam or Eve or the animals. The physical death we see everywhere on Planet Earth is the consequence of sin entering the world.

2. Spiritual death.  While the spirit part of man is still eternal, it dies in the sense that it is alienated from God (Ephesians 2:12). Unless a person accepts Christ, the soul (or spirit) part of the person is condemned to spend eternity in hell separated from God (Romans 6:23).

Diagnosing the Sin Disease

The Bible doesn’t hold back on this subject. It speaks clearly about the terrible nature of sin and how it affects every person.

1. Sin is everywhere. All humans have sinned.  No one has escaped the clutches of a sinful nature.

2. Sin affects everyone.  Its effects go deep. It infects every part of our being.  It taints our mind, our emotions, and our actions.

3. Sin makes us blind to God. It makes us feeble.  It clouds our thinking and puts us at odds with God and His principles.

 

Next episode:  The Remedy for Sin

Suggested reading:

• Knowing God 101 by Bruce Bickel and Stan Jantz (Chapter 7)
• Know What You Believe by Paul Little (Chapter 5)

Bruce and Stan with Dr. Alan Gomes

Dr. Alan Gomes (Ph.D. Fuller Theological Seminary) is Associate Professor of Historical Theology at Talbot School of Theology.  He specializes in the history of Christian doctrine, systematic theology, and American religious cults.  In addition to his busy writing schedule (Alan served as the series editor for the 15-volume Zondervan Guide to the Cults), he is an active preacher and lecturer at churches throughout Southern California.

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