The Source of Sin
I would imagine that most people don't really know where sin came from. It is not that they don't know the Biblical accounts. It is that they don't think through them thoroughly enough to discern the source of sin. I spoke to our middle school students about this in chapel today.
People know that Satan was proud, and he wanted to be worshiped like God, and that was the first sin in the universe. Unfortunately, one third of the angels followed him in this sin, too. Then, Adam and Eve became the first humans to sin, when they ate the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. However, these are not the source of sin, as some might expect.
The source of sin is choice. Sin came about because in God's wisdom and providence He knew that choice was an essential element for His creation of angels and humans. In both cases God desired for the angels and the humans to be able to freely love Him and serve Him. Therefore, they had to have the choice of whether or not to love Him and serve Him. Sin came when each group chose to exercise their choice in the wrong way. Sin is making the wrong choice. It is choosing not to do the will of God in any way or any degree.
This is so instructive for all of us today, whether we are believers or not. We must see that our choices are significant. They have consequences. Some negative choices or sins have more serious consequences than others, but they all have consequences, because God does not want us to destroy ourselves by sin. That is why He sent Christ to die for our sins and to rise again to show His complete victory over sin's power and death. He wants us to choose life, eternal life in Christ. The choice is ours. I pray we will not choose sin, but Jesus.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Joshua 15-17.
People know that Satan was proud, and he wanted to be worshiped like God, and that was the first sin in the universe. Unfortunately, one third of the angels followed him in this sin, too. Then, Adam and Eve became the first humans to sin, when they ate the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. However, these are not the source of sin, as some might expect.
The source of sin is choice. Sin came about because in God's wisdom and providence He knew that choice was an essential element for His creation of angels and humans. In both cases God desired for the angels and the humans to be able to freely love Him and serve Him. Therefore, they had to have the choice of whether or not to love Him and serve Him. Sin came when each group chose to exercise their choice in the wrong way. Sin is making the wrong choice. It is choosing not to do the will of God in any way or any degree.
This is so instructive for all of us today, whether we are believers or not. We must see that our choices are significant. They have consequences. Some negative choices or sins have more serious consequences than others, but they all have consequences, because God does not want us to destroy ourselves by sin. That is why He sent Christ to die for our sins and to rise again to show His complete victory over sin's power and death. He wants us to choose life, eternal life in Christ. The choice is ours. I pray we will not choose sin, but Jesus.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Joshua 15-17.