The Problem of Sin Solved

The Bible starts with the sentence, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth."  As amazing as that is, I am still amazed that three pages later sin entered into the world through Adam's rebellion, and death through sin.  One only needs to turn to page 6 in my Bible before we read this horrible indictment against man:  Genesis 6:5, 11-12 reads, "Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually...¹¹ The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. ¹² So God looked upon the earth, and indeed it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth."  The corruption of mankind through sin is a self-imposed tragedy.

More than anything, man desires to be in control.  He naturally clutches for power, authority, money, privilege, and seniority.  Right from the start, Eve was tempted to be like God by eating the fruit God deemed forbidden.  Even before her fall, Satan was lifted up with pride saying, "I will be like the Most High" (Is. 14:14).  There is one True God and all others are nothing.  Only God is truly in control.  Give a man authority over a nation, but he remains without power to make the sun shine or rain fall.  Even if he could control aspects of weather, he cannot prevent death from seizing him like any other man.  All the propaganda, statues, songs, and slogans will not make people trust him.  When we look around the world today, we see men out of control.  Who is in control?  The book of Job chapters 38-40 should make the answer abundantly clear:  God!

Man wants to say he is in control.  Years ago I had a friend who admitted he was casually using street drugs.  "But I'm not hooked," he told me.  "I can stop any time I want to."  Apparently he didn't want to stop for many years, lost everything, and even spent time in jail.  I'm sure that was all part of the plan, right?  Wink, wink.  He bought into the lying illusion that he was in control when actually the drugs were calling the shots.  But drugs are just a symptom of the problem.  Countless memorial services have played the Frank Sinatra song, "I Did it My Way."  If we could interview each one, their story might mirror the story Jesus told of the rich man and Lazarus.  The rich man lived for himself and ended up in torment.  Proverbs 16:25 reveals the truth from God's perspective:  "There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death."  Why do people die?  Because sin entered the world and death came through sin. 

For years people have made a living from performing with exotic, powerful animals like elephants, tigers, lions, and bears.  But even after a relationship has been formed with an animal, disaster can strike when an animal lashes out.  The performer who at one time seemed in control suddenly is revealed as vulnerable when the teeth sink in.  Some people have trained powerful animals for years without severe or moderate injury.  But this cannot be said concerning sin.  Sin is a beast which destroys the bodies and souls of all who toy with it.  God graciously has given us the Law so we might discern sin from God's righteous standard.  God's Law is like a schoolmaster who leads us by the hand to the truth of the Gospel.  Ezekiel 18:4 reads, "Behold, all souls are Mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is Mine; the soul who sins shall die."  God reveals something that mere science cannot.  Man is a living soul housed in a body of flesh.  Jesus says in Mark 8:36, "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?"  Because the souls of men are eternal, the value of the body is peanuts in comparison.

I am a sinner.  I have sinned against God in ignorance, against my conscience, even maliciously; I have committed both sins of commission and omission.  But praise be to God that He has provided a Saviour in Jesus Christ!  God loves people and desires that none should perish but that all would repent and trust in Him. Jesus speaks of Himself in John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."  We have assurance of forgiveness if we will repent and trust in Christ, seeking salvation through Him alone.  1 John 1:9 affirms, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."  As a sinner, I deserve death.  Yet God has offered to all people eternal life through Jesus.

Maybe you recognize the sin which easily besets you, or perhaps you disagree with the premise that even sin exists!  It is appointed for all men to die because of their sin, and then be judged before God by His righteous standard.  This is a daunting and terrifying scenario.  I am thankful that God is in control, and that is no illusion!  One of my favorite descriptions of Jesus Christ, the Alpha and the Omega, is found in Revelation 1:12-18:  "Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands, ¹³ and in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band. ¹⁴ His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire; ¹⁵ His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters; ¹⁶ He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength. ¹⁷ And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, "Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last. ¹⁸ I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death."

Every man has a choice to either believe that he or God is ultimately in control.  O foolish man who cannot even keep himself alive, can you ascend to heaven through your own strength?  Rise from the dead and live again, if you are able!  Are you capable of breaking the teeth of Satan who is as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour?  Can you by your strength cast aside the bonds of depression, despair, fear, and confusion which weigh down your soul?  Your manifestos and worldly philosophies will perish with you.  How long will you hope for annihilation, reincarnation, or desire to simply cease to exist because your sin gnaws as a parasite upon your soul?  Trust in Jesus Christ while you still can.  Not one who comes to Him will He cast out.  He is the only One who provides the solution for your sin!