The Reality of Sin

Chuckle: A Man said to me, "I had to shoot my dog." "Was he mad?" I asked. "Well, he wasn't very pleased!" he replied.

Quote: "He (Christ) carried our sin, our captivity and our suffering, and He did not carry it in vain. HE CARRIED IT AWAY." --Karl Barth

"All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23 NIV). "Have mercy on me O God, . . . Wash away my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin" (Psalm 51:1-2 NIV).

We live in a world where absolutes concerning right and wrong are vanishing into a sea of relativism. This leads people to say, "what's right for you may not be right for me -- right or wrong depends upon the circumstances at the time." We see people committing even the most heinous of crimes without remorse, or acknowledging that their conduct is wrong and immoral. As these attitudes spread, they can lead to an undisciplined society of anarchy and chaos.

In the Bible, "sin," means missing the mark and the breaking of God's moral law. The Ten Commandments are an easily understood list of those transgressions that violate God's moral and spiritual laws. Incidentally, they are the basis for most of the laws in our society -- the Judeo-Christian ethic, if you will. Breaking these laws is a crime against society and sin against God. Let's look further at the reality of sin.

First, we must realize that "sin" sometimes describes a condition within the heart and soul of every human born into this world. This sinful condition can only be changed by God's forgiveness and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior. The shed blood of Jesus was the ultimate sacrifice for the sins of mankind. Not only do we need saving from our sinful condition, but we need to be forgiven of our sinful thoughts and actions as well. The Bible uses a variety of terms to describe sin, but the most common one means to miss the mark or deviate from God's standard of moral behavior. Let's focus on "sin" as breaking God's moral laws.

Psalm 51 was written by King David after the prophet Nathan confronted him about his adultery with Bathsheba, Uriah's wife. David had slept with Bathsheba, and then had her husband, Uriah killed so he could have Bathsheba for himself. David was devastated by guilt, remorse, and depression because of his great sins. Can you imagine a Godly man like David committing these sins? Remember, he was crowned King by God Himself because of his strong faith and immaculate character.

You may have heard this saying: "Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely." David was a powerful king and nothing was denied him. He allowed his sinful nature to be tempted by Satan and yielded to the basic lusts of the flesh. The so called, "righteous" and powerful seem to fall the hardest when they succumb to temptation because they have the farthest to fall. In his sorrow and remorse, David came to his senses and concluded that he did not deserve God's forgiveness and prostrated himself before God and pled for mercy. Our loving and merciful God forgave him and restored him, but he dealt with the consequences of his sin for the rest of his life. Like David, we all sin and need God's forgiveness.

Love, Jerry & Dotse