Sin: The Universal Threat with Deadly Consequences

Sin: The Universal Threat with Deadly Consequences The biggest threat that ever existed is sin. It began with the Fall of Satan, the first catastrophe in Creation, and led to Angelic War. It continued with the Fall of Man, the second great catastrophe, and contaminated the whole world. It resides in every cell of the body with affinity to the Cosmic System. It is the reason man was created and the issue that shapes human history. It is the cause of suffering and shame, dying and death. Although it was paid for on the Cross, its consequences linger and lead to the grave. Sin is a much more pervasive problem than even imagined by some of the best pastors and teachers. Man is not only not the master of it, much of it is far beyond his control. He may not even get a vote or see it coming. Contents Introduction Definition Origin The Fall of Man The Adamic Covenant The Lord Jesus Christ Pays for Sins New Covenant to the Church Sin after Salvation Grace and Sin Personal Sin Old Sin Nature Suffering for Sin Satan's Attack on a Person Defense Against Sin Testing the Spirits Consequences of Sin Introduction From the time of the original sin of Satan, God's perfect Creation suffered a major catastrophe. The Angelic order was divided by rebellion and war, and the Universe and all life forms suffered deadly consequences. After man was created in a perfect world to resolve the conflict, the Fall of man from Adam's original sin brought catastrophe and deadly suffering to the Earth. Perfect environment ended; animals became wild; and all life forms faced suffering and death. Sin again became the universal problem. Ignorance is bliss. Those charged with dealing with the problems of sin, namely the pastors, are hopelessly ill-informed and ill-equipped. They don't realize the universality of the problem and the genius of its perpetrator, who is Satan himself. And they don't believe the warnings of God. They don't understand the magnitude of the problem – that sin is such a big problem that the only solution is through the Grace of God. There is no solution to sin other than the divine solution, and until man gets serious and accepts that solution, he is damned and doomed to deadly consequences. After the Fall, mankind became Satan's slaves and received the divine Judgment, "dying you will die." The sin of Adam was transmitted into the entire human race. The problem was so big that only God could solve it. The Son of God was sent to Earth to bear the sins of the world. Only the impeccable Son of God could satisfy the Righteous demands and Justice of Almighty God to handle the sins of man. The Lord Jesus Christ went to the Cross and paid for the sins of the entire world to propitiate God. The only hope for man is to accept the substitutionary work of Jesus Christ in order to receive Eternal Life. God in Grace provided the only solution to sin. The only hope for anyone is to accept God's solution of Salvation. And after Salvation, the only hope for the believer is to accept the Grace solution to avoid the consequences of sin. The divine operating assets of the Spiritual life contain provision for living in a world of sin. When a believer sins after Salvation, the use of Rebound (1 Jn 1:9) can restore the Filling of the Holy Spirit and fellowship with God. Walking in the Spirit is extremely important. There is no way to live the Spiritual life without it. However, it is only the tip of the iceberg of the sin problem. Sin is not just a personal problem. It is a universal problem. Whereas, personal sins can be handled with Rebound, this cannot stop the infiltration of sin from the Cosmic System. Nor can it stop attacks by Satan and his demons, who are full of sin and evil. Man, as a created being, is not the master of his destiny or captain of his soul. The popular feeling that sin only comes from within is not true. Man is under assault from sin from all directions. Satan's organization to destroy him is pervasive, and God has him under the sentence of death because of sin. Even though Salvation delivered him from Eternal condemnation, he is left with its consequences in the form of an Old Sin Nature in his body. With Satan's Cosmic System on the outside and the Old Sin Nature on the inside, the believer is on the battle front in the war against sin Definition A sin is anything that is contrary to the holiness of God. God's perfect integrity is pure and holy, and it is totally without sin. God's perfect integrity cannot accept sin or compromise with it. God can only condemn sin. For man, sins include transgressions of the Commandments of God. A personal sin is an act of human volition. Personal sin is a personal choice. Sin as a state or category may refer to: a. The state of unrighteousness apart from God (1 Jn 5:17); residing in Satan's Cosmic System. b. The state of carnality under the power of the Old Sin Nature and the Cosmic System. c. The Old Sin Nature (the flesh), which resides in the cells of the body. d. A category of sins, such as Lawlessness or Legalism. Origin Satan was the original sinner. He is the author of sin (1 Jn 3:8). His original sin was arrogant-ambition (Isa 14:13-14). As the most beautiful super genius that God ever created, he wanted to ascend to the Throne of God and take the Lord's place in ruling Creation. He rebelled against God and took a third of the angels with him (Rev 12:4). The Fall of Satan was the first catastrophe that shook the heavens. The sin of Satan led to rebellion among the angels. The Fallen Angels of Satan made war against the Elect Angels of God. The suffering was reflected in the Universe. The end result was the destruction of the Earth in which it became a wasteland. This was called the Ice Age, which included the destruction of dinosaurs, plant and animal life, and prehistoric man. The courses of the heavens were also altered. God's holiness (integrity) must reject sin. He cannot have fellowship with sin and must condemn it. After giving Satan and the fallen angels an opportunity to accept the divine solution, those who rejected the divine solution were sentenced to the Lake of Fire (Matt 25:41; Rev 20:10). Note, since Satan and the angels already had Eternal Life, it was only a matter of where they would spend eternity. Satan appealed God's decision, and God granted him an appeal trial. Man was created to resolve Satan's Appeal. The Fall of Man Man was created without sin to demonstrate the Righteousness of God. Man was created male and female, as a pair of witnesses for Satan's Appeal Trial. The heavens were aligned with twelve signs of the Zodiac and a Solar System with the Sun, Moon, and planets to keep time and map the course of human history. The Constellation Gemini symbolized the man and the woman as the two witnesses. The only way man could sin was by eating of the forbidden fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Man was a created being with no knowledge of the Appeal Trial or of Satan. He was given a perfect home, with a perfect mate, perfect environment, love, happiness, and fellowship with God. The animal kingdom was tame and friendly. Fruit was abundant for food. There was no work to be done and no problems. Adam ruled the world and enjoyed a perpetual honeymoon. However, Satan was allowed to cross examine the human witnesses. He handled the job personally without any assistance from his demon hoards. He indwelt the serpent, out-smarted the woman, and convinced her to sin by eating the forbidden fruit. Then the woman gave the fruit to the man, who willfully ate of the fruit and sinned. The decisive victory undoubtedly left Satan thinking that he had won the Appeal. In sin, the man and woman became slaves to Satan and his Cosmic System. Satan took over the rulership of world from Adam (Matt 4:8; Lk 4:5-7; John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11; 1 John 5:19). The Adamic Covenant The Lord discovered the man and the woman in sin. They were hiding from Him and wearing loin coverings to cover their shame. They were spiritually dead under God's Judgment, "dying (spiritually), you will die (physically)" (Gen 2:17). The Lord gave the man and the woman an opportunity to choose the divine solution, which was the Gospel. They could choose to die in their sins and be sentenced to the Lake of Fire with Satan, or they could believe in the Lord as their Savior, who would die for their sins as a substitute for them. The Adamic Covenant was God's promise that the Lord would return as a man and die as a sacrifice for their sins. Adam and the woman chose to believe in the Lord along with His promise, and they were saved. An animal was sacrificed to seal the covenant, and the man and woman were clothed in the animal's skin (Gen 3:21). At Salvation, the man and the woman received a new human spirit along with Eternal Life. However, they were still contaminated with sin (the Old Sin Nature). In their new Spiritual life, the man and woman could choose to obey God or Satan. When the woman bore children, the Original Sin of Adam was imputed to the child at birth, and it was Judged with real spiritual death. Through imputing sin to all men, God insured that man would have no merit in Salvation (Rom. 3:9; 11:32; Gal. 3:22). A person would be able to choose Salvation by faith in the Savior upon reaching the age of accountability. Some of the children chose the Savior and others chose Satan by default. Thus, sin and its consequences spread into the entire human race (Rom 5:12, 14). Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and spiritual death through that sin; so death spread into all men, because all sinned when Adam sinned— (Romans 5:12) The Lord Jesus Christ Pays for Sins In the fulness of time, the Lord Jesus Christ came to Earth and received a human body (Gal 4:4). He needed a human body to die because as God, He could not die. And He needed a human body to be a Mediator who could identify with man (1 Tim 2:5). Jesus Christ was born of a virgin without an Earthly father. Since He was not descended from Adam, He did not have the sin of Adam. He was sinless and uniquely qualified to bear the sins of mankind (2 Cor 5:21; 1 Pet 2:22). He (Father) made Him (Jesus Christ), who knew no sin, to be sin as a substitute for us, that we might become the Righteousness of God in Him. (2 Corinthians 5:21) On the Cross, the sins of the world were imputed to the body of Jesus Christ and Judged by the Father (1 Pet 2:24). He paid for all the sins of mankind (Unlimited Atonement) and thus, fulfilled the Adamic Covenant (1 Jn 2:2). After paying for the sins, the Lord dismissed His spirit and died physically (Jn 19:30). On the third day, the Lord was Resurrected with a new body that would never die. Having paid for all the sins of the world under Satan's power, the Lord was victorious over Satan and reclaimed the rulership of the world. The Good News was proclaimed in all the world that man's sins have been paid for and the door is open for Salvation to all who will believe in Jesus Christ. Salvation is appropriated in Grace through faith in Jesus Christ (Jn 3:16; Eph 2:8-9). New Covenant to the Church After the Jews rejected Jesus Christ and called for His crucifixion, God called out a new Royal Family for the Lord Jesus Christ, the new King (1 Pet 2:9). But you are a chosen family, a royal priesthood, a Holy nation, a people for God's possession, that you may declare the excellencies of Him who called you out from darkness into His marvelous Light. (1 Peter 2:9) The new Royal Family would be Gentiles (Rom 9:30). The New Covenant to the Church established the Church as the new Royal Family on the basis of the "blood of Christ," which is His substitutionary spiritual death on the Cross for the sins of the world. Church Age Believers (CAB's) still have sin in their bodies after Salvation just as Adam and the woman. However, as Royal Family, they are also indwelt by the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit can fill their souls and empower them to withstand the power of sin in their flesh. The Church Age Believer is like the Lord Jesus Christ in Hypostatic Union with a body, soul, and spirit along with the divine nature (indwelling of God). Sin after Salvation After Salvation, the Church Age Believer still has his Old Sin Nature and continues to sin. He never reaches sinless perfection in this life (1 Jn 1:8, 10). Furthermore, Satan is still on the Earth.Cosmic System When man chooses to sin, he becomes the slave of Satan (Jn 8:34). However, since the sins have already been Judged, solutions are available. The unbeliever can have his sins forgiven when he believes in Jesus Christ and receives Salvation (Eph 1:7; Col 1:14). The believer can have his sins forgiven by acknowledging his sins to God (Rebound, 1 Jn 1:9). When the believer acknowledges his post-Salvation sins to God, he is forgiven of all his sins, purified from all unrighteousness, and restored to fellowship with God. After Salvation, the believer's biggest problem is still sin. Should he continue living in sin after Salvation? Absolutely not! Romans 6:1-2 1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in the sphere of sin in order that Grace may increase? 2 May it never be so! We who have died from sin, how shall we any longer live in its power? Paul uses strong language to emphasize the sin problem after Salvation. Our sins were poured out on Christ and Judged at the Cross. Therefore, we should no longer continue to live under the power of sin. The word, sin, is in the singular. It refers to the general category of sin - not just to the Old Sin Nature as some of the best Greek exegetes have erroneously taught. To limit sin in this passage to the Old Sin Nature minimizes the problem at hand and leads to false doctrine. Romans 6:3-5 3 Or do you not know that all who have been baptized into Christ Jesus, into His death have been baptized? 4 Therefore, we have been buried with Him through baptism into death in order that just as Christ was raised out from the realm of the dead through the glory of the Father; thus, we also, by means of the new Spiritual life may strategically advance. 5 For you see, since we have been permanently united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly, we also shall be united with Him in the likeness of His Resurrection. At the moment of Salvation during the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, we were baptized into Christ's death. That means our sins were Judged in Christ on the Cross. The Baptism of the Holy Spirit entered us into union with Christ at the Cross, in His burial, and in His Resurrection. Christ died as a substitute for us. He died for our sins. Therefore, we should advance in the new Spiritual life apart from sin. Knowing this: that our old man has been crucified together with Him in order that our body of sin might be rendered inoperative, with the result that we no longer be slaves to sin. (Romans 6:6) Our "old man" refers to our old, unregenerate self before Salvation, when we lived in sin. The old man was crucified with Christ in order that "our body of sin might be rendered inoperative." The "body of sin" is the human body with the Old Sin Nature. We are no longer to operate in the power of the Old Sin Nature. The result is "that we no longer be slaves to sin." The last word, "sin," does not just refer to the Old Sin Nature. It refers to sin in general, which includes sin from the world (Cosmic System), the OSN, and the devil. This is a much bigger problem than the Old Sin Nature. The believer has three enemies, the world (the Cosmic System along with people in it), the flesh (OSN), and the devil (including demons). All three attack through sin. Even though the Recovery Procedure (Rebound) is available, sin attacks from all directions to choke out his new life (dying) and take him to the grave (death). Sin attacks from within (OSN, Eph 2:1) and without (Cosmic System, Eph 2:2) and meets in the battlefield of the soul. The three enemies reveal the extent of problem of sin. Level 1 – the OSN attacks the self. Level 2 – the people in the world attack self from all sides. Level 3 – Satan, his demons, and Cosmic System attack from the spiritual realm. Therefore, the sin problem is not just a matter of trying to stop sinning, it is a pervasive problem that even includes the power of Satan, the most powerful super genius that God ever created. Since man is a created being, he can be lured into sin without understanding it, just as the woman in the Garden. When God gives Satan permission to cross examine, the believer will never see Satan coming unless the Lord reveals him. Man is not the master of his fate or the captain of his soul. He has a volition, but his volition may not understand the choice. The devil is a master of deceit, who is out of man's class. Only by the Grace of God does man ever get a glimpse of Satan. Grace and Sin Although the teaching in Hamartiology recognizes the three enemies, the breakdown of Grace in the teaching has led to generations of Christians who don't know what they are up against. Grace means sin must be considered in light of God and Satan, not just the weakness of man's flesh. Granted the immature believer doesn't start at this level. He must first learn to deal with his own Old Sin Nature. He is his own worst enemy. Man is a created being. God creates man in Grace to fulfill His purpose (Rom 9:18-24). God does not create evil. However, God does create men like Esau, who are given the opportunity to fulfill their evil desires (Rom 9:13). Created beings in Grace do not choose their destinies. God does (Rom 9:20-21). God may have mercy and create a person like Jacob. Or God may create a person like Esau and harden his heart to allow him to choose evil. The created being only has the choices God gives him. He cannot choose his parents, his children, or his destiny. Man was created to bear witness in the Appeal Trial of Satan. Man is not the star performer in this life. The major issues are what God is demonstrating and what Satan is arguing in the Appeal Trial. It was God's idea to turn Job over to Satan and to throw Daniel in the Lion's den. Neither Job or Daniel had a choice. And neither case had anything to do with personal sin. Satan was allowed to cross examine in both cases in the Appeal Trial. If the positions of God and Satan are not understood on any issue of life, the believer is probably in the dark. When the believer sins, Rebound will solve the immediate problem of personal sin, but it will not necessarily solve the bigger problem of what God and Satan are doing with him in the Appeal Trial. The result of sin from the Garden is "dying (spiritually) you will die (physically)" (Gen 2:17). That has never changed, even for the Church Age Believer, even though Jesus Christ was Judged for all sins. Just as Jesus Christ suffered death for the sins of the world on the Cross, the Christian will also suffer for sins in the body until he eventually succumbs and dies physically (Rom 8:17; 2 Cor 1:5; 4:10; Phil 3:10; 1 Pet 4:13). Sin can attack the body from the world (the Cosmic System and people in it), the flesh (OSN), or Satan and his demons. Personal Sin SinsPersonal sin is committed by a person who chooses to sin from his own volition. A person may be motivated to sin from the desire of the Old Sin Nature, from the temptation of the world, or from the influence of Satan and his Cosmic System. All personal sins begin with Pride (or arrogance), which links to Jealousy. Jealousy divides and feeds Self-Righteousness, Worry, and Bitterness. These are the big-five sins that form a crow's foot. The solution to personal sin for the believer is Rebound (1 Jn 1:9). When a person sins, he loses the Filling of the Holy Spirit and becomes the slave of sin (Jn 8:34; Rom 6:16). Slavery to sin means slavery to the OSN as well as Satan (1 Jn 3:8).