Man Is Sinful By Nature Series

Man is by his nature sinful.

Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-6,11-13

The reasons for our sin

Man is sinful, and we show it in our actions and our conduct. Man is always ready to do evil. Paul says in Romans that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. When we, as the children of God, are outside of God’s will, we are under the Divine sentence of the law; the soul that sinneth shall surely die. These things are true of men of all ages, of all nations, and all genders.

These truths are quite simple. They so simple, we can overlook them with considerable ease. When we sin and do not clear it up with God, we drift quietly and silently away from God, like a boat adrift on the sea. As children of God, we should never set our own will against the holy will of God. When we allow our actions to be outside of the will of God, we forfeit God’s favor and deserve His punishment. Worse than that, we lose our fellowship with God.

Lucifer influences us into sin.

Lucifer conquered Adam and Eve and drew them into sin. Lucifer’s plan is to conquer each of us as he did them. Lucifer wants to separate us from our God. He wants to destroy any chance of us getting into heaven. In the garden, Lucifer tempted the woman, Eve. It was Lucifer’s policy to take advantage of people. Lucifer took advantage of her when he found her near the forbidden tree. Lucifer will use things, people, and ideas that we are use to or familiar with to get to us. Lucifer’s strategy is to send temptations by hands we do not suspect, and by those, that has the most influence upon us. Lucifer questioned whether it was a sin to eat of the tree. Then, Lucifer quoted the commandment wrong because he is a liar. It is the practice of Lucifer to speak of the Scriptures as uncertain or unreasonable, so that he can draw us into sin. Lucifer will try to get us to doubt God, and then to deny the truth that we already know about God.

Our disobedience opens the doorway for sin.

As children of God, the Scriptures say that we can have anything that we want. The bible says that God will give us the desires of our hearts, but we must be obedient. Before Adam and Eve sinned, they welcomed God’s gracious visits with joy. Adam had no corrupt nature within him; but he did have a freedom of choice. When Adam chose to sin, he drew in all of the rest of humanity into sin and ruin. When it was too late, Adam and Eve saw the mistake of eating the forbidden fruit. They saw the happiness and peace they once knew disappear. They saw a loving God provoked into anger. They saw his grace and favor forfeited. They soon found themselves outside the protective fellowship of God. Adam and Eve were now miserable comforters to each other!

This, too, will be the fate of all the children of God that continues to live in their sins. We have more interest in saving ourselves before men, than in obtaining a pardon from God for our sins. Men make excuses to cover and lessen their sins, but all of their best excuses are vain and frivolous. It is no wonder man has become a terror to each other. No wonder God’s once perfect world is full of confusion.

The five steps downward into sin

1. We see. A great deal of sin comes in at the eye. We should not look on that which we are in danger of lusting after, Matthew 5:28.

2. We consider. Our own act and deed lead us into sin. Lucifer may tempt, but he cannot force; he may persuade us to cast ourselves down, but he cannot cast us down, Matthew 4:6.

3. We participate. When Eve looked perhaps, she did not intend to take. When she took perhaps, not to eat. It is wisdom to stop at the first sight of sin, and to leave it alone.

4. We involve others. Those who do wrong are willing to draw in others to do the same. Misery loves company.

5. They participate.

The consequences of your sin

Genesis 3:7-10, 14-19, 22-24, Genesis 4:1-2, Genesis 4:8-12

Those who go astray from God because of sin should seriously consider this question. Where are you? When a child of God is lost in sin, they are far from God. When a child of God is out of fellowship with God, they are in the midst of their enemies. They are in bondage to Lucifer, and on the road to utter destruction. The lost child of God cannot be either happy or satisfied where he has strayed. We, like Adam, have reason to be afraid of approaching God, if we are covered and clothed in sin.