"Our Identity In Christ (Ii): We Are Sinners And Need God’s Forgiveness”

The second element about "Self-Identity" that we need to understand is that we are human beings who have sinned and need God's forgiveness. Let's read Genesis 3:6 - “When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it." As a result of Adam and Eve's disobedience, all humans who are born in the world carry the seeds of sin within themselves. That is, babies who are born carry sinful traits which when they grow up, the sinful nature becomes more visible. The concept that babies are born carrying the seeds of sin in theology is called "original sin." This hereditary sin becomes a reality when the person concerned grows older and the sin becomes his personal sin.

I give you an example. This video is about a little girl who is maybe 2-3 years old. Her parents never taught her to lie. But somehow, out of fear of being scolded, she desperately denied that she had been playing with the dog food. It's funny seeing her behavior in this video. But if her parents cannot train and discipline her, she will grow up to be an adult who has a habit of lying. We never taught our children to lie. We also never teach our children to be selfish, jealous, hateful, arrogant, violent, and so on. Then how could they have those kinds of characters? The answer is because they were born with the seed of sin in them. That is what David says in Psalm 51:5 - “Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.”

So, by nature, humans tend to do what is not good because of the sinful nature that is in everyone. This is why humans need to get good parenting, moral teachings, etc. that teach them to do good, be humble, caring, stay away from jealousy, and not commit sins. However, no matter how good a person is, because he/she may receive good education and guidance from his parents or obey his/her religious teachings, they cannot possibly be free from sin. From the time the first human was created until now, there is no one who has not sinned. Romans 3:23 says: "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." God's Word says "all," so everyone, including the prophet and the founders of religions, has sinned. But there is a Person who is without sin, that is Jesus. Why? Because He was not born from the seed of His parents but from the Spirit of God, therefore, He did not inherit a sinful nature. More than that during His life, He also never sinned. That is why Jesus dared to challenge the Jewish leaders who were jealous, hated, and tried to get rid of Him: "Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me?" (John 8:46). No one can dare to speak like Jesus because everyone has sinned.

The problem is that many people do not realize that they are sinners. In evangelism, several times when I say that everyone has sinned, the person I was evangelizing says that he is a good person or something like this: "I am an honest businessman," "I have never wronged people," "I am loyal to my wife," "I go to church every Sunday and pray every day," and so on. Because they see themselves as good, they do not feel the need to ask God for forgiveness and need the Lord Jesus as their Savior. Someone said: “People who are the most difficult to repent are not those who know they are the worst people but those who think they are the most righteous people.” I think the statement is correct.

Many people do not understand what sin is so by their standards, they are righteous and good. They do not know that in God's eyes, they are sinners. In the New Testament we find five different words translated with sin:

1. HAMARTIA. This means to miss the mark or it does not hit the target. For example, a person who is shooting an arrow where the arrow is released does not reach the point it was intended for. So, sin means failure to become human as they should. Another meaning of “hamartia” is to do wrong. In Matt 18:15, for example, Jesus says, “If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over.”

2. PARABASIS. This means that sin is stepping across the line that separates right from wrong or a going aside or transgression. In 1 Timothy 2:14, apostle Paul says, “And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner.”