A Distorted Image
Romans 5:12-19
TSA Doctrine # 5 – Captain Moy Hernandez, Jr.
http://pomonacorps.blogspot.com/2009/05/distorted-image-5-10-09-captain-moy-tsa.html
What a blessed day this is indeed. A day where we celebrate our mothers!
We celebrate them in appreciation to the many hours of labor they had to put up with, in order to bring us into this world.
We celebrate them for putting up with us as we grew and learned about life.
We celebrate them for the support that they always gave us.
And we celebrate them simply because we know that they loved us!
In fact I believe it is also fitting that our sermon for today is based around the fifth doctrine or statement of belief for The Salvation Army. Which states that we believe that our first parents were created in a state of innocency, but by their disobedience they lost their purity and happiness; and that in consequence of their fall all men have become sinners, totally depraved, and as such are justly exposed to the wrath of God.
Now you say captain you are crazy, how can we talk about original sin as we celebrate our mothers?
Well think about it? This doctrine speaks about our first parents and how it is that through them life began and through them that life continued. Also through them sin was allowed to entered humanity.
Think about our own moms now. It is through them that life begins as far as we are concerned. It is through them that life continues as we are given birth and it is in the very nature of our moms and dad which is passed on to us, that ends up being the sin nature that is in each of us.
So it’s not really too much of a reach. But let’s get in to this teaching to get a better understanding of our fallen condition.
In the book of Roman, chapter 5 our scripture for this morning we read that: Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned.
Basically what this doctrine teaches us is that our first parents were created to live in harmony with God but because they allowed sin to enter their lives and as a consequence entered into each of our lives their image as Gods creation has been distorted!
We like to put blame and say that it was Eve who sinned or Adam who sinned. As I have understand it, Eve was deceived as many of us are also deceived into sin from time to time but Adam willfully sin, also as many of us do so from time to time.
But the reality is that I think we all would have failed the test if we had been in their shoes! Well feet, after all they did not wear shoes at first!
The true fact is that sin is a human condition that we cannot rid ourselves from unless it is through the sacrifice of Christ on the cross. Through one man sin (Adam) entered the world and through one man sin is dealt with… Jesus!
In fact if you think about the story of Adam and Even we find God offering a sacrifice on their behalves. In Genesis 3:21 it reads then the Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. Clearly an animal had to die, a sacrifice had to be made, to cover their sin.
Let’s look at some of the background of this doctrine to get a clearer picture of how since the beginning God has been trying to correct this distorted image between us and Him.
In the covenant between God and Adam in the Old Testament (Genesis 12:1-3) the creator promises better things, and himself initiates the redemptive sacrifice.
Remember when Abraham went to offer his only son as a sacrifice, God stopped him and provided for with a ram.
The development of this covenant with the people of Israel, inaugurated by the Passover, includes the divinity instituted ritual whereby the sins of the nation can be purged and the well-being of the people established despite their continual waywardness.
The relationship between God and his covenant people is therefore continually renewed.
Later, Israel’s prophets realize that suffering, especially innocent suffering consequent on the sin of others, in some way deals with the alienation between God and his people. At the same political and natural disasters are firmly identified with the nation’s failure to live by God’s will and laws (Isaiah 9:8-21; Joel 2:1-14).
The Lord himself not only judges and punishes this sin, but he is the redeemer who will re-enable light living (Zephaniah 3:1- 13).
Moral failure always begins with a rejection of God’s sovereignty and ends in oppression by corrupt, self-seeking hierarchies or powerful elites.
In the New Testament, the Savior is revealed in Jesus. ’God is in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself (2 Corinthians 5:19).
Jesus not only teaches and lives the perfect human life but also, through the gift of himself in love upon the Cross, rekindles the desire for the renewal of God’s image in us.
Christ’s resurrection and ascension confirm the saving power of his life, that same newness of life is realized afresh in those who put their confidence in him as the Holy Spirit enables.
Paul sees that the whole creation will be revitalized in consequence (Romans 8:18-25). Creation itself is made new in the vision of God’s Kingdom come (Revelation 21:1-4), therefore, completing the mighty purpose of God and answering the deep need we have of salvation.
But the need for salvation is complex because of the nature of original sin or the fall of Adam and Eve. The doctrine of original sin addresses this problem in a meaningful way. However, any teaching about sin needs to take account of:
-our experience of personal moral failure;
-our observation that bad consequences arise from ethical failure;
-the assumption that there is ’right’ behavior which promotes well-being. Right behavior can be determined by our God-given conscience, or externally by family, nation and especially by the ’professional’ guardians of morals - rulers or religious leaders and in certain societies by a media-promoted culture;
-also by an overly simplistic doctrine complicated by the developing revelation of the biblical understanding of sin which does not alter.
Today the Church is still debating the question of original sin.
The Apostle Paul does not take it for granted that his readers will know the story of Adam and Eve from the Book of Genesis.
Using that ancient narrative as a foundation or premise, he builds up his theological system.
First of all, he suggests that human death is the direct consequence of the sin of Adam. He then goes on to suggest that the ancient disobedience of Adam passed guilt on to us like some kind of genetic virus.
There have been two main view presented concerning Sin in the history of the Church. The first one was by a man of the name Pelagius, who taught that God had given us the gift of free will so that all of us are morally responsible before God for the choices we make.
Because God created mankind in His image, Pelagius argued that He had to give us freedom. A person that can choose between doing good or evil is one who shares the freedoms of God. His image…
The other point of view comes from a well known theologian called Augustine, who followed the orthodox teaching which had been developed from Romans chapter 5, which argues that we are no longer capable of choosing good.
Augustine talked about a transforming grace that came from God. In Adam and Eve we die when they died to sin, and only by the grace of God do we have any hope in our own sin.
The Church has generally followed Augustine’s position as far as its official teaching is concerned. But in practice however, has accommodated the opposite Pelagian view to some considerable degree, an accommodation that can be seen in Wesleyan theology. Consequently The Salvation Army Theological views are based on Wesleyan Theology.
This whole question is ripe for a new appraisal and clarification. This is especially important given the widespread refusal to recognize the problem of human moral failure.
In other words all though we say that we ultimately believe only in the work of grace from God, truly what we do is yes believe in the grace of God but also acknowledge that because we are indeed created in the image of God that we can indeed choose between right and wrong. We can choose to sin or not to sin.
What the Church needs to do is to secure recognition of sin - original sin - not only by rehearsing its doctrine in all its complexity, however sound and Scripturally grounded this may be, but also by pointing out the realities of the human moral situation.
The Church as a whole also needs to recognize that its doctrine is no longer generally accepted. Therefore we need to reaffirm our utter need of grace, for we are both wholly responsible for the use of our God given entirely inhibited from exercising it apart from God’s grace and also our freedom to Choose God.
So what is the importance of this doctrine for our Christian faith?
The doctrine’s importance lies in its dynamic hope. This hope, founded on God’s initiatives, does not trivialize the question of our ethical inadequacy or failure.
Central to the gospel is God’s saving act in Christ. Realizing the full splendor of the Cross depends upon recognition of the overwhelming need we have for a savior.
An adequate understanding of our sinful condition safeguards the truth that our own need of grace is basic. The salvation offered in Christ does not merely suffice to redeem those with obvious needs for deliverance, such as those with addictive problems.
It is essential to us all, both individually and corporately in the way our societies are structured. The welfare of civilization depends upon our realization of our need and subsequent receipt of God’s redeeming grace in our lives.
In addition, the way in which Christ perfectly restores in us God’s image, provides us with a model for ourselves. As our savior, he makes this possible for us.
But what are the essentials of this doctrine?
It is essential to establish that God intended us to be his children and faithful stewards on earth. It is from this ideal image, in his likeness, that we have fallen from. It is the aim of his redemptive plan to restore to us this untarnished state.
It is equally essential to recognize our possibilities but at the same time failure to be good and do good. In so recognizing this we identify the evil in ourselves, confessing our sinful nature as well as our sinful deeds.
It is essential that the doctrine focuses on the reality of evil, and the need for God’s initiative to deal with it both individually and culturally.
We do well to avoid speculating over the origin of evil or off-loading responsibility onto others, either human or demonic.
We recognize that: ’The role of Satan indicates the pervasiveness and power of evil in our world, though it does not absolve us from our responsibility for sin. As Genesis 3 teaches, excuses, denials and shifting responsibility for sin are dishonest and finally futile.
Above all, a clear-eyed realization of the problem of evil will lead us to discover hope in a redeeming God.
So what are the issues then for us as Salvationists as members of this church, the church that Christ died to establish?
The message of salvation, which is the joyous proclamation of the Army, assumes the need for God’s redeeming work.
It is not easy, in a climate of confused ethical thinking, to offer a remedy for the world’s ills when they are explained away, denied, or alternately accepted as being in the immutable nature of things.
As Salvationists, as Christians we need to be clear about the responsibilities of all people for the ethical integrity of their lives, their accountability for the same to God, to creation generally and to their fellow neighbors.
It is possible to awaken people to the ills of the world caused by wrong living and to indicate the worthwhile remedy that is offered in Christ? YES!
So what does this all mean to me, to you? What does it mean as we try to explain to others our fallen conditions but at the same time the amazing hope that we find in God’s sacrifice on our behalves?
Well here is it!
What is sin? Sin is the very thing, whether in thought or in action that distances us and rips us apart from God.
That aspect of life that was never intended to be a part of God’s designs for us but because of the free will that God bestowed on us as His created beings that we continue to allow it to enter our lives.
What is our condition? According to this doctrine we are completely depraved, meaning we are all beyond salvation. We are so lost, so separated, so full of sin, that God cannot bear to even look at us. But oh it’s not all that bad, because our condition does include hope. The hope of Christ!
How do we overcome it? This is where the hope comes in. Although God could have just simple given up on us, He chose to send His only son, so that you and I would not parish but have everlasting life.
Although we are justly exposed to the wrath of God, God says to us, I forgive you, I want to restore you, to my image, and I will do whatever it takes to win your love and your affection and to have you choose of your own freewill to want to choose me.
So what are we actually being saved from? If you think about it, it’s from ourselves!
Paul said it best in Romans 7:19:20, For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.
I do believe we have a choice to sin or not to sin. Maybe sometimes we are deceived like Eve and so we fail in an unconscious way. But sometimes we do choose to sin and willfully do wrong. Don’t we?
But if the very image of God is in us, if the very attitude of Jesus is in us who was considered to be without sin, then we too can try, we too can hope to live a life that honors God.
Yes the ultimate truth is that we will fail one day after all we all fall short of the glory of God, but this is not an end, it does not mean we simply give up, for God, but as he has been doing throughout the history of man kinds offering us a way and eventually an eternity back in His presence.
But what will you do with this knowledge? I mean we all know about sin, we all know that we better repent and live our lives for God. But will you make this decision simply because you have to or because you want to?
The choice is ours, it has always been, and God is calling us to make it yet once again.
I know that there are believers who think, well I live a good life, and this is not for me. Friends don’t close yourselves to the work of the Holy Spirit. Once saved always saved in not something we practice in our Wesleyan theology.
We all need God’s continual redemptive work in our lives. Remember only the sins which we confess are forgiven.
I don’t mean confess them to me as the pastor of this church, but to God Himself. Never stop learning and growing and trying to live as God requires of us.
Remember merely going to church or reading your bible or even praying is not enough, it has always been about relationship. And how we manage our relationship with God is what’s going to determine where we end up one day.
Yes we sin, but God says, come to me and I will take care of it.
Today as we celebrate a special day for the one that has given us physical life, may we find the courage to celebrate the one that is capable of bringing us daily spiritual life as well.
If you need to pr want to, the altar is always open, always available for you, wont you come forward now and pray, seek to better to your personal relationship with God, ask Him to truly restore His image in your life and to help you be the best faithful and obedient child that you can be.
We are indeed sinner, we have indeed fallen from our God given image has been distorted because of us. Yes through our first parents sin entered the world and was passed onto is, but also through Christ that sin was dealt with.
Has God completely dealt with the is in your life? Only Him and you know. Pray now and ask God to search your hear, to reveal to you sins that perhaps you have hidden or lay aside. Confess them to Him today and begin the restoration of His image in you. Won’t you come now as we pray?
Let us pray.
