Sin's Beginning And It's Cost Series

Sin’s beginning and it’s cost

I heard about a Christian cowboy who lost his New Testament while he was mending fences out on the range. Three weeks later, a bear walked up to him carrying the New Testament in its mouth. The cowboy couldn't believe his eyes. He took his New Testament out of the bear's mouth, raised his eyes heavenward and said, "It's a miracle!" "Not really," said the bear, "Your name is written inside the cover."

The real miracle we have today is, the word of God has been preserved for us over the ages; today we’re in the third section of Romans five verses 12-21.

“12 Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned— 13 (For until the law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law. 14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come. 15 But the free gift is not like the offense. For if by the one man’s offense many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many. 16 And the gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned. For the judgment which came from one offense resulted in condemnation, but the free gift which came from many offenses resulted in justification. 17 For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.)

18 Therefore, as through one man’s offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man’s righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life. 19 For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous.

20 Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more, 21 so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

I Sin’s beginning

A favorite nursery rhyme is the familiar tale of an egg that takes an unfortunate tumble:

HUMPTY DUMPTY SAT ON A WALL

HUMPTY DUMPTY HAD A GREAT FALL.

ALL THE KING’S HORSES AND ALL THE KING’S MEN

COULDN’T PUT HUMPTY TOGETHER AGAIN.

This piece of wisdom is thousands of years old and versions of it have appeared in eight European languages.

Most people don’t understand that Humpty Dumpty was actually a riddle that asked the question: what is something when it’s broken, can never be repaired, even by greatest or wisest? And the answer is, an egg; because no matter how hard we try, we can never put a broken egg back together again. We simply have to learn to live with the mess. And get this, just as there was a fall in the Humpty Dumpty story there was also one in the book of Genesis.

In verse 12 Paul takes us all the way back to Genesis where we have the first account of sin. Adam has been a great source for humour over the ages and many treat him as though he were simply an illustration of the first man, but God’s word treats Adam not only as a real person but as a perfect human being through whom God gave the role of naming creation as well as the one who participated in the first sin.

Now, I know that Satan tempted Eve and she actually committed the sin but Adam was just as guilty because he was standing there watching her and then he willfully took some of the forbidden fruit.

The moment they ate the fruit sin had an effect and their eyes were opened and they were conscious of their nakedness. Their first reaction was to hide from God and sew fig leaves together. This tells us they experienced guilt that followed their act of sin and for the rest of time man has been seeking the solution for his guilt rather than his sin.

There are two kinds of guilt. The first is where we know we have sinned and need to repent or confess our sin and turn from it to God, so that as Acts 3:19 says, “Our sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.” Guilt is God’s built-in alarm system that alerts us that we’ve done something that’s interrupted our relationship with God and we have to deal with it before we can successfully proceed with our lives.