Spiritual Terrorism And The One-Man Solution

SPIRITUAL TERRORISM AND THE ONE-MAN SOLUTION

Right now, if you watch the news, you see that a major investigation is going on, and the point of the investigation is to find answers to questions about 9/11, questions like, “How did it happen?” “Who is to blame? Was it possible to prevent? How can we prevent something like this from happening in the future?” It’s good that this sort of investigation is going on. We don’t want our country to become like Israel, where acts of terrorism happen every week.

This morning we’re going to conduct another investigation, a more important investigation than the 9/11 one. Just think about it – what we are going to talk about today is more important than what they’re talking about on Capitol Hill. You see, another act of terrorism took place before 9/11, and we’re still feeling the consequences. Something bad happened – an act of spiritual terrorism was carried out on our world, and it’s worse than 9/11. If you don’t believe me, then think about this – every day, billions of people are infected with sin. Every day, millions of people die, no matter how well they take care of themselves. And every day, millions of people go to hell, even the nice people, maybe even people you know and love. Why is this happening?

Today we’re going to conduct an investigation into spiritual terrorism. We want to find out two things – first of all, how did this happen? And second of all, what is the solution?

How do we know that there is terrorism in the world? That’s not too hard to figure out – just watch the news. How do we know that there is something wrong with our world spiritually? Once again, watch the news. Why is it that children are abducted from their homes? Why is it that there are suicide bombers in the Middle East? Why is it that people steal money? Because something is wrong - a spiritual act of terrorism has taken place – sin is here.

And sin isn’t something you just hear about in the news. Look at your own life. You and your family have been affected by spiritual terrorism. Ask yourself this morning: “Why am I so selfish sometimes? Why am I always thinking about money? Why do I always forget to pray? Why do I lose my temper? Why do I make mistakes? Fail to love? Forget about God?” It’s because you and your family have been infected with sin. You’re not a suicide bomber, but, like that bomber, you are a sinner. Spiritual terrorism has affected you.

That’s why your life will someday end. Your future has been cut short by this act of spiritual terrorism. The thing about sin, is that it seems harmless, but it isn’t. It’s lethal. Sin is the cause of death. Have you ever wondered to yourself why people die. There are all kinds of causes of death – heart disease, accidents, old age. But why are those causes here? Why is there heart disease? Why are there accidents? Why do we grow older? It’s because our world has been infected with sin. Your life will end because of spiritual terrorism.

And then there is problem we can’t see, the problem of hell. Do you realize that every person you know, the people you work with, the people you’re related to, the people you love – according to the Bible, ever person in this world will go to hell, because of sin, because of spiritual terrorism, unless something is done. It doesn’t matter if you’re a good person or not, successful or not, a good father or mother or not – every person goes to hell, unless something is done.

“The Sum of All Fears” is a current movie about a nuclear bomb being dropped on a populated area. Spiritually, that has already taken place. The spiritual bomb of sin has been dropped on us. Now, we’re all infected, we’re all going to die, and unless something is done, we’re all going to hell.

How did this happen? After 9/11, people are asking, “How did this happen?” How did spiritual terrorism happen? God has conducted an investigation, and here are the results. Verse 12: “Sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned.” God is talking about Adam, in the Garden of Eden. Do you remember when Adam ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and broke God’s command? It’s easy to blow over that story. But, according to the Bible, that moment is the biggest act of terrorism in the history of the world. How many people were hurt or killed or affected as a result of 9/11? Thousands. It was a terrible thing. But what happened in the Garden of Eden was even worse. When Adam sinned, he infected the world. Billions of people would die. Billions of people would go to hell. Because of Adam, you’re infected with sin. That’s why you’re going to die someday. That’s why people you know and maybe even love will go to hell someday. Sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin. This is how death came to all men.