The S Word (1)

(This is part of a series of devotionals I'm sharing where I work)

"...for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God..." -Romans 3:23

"I tell you naught for your comfort, Yea, naught for your desire, Save that the sky grows darker yet, And the sea rises higher." -GK Chesterton

Last time we began to speak of God's plan to save man in Christ. But before describing the good news, it is necessary to consider the bad news: human sin.

Genesis tells us that man was originally placed in the garden without moral prohibitions. That is because man was a being without sin, in perfect fellowship with God, and in that fellowship, was obedient. That does not mean that man was perfect in his understanding and relationships, but that there was no assertion yet of himself against God and his order.

God gave man a test of obedience, one negative law, one "you shall not." Man failed this test. In the process he declared himself independent of God as the source of life, and set himself up as a self-contained god apart from the relationship that would keep him alive. I think of the old sponge divers who wore heavy suits and helmets attached by a hose to an air pump on the surface. The fall of man is as if a diver decided to be independent, cut his hose, and wander off on his own.

There were consequences of this disobedience. First, there was banishment from the presence of God, and resentment and distrust of God by man. After all, the fall occurred because Satan questioned God's goodness and motives for creating man to begin with. Second, the whole of Adam's descendents fell into rebellion with him. Theologians call this "federalism"--the idea that the leader of a group represents it, and his destiny is its destiny. We don't like this theory because we value independence far more than God does. Remember that federalism works in a positive way too: Christ represents a new race, and that race is declared righteous because their Head is.

The third consequence is what I call "primary" sin. That is the innate selfishness and rebellion against outside authority (especially God's) that is in all of us. Theologians call it "original sin." It is the opposite of love for God, it does not desire to see His beauty, and does not hold obedience as a joy, but a burden. It desires the small dark places of the heart rather than the light of perfect love and truth.

The Fourth is "secondary" sin--all the fruits of selfishness, hatred, bitterness, abuse, and perversion that leads to war, destruction of innocence, prisons, laws, and probation offices. It also includes religious sins: pride, self-righteousness, the inability to see another point of view, sectarianism, judgmental arrogance, and a critical spirit.

As much as we like to think of God as a tolerant grandfather who winks at sin, God's response to sin is anger (Psalm 7:11). It is important to understand that God never waivers in His justice. If He ignored His own laws the universe would fall apart. Every sin deserves retribution. Expecting God to "grade on a curve" is fruitless. Our only hope is that God finds a way to meet the demands of His own justice. More on why it is important how we view sin next time....