Sin and God

Romans 3:12 - "All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one."

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

James 4:17 - "Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins."

The word 'sin' makes Christians feel uncomfortable. Yet we talk openly and impersonally about crimes such as robbery and murder. We gossip about adultery and unwed pregnancies. We trivialise greed, jealousy and selfishness but the moment the word sin is mentioned we become uncomfortable.

The word sin implies that we have violated an objective or standard of behaviour established by God. We almost instinctively feel this to be an infringement on our rights. Yet such an attitude displays a terrible misunderstanding of sin and an underestimation of God.

The Bible teaches us that sin is a disease of the soul that has infected everyone. If let be it will destroy your life and lead to spiritual death if you do not treat it. God's rules are set to allow you to enjoy life but to avoid sin. Boundaries will only become blurred once your study of His Word decreases.

1 Peter 2:24 - "He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed."

If there were no consequences for crimes such as breaking a speed limit, running a red light, burglary and so on then anarchy would reign.

The things that citizens value most; peace, order and security would be gone. Committing sin is to break the laws that our Creator set up to bring peace, order and security to the world.

Breaking God's laws brings God's punishment, just as breaking government laws brings civil punishment. However, there is good news: when Jesus died on the cross, he took the punishment for sin that you deserve. Sin no longer controls you; God gives you the power to overcome sin and live the way he meant life to be lived.

To be 'dead to sin' doesn't mean that you won't sin anymore in this life; it does however mean that you have come to the point where you truly do not want to sin. The most important thing in your life is to please God and do what is right. When you reach this point, you have fully grasped how to use God's power in you to live effectively for him. And one day, hopefully sin will be gone forever.