‘Sin – a miserable business’ full message

By Ron.v.Leerdam

Brothers and Sisters in our Lord Jesus Christ,
What is the first thing we must know to be saved?
How great my sin & misery is. How do we know what sin is? God’s Law tells me.

The law is the Maker’s instructions or manual for life. When what has been created is not run in the way that its creator designed it, major problems happen.
Ever seen a train run off its rails?
Ever seen a whale lying on the sand?
What do thirsty people need?
Why is our world in the mess it is in according to the Bible?
Why is the human heart the way it is?
Together we look at what the Bible says.
Does this square up with the evidence? Knowing this is vital when witnessing to unbelievers. The Christian faith should accurately explain the way the world is.

In the beginning, the Bible says that God made everything good, indeed, very good. There is no one who can prove what life was like in the beginning. No-one was there except God. Here we are faced with a faith choice – accept the Biblical account of history or make up our own? From the time Adam & Eve rebelled against God, all have a natural tendency to hate God and their neighbour.

Is God to blame for the mess the world is in?
“God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.” Genesis 1:31
This is what we in our heart of hearts would like the beginning to have been like.
It fits in with the character and nature of God. God is eternally good – He is, love personified. The Bible teaches us that man was created in God’s own image. We were made like God – righteous and holy, knowing God as He really is. In the beginning man enjoyed true fellowship with GOD. Man enjoyed true fellowship with man. There were no marriage problems in the beginning. No husband or wife beating, no problems with communication. Everything was perfect. Not a weed, thistle or thorn in the garden. All lived in harmony, there was no death, sin, sorrow, poverty, tears or shame. What a beautiful picture. Oh, what has been lost! I cry out, Adam, Eve, why did you disobey God? As the parents of the human race, Adam and
Eve’s actions had consequences for all their children. Some may be tempted to say, “well that is not fair.” But that is the way that life is. The actions of parents always have consequences for the children. For example – when parents do not love their children, the children suffer as a result. Abused children are broken and often pass their brokenness on to the next generation.

As a result of Adam and Eve’s disobedience in eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, paradise has been lost. Ever since, mankind has suffered, being born in sin. The theological term is “ORIGINAL SIN”. This truth is clearly taught in the Bible. In Psalm 51 David says, “Surely, I was sinful at birth, sinful
from the time my mother conceived me.” The reason for the mess the world is in is because the human heart is wicked to its very core. Why did God in the days of Noah, send a flood that wiped out all humanity, the animals, the birds and all creatures that move along the ground?
“The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the
human race had become on the earth, and that the
inclination of the human heart was only evil all the
time … God’s heart was deeply troubled.” Gen. 6:5,6
Every part of the human heart has been corrupted. That does not mean that we are as bad as we could be. Not all are tyrannical despots like Pol Pot or Hitler.
“The imagination (the strong desire) of man`s heart is evil/wicked from his youth.” Genesis 8:21
“All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23
“All we like sheep have gone astray, each has turned to his own way.” Isaiah 53:6

We do not have to teach our children to be naughty. It comes naturally. Not only does the Bible teach ‘original sin’, we know it from our own experience. The sad condition of this world is the result of man turning his back on his creator. This is not the way God created things to be. Paradise has been lost and we are powerless. Whether you believe what God has said in the Bible or not, does not alter the fact that this world is in a mess. Is there any hope for this world? Many think there is hope. Consider the hopes of Marx and Lenin – the communist model. Consider the hope given by Buddha and Mohammad and Krishna. But do these religions really give hope? The trouble with all these religions is that they are man made and rely on man. Is that wise? Can we really help ourselves? Can man restore the paradise that he has lost? No way. We must admit that we cannot even help ourselves. Man is ever corrupt and inclined toward evil.

Why is this so?

Listen to the explanation given by God to Moses. ‘Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, You must not eat from any tree in the garden?” The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the
middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’“
“You will not surely die,” the serpent said to the woman, “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate
it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.
Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realised that they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. But the LORD God called to the man,
“Where are you?”
He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.“
And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree from which I commanded you not to eat?“
The man said, “The woman you put here with me–she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.” Then the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.“
So the LORD God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, “Cursed are you above all the livestock and all the wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life. And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.” Genesis 3

Because of the nature and character of God – because He is gracious & compassionate, He has not left us to our own devises.
He has given us hope.
The same Spirit who hovered over the waters before the creation of the world is busy restoring paradise by applying the saving work of Jesus Christ. Because his Spirit is busy in this world giving spiritual new birth to men, women, boys & girls we
see new life entering in. If we want to see man as he was created to be, we need to look at Jesus.

He is the perfect man, however, He is also God. He came into this sinful world, not to condemn it. Man stands condemned already. But He has come to give hope and life to all who admit that they cannot make it by themselves. He has come to bear the punishment of sin. The Holy Spirit gives spiritual new birth. What does Jesus mean when He says, “You must be born again? The Holy Spirit convicts people of their sin. He turns their hearts to seek Jesus and put their trust in Him for their salvation. This work continues and will continue until all those God has chosen have turned to Jesus. God takes the initiative in our salvation. Praise Him for giving us the sure hope of living again in a world that will be perfect. Already we enjoy a taste of what will be.

Jesus has restored communication and communion with our creator.

It is true that our relationship with God is not yet perfect, but when Jesus comes again, we will be perfect. No longer do we have to be at war with ourselves and think of our uselessness or faults and be totally driven to despair, because Jesus has given us hope and the assurance that we are okay in Gods sight. If God loves us and has forgiven us of our sins then we are not to despair of ourselves.

Already now we enjoy a taste of peace and harmony in our relationships with other people. You won’t find a perfect church or enjoy perfect relationships with others, but because God has loved us we can also love one another. How I long for the day when God’s work will be completed. The Spirit of God is busy and active applying the work of Jesus. Yet our prayer goes up – come quickly Lord Jesus come quickly.

AMEN.