THIS WE BELIEVE – PART 1 - SIN

Starting new 4 part series called ‘This we believe’ that will focus on 4 key theological areas. Today we’ll look at ‘The Fall and the nature of sin’. Then Redemption, Resurrection and Judgement.

Now if you don’t know what we mean by ‘fall and the nature of sin’, you’re probably not too worried right now. If you do know what it means, you’re probably thinking, ‘Woah! That sounds heavy!’

Well it is heavy… because it affects every human being alive today, it explains why the world looks as broken as it is. And although we’ll touch on the solution to the problem of the fall and sin, the point of this morning is to show the great need that exists within humanity for a saviour, since we within ourselves are unable fix the problem.

A Beautiful but Broken World

Have you ever noticed that the world is both incredibly beautiful and deeply broken at the same time?

Think about the beauty that we experience in life:

• We see it in the wonder of creation — mountains, oceans, forests, sunsets.

• We see it in music that moves us.

• We see it in art that captures something true about the human experience.

• We see it in acts of courage and sacrifice.

• We see it when someone risks their life to save another person.

• We see it when communities come together to care for people in need.

• We see it in love between friends.

• In love between spouses.

• In the bond between parents and children.

Human beings have an extraordinary capacity for goodness, compassion, creativity, and love.

But at the very same time, the world is also deeply broken:

• We see wars that devastate nations and the lives of people

• We see corruption and injustice.

• We see abuse and exploitation.

• We see addiction destroying lives.

• We see broken relationships and broken families.

• We see suffering, sickness, and death.

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And if we’re honest, we don’t just see this contradiction out there in the world….We see it inside ourselves.

-We want to be patient, but we lose our temper.

-We want to be generous, but we become selfish.

-We want to love people well, but we hurt the people closest to us.

There is something deeply contradictory about the human experience. Human beings have incredible potential for good. And yet we repeatedly cause harm, both to others and to ourselves.

So the question every worldview must answer is this:

Why is the world so beautiful and yet so broken?

The Bible gives a very clear answer…The reason the world is broken is because of sin.

Now the word ‘sin' is not a word people use very often in our culture today. We tend to prefer softer words like mistakes, brokenness, or bad choices.

But the Bible uses the stronger word sin because it tells the truth about the human condition.

Sin is not just something that has gone wrong in the world. Sin is something that has gone wrong in us.

But the word “sin” is often misunderstood today.

Before we understand what the Bible teaches about sin, we need to clear away a few common misunderstandings.

Four Misunderstandings About Sin Today

1. Sin is just breaking religious rules

Many people assume sin simply means breaking religious rules.

They think Christianity is mostly about avoiding certain behaviours.

-Don’t lie.
-Don’t cheat.
-Don’t swear.
-Don’t sleep around.

But the Bible shows us that sin is far deeper than simply breaking rules.

Sin is fundamentally about rejecting God’s authority.

It is saying: “I will decide what is right and wrong.”

And this is exactly what we see in the very first sin.

READ: Genesis 3:4–5: “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

The temptation was not really about fruit at all…It was about authority.

Would humanity trust God and live under His rule?

Or would humanity take God’s place and determine good and evil for themselves?

At its core, sin is not just rule-breaking….Sin is God-replacing.

2. Sin is mainly external behaviour

Another common misunderstanding is that sin is simply about outward behaviour.

People often say: “I’m a good person.”

And what they usually mean is that they haven’t done certain obvious wrong things.

-They haven’t committed serious crimes.

-They try to be kind to people.

-They try to live a decent life.

But Jesus shows us that sin goes much deeper than outward actions.

READ: Matthew 5:21–22 & Matthew 5:27–28

21 “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ 22 But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell. 

27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’28 But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 

Jesus shows that sin is not just about what we do…It is about what is happening inside our hearts.

Sin includes things like:

-Pride.
-Envy.
-Bitterness.
-Greed.
-Selfish ambition.

Sin is not just about behaviour….Sin is about the condition of the human heart.

3. Humans are basically good

Perhaps the most common belief in modern culture is that human beings are basically good.

People believe we are good people who sometimes make mistakes.

And if that is true, then the solution to humanity’s problems would be things like:

-Better education.

-Better systems.

-Better self-improvement.

-But the Bible describes our condition very differently.

READ from Bible: Ephesians 2:1–3

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the flesh and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

This passage says humanity is dead in sin.

Those are some strong words!

It means the problem is not basically that we occasionally make bad choices.

The problem is that our nature itself has been affected by sin.

Sin affects every part of us:

-Our thoughts.
-Our desires.
-Our priorities.
-Our decisions.

We are not sinners because we sin….We sin because we are sinners.

4. Sin is mainly against other people

Today sin is usually defined as harming other people.

If no one gets hurt, people assume nothing is wrong.

But the Bible teaches that sin is first and most importantly against God.

READ: Psalm 51:4

“Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight…”

Even when sin harms other people, its deepest offence is that it rejects the authority and holiness of God.

Sin is not simply a social problem…It is a spiritual problem.

It is rebellion against the God who created us.

So if sin is not just rule-breaking…What actually is sin?

Theologian Wayne Grudem has a helpful and memorable definition of what sin is: 

“Sin is any failure to conform to the moral law of God in act, attitude, or nature.”

Those components of ‘act, attitude and nature’ have already come out and to answer that question more fully, we need to look at the story the Bible tells about humanity.

The Story of Sin in Three Movements

The Bible explains sin through the story of humanity.

Movement 1 — Sin Entered the World

In the opening chapters of Genesis we see the world as God originally created it.

-And everything is good.

-Human beings are made in the image of God.

-When God created humanity, He declared creation to be “very good”

-They are created for relationship with Him.

-They live in harmony with each other.

-Remember from our Genesis series, “They were naked and unashamed.”

-They are entrusted with caring for creation.

-They were given the mandate to fill the earth with the knowledge of the glory of God by having children who know and love God, their maker.

But in Genesis 3 everything changes.

READ from Bible: Genesis 3:6–7

6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.

-Adam and Eve choose independence instead of trust.

-They choose autonomy instead of obedience.

-They choose their own way instead of God’s way.

At the core of sin is this:

Rejecting God’s authority and choosing our own way.

Sin is fundamentally about who sits at the centre of our lives. Will it be God?…Or will it be ourselves?

QN: You might be wondering: Did God know this would happen?

People sometimes ask whether God knew Adam and Eve would sin.

The Bible makes it clear as we read in places like Isaiah 46:9-10, that God’s knowledge is complete. He knows all things. Nothing surprises Him.

But God created human beings with real moral responsibility.

Love and obedience cannot exist without the possibility of rejection.

God allowed the possibility of rebellion, knowing that He would ultimately bring about redemption.

So…first movement, sin enters the world.

Movement 2 — Sin Spread to All Humanity

After Adam’s sin, something fundamental changes in humanity.

READ: Romans 5:12

“Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man (Adam), and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned.”

Sin enters the world….And death enters the world through sin. Adam’s rebellion introduces a fallen nature into the human race.

Every human being now experiences the same inner struggle:

-Pride.

-Selfishness.

-Greed.

-Envy.

-Anger.

If you have children, you will know that we do not have to teach children to lie…We do not have to teach children to be selfish.

It comes incredibly naturally!

The early church father St Augustine of Hippo described sin in a powerful way:

He said that sin is “humanity curved in on itself.”

Instead of loving God and loving others, the human heart turns inward.

Life becomes centred on self:

-My desires.

-My comfort.

-My success.

-My identity.

Human beings were created to live God-centred lives, but sin curves the human heart inward.

And when the human heart turns inward, everything becomes distorted.

-Our relationships become distorted.

-Our priorities become distorted.

-Our motivations become distorted.

This does not mean that human beings are as evil as they could possibly be. But it does mean that every part of who we are has been affected by sin — our minds, our desires, our relationships, and even the societies we build.

Theologians call this concept, ‘Total depravity’.

Qn: What about children?

People sometimes ask about children and sin.

The Bible teaches that all humans inherit a fallen nature from birth, or even before birth.

King David writes in Psalm 51:5, that: “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.”

But, there are also amazing accounts in the Bible where infants in the womb, like John the Baptist, who we read in Luke 1:15:

“for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mothers womb.”

Many Christians, believe and teach that God does not hold someone morally accountable until they are capable of moral understanding.

This is called the ‘Age of Accountability’ position, and has strong evidence to support it.

Although this is a grey area that the Bible is not specifically clear on, we trust in goodness and mercy of our God who is always ‘Just’.

Movement 3 — Sin Corrupted the Whole World

Sin did not only affect individuals…It affected creation itself.

The world we live in is no longer the world God originally created.

We now see the ripple effects everywhere:

-Violence.

-Injustice.

-Disease.

-Suffering.

-Death.

READ in the Bible: Romans 8:20–22

For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.

Creation itself is described as groaning, and the world is longing to be restored back to it’s original intention.

And that explains something we all feel…

The world is incredibly beautiful, But it is also deeply broken.

Sin destroys 3 relations:

Sin produces three devastating consequences.

1. Relationship with God (separation)

We were created for relationship with God, but sin separates us from Him.

The reason sin separates us from God is because God is perfectly holy.

Throughout the Bible, God is described as utterly pure, righteous, and set completely apart from all evil.

God’s holiness means that He is morally perfect in every way. There is no darkness in Him…No corruption…No evil.

Because God is holy, He cannot simply ignore sin. Sin is not a small problem in the presence of a holy God. It is a profound violation of His character.

This is why, when Adam and Eve sinned, they hid from God. This is why guilt and shame entered the human story.

And this is why sin creates separation between humanity and God.

READ: Isaiah 59:2: “but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear you.”

Sin is not just breaking rules….Sin is entering into conflict with the holiness of God.

2. Relationship with ourselves (corruption)

Sin distorts our desires and motivations.

Even our best actions can be mixed with selfish motives.

The human heart has become curved inward.

3. Relationship with creation and life (death)

READ: Romans 6:23

 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

-Death entered the world because sin entered the world.

-Spiritual death.

-Physical death.

-And ultimately… eternal death.

The Problem We Cannot Fix

Here is the most important point. Sin leaves humanity unable to save itself.

READ: Ephesians 2:1: “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked,” (Paul to Christians)

-Dead people cannot rescue themselves.

-Morality cannot fix us.

-Education cannot fix us.

-Religion and religious activities cannot fix us.

-The human problem is too deep.

The problem is too big for self-improvement.

-We cannot climb our way back to God.

-We cannot earn our way back to God.

-We cannot fix the human heart.

…We need rescue.

What is remarkable is that even in the very moment humanity falls into sin, God gives a promise of hope.

The story of the Bible is not only the story of human sin….It is the story of God’s grace toward sinners.

READ: Genesis 3:15: “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.”

The serpent in Genesis 3 is later revealed in Scripture to be Satan — a fallen angel who rebelled against God and now seeks to deceive humanity.

God promises that one day a descendant of the woman will defeat the serpent.

This is the first whisper of the gospel in the Bible.

From the very beginning, God already had a plan to defeat sin, evil, and death.

That promise ultimately points forward to Jesus Christ. Jesus would come to do what humanity could never do for itself. He would defeat sin and restore what had been broken.

Jesus would live the life we failed to live and ultimately die the death that sin deserved.

Conclusion

-If sin were just mistakes, we would need advice.

-If sin were weakness, we would need discipline.

But if sin is rebellion, that has corrupted our hearts and broken the world, then we need a Saviour.

And that is exactly what God has given us.

Next week we will explore the next part of the story:

Redemption.

How God rescues sinners through Jesus Christ.