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Sin Our Own Demise
by Henry Miranda Romans 3:23 (NKJV) "For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God" God placed Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden and forbid them to eat fruit from the "tree of knowledge" good and evil. Everything was good until Satan the fallen angel entered into the picture. Consider God's statement here: "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die." (Genesis 2:16-17) The Scriptures say: "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." (Gen. 3:6) After they sinned in Genesis 3, God sentenced them to die as per Genesis 2:17 (Genesis 3:19), and that was in part why they were forbidden to take from the Tree of Life. Because of their rebellion, they were removed from the Garden of Eden and the world fell into a fallen state, and suffered the degrading and deadly consequences of sinfulness. Now, because of the fall of man, and because of this act of disobedience all mankind has a sinful nature. Romans 5:12 (NKJV) Therefore, through one man sin entered the world and death through sin. And thus, death spread to all men because all have sinned. We all possess a sinful nature that we inherited from Adam. Whether we like it or not, that is the way it is! We are all born sinners and must die because we come from Adam. The first man who disobeyed God's commandment is our forefather and we are just like him. Who among us can say he has never disobeyed the commandments of God? Not a single one of us! Like a horrible contagious disease, the sin that was in Adam has spread to us all Just as an epidemic is not confined to the one from whom it originates. What exactly is sin anyway? The truth is that sin, as defined in the original translations of the Bible, means "to miss the mark." The mark, in this case, is the standard of perfection established by God and evidenced by Jesus. Viewed in that light, it is clear that we are all sinners. The good news in all of this is that once we recognize ourselves as sinners, we need only to repent and embrace Jesus to be forgiven. Jesus can forgive us because He died and rose again three days later in victory over sin and death. Sin caused man's separation from God. However, God loves us so much that He provides for us the way back into good fellowship with Him through Jesus Christ. His steadfast lovingkindness leads us back to repentance, and His grace and mercy forgives us of all our sins even though none of us deserves this forgiveness. No one can earn forgiveness and reconciliation with God. It is a free gift to those who believe and accept it by faith. Sin is an offense or rebellion against God. Sin is what separates us from God. Remember that to stay in a state of rebellion is death. The devil stays busy at work keeping us in sin and away from God. Yet, those who continue to live in this state of rebellion against God have not lost their opportunity to be God's child. All they need do is repent. We don't have to sin. We sin by choice. You must want to serve God with all your heart, body, and soul to stay away from sin. A desire to sin is simply a way of expressing your disbelief that God's way is best. God gave us free will and we must decide on our own how we want to lead our life. The world's way was easy, and we fell into its trap. The world is good at presenting a great illusion (false perception) of itself so that it can look enticing. God gave us the choice to serve Him or the prince of this world, the devil. There is no excuse for sin. Man has always had the opportunity to know God and do His will according to the light of nature and conscience. From the very first sin, it has been a matter of willfulness. No one can say, "I could not help it." Remember that "No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it." 1 Corinthians 10:13 Would you like to get saved and be born again? You can do that by accepting Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior. Just pray and ask Jesus to come into your heart. Let heaven be your destiny. Romans 6:23 NKJV "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" Evangelist Henry Miranda earned a Bachelor of Christian Ministry degree @ Christian Leadership University. Evangelist Henry Miranda is a Bible Teacher, Author, and Guest Speaker and, with the help of the Holy Spirit, has written ten books. You can reach @ //www.evangelize-for-jesus-ministries.co Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |