One day the family was out in the garden. Over in the corner they saw something strange. It looked like corn growing where they had not planted corn. It was growing very close together and was in the shape of a doll! You see the way grandmother had made Susan's doll was she filled it with corn. When Tommy buried the doll he thought that no one would find out. But Galatians 6:7 says, "Do not be deceived. God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows (or plants) that he will also reap (or harvest)." And Numbers 32:23 says "..be sure your sin will find you out." Have you ever done something that you thought no one would ever know about it? "..be sure your sin will find you out"" You will reap what you sow. Today we're going to look at sin. What is sin? Where did it come from? What are it's results?

1. WHAT IS SIN?
There are 20 words in the Bible for sin. It's doing anything that God doesn't want done. Sin is missing the mark (Romans 3:23), badness, going away from God, wickedness, disobedience, rebellion (Psalm 51:4), ungodliness, going against the law, crossing a line (1 John 3:4), falling away. To understand what sin is we must know ...

2. WHERE DID SIN COME FROM?
Sin came into the universe when Lucifer rebelled against God. Lucifer was a highly trusted holy angel of God. Between the creation of angels (in Genesis 1) and before we see Satan as a serpent in the garden of Eden (in Genesis 3), pride filled Lucifer's heart and he led a revolt against God (Isaiah 14:12-14). Perhaps a third of the angels (Revelation 12:4) joined Lucifer's side and fell with him (2 Peter 2:4).

Sin came to our planet earth when Adam and Eve disobeyed God. When Adam and Eve were created they were placed into the garden of Eden, where there were two special trees. The tree of life provided everlasting life on this earth to the eater (Genesis 3:22). God told Adam that he could eat of all the trees in the garden except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:16-17).

Satan entered as a serpent (Genesis 3:1) and tempted the couple to disobey God by saying that they would become like God (Genesis 3:5). Adam and Eve knowingly and willfully chose to disobey God's commandment (Genesis 3:6).

"By nature" all humans are the "children of wrath" (Ephesians 2:3). Just as we got our bodies from our parents the immaterial part of man is passed on from generation to generation. All people get this sinful state from their parents, and their parents from their parents, all the way back to Adam and Eve. (Genesis 4:1; Psalm 51:5; Romans 5:12). This is something we are born with (Psalm 51:5). This means that every one born into this world (except Jesus Christ who is God) is a sinner and has a sin nature and every man personally sins.

3. WHAT IS THE RESULT OF SIN?
The results of this sin were several. The effects to the human race beginning with Adam and Eve (Genesis 3:7-13) were that they died spiritually (Romans 5:12) being separated from God (Isaiah 59:2) and began to experience the decaying process of dying physically (Genesis 3:19; 5:5). The serpent was effected by a curse to crawl on his belly and eat dust (Genesis 3:14). Satan would be mortally wounded by the woman's seed (Genesis 3:15). The effects on Eve and women would be hardship in childbearing (Genesis 3:16). Adam and men would have hardship in working (Genesis 3:17-19). Both Adam and Eve were expelled from and had to leave the garden (Genesis 3:22-24).

When Adam sinned all mankind (present and future) had sin charged on their account. Just as when the leader of a country declares war all it's citizens are included in this war, so also just as when Adam as the representative of the human race sinned we all were included in this sin. Man, since the fall, has a sin nature (the inclination and capacity to do evil) and personally chooses to sin..

4. WHAT SHOULD WE DO ABOUT SIN?
Well we've learned what sin is. We've learned where sin came from? We see the result of sin? So what should we do? First, we need to believe and receive Jesus as Savior. Through Jesus' blood our sins are forgiven (Ephesians 1:7; 1 John 1:7). Second, as Christians when we sin we need to confess our sin to God. 1 John 1:9 says,

1 John 1:9

"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

Third, we need to confess but also to forsake our sin. Proverbs 28:13 says,

Proverbs 28:13

"He who covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy."

When I was a child my father used to lead a Word of Life Club. A man who had eight children attended the club with his five teen-agers. One day he asked my father if he could become the leader of the club. My father said, "yes" and began to train him. They did it together for a while and then one day this man, Jim, became the main leader. He brought unsaved teens to activities. During the message he was in the back praying and saw many teens trust Jesus as Savior. Then one day he came and said he would have to stop leading the club for personal reasons. We soon found out why. Jim had left his wife and children to go and live with another woman.

A few months passed and we heard that Jim was in a big city hospital. Gangrene, a disease, had spread through his leg. They had to amputate or cut off his leg above the knee. After he got out of the hospital he went back to live with this other woman. A few months later gangrene spread into his other leg. It too had to be amputated. Still he went back to live with the other woman. A few months later Jim was back in the hospital. He had pneumonia in both lungs. My father went to see him as he lay under an oxygen tent. My father asked, "Do you like the way you're living?" He shook his head, "No." Then dad asked, "Wouldn't you like to repent and come back to God?" He hesitated for a few seconds and then shook his head, "No." Jim died a few months later. Hebrews 12:5-8 says that when God's children disobey Him, God will spank them. If you intentionally, continually sin God will punish you, even to the point of death. Sin will take you further than you want to go. Sin will keep you longer than you want to stay. Sin will cost you more than you want to pay.

by Steve Nicholes
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