Practical Approach To Christianity Volume 1 "To the Beginner Christians" - Lesson 3: Sin

Chapter 3 – Sin

                “For all have sinned and fall short from the glory of God.” – Romans 3:23

                Who is a sinner?

                In the game called Darts, missing the mark of the bulls’ eye is referred as “sin.” In Christian world, we are also aiming a mark and that mark is the gold standard of God. That standard is Jesus Christ- the righteousness of God. Simply put, missing the mark of Christ, that is failing to copy His character and failing to live like Him, we sinned against God and we are all sinners.

                .Are Adam and Eve Sinners?

                Adam and Eve were both loved by God. Being the first man, God gave Adam the breathe of life when He inhaled on his nostrils. That breathe of life is the same life that is in Christ when He said, “Let us made man in our own image and likeness. (Gen. 1:26).” Being said, the same glory and holiness that is in God were also being given to us. But in spite of that, men failed to believe when Eve was deceived and caused Adam to sinned. In fact, it is not the mere act of eating the fruit that makes them a sinner, but it is their rebellion that God hates. That rebellion alone conceived to their sins and became the greatest fall of mankind.

                Romans 3:10 says, “For no one is righteous. No, not even one.” Because of their sins, man, from generation-to-generation are brought under the curse of sin.

                Is a person predestined by God to be good or bad?

                No. The Bible is clear in Ephesians 2:10, “For we are God’s Masterpieces, created in Christ Jesus to perform good works, which God intends for us to do.” In another version of that verse, intends is being translated as predestined which means, “In preparation for a destiny,” and that destiny is only to perform good works. God’s intention for us, which is being shown in Genesis 2:5-7, is to manage the ministry of His creations. However, us, being made out of dust (our Adamic nature), made us, to God’s knowledge, susceptible to sinning. At that juncture, the omniscient God knew that we may later on fall short , already made an advance repercussion- the coming of a Messiah. Meaning, even before the beginning of times, God’s ultimate plan for His creation, centers to the life of Christ. Sin is not part of the plan. It is out of plan. With or without sin, God intends to fill this earth with His glory through man. Because of the fall, sin comes and that break loose our relationship with God when the very Spirit of life of God that is in us died, while this earth is filled with Satan’s deception instead. But God solve that when He send off His Son to be the mediator of that broken relationship with Him. For God showed His great love to us, that while we are still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). In spite of this promise of grace, it is a must for us to know that before the workmanship promise in Ephesians 2:10, verse 8 and 9 must comes first. 8For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9not by works, so that no one can boast. Believing the life and lordship of Jesus Christ must come first (Justification) before we are being use for the glory of God by constantly being purge and prune to be more like Christ (progressive sanctification). Remember, as crucifixion precedes redemption, repentance also precedes salvation and reconciliation.

                In fact, when we take a look of the life of Judas Iscariot, who will later on betrayed Jesus, he was still being chosen by God to become one of His twelve.

                For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life (John 3:16).

                God so love us that in spite of our infirmities, unfaithfulness, disobedience, poor judgment and rebellion, He still gave us a kind offer of love that leads to the sacrifice of His Son. In fact, He is offering His love to everyone.

                Judas’ purpose, I believe is to betray God one day, and it was fulfilled in order for Jesus to die in the cross and take away our sins. What was not part of supposedly plan of God to His life is his shamelessly committing suicide by hanging himself. Why? Just think of how a great testimony it is, if the one being called as the great betrayer will become a great preacher and disciple who will win many souls? Remember Apostle Paul, the greatest disciple of all times? However, in God’s infinite wisdom, he foreseen who will accept and reject true repentance, that is why, He already knew to Himself who will live a good and honest life, and who will do greatness during their times.

                What is the wages of sin?

                For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus, Our Lord. (Romans 6:23)

                When we deliberately commits sin to God, we are bound to suffer not only physical death, but also eternal death on our soul. (Remember the three aspects of man in chapter 1?)

                However, because of love, God is now offering an open door for us to salvation.

                For God shows His great love to us, that while we are still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8)

                What must we do to be save? Journey to Salvation can be summarized in four steps.

1.       Believe in the Lord Jesus as your Lord and Savior.

2.       Repent for your known and unknown Sins.

3.       Be Baptize with Water

4.       Receive the Holy Spirit.

To believe means to have faith. Repentance means turning back from your former life and abstaining from all your sins. Baptizing with water is a public declaration of faith and life-long covenant with God that we are being crucified with Christ and it is not I who is able to drive our life, but it is now God. Lastly, receiving the Holy Spirit is receiving God’s presence in our lives. Being the Temple of the Holy Spirit is walking with God every day.

Practical Questions

1.       Complete the sentences.

I feel so hurt that’s why ____________________.

I am jealous to people who ____________________.

I am a bad person because ____________________.

I feel so insulted when someone _________________.

I feel guilty when _____________________________.

I feel so ashamed every time I remember my ________________________.

2.       After the activity, how do you feel about yourself?

3.       What are your known sins? What are your unknown or secret Sins?

4.       How those sins does affects your life? Your family? Your friends? Your school or work?

5.       After reading the chapter, what you have realized to your life?

6.       What are the four steps of your journey to salvation?

7.       How convincing are these four steps to you?

Memory Verse

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus, our Lord. –Romans 6:23

Practical Application

What do you learned?

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