How Sin Works In Our Lives

Does God make people as sinners? Does God punish people with sickness and disease if they sin? Those FAQs can be answered when we find out the truth contained in God’s Word. To start, we need to find out how sin works in our lives.

I was in a Disqus chat recently (Username Thessalonianguy) and the topic, “Was Jesus a Homosexual?” contained, without a doubt, some lively interaction. Eventually, we got around to the issue of how sin works in our lives. The conversation veered toward people claiming or questioning “God made me this way” as a reason for engaging in a homosexual lifestyle. One person, in particular, took offense at one of my responses so I elaborated a bit more. Here’s a portion of the discussion, beginning with my response to a person named Dan;

(My response)

God does not ‘make’ a person evil. That makes no sense whatsoever. Why would He make someone evil and then destroy that person for being what He made them to be? That is not God’s character.

1. People ARE born ‘different.’ Do you know why? It’s because of SIN. When Adam introduced sin into the human race, he also introduced the byproducts of sin which manifest spiritually, mentally and physically. Faulty genetics is a curse of sin’s presence. If someone is a practicing homosexual it may or may not be by choice, but one thing is certain – SIN is at the heart of it, for ALL of us.
2. Why did Christ come to Earth? It was to perform the will of the Father. What is the will of the Father? It is to save people FROM SIN. Why would He send Jesus to save you from a lifestyle THAT HE MADE YOU TO LIVE?

I could go much further, but I hope you get the point.

Steve:

“Faulty genetics is a curse of sin’s presence”? I call &*%$@! on that one. No biblical standing to support such a ludicrous claim. God does not assign genetic defects as punishment for sin. My opinion of course. I am very “touchy” on the subject. I have a relative that lectured my Father on his deathbed (mesothelioma) that he had some terrible sin to confess or he wouldn’t have gotten that dreaded cancer. He got that cancer from exposure to asbestos in the Naval ship yards during WW2.

Dad passed, and that relative and I have no contact. I forgive her, but want nothing to do with her.

(My response)

First of all, I want to offer condolences to you for your father’s passing. 🙁

“God does not assign genetic defects as punishment for sin.” – That is correct, sir – He does not. However, when God created the world He set certain laws and principles into place which govern how things operate, such as the law of gravity, thermodynamics, etc. Those principles are in effect because they are what governs existence in the universe.

Before the fall of Adam, humankind was empowered by the life of God and lived in a world which was perfect. Those same principles were in effect then (just as they are still in effect now), but because of their relationship with God Adam and Eve were shielded from their effects because they followed God. When they sinned (stopped following God), that shield was removed, those principles were unhindered, and they made themselves subject to all the consequences of their sin.

Adam, as the progenitor of the human race, ensured that every single person born after him would also be subject to those unhindered forces. He passed down his spiritual ‘genetics’ to every one of us, just as he passed down his physical genetics. Genetic degradation and mutation, sickness, disease, aging and – ultimately – physical death were all unleashed into the human experience as a direct result of Adam’s spiritual death. All of these things were not the CAUSE of suffering, they were the byproducts of the cause, and that cause is sin. It’s how sin works in our lives.

Until Christ comes again we – each of us – will have to deal with the consequences of sin, simply because we are ALL born into sin. God did not ‘strike down’ your father with cancer, it was the result of a flawed world system – brought on by a flawed man. Sin was active in Adam and it is active today.

The good news is that Christ has come, defeated the power of sin, and offers a new life to those who seek Him.

Once we have a correct understanding of how sin works in our lives we can settle a host of other misconceptions. As with anything else, the filter of God’s Word will show us the reality of life and the true character and attributes of our Father!