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Chapter
6
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Man and sin
After
God completed the creation of the universe He crowned
it with a beautiful masterpiece, the creation of man.
Man
- Gods masterpiece:
Genesis
1:27
"So
God created man in his own image ... male and female created
he them."
The Hebrew word "create" in this verse is "Bara"
It
means - a new creation
Never
before had any other creature been created in Gods image
or likeness.
Genesis
1:26
"And
God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness:"
The
words image and likeness have two totally different
meanings:
The Hebrew word for "image" is "Demooth ".
It
means - in resemblance of.
Man
has the outward appearance of God and has a face, body,
hands and feet.
The Hebrew word for "likeness" is "Charit ".
It
means - architectural plan.
An
architectural plan of a house shows what it consists
of. It could have several rooms, bathrooms, a kitchen
and a living room.
The
Godhead is one Being, consisting of three Persons namely:
God
the Father.
Jesus
Christ.
The
Holy Spirit.
We
are made in Gods architecture and have three parts:
Body.
Soul.
Spirit.
God
is Tri-une and we are Tri-partate.
1
Thessalonians 5:23
"And
the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray
God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved
blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ."
God
created Adams body with clay and then He blew the breath
of life into Adams nostrils, the breath becoming spirit.
When the clay and the spirit came together, man became
a living soul. Man therefore has a Body, Soul and a
Spirit.
Genesis
1: 7
"And
the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and
breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man
became a living soul."
This
enabled man to have three kinds of consciousness:
1. With his Body he had world consciousness and could communicate with
the outside world.
2. With his Soul he had self-consciousness and could communicate with
himself.
3. With his Spirit he had God consciousness and could communicate with
God because God is Spirit.
Why
was man created and for what purpose?
There
are five reasons why God created man:
1.
Man was created to have a relationship with God.
God
wanted to walk, talk and fellowship with man.
Genesis
3:8-9
"And
they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the
garden in the cool of the day:
And
the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, where
art thou?"
2.
Man was created to replenish the earth.
God
wanted man to have children, multiply and fill the earth
with people. God wanted an extensive family of billions
of people to love and care for.
Genesis
1:28
"And
God blessed them, and God said unto them, be fruitful,
and multiply, and replenish the earth."
3.
Man was created to subdue the earth.
Genesis
1:28
"And
God blessed them, and God said unto them, be fruitful,
and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it:
and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over
the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that
moveth upon the earth."
Man
was placed in Authority and Management over all things
on the earth.
4.
Man was created to enjoy everything on earth.
God
gave man things to enjoy that were pleasant, good and
satisfying.
Genesis
2:9
"And
out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree
that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food;"
Genesis
2:10-12
"And
a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from
thence it was parted, and became into four heads.
The
name of the first is Pison: that is it which compasseth
the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold;
And
the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and
the onyx stone."
5.
Man was created to be under Gods authority and discipline.
God
wanted man to recognize and respect His authority. God
tested mans submission to Him and his obedience.
While
they were perfect, without sin, God gave Adam and Eve
a command and He expected them to obey it.
When
they were disobedient and showed their disrespect for
His authority, they were disciplined and punished by
Him.
God
clearly warned them of the consequences of disobeying
Him.
Genesis
2:17
"But
of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou
shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest
thereof thou shalt surely die."
The
fall of Man
This
is described in:
Genesis
3:1-8
"Now
the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field,
which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman,
Yea, hath God said, ye shall not eat of every tree of
the garden?
And
the woman said unto the serpent, we may eat of the fruit
of the trees of the garden:
But
of the fruit of the tree, which is in the midst of the
garden, God hath said, ye shall not eat of it, neither
shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
And
the serpent said unto the woman, ye shall not surely
die:
For
God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your
eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing
good and evil.
And
when the woman saw that the tree was good for food,
and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to
be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof,
and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her;
and he did eat.
And
the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that
they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together,
and made themselves aprons.
And
they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the
garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife
hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst
the trees of the garden."
Here
we have satan coming in the form of a serpent to tempt
Adam and Eve. He caused them to doubt Gods word, disobey
God and partake of the forbidden fruit. They experienced
the after effects of their sin feeling naked, defiled
and guilty. They fled from Gods presence and hid in
the garden.
The
results of the fall of man into sin
The
sin of Adam and Eve brought about five consequences:
1.
Adam and Eve's sin came upon all men.
Sin
came upon all Adam's descendants and all people born
into this world are in sin.
Psalm
51:5
"Behold,
I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive
me."
Man's
very nature is sinful.
1 John 5:19
"And
the whole world lieth in wickedness."
2.
Man experiences a process of sin:
This
process is described in:
James
1:14-15
"But
every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own
lust, and enticed.
Then
when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and
sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death."
This
process involves:
-
An own lust in every person
-
This lust becoming a target of temptation.
-
Falling into temptation.
-
Committing sin.
-
Experiencing death.
3.
Every person has a weakness or own lust to sin.
Lust is a negative appetite for
something. Every person has his or her own lust that
craves that which is sinful. There are many kinds of
own lusts.
When
this lust is enticed and yields to a temptation, it
produces sin and death.
Here
is an example of a lust for money and how the sinful
process works:
- A person has a love for money. (Their
own lust)
-
They see money and are tempted to steal it. (Temptation)
-
They decide to steal it. (Sin actually occurs in the
mind.)
-
They steal the money. (The fruit of the sin becomes
a deed)
Jesus
clearly teaches about this process.
Matthew
5:28
"But
I say unto you, that whosoever looketh on a woman to
lust after her hath committed adultery with her already
in his heart."
Our
own lust lies in three areas:
a. The desires of the flesh. (Sexual and food appetites.)
b. The desires of the eyes. (Attractions and possessions.)
c.
The pride of life. (Desires of exaltation and
fame.)
I
John 2:16
"For
all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and
the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life."
4.
The spirit of man is dead.
Genesis
2:17
"But
of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou
shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest
thereof thou shalt surely die."
Adam
and Eve did not die physically the day they ate of the
fruit. They died spiritually and their spiritual death
passed on to all mankind.
1
Corinthians 15:22
"For
as in Adam all die."
Romans
6:23
"For
the wages of sin is death;"
5.
Because of sin, man is cursed.
Genesis
3:16-19
"Unto
the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow
and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth
children;
And
unto Adam he said; because thou hast hearkened unto
the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, cursed
is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat
of it all the days of thy life;"
This
curse was passed on to all men and women in three ways:
1. It was a curse of Toil and Sorrow.
2. It was a curse of Mortality. (Experiencing
sickness, frailty and death.)3. It was a curse of Poverty.
(Experiencing lack and want.)
The Bible reveals three kinds of
sin committed by man:
Innocent sin.
Innocent
sin is better described, as a person unwittingly doing
that which is wrong in the sight of God.
Hebrews
12:1
"Let
us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so
easily beset us."
Galatians
6:1
"Brethren,
if a man be overtaken in a fault."
This
sin occurs when a person is suddenly, unexpectedly or
unknowingly misleads by satan into sinning.
We
are assured that if we sin innocently, Jesus our Advocate
will defend our case before God our Father.
I
John 2:1
"My
little children, these things write I unto you, that
ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate
with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:"
If
we confess our sin, God will always forgive and cleanse
us.
1
John 1:7-9
"The
blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all
sin.
If
we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive
us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
2.
Willful sin.
Hebrews
10:26
"For
if we sin willfully after that we have received the
knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice
for sins."
We
sin willfully when we contemplate, plan and commit sin
in spite of the conviction of the Holy Spirit.
David
knew this when he prayed this prayer:
Psalms
19:13
"Keep
back thy servant also from presumptuous (willful, planned)
sins."
Against
his better knowledge, David actually committed a willful
sin by committing adultery with Bethsheba and then had
her husband killed. From that moment, for the rest of
his life David was punished for sinning willfully. His
daughter was raped, his son Absalom rose up in rebellion
against him and was killed.
We
are warned that willful sin is punishable by death.
Numbers
15:30
"But
the soul that doeth ought presumptuously, >(willfully)
the same reproacheth the LORD; and that soul shall be
cut off from among his people."
Christians
should not commit habitual, planned, willful sin.
When
we are born again spiritually, as a new creation in
Christ, we are raised to a higher level of living. This
new culture of Gods Kingdom has higher standards and
expectations for us. Planned and willful sinning should
not be a part of the overcoming Christians mindset.
1
John 3:9
"Whosoever
is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth
in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God."
If
a child of God commits a presumptuous sin, the sin may
be forgiven but the punishment will not be remitted.
1
John 5:16
"If
any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto
death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for
them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death:
I do not say that he shall pray for it."
Willful
sin is actually called a sin unto death.
It
is not the sin against the Holy Spirit.
An
example of this is Ananias and Sapphira:
They
committed a willful, planned sin and it resulted in
their death.
Acts
5:1-10
"But
a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife,
sold a possession,
And
kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy
to it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the
apostles' feet.
But
Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart
to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the
price of the land?
Thou
hast not lied unto men, but unto God.
And
Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up the
ghost:
His
wife, not knowing what was done, came in.
And
Peter answered unto her, tell me whether ye sold the
land for so much? And she said, yea, for so much.
Then
she fell down straightway at his feet, and yielded up
the ghost:"
If
we irresponsibly continue with planned sin in our life,
we will reap what we sow.
Galatians
6:7
"Be
not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man
soweth, that shall he also reap."
The
Lords Supper and willful sin:
We
should partake worthily in the Lords Supper and those
who participate with willful sin will be judged.
1
Corinthians 11:27-30
"Wherefore
whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of
the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and
blood of the Lord.
But
let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that
bread, and drink of that cup.
For
he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh
damnation to himself, not discerning the For this cause
many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep."
3. The sin against the Holy Spirit.
This is also referred to as the unpardonable sin.
Matthew
12:31
"Wherefore
I say unto you, all manner of sin and blasphemy shall
be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the
Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men."
This
sin is described as speaking against the Holy Ghost.
Matthew
12:32
"But
whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall
not be forgiven him."
Here
Jesus was speaking to men who were ascribing the mighty
powerful works of the Holy Ghost to that of the devil
and Jesus said that they were sinning against the Holy
Ghost.
Matthew
12:24
"But
when the Pharisees heard it, they said, this fellow
doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince
of the devils."
Sin
is transgressing the Law or Commandments of God:
It
is totally contrary to our new Divine Nature as children
of God, to want to break Gods Law.
Ephesians
5:3-4
"But
fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let
it not be once named among you.
Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking,
nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving
of thanks."
1
John 5:18
"We
know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but
he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that
wicked one toucheth him not."
2
Corinthians 6:17-18
"Wherefore
come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith
the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; And will
be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters,
saith the Lord Almighty."
Jesus
gives a special promise of reward to those who overcome
sin.
Revelation
3:21
"To
him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my
throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with
my Father in his throne."
God
cannot be defeated or fail.
He
is an overcomer.
We
as Gods children are born again of Gods Seed which is
overcomer seed.
Therefore
by nature we are overcomers and should overcome.
1
John 2:13
"I write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the wicked
one."
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