What
Makes a Person Commit Sin
As Christians and “Ambassadors for Christ” (2 Corinthians
5: 18-20), we may be called upon to explain not only what a “sin” is, but also what
makes a person commit a sin. The Bible says that mankind has been condemned to
death because of sin, therefore Christians must know why. (Romans 5: 12) Others will assume that we have this knowledge
as part of the belief system that we would encourage them to share. Our
foundation is built on faith, but that faith must be explained in a way that hopefully
makes sense to them. That starts with helping them understand some basic
concepts.
What the Bible means when the word “sin” is
used.
In both the Old and New Testaments, the term “sin” has been
translated to mean “missing the mark”; committing an offense or transgression
toward God and men. (Strong’s Concordance #s 2398 and 2403 in the
Old Testament; and #s 264 and 266 in the New Testament). Christians generally
understand that the “mark that was “missed”” was the established standard for obedience
to our Supreme God, and His Moral Law (Ten Commandments) that governs how man
should worship God and interact with other men. (Exodus Chapter 20)
However, the Scripture further clarifies that sin was in
the world even before the LORD gave man the Moral Law. Yes, sin was in the
world, but as far as “missing the mark”, God did not impute / charge /
attribute sin to individual men on that basis because He had not yet specifically
taught or instructed man as to His Standards for man’s behavior through the Law.
(Romans 5: 13) It was the first man Adam’s offence / transgression of
disobedience against his Creator LORD God that brought sin into the world. (Genesis
2: 7-9, 15-17, 3: 1-7; Romans 5: 12-14).
If necessary, the distinction that becomes apparent is differentiating the sin
resulting from the direct disobedience to the LORD God, as opposed to the
sin from violating His Law. But from
the perspective of our Just and Holy God, sin is sin.
How did the “sin” of the first man result in sin
being attributed to all mankind?
Both Adam and Eve were aware of God’s only command
to them…that they do not eat of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and
evil. All other sources of food and trees were available for their use / consumption.
However, their offense of disobeying that singular command resulted in not only
the loss of the glory and honor that God had given Adam to have dominion over
the Earth. They also began to suffer a prolonged process of dying, leading to
the death of their physical bodies (Genesis 5: 1-5); and the immediate separation
of their eternal souls and spirits from their Creator. (See below) As another negative, they gained the “knowledge
of good and evil”, which ironically would ultimately work against mankind for generations
and centuries. (Genesis Chapter Three) (See below).
Some would argue that “knowing good and evil”
should not be a negative. However, when Adam made the choice to disobey the
LORD God, he forfeited the “objectivity” / “fairness” / “impartiality” that might
be associated with “knowing good and evil”. For this knowledge to not
be a negative, there would have to be the assumption that given a truthful
explanation of the pros and cons of the “good” vs. the “evil”, man could and
would make wise choices that would be in his/her own best interests. However, the
truth/good that Adam and Eve received from the LORD God was opposed by the flagrant
/ overt lie of the Serpent (“You shall not surely die.”); and that was accompanied
by half-truths (“your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing
good and evil.”). (Genesis 3: 1-5)
In his disobedience to God, Adam had accepted
obedience to the entity (Serpent / Lucifer / Satan) which Scripture later
revealed was the Enemy of God. (Isaiah 14: 12-17; Ezekiel Chapter 28) As a
result of that disobedience and as noted above, Adam lost / forfeited dominion
over the Earth, and Lucifer / Satan became the “god of this world”. (2
Corinthians 4: 4) They also lost their spiritual relationship with their
Creator. However, because of His love for His favored creation man, the LORD
God quickly restored their spiritual relationship with Him by shedding the
blood of innocent animals (Genesis 3: 21). That act of His love was a sign / a
prophetic indicator of how future generations could / would regain their
relationship with Him through our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God. (John 1: 1-3,
3: 16-17; Romans 5: 8-12; Colossians 1: 16) . It would be through the shedding
of His own innocent blood. (Hebrews Chapter Nine)
So, how did all that come to affect us today?
Note that “Adam called his wife’s name Eve;
because she was (to become) the mother of all living”. (Genesis 3: 20)
Adam’s choice to follow the guidance of the Serpent would eventually affect all
mankind.
While the Serpent was deceiving Eve in the
Garden of Eden, he deliberately did not tell her of the other consequences if she
/ Adam followed his guidance. One important consequence of disobedience to God was
that future generations of man would fall under the influence of their (Adam
and Eve’s) decision to follow him (Lucifer / Satan). Among the changes they personally would
undergo, those factors would also affect future man’s soul and spirit. Since
then, man’s spiritual connection to his Creator God would be inoperable
from his birth. (That is what our Lord Jesus was explaining to the Pharisee Ruler
Nicodemus later in the Scripture when He said: “a man must be born again…” –
John 3: 1-8) Man’s spirit would have to be regenerated.
Further, man’s soul (mind, will and
emotions) inherited a “sin-nature”, that would be passed from generation to
generation. That trait shifted what might have been a “balanced” conscience /
“knowledge of good and evil” to one that is “imbalanced” and has a strong slant
favoring sinful behavior. (Romans 3: 10-18, 23)
It was because of this imbalance that
mankind’s behavior became dominated by the same traits exhibited by God’s Enemy,
the “god of this world”, Lucifer / Satan. For a more detailed description of the
sins of this Enemy who sought to usurp God’s throne, I refer you to the
Scripture at: Isaiah 14: 12-17; and Ezekiel Chapter 28. The Bible points out how those traits became manifest in humanity, but also gives
this caution to believers: “15 Love not the world,
neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love
of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in
the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and
the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.” (1 John 2: 15-16)
Those three temptations were used successfully by the
Serpent to deceive Eve in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3: 1-6). However, he was totally
unsuccessful when he attempted to manipulate our Lord Jesus at a time of His supposed
weakness in the wilderness. (Matthew 4: 1-11) By having only an “imbalanced conscience” to
guide them, most people will fall victim and be trapped in sin.
Today, you and I, and all mankind have faced and will
continue to face those same tests / temptations. However, the Bible gives
believers the following reassurance: “3 There hath no temptation taken you but
such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be
tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to
escape, that ye may be able to bear it.”. (1 Corinthians 10: 13) The Ascended Lord Jesus has sent the Holy
Spirit to guide us as Christian believers to more than correct for that
“imbalance”. For “greater is He that is in (us) than he that is in the world.” (1
John 4: 1-6) The “odds” have been
shifted in favor of those who believe God.
Now that doesn’t mean we can’t be tempted to sin, because
we have been and will continue to be tested. The Apostle Paul addressed the
mixed signals that even believers’ souls receive in the on-going battle caused
by our “knowledge of good and evil”. (Romans Chapter Seven) But God has given
us as Christians the advantage of knowing the stronger “good” through the
indwelling Holy Spirit. (Romans Chapter Eight)
What did God want man to know about sin
through the Law? (Exodus Chapter Twenty)
The short answer to that question is that God wanted man
to come to the realization that because of all the factors noted above, no man
could fully comply with the requirements of the Law. Further, the Scripture clarified
that a failure to meet even one part of the Law was regarded as having broken
the full law. (James 2: 10-11; Galatians 3: 10) Man could not escape committing
sin. (Romans 3: 19, 23) Because man would
commit sin, he would incur the penalty of death, as inherited from the sin of
the first man Adam. Left to his own efforts (self-righteousness), man could
only fail.
The key Scriptural answer to the question is: “Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be
justified in his sight: for by the
law is the knowledge of sin. (Romans 3:20) The Law was
the device / tool used by God to send the message that only He is “Righteous”. Man’s only alternative / recourse
would be to believe what God has said through the rest of the Bible. He,
Himself would pay the severe price of death through the suffering and death of His Son, our Lord Jesus. Man’s “righteousness” (being in good-standing with God) comes
from believing that Jesus is the Son of God, that He died for our sins - He was
buried - and He arose on the third day. That
is our Gospel of God’s Grace… The Gospel of Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 15:
1-4; Romans 10: 9-13) The Lord’s Resurrection was evidence that our salvation
is secure. (1 Corinthians 15: 12-17)
For a more detailed discussion of this
question, I’d refer you to the earlier two-part post I made to this blog on
August 24 and August 29, 2023, titled: “The Bible Truth About the Ten
Commandments”. Those posts can be found in the “Archives” section of this blog.
As a closing thought regarding the Law,
consider the response that our Lord Jesus gave to the Pharisee lawyer who
wanted to test Him, as recorded in the Book of Matthew, Chapter 22, in verses
35-40. It seems that the first part of Lord’s response was to have mankind
address the circumstances that led to Adam’s disobedience / sin in the Garden
of Eden. The second part of the Lord’s response was true guidance for all
mankind, so that we would not fall prey to the wiles of the Enemy. If we were
to all practice the true “agape” love that God wanted, then we would always
seek the higher good for our fellow man.
Dr. W. A. (Bill) Robinson
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