Five Points: I - the Problem

When it comes to being saved the are at least five things we should consider. In this post we consider the first - The Problem

Adam was created in God's image. He walked with God in the cool of the evening and he was actively doing God's will during the time he was not with him. In a word, he was perfect, but he was alone. So God made a woman as a helper fitted for him, from his rib, and left her to Adam's guidance. They both disobeyed God by eating of a forbidden fruit. Adam's sin was instrumental in the destruction of the whole human race. Death is the result of sinning against God and all die, therefore (says the Bible) all have sinned.

But, that is not all. The Bible reminds us that we add to Adam's sin with sins of our own. Cain killed Abel. The situation got so bad that God destroyed the ancient world in a worldwide flood. The Noah got drunk and two of his sons mocked him. Then there was: Abram who lied to Pharaoh and to Abimalech. Laban who stole from Jacob who stole right back. The record goes on ... even David (the man after God's own heart) had a man murdered in order to hide his affair with the man's wife. Jeremiah describes the situation as: "The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately wicked." And the Preacher agrees.

We do not believe the heart of man is as wicked as it could be - God restrains us, even as he did in the time of Noah. But we do believe that every part of man is affected by sin. The body decays and dies. The mind is used to deny what the creation teaches us about God. And we choose to worship and serve something other than God. The desires of our hearts are even turned to self-gratification rather than the service of God and man.

We demonstrate our own hypocrisy by condemning others for the things we do ourselves. And, knowing that the judgment of God falls upon those who do such things we not only do them but we delight in those who do them as well. And there's the nub of the problem. God's justice is impartial and his sentence is: "The soul that sins will die." We receive a partial fulfillment of that sentence at the end of this life, but the ultimate result is banishment from the realm of the blessed.

So, with perfect justice every single human being who has ever lived is guilty of sin and all deserve to perish eternally. I said this was a problem and the problem is that God is not justice alone. He is a God of love and mercy as well. Sin demands his justice punish the sinner for his actions. This is what God has determined will happen. And that leaves every person (with only one exception) under the condemnation of the Law of God.

Easter shows us it is not enough that God's justice is met; there has to be some way he can show mercy and love. And, next time, we begin to look at God's solution to the problem of sin.