Sin & its Consequences

What is sin?
Our sinful nature produces sins (behavior contrary to God's laws and commands).
The "I" problem.
Man becomes his own authority, putting themselves before God.

The consequences of sin
Genesis account of the fall (Genesis 3:7-12)
The man and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame (Genesis 2:25)

Three Broken relationships
Sin destroys relationships and creates alienation.

1. Man and man
We create many categories of classification, and if we think someone is in the same category as ourselves, we constantly compete with that person. Someone else's good is experiences as a personal diminishment. E.g. Cain felt the need to kill his brother to eliminate competition.

2. Man and himself
Adam felt no guilt until he sinned against God. Sin leads to insecurities and loneliness. Guilt leads man to build a fortress around themselves. This is the only avenue man knows of to experience security - a fear driven effort to be well defended and safe from pain and involvement. In response we throw ourselves into work, entertainment to deaden the growing sense of hollowness. We have become so many people that we ask ourselves - who am I?

3. Man and God
The alternative to not believing in God is not that you believe nothing, it is that you will believe anything (G.K. Chesterton)
Rejecting God meant losing true intimacy and also the start to worshipping other things.

- Idolatry
The magnitude of these idolatry in terms of dollars wasted on them are so great that any effort to dismiss these as insignificant diversions is a form of denial.
Idols = fantasy + falsehood + dehumanization

- Relativism
When there is no truth, people don't need to look for truth.
Everyone did as they saw fit (Judges 21:25)
Maintains that criteria and judgement vary with individuals and their environment.

Orphans by choice
Fearing rejection, we don a mask of apathy and hardness, "I don't care" attitude. When deep down inside we do really care. Man rapidly deteriorate into isolation, fear and selfishness. Man apart from God is miserable, lost and directionless.


p.s. No peace between man can be had unless man realizes that his fellow man is his brother. But with no notion of the fatherhood of God, there can be no brotherhood of men.

(Course 101, Bridgeway church)