The Abominable Cost of Sin

"Sin has the devil for its father, shame for its companion and death for its wages."  - Thomas Watson 

Sin is universal. What does that mean? It means that every single one of us is sinful. It is common to all men (Romans 3:23). No exceptions! We are born that way, and we all struggle with it on a daily basis.

We live in a world permeated with sin. It is deeply embedded in our nature. At its very basic level, we recognize it as a wrong relationship with God (Psalm 51:4; Luke 15:18). But sin is not limited only towards God.

It can also manifest itself in wrong attitudes, actions, possessions, and relationships toward others. Scripture characterizes sin as hostility, disgust, and utter dislike before God.

God hates sin because it is in opposition of his nature (Psalm 11:5; Proverbs 6:16-19. This comprises many different things, including: guilt, rebellion, even uncleanliness, to name a few.

Naturally, it only follows that because of God's hatred of sin there must be a remedy for it. We can see in the Old Testament that sin was forgiven through sacrifice. That is, by the shedding of animal blood (Leviticus 17:11).

Besides sacrifices of atonement, repentance and obedience to the Lord were also required of the guilty party or parties (1 Samuel 15:22). The OT prophets issued warnings regarding non-compliance to these binding laws ( 2 Kings 17:13; Ezekiel 3:16-19).

Moving forward, it wasn't until the New Testment when the death of Jesus Christ finally brought forgiveness of sin. He died on behalf of all sinful mankind (Romans 5:6; John 10:11, 15:13).

Jesus bore all of our sins on the cross in his sacrifical death (2 Corinthians 5:21; Romans 3:25). He brought us redemption by taking our place on that cross instead (Matthew 20:28).

Just as the Old Testament shedding of animal blood was symbolic of the cleansing of sin, so was the spilling of Jesus' blood necessary to bring us forgiveness of sin (1John 1:7; Ephesians 1:7).

The gospel reveals the intent and power of God to engage with sin and all of its apalling consequences. You'll find that Scripture incorporates many different images to demonstrate the fullness of salvation (Hebrews 2:17; 1 Timothy 1:15).

Yes, we are beneficiaries of the salvation brought to us by the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ. However, we cannot sit back and let Him do all of the work. Ultimately, we must acknowledge God's offer of forgiveness through faith in Jesus Christ.

Scripture: Psalm 51:10; Isaiah 64:6; Jeremiah 17:9; Romans 5:12; James 5:16;

Prayer: "Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, 'I will confess my transgressions to the Lord.' And you forgave the guilt of my sin." - Psalm 32:5

Grace to all,

Marsha