Fall

The Consequences of Sin

We’ve been comparing the Bible to a script that Jesus followers are supposed to live out. Here, we are going to learn about act 2 of that script, which we call “the fall.”

One of the greatest joys in my life has been becoming a parent.  I will never forget holding my first child in my arms for the first time.  She seemed innocent and perfect.

As time went on, my daughter grew.  She looked at the world with wide-eyed wonder.  She was learning new things every day.  Surely this was the smartest, cutest, most innocent child there ever was.

But eventually I noticed something strange.  My perfect child would sometimes do selfish things.  Occasionally she’d even do things that were flat out wrong!  Eventually I had to accept the unavoidable truth: my children are sinners, just like me.  

The word “sin” has fallen out of vogue recently.  We want to maintain the right to do whatever we please.  So we find endless ways to justify almost any behavior.  The words “I was wrong” are rarely on our lips—and we truly believe that we are right.

Yet, while we’d love to think that we’re right all the time, deep down we know that isn’t true.  The Bible gives us a more realistic picture of our situation: we have done wrong.  We are sinners.  

Our first encounter with human sin comes pretty early in the Bible.  God gave Adam and Eve one simple command: they could eat from any tree but one.  Eventually, the enemy comes along and plants some lies in their minds.  First, the serpent gets Eve to question God.  He says, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?”

Eve responds that they may eat from any tree but one, or else they will die.  

Next, the serpent convinces Eve to try to take God’s place.  He says “You won’t die!”  Instead, he says that if they eat the fruit from the forbidden tree, they will actually be like God.

And so Adam and Eve both eat the fruit and revolt against God.  Sin enters the world, and to their horror, they realize that the peace they had was gone.  Their perfect relationship with God was immediately changed.  Now they were afraid.  

The story of Adam and Eve is the story of us all: we want to be like God.  In fact, this is the heart of sin.  Sin—at least in part—is where we try to take God’s place.  But as we will see, sin has terrible consequences.

First, sin makes us slaves.  You may remember that in the beginning, God created us as royalty.  Sin undoes all that.  The Apostle Paul wrote:

You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living.  (Romans 6:16)

Sin doesn’t mean we’re no longer made in God’s image; but because of sin, the light of that image has flickered out.  We’ve been cut off from the power source.

Second, sin spreads chaos.  After the fall, we read about this growing spiral of evil that infects all of humanity.  It gets to a place where everything is in complete disorder.  Originally, God gave us responsibility—to represent him to the world. Instead, chaos was everywhere.

Finally, sin causes us to be alone.  When Adam and Eve sinned, the intimacy they had with God and each other was suddenly gone.  They were ashamed and afraid.  We were made for relationship with God and others, but sin wrecks that relationship.

This stuff isn’t very fun to think about.  But we cannot skip this part.  If we do, then the glory of God’s redemption will be lost on us.  So remember: sin makes us slaves, spreads chaos, and causes us to be alone. 

What is your initial reaction to the word “sin”?

When we learned about creation, we learned that God created us as royalty, gave us responsibility, and invites us into relationship. Notice how sin messes all that up: Sin moves us from royalty to slavery. Sin distorts our God-given responsibilities and spreads chaos instead. Sin destroys relationships and causes us to be alone. Have you seen any of these things happen because of your own sin?

Is there really such a thing as a truly private sin—one that affects no one but yourself? Is there a sin that you need to confess to God? If so, remember the words of 1 John 1:9: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”