Sin – From Scripture

This is largely a brief outline of Chapter 7 of Called to Believe: An Introduction to Christian Doctrine, edited by Steven P. Mueller.

Historical Origin of Sin

Was there evil in God’s creation as he completed his work of creating? 

Genesis 1:31

So what happened to God’s perfect creation? 

Revelation 12:7-9
2 Peter 2:4

So who first sinned? 

When did humanity first sin (The Fall)? 

Genesis 3:1-7

Who is to blame? 

Who shares responsibility?

Genesis 3:12-13

Does God share responsibility in the Fall?

Could we say God allow the Fall?  Could we say God caused the Fall? 

Was the Fall a Fall Up or a Fall Down? 

What did humanity lose in the Fall? 

Original Sin

What was the first sin?

Genesis 3:6 – “When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it.”

Doubt = Unbelief

What was the result of that sin?

Romans 5:19 — “through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners.”

Psalm 14:3 — “there is no one who does good, not even one.”

John 3:6 – “flesh gives birth to flesh”

Sin was passed down from parent to child (Inherited Sin)

Sin is not simply an action; it is a condition!

Original Sin is the sinfulness inherited in our conception.

Genesis 8:21 – “every inclination of his heart is evil from childhood”

Psalm 51:5 – “Surely, I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.”

Romans 5:19 – “through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners.”

Psalm 14:3 – “there is no one who does good, not even one.”

Actual Sins

Original Sin – Objective. A sinful state.

Actual Sin – Subjective. Sinful acts.

Galatians 5:19-21 – “Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, ²⁰ idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, ²¹ envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.”

Actual sins are the product of original sin.

What is sin?

1 John 3:4 – “Everyone who sins breaks the law; in face, sin is lawlessness.”

2 Peter 2:8 – “lawless deeds”

               So, whose Law is being broken? 

Sins of Commission and Sins of Omission

Exodus 20:1-17 (Commission)

James 4:17 (Omission)

Sins of Thought, Word, and Deed

Matthew 5:22  (Thought, Emotion)

Matthew 12:36-37 (Words)

1. John 3:15 (Deed)

The Causes of Sin

The Devil

Revelation 12:9

John 13:2

The World

Matt 18:7

1 John 2:16        

The Flesh (Sinful Human Nature)

Matt 15:19

James 1:14

Gal 5:19

Not God!!!

1 John 1:5 – “God is light; in him there is no darkness at all”

1 John 2:16

Consequences of Sin

Sin Separates

Man from Man

Man from God

Temporal Consequences

Divine Punishment (God hates sin)

Chastisement that leads to forgiveness

Consequences for the act itself

Eternal Consequences

Eternal Separation from God

The Ultimate Consequence of Sin – Death

Temporal, Physical Death

Romans 5:12 – “sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned”

Romans 6:23 – “the wages of sin is death”

Spiritual Death

Ephesians 2:1 – “you were dead in your transgressions and sins”

Eternal Death

Revelation 20:14 – “second death”

What does this mean for all of us?

Sin was like the opening of Pandora’s Box

Sin brought everything evil, bad, and sad into the world

Pain, Suffering, and ultimately Death