It Is Sin That Separates Us From God
There was no sin or evil in the world until a high-ranking holy angel named Lucifer (now known as Satan, also called the devil, the enemy (adversary) of God), through self-generated pride (sin), rebelled against God. Because of his unrighteousness, he was banished from Heaven along with his army of rebel angels— possibly one third of all the angels— now called demons, who joined in the the rebellion (Revelation 12:4). They were thrown down to Earth and have been wreaking havoc ever since. Ultimately, they will be condemned to eternal fiery torment in the Lake of Fire. Justice will be served! (Revelation 20:10).
Jesus said, “I watched Satan fall from heaven like [a flash of] lightning.” – Luke 10:18 (AMP)
And then the first man—Adam—chose to disobey God’s command in the Garden of Eden.
“And the Lord God commanded the man (even before Eve was created), saying, ‘Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it, you shall surely die‘” (from Genesis 2:16-17 NKJV; emphasis added). And they ate from the tree and immediately died a spiritual death with physical death becoming inevitable, but not instantaneous— just like it will for us.
They both disobeyed God, they sinned, they fell short of His perfect standard of righteousness. But it was Adam who bore complete responsibility for it and passed on the curse of his sin nature to all of mankind and because we are sinners, we, too have experienced spiritual death and will ultimately die physically. Every single person who has ever been alive will physically die at least once. Many will die a second death.
God knew that Satan and the angels would rebel and also knew that Adam and Eve would sin, but His perfect plan already included redemption. His plan, set in place before the foundation of the world, would restore the relationship with God that mankind had broken through sin and that would be accomplished through the death and resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ.
“He made Him (Jesus) who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” — 2 Corinthians 5:21
This is the very heart of God’s plan of redemption, the gospel— the Good News of Jesus Christ!
Our Big Problem— SIN!
What is sin? It’s breaking God’s law, like the Ten Commandments — an act of disobedience or rebellion against Him; lawlessness. It’s missing the mark — falling short of God’s holy standard of righteousness, His perfect measure of moral and ethical behavior that reflects His own nature. It’s an offense to God’s holiness. In fact, all unrighteousness (all things that aren’t right with God) is sin. If God is perfect and we are not— that’s sin.
Sin is not just simply wrongdoing, it is a chronic, fatal disease we all suffer from and there is only one cure… genuine repentance and saving faith in Jesus Christ who paid the penalty of sin for us. Without those two things, you remain lost and condemned.
Sin involves your thoughts, attitudes and actions— what you think, say and do. Thoughts originate in the mind and attitudes originate in the heart, and actions are what you “choose” to say and do— acting out your thoughts and attitudes.
Here’s the standard concerning the thoughts, attitudes and actions of a born again believer:
Are they Christlike? Do they please God and bring Him glory?
That’s the standard.
If they are not Christlike and they do not please God and bring Him glory— dismiss the thoughts immediately before you act on them. And if you have already acted on them, stop them immediately in their tracks, ask for forgiveness and replace them with righteous thoughts and actions.
Upon salvation, the Holy Spirit lives within you to help in these matters and will always convict you of your sin and help you overcome them.
Do not quench (ignore) Him or grieve (disappoint) Him. The Holy Spirit is Christ in you — by His Spirit. That is a powerful reality.
Jesus used God’s law (The Ten Commandments) to show the rich young ruler his sin. Read Mark 10:17–22. In fact, He gives us the law just to prove to us that we can’t keep it. We can’t keep it. Nobody can. Get that through your head.
Have you ever lied? Have you ever stolen— anything? Have you ever taken God’s name in vain? Have you ever dishonored your parents? Have you ever committed sexual immorality of any kind—even in your heart through lust?
That’s just five of the ten. The obvious answer to the questions? We all have. Why? Because we are not perfect. That’s the point. Only God is! It proves that you are guilty before God’s perfect standard. It only takes one sin to be sinner and to be condemned for it for eternity.
You say, “That’s not fair!” You gave up you right to fairness when you committed your first sin. And it wasn’t fair that Jesus Christ had to willfully shed his blood, suffer and die on the cross to save you from yourself. He died to pay the penalty for your sin, so you wouldn’t have to die yourself and spend eternity in a fiery pit.
But even the 10 commandments don’t get to the real issue which was articulated by Jesus who said, “He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God” (John 3:18)
In other words, Jesus said, “You’re gonna get condemned because you don’t believe in me.”
Sooner or later you’ve got to get past the 10 commandments and get to the great sin of all sins, the ultimate sin, which is rejecting Jesus Christ.
Though all of us are wretched, vile sinners (man, that’s hard to say, isn’t it?), cursed by our violation of God’s law and sinful by nature, Jesus emphasized that the fatal, unforgiveable, and eternal sin that ultimately damns people to hell is our unwillingness to believe in Him as the Messiah, the Christ and the Son of God. In truth, all other sins can be forgiven if this one is repented of. (from John 8:24 and 16:9)
What you ultimately must understand is that God is far more righteous than you think He is and that you are far less righteous than you think you are.
So, with these things in mind, there two things that are absolutely true if you have not yet repented and surrendered your life to Christ and put your faith and trust in Him:
You are a sinner and you need a Savior!
The Consequences of Sin
There are consequences for sin—real, eternal consequences. Your sin provokes God’s wrath, the powerful and just anger of a holy God, and brings His rightful judgment. Even one sin brings spiritually death. A holy God must reject all that is unholy.
Because God makes the rules and sets the standards in the perfect world He created, the wages for sin, the price that pays, is death— both spiritual and physical— and eternal punishment.
“For the wages of sin (the price that sin pays) is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” — (Romans 6:23); emphasis added.
“Therefore, just as through one man (Adam) sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned…” — (Romans 5:12); emphasis added.
Because of sin, you will die. We all will— a spiritual death and separation from God upon your first sin, a physical death one time on the earth (for everybody), and then a second death when Jesus returns in judgment for those whose name is not found in the Lamb’s book of life; those who physically died in their earthly lives who had refused to repent and accept God’s pardon of sin through Christ. Warning: You do not want to die a second death.
Eternal Punishment Described
“But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who will repay to each according to his works” (Romans 2:5-6).
The Bible describes the eternal punishment for sin as:
A horrendous, but rightful judgment for sin against a Holy God. An eternal fire prepared for the devil and his demons (Matthew 25:41). A place where there will be a fully informed conscience— relentlessly accusing the sinner forever— causing anguish, weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth. He cannot deny it or escape it. It is a place where the ungodly will never escape the conscience in the end. It can not longer be ignored. Never-ending fiery torment and conscious suffering where “their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched” (Mark 9:48)
The lake of fire is the final hell, “the second death” (Revelation 20:14)—a place of eternal punishment for all unrepentant rebels, angelic or human (Revelation 20:10, 15), where “the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever, and they have no rest, day or night” (Revelation 14:11). It burns with “fire and brimstone” (Revelation 21:8), an endless sea of molten judgment where light reveals no hope and darkness offers no hiding place. The stench of sulfur chokes the air as waves of flame crash again and again, yet never consume. Here, mercy is gone, justice is final, and It is conscious, unending, and without escape.
“And anyone not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.” — (Revelation 20:15)
The book of life contains the names of all those who will inherit eternal life.
- Born once (physically), die twice (physical and spiritual death).
- Born twice (physically and spiritually — “born again”), die once (physical death only).
You do not want to die twice.
God’s justice for sin is just what we deserve—and just what Jesus saved us from.
God promised in Genesis 2:17 that sinners “shall surely die” unless a substitute dies in their place. That substitute had to be truly God and truly human and without sin (the perfect lamb):
No one met that standard. Not one…
Until Jesus!
Jesus Christ, the sinless Son of God, took our place, paid our penalty, and rose again—offering eternal life to all who believe.
The gospel only makes sense when you understand God’s divine judgment.
And you have to know the consequences of violating the law of God for which Jesus shed His blood and died for you. The wages of sin, the price that sin pays, is death! — spiritual death and separation from God upon your first sin, physical death one time on the earth (everybody), and a second death on Judgment Day for those who die the without faith in Christ.
Warning: You do not want to die for a second time when Jesus returns! Born twice, die once. Born once, die twice.
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