Bible Basics: Knowing GodSample

Humanity and Sin

By Lené Jonck

God is all-powerful, all-knowing, holy, and existing in perfect relationship with Himself. He certainly didn’t need us. He created people because He’s a loving God who wanted to be in relationship with us. God gave humankind the mandate of dominion over the world He’d created, and we’re called to reflect His character and nature by how we govern over our resources. Sadly, we haven’t done too well at managing this responsibility.

God designed us to bear His image and to reflect His light and goodness back into the world around us. Because God is love, He also gave people free will: we are free to choose to love, worship, and obey Him, and that makes our love, worship, and obedience genuine and sincere. Adam and Eve chose to disobey God, in terms of the choice He gave them to eat (or not eat) from particular trees in the Garden of Eden. We’re still affected by their choice today. Sin causes death and destruction. Being separated from the very Source of Life means death. Adam and Eve’s disobedience removed them from God’s lifegiving presence. Sin is the exact opposite of God’s will for creation. Disobedience to God opened the door for every kind of evil to flow through humanity and cause chaos and destruction. And of course, we see evidence of sin in the world around us every day. Sin may not have directly caused a physical death in your life, but sin causes the death of relationships and opportunities too.

Although God’s image in humanity hasn’t been destroyed, it certainly is tarnished and distorted. We’ve all sinned, and our sin puts a massive divide between us and God. No amount of ‘good works’ can bridge that gap and restore us to God’s holy presence. The meaning of the word sin as it’s used in the New Testament means to miss the mark. It means considering a moral or relational standard set by God and saying, ‘My will, not God’s will!’ It’s a marvellous relief that Jesus, who lived a sinless life, came to restore everything that sin had wrecked. Adam sinned in the Garden of Eden by saying, ‘My will, not Yours, God!’ Thousands of years later, in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus said, ‘Not my will, God, but Yours!’

Ask the Holy Spirit to show you any sin in your life. If something comes to mind, repent, and chat to a friend who loves Jesus: bring that sin into the light so the enemy can no longer trap you with accusations and shame. Then rejoice in God’s forgiveness and the privilege of being a mirror that reflects His light back into the world around you.