Genesis 3:1–6, 16–19, 24; Romans 5:12–14

Bible Studies for Life
Chair and Armstrong Professor of Religion, Department of Religion, Samford University

Sin IS a Big Deal
Genesis 3:1–6, 16–19, 24; Romans 5:12–14
The London Times once invited several eminent authors to write essays on the theme “What’s Wrong With the World?” G.K. Chesterton contributed a letter: Dear Sirs, I am. Sincerely yours, G.K. Chesterton. In the 21st century, little attention is given to the notion of sin. The end result is that our understanding of grace and salvation is distorted because we have lost an understanding of the depth and depravity of human sinfulness. Humans are a mystery to themselves. We are rational and irrational, capable of deep friendship and murderous hostility, free and in bondage, the pinnacle of creation and its greatest danger. 

Sin Defined (Gen. 3:1–6)
The Genesis account of Adam and Eve’s sin reminds us that sin involves turning our backs on the generosity of God’s love shown to His creation, determining that we can live on our own resources rather than trusting in His providence. Sin is characterized by human pride, choosing to live in our own way, focusing on our own needs rather than others’ needs. Sin not only brought about a breakdown between God and humankind but also Adam and Eve began to blame each other and their relationship suffered. In 1972, I wrote to professor F.F. Bruce at the University of Manchester in England and asked him about the origin of sin. His response told the story of a conversation during a Bible study that had taken place during his student days at a university. The question was do we sin because we are sinners, or are we sinners because we sin. He recounted the concluding comments of an elderly gentleman from Ayrshire, Scotland, who said, “Isn’t it a great sin to be a sinner at all?” This is the heart of the matter: Every one of us chooses, on a regular basis, to turn away from God’s generosity and His holy love to live according to our own aims.

Sin’s Consequences (Gen. 3:16–19, 24)
The Genesis story of sin’s entry into God’s created order indicates that disorder affects human relationships. Notions of patriarchy, of men and women striving with one another, ought not to be seen as God’s original intention but as disorder — a consequence of sin. Even work, originally a gift of God for human beings to find fulfillment, is now filled with frustration and weariness. Life is seen as temporary as death enters into the cycle of life, presenting human beings with concepts of fear, uncertainty and even dread.

Everyone Sins (Rom. 5:12–14)
The Christian understanding of human nature is starkly realistic. While affirming the good of human existence as created by God, the Bible takes with utter seriousness the profound disruption, alienation, brutality and oppression that characterize the actual human condition. The image of God in which humans were created is obscured and distorted by sin. There would be no sin and fallenness were there not a standard to fall away from. Adam and Eve refused to obey God’s command. Paul was convinced that the law of God is a verbal expression of the created order, dimly apprehended within our hearts as conscience, and spelled out in the moral Law of the Old Testament. Yet we will never fully understand the depths of the nature of sin if we see it only in terms of breaking a moral code rather than sinning against God’s love, declaring our freedom from His presence. This is why sin is a universal condition and a self-chosen act for which we are all responsible. Sin insinuates itself into all human attitudes and actions. Indeed sin may be most seductively and demonically at work under the guise of doing good. Worst of all, sin’s greatest consequence is death, which affects every human being, bringing a deep sense of fear into people’s hearts and finally revealing itself in the “second death,” which indicates God’s judgment on our sinfulness. Herein is the real terror of the death of the ungodly: endless separation from God, life and love. Thankfully Paul went on in Romans 5 to demonstrate that although sin’s universality is clearly evident for all to see, “the grace of God … has abounded to many.” Human failure is never the final work on humanity — God’s grace has triumphed over sin and offers hope for society.