THE UGLY ATTITUDE-SIN
I call it ugly because our Lord and savior Jesus Christ hated it so much that he laid his life voluntarily to deal with the consequence of sin. It begins with a thought hatched in the heart and if not dealt with right there it bears fruit which can be seen, heard or felt. It manifests in any act against first and second table of God’s law. The first table of the law is to love God with all your heart, mind, and soul; second table of the law is to love your neighbor as yourself. Sin is violation of that law. In the New Testament language, it is missing the mark. Our goal is to obey but when we disobey we have missed the mark.
Apostle John in his epistle to the church had this to say about sin “The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work” (1 John 3:8). This is a shocking statement to some people, but Jesus Christ put even more clearly:
“You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44).
What does this mean? Note the words from the beginning. This means that Satan was the first person ever to sin. He began sin. He is the first person who ever rebelled against God and disobeyed God. Therefore, every person who sins is akin to Satan. He is following after Satan, in the footsteps of Satan. Morally and spiritually he is the offspring of Satan.
One thing is sure: sin is not of God. God is not the Father of sin, evil, and corruption and death. The devil is the father of such things. Therefore when we sin we are not following the father of love and righteousness, we are following the father of sin and death. Our behavior is not of God; it is of the devil. It is by sin we become…
• followers of the devil
• children of the devil
• servants of the devil
It is by sin that we have separated ourselves from God. It is sin that causes us to die and that is going to bring judgment upon us. It is sin that causes the righteousness and justice of God to fall upon us. It is sin that is going to separate the sinner from God for eternity. This is the reason God hates sin so much: God created man to live with him and sin has cut man off from God, dooming man to be cut off forever. But this is the glorious gospel: God is perfect love; He is the sovereign majesty, the perfect intelligence and Power of the universe. Therefore, God knows what to do about sin and He has power to do it. God knows how to save man. He sent Jesus with a purpose as stated by the apostle John “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work” (1 John 3:8).
(During this time of lent and of cause always let us take our sins to the cross of Christ and obtain redemption.)