THE RESULTS OF SIN IN MAN'S RELATION TO HIMSELF

The change which took place in the heart of man when he chose to sin was very great, indeed. Since that choice man has gone farther and farther away from God, and so his heart has become darker and darker. That darkness, however, is often hidden behind a mask of religion or of respectability. Man has many high ideals, but it is impossible for him to reach them, for he is bound by sin and darkness. Below are some of the changes that took place when man sinned:

He became the slave of sin. The Bible says, “Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.” John 8:34. Man wanted to be free from God, but he became the servant or slave of sin.

He becamse separated from God. “For the wages of sin is death.” Romans 6:23. And, as we have already explained, death means separation. Since man became the slave of sin, he must receive sin’s wages, death. Separated from God now, and separated from Him in Hell forever.

He became vain in his imaginations or thoughts and his foolish heart became darkened. Romans 1:21. Separated from Him who is all wise, man became foolish. Romans 1:22.

Guided by a darkened heart, man’s mind became completely reprobate. Romans 1:28.

His life thereby became filled with all manner of evil. Romans 1:29-31.

This included wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness, envy, murder, deceit and disobedience to parents.

Finally, although he knew the judgment of God that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only does the same, but has pleasure in them that do them. Romans 1:32.

It is not difficult to follow this change in man which took place when he sinned. Separated from God, his thoughts became darkened. Then his heart which receives his thoughts as light became darkened too. Influenced by that darkened heart, his thoughts then became completely reprobate or base. Finally, his deeds became very vile until he could sin without being ashamed. Today, man is proud of his sin. Stealing is no longer wrong in itself, but rather he feels pleased at how cleverly he steals. Happily he deceives his fellow man and engages in corruption. And in all these deeds he does not realize that “the wrath of God abides on him.” John 3:36. He does not realize his danger. He laughs and jokes, unaware that daily he is moving nearer and nearer to eternal destruction in hell.

My dear reader, remember that what is written above is not only a picture of the life of Adam and Eve. It is not only a picture of mankind in general. It is a picture of your life too. Do you realize your danger? If so, consider carefully God’s way of salvation as explained in the following blog writing, entitled: “Gods Remedy and Promise”.

John E. Capron – Guest Blogger

THE RESULTS OF SIN IN MAN’S RELATION TO HIS FELLOW MAN

The darkness and death which filled man’s heart as a result of his sin, quickly showed itself in his relation to his fellow man.

After Adam and Eve were driven out of the Garden of Eden by God, Eve gave birth to children. Two sons are especially pointed out to us. The older was Cain, the younger was Abel. Cain was a farmer, while Abel was a keeper of sheep. We are told that one day they both brought an offering to God.

Cain’s offering of the fruit of the ground was rejected by God. Abel’s offering of the firstlings of his flock was received. Basically, Cain’s offering was rejected because it was one he thought up himself. It, like the fig leaves used by Adam and Eve, was an effort to cover his own sin. Therefore, it was refused. Every effort on man’s part to save himself from sin is sure to be rejected by a holy God.

On the other hand, Abel’s offering shows his faith in God’s way of salvation which He showed to man in the Garden of Eden. By slaying goats and making coats of skins for them, God pointed out that One must later suffer and die to cover man’s sin. Every offering based on the work and promise of God to provide salvation is sure to be received by Him. This was true then. It is true now.

Afterwards, Cain and Abel were talking in the field. Suddenly Cain rose up and killed his brother. Now it is vital for us to realize why he killed him. IT WAS BECAUSE HIS OWN RELATION TO GOD WAS BROKEN. He was angry with God because his offering had been refused; so he killed his brother. Normally we don’t want to connect these two incidents. But in His Word, God does connect them, to show that our relation to our fellow man can only be right AFTER our relation to God has been made right first.

We steal from our fellowman, because we are not right with God! We deceive, oppress, and hate our fellowman, because we are not right with God. When a person repents of his sin and comes back to God, he becomes rightly related to Him. And he experiences a real change toward his fellow man too. He no longer wants to steal from him or deceive him in any way. Instead, he wants to help him, and, above all, to bring him to God so that he might be saved too. So in reality our relation to our fellow man shows clearly whether our relation to God is right or not.

As long as we are separated from God, we are separated from LIFE, LIGHT, and LOVE, for He is the Source of all these. Our hearts, therefore, become filled with death, darkness and hate. And these things are clearly seen in our relation to our fellow man. Dear reader, before you can really treat your fellow man right, you must be rightly related to God. You must be saved. In receiving salvation, you receive Him who is Life, Light and Love into your heart, and these things will then be clearly seen in your relation to others.

John E. Capron – Guest Blogger