Tuesday, March 10, 2009

The sinfulness of man

For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23)

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? (Jeremiah 17:9)

But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away. (Isaiah 64:6)

Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:

(For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law.

Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come.

But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many.


And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification.


For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)


Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.


For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. (Romans 5:12-19)

Basic truths:

[1] Sin is the failure to be, think, or act like God.

[2] When Adam disobeyed God’s commandment, his sin was imputed to the entire race.


[3] Sin is universal, extending to the whole race, to each individual, and to the whole person.

Discussion

[1] Sin may be expressed in terms of being, thought, or action.

All men are born sinners and persist in a sinful state throughout life (Psalm 51:5).

Sin is described in the Bible as:

  • ungodliness and unrighteousness (1John 5:17; Romans 1:18)
  • failure to do good (James 4:17)
  • a lack of faith (Romans 14:23)
  • unbelief, the failure to believe God (Matthew 13:58; Hebrews 3:12, 19)
  • missing the mark, coming short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23)
  • error, making a mistake; a wandering off of the right path (Romans 1:27; James 5:19-20)
  • transgression, a stepping outside the law (Romans 3:23; Hebrews 2:2)
  • trespassing, intruding where one should not go (Ephesians 2:1)
  • disobedience, a refusal to listen and hear and do (Ephesians 2:2; Colossians 3:6)
  • lawlessness, rebellion, a rejection of God’s will and law (1 John 3:4)
  • iniquity, an inward contempt that leads to the continual practice of sin (Matthew 7:23)
  • filthiness (2 Corinthians 7:1; Zechariah 3:3 cf. Isaiah 30:22)
Sin is expressed in man’s thoughts (Matthew 15:19; James 1:14). Sin is described as an attitude or thought of covetousness (Exodus 20:17); hatred (Leviticus 19:17); and lust (Matthew 5:27-28).

Sin is expressed in man's actions, in committing something or doing something we are not supposed to do, and in omitting or not doing things we are supposed to do (Romans 7:19; James 4:17).

We are not always able to do what God expects us to do because of our sin nature (Romans 7:14-20).

We do not have to be aware that doing something or omitting to do something is sin, or be conscious that we are sinning in order to be held accountable for it (Psalm 19:12)

The criterion, standard or measure of whether something is sin or not is God’s holiness as revealed in the Bible (Matthew 5:48).

[2] When Adam disobeyed God’s commandment, his sin was imputed to the entire race (Romans 5:12-19). “Imputation” means putting to someone else’s account that which may or may not be his (from Robert Lightner, Sin, The Savior and Salvation, p.33). God charged Adam's sin to every man’s account. Because Adam was the federal or representative head of the human race, his sin brought condemnation before all men (Romans 6:23)

[3] Sin is universal, extending to the whole human race (1 Kings 8:46; Psalm 143:2; Isaiah 53:6; Romans 1:18-32; 3:9-12, 23)

The “doctrine of original sin” means that every man is born a sinner because of the imputation of Adam’s sin.

Sin is individual because of men and women’s personal sins. Everyone since Adam (except Jesus Christ) is morally because of his own individual sinfulness.

Men sin because they are sinners (Romans 5:12-19).

The “doctrine of total depravity” means that sin extends to the whole person - body, mind, emotion, and will (Romans 1:28 32, 8:5-8; Ephesians 4:17-19) Total depravity does not mean that men have committed every sin, or that they never do anything good that benefits others (Luke 6:33). The good that people are capable of do not however satisfy God’s holiness (Proverbs 15:8, 21:27, 28:9; Isaiah 64:6)

Further study (Be like the Bereans! Acts 17:11)

[1] Scofield's Reference Notes: Romans 3:23; Romans 5:12-19

[2] Indwelling Sin as Enmity against God, by Greg Herrick Th.M., Ph.D.

[3] Study and Exposition of Romans 3:9-20, by Greg Herrick Th.M., Ph.D

[4] Survey of Bible Doctrine: Man and Sin, by Sid Litke , Th.M

[5] The Doctrine of Sin, by Lehman Strauss , Litt.D., F.R.G.S

[6] I’m Fallen and I Can’t Get Up(An Exegetical on Romans 5:12-19), by Wayne Stiles , Th.M., D.Min.

Sermons (Be like the Bereans! Acts 17:11)

[1] Why is the WORLD SO messed up? By David Harp

[2] Mastering Sin, by Frank Acevedo

[3] 007-09 The Romans Road, by Ted Nelson

[4] The Roman Road, by Ron Johnson

[5] Adam’s Sin, and Ours, by Erick Mendieta Soza

[6] SF893 - What is the Result of the Fall (Ephesians 2 1-10), by Timothy McGhee

[7] 1 John 3:4 - Outline of The Reality of Sin, by Ronnie Mitchell

[8] For other available sermons, please surf to Sermon / Preaching resources. Sermons are also available from South McGehee Baptist Church, McGehee, Arizona; Central Baptist Church, Lowesville; First Baptist Church, Mountain View, Missouri; Swift Creek Baptist Church; Word of Life Baptist Church, Pottsville, Philadelphia; Palm Springs Baptist Church, California; South Woods Baptist Church; Grove Baptist Church, Ulster; Dudley Baptist Church, United Kingdom; Independent Fundamental Baptist Sermons, Fundamental Christian Radio Broadcasts, Off-Site Audio Page and The Christian Radio Tuner

Notes: (1) This ministry does not necessarily endorse or share all the views and opinions expressed in the materials, resources or links mentioned in these posts. Please always refer to the Articles of Faith and Biblical distinctives of Baptists when you study these materials. (2) This lesson is part of the projected 300 plus lessons. From time to time, the lessons will be updated, revised, combined, formatted, and edited to comply with the VOA Simplified English word list. Later on, these lessons will be categorized, numbered sequentially, and made available as PDF downloads.

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