Knowing The Origin Of My Sin
Minister: | Rev. Ronald Van Overloop |
Date: | 1/22/2012 AM |
Text: | Genesis 2,3; Lord's Day 3 |
Psalters: | 256, 103, 37, 23 |
- Is God responsible for our proneness to hate Him and our neighbor because of how He created us?
- Scripture reveals that God hates sin, even though it is present by the will, under His providence, serving His purpose.
- We cannot blame the good God because He created mankind good, without the sin and misery.
- God’s creation of man was especially good because man was God’s highest creature.
- God made man “in His own image,” i.e., like God, “looked” like God spiritually.
- Man’s sin and misery had its origin in us, i.e., in our first father’s willful fall into sin.
- Adam was created fallible, i.e., he was able to fall from this lofty position.
- Adam was created with a morally free will.
- This means that Adam was spiritually free either to love God or to hate Him
- God placed before Adam two trees which were the occasion for him to express his free will.
- Sin came when Adam, of his own will, chose to disobey God and determine good and evil for himself.
- To what extent are we naturally sinners?
- Adam and Eve immediately knew guilt; that they were worthy of the punishment of death (Rom. 6:23).
- Adam’s fall into sin had bitter consequences for all mankind.
- The sin of one brought sin and death to all mankind (I Cor. 15: 21,22; Romans 5:12).
- Now we are, by nature, wholly incapable of doing any good and are inclined to all wickedness (totally depraved).
- The only hope of escape is from outside of ourselves: the grace and mercy of God in Jesus Christ.
- First, we must accept this responsibility personally for all of our guilt and corruption.
- Then learn that in Christ there is forgiveness of all our sin and guilt
- Jesus does this by regenerating us, re-creating us in the image of God (now the image of Christ).