The consequences of sin

The consequences of sin

We may well be tempted to think that because none of us is perfect, and we are all to some extent suffering from this moral disease the Bible calls 'sin', and because God is a loving God, then it doesn't matter too much. He will surely overlook our little faults. Unfortunately, the situation is somewhat more serious than that. Though God loves us passionately, his holiness and justice are such that he cannot live with evil. As the prophets Habakkuk and Isaiah put it, "Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrong" (Habakkuk 1:13), "Your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you" (Isaiah 59:2).

In highlighting the seriousness of our position the Bible describes us as "darkened in [our] understanding" and therefore blind to spiritual truths (Ephesians 4:18, 1 Corinthians 2:14); "dead in [our] transgressions and sins" and therefore without the life of God in our souls (Ephesians 2:1, 5); and "enslaved" to our sinful nature (Titus 3:3; John 8:34), with hearts that are so twisted with self-centredness that out of them come "evil thoughts, vulgar deeds, stealing, murder, unfaithfulness in marriage, greed, meanness, deceit, indecency, envy, insults, pride and foolishness. All of these come from your heart, and they are what make you unfit to worship God" (Mark 7:21, 22). We are also described as being "without hope" (Ephesians 2:12) and "without excuse" (Romans 1:20).

Finally, we are powerless to do anything about it unless God should take the initiative (Ephesians 2:8; Acts 11:18). In short, we have a past that needs forgiving, a separation that needs bridging, a mind that needs illuminating, a void that needs filling, and a nature that needs transforming. Amazingly enough, these are all things that are amply provided for us through the death and resurrection of Jesus and the ministry of the Holy Spirit.

Francis Schaeffer used the description 'glorious ruin' to describe the condition of humans in this world. He used the apt metaphor of an old soiled painting. No one was certain who the artist had been, but so much about the painting seemed to indicate that it was done by a genuine master, someone with superb gifts. It was eventually taken to an expert who lifted the stains, unsullied the canvas, examined distinctive brush strokes, analysed the style, discovered the time period and so on. After careful scrutiny, he was able to declare who the artist was beyond any doubt, even though the work was now in ruins. So, too, when we think carefully about the unique qualities of this creature we call 'woman' or 'man', we can find ample evidence of the handiwork of some great Artist.

The Bible is the amazing story of what this Artist has done, not only in designing and bringing to full creation the original painting, but what he has done in order to restore the painting to its full glory, a glory in which the character of the Artist will be admired by all who share in the restoration. So let's turn to this theme.