WHAT IS SIN? Everyone on the face of this earth has some understanding of what sin is.
For instance, most people believe that it is wrong to lie, cheat, or to murder. However, to understand sin in the context of God’s salvation, it is necessary to get even more basic. Rather than different actions taken by people that might be considered sinful, it must be understood that sinful actions are symptoms of man's sinful nature, not the cause. The cause is found in this one statement given by the serpent (devil):
When Adam and Eve sinned it was rooted in one desire and one desire alone. They wanted to be gods. They wanted to have control of their own destiny and purpose instead of God's planned destiny and purpose for them. They denied God's right to rule over them. In short, they rebelled. This is what sin is; it is a denial of God and his authority over creation. Because Adam rebelled he received the consequences of his rebellion. From the moment he chose to eat the forbidden fruit, his eyes were opened Gen. 3:7. Some have tried to view this as evidence that Adam gained some sort of wisdom and understanding that God did not want him to have. In short, the serpent was right. However, when the scripture is looked at closely, it is plainly seen that the eyes being opened was representative of a death. At that moment, all mankind entered into a state of shame which according to Gen 2:25, they did not live in before.
WHO IS A SINNER? When Adam rebelled against God, all mankind was tainted. Sin then becomes a matter of spiritual genetics.
It doesn’t matter that you are a good person. You and I are not sinners because of what we do. We are sinners simply because of who we are. We are all sons and daughters of Adam and consequently we all genetically carry the disease called sin.
WHAT IS SALVATION?
From the very moment that Adam sinned, God had a plan to fix things. This plan is called salvation. The verse above is considered to be the first prophecy concerning undoing the curse of Adam's sin. The serpent (the devil), will have his head crushed by one of Eve’s male offspring foreshadowing the birth of Jesus Christ and the role he would play in the removal of sin’s curse upon mankind.
Jesus is the second Adam, and just as Adam's disobedience brought the curse upon mankind so, through Christ’s obedience the curse is lifted.
Salvation is the free gift offered to all mankind by God through the death of his son Jesus Christ. The gift itself is the removal of the curse of death brought on through the rebellion of our forefather Adam. There are no strings attached; all we have to do is reach out and take it. This is done by confessing the Lordship of Jesus Christ over our lives. As it is written:
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