Bible Reading- Isaiah 14 v 10-15.
Sin is described in the Bible as transgression of the law of God (1 John
3:4) and rebellion against God (Deuteronomy 9:7; Joshua 1:18). Sin had its
beginning with Lucifer, probably the most beautiful and powerful of the
angels. Not content with his position, he desired to be higher than God,
and that was his downfall, the beginning of sin (Isaiah 14:12-15). Renamed
Satan, he brought sin to the human race in the Garden of Eden, where he
tempted Adam and Eve with the same enticement, “you shall be like God.”
Genesis 3 describes Adam and Eve’s rebellion against God and against His
command. Since that time, sin has been passed down 2nhrough all the
generations of mankind and we, Adam’s descendants, have inherited sin from
him. Romans 5:12 tells us that through Adam sin entered the world, and so
death was passed on to all men because “the wages of sin is death” (Romans
6:23).
Through Adam, the inherent inclination to sin entered the human race, and
human beings became sinners by nature. When Adam sinned, his inner nature
was transformed by his sin of rebellion, bringing to him spiritual death
and depravity which would be passed on to all who came after him. We are
sinners not because we sin; rather, we sin because we are sinners. This
passed-on depravity is known as inherited sin. Just as we inherit physical
characteristics from our parents, we inherit our sinful natures from Adam.
King David lamented this condition of fallen human nature in Psalm 51:5:
“Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.”
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Another type of sin is known as imputed sin. Used in both financial and
legal settings, the Greek word translated “imputed” means “to take
something that belongs to someone and credit it to another’s account.”
Before the Law of Moses was given, sin was not imputed to man, although men
were still sinners because of inherited sin. After the Law was given, sins
committed in violation of the Law were imputed (accounted) to them (Romans
5:13). Even before transgressions of the law were imputed to men, the
ultimate penalty for sin (death) continued to reign (Romans 5:14). All
humans, from Adam to Moses, were subject to death, not because of their
sinful acts against the Mosaic Law (which they did not have), but because
of their own inherited sinful nature. After Moses, humans were subject to
death both because of inherited sin from Adam and imputed sin from
violating the laws of God.
God used the principle of imputation to benefit mankind when He imputed the
sin of believers to the account of Jesus Christ, who paid the penalty for
that sin”death”on the cross. Imputing our sin to Jesus, God treated Him as
if He were a sinner, though He was not, and had Him die for the sins of the
entire world (1 John 2:2). It is important to understand that sin was
imputed to Him, but He did not inherit it from Adam. He bore the penalty
for sin, but He never became a sinner. His pure and perfect nature was
untouched by sin. He was treated as though He were guilty of all the sins
ever committed by the human race, even though He committed none. In
exchange, God imputed the righteousness of Christ to believers and credited
our accounts with His righteousness, just as He had credited our sins to
Christ’s account (2 Corinthians 5:21).
A third type of sin is personal sin, that which is committed every day by
every human being. Because we have inherited a sin nature from Adam, we
commit individual, personal sins, everything from seemingly innocent
untruths to murder. Those who have not placed their faith in Jesus Christ
must pay the penalty for these personal sins, as well as inherited and
imputed sin. However, believers have been freed from the eternal penalty of
sin”hell and spiritual death”but now we also have the power to resist
sinning. Now we can choose whether or not to commit personal sins because
we have the power to resist sin through the Holy Spirit who dwells within
us, sanctifying and convicting us of our sins when we do commit them
(Romans 8:9-11). Once we confess our personal sins to God and ask
forgiveness for them, we are restored to perfect fellowship and communion
with Him. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us
our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).
We are all three times condemned due to inherited sin, imputed sin, and
personal sin. The only just penalty for this sin is death (Romans 6:23),
not just physical death but eternal death (Revelation 20:11-15).
Thankfully, inherited sin, imputed sin, and personal sin have all been
crucified on the cross of Jesus, and now by faith in Jesus Christ as the
Savior “we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins,
according to the riches of His grace” (Ephesians 1:7).
HAPPY SUNDAY.
