Sin--The Condemnation.

26. Sin--The Condemnation.

"For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. (21) For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive." - 1 Corinthians 15:21-22 The common denominator for all mankind is sin. If God elects some to be saved, and not others, on what basis does God do this? All through the Bible, beginning with Adam, we find that God deals with man according to his sin. God deals with the lost concerning the only sin that He will not forgive and that is the sin of unbelief. Concerning the Christian, God deals with him according to the sin he has in his life after he is saved.

Let us go back to the book of Genesis and examine the record concerning the free will of Adam and Eve.  In Genesis 2:15-17 we are told:

"And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. (15) And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: (16) But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." (17) At the point when man was created he was not spiritually dead. He was in an untested state concerning the commandment of God. We find no judgment pronounced upon Adam until he purposely, of his own free will, chose to disobey God. God is no respecter of persons. He dealt with Adam and his free will of choice as He does with every offspring of Adam clear on down to you and me. "For as in Adam all die." From the time Adam was created until he disobeyed God, he did not possess a fallen nature. He did possess a nature created of God such as no other person has ever had. When he sinned, that fallen nature was passed to every person thereafter. God had known by His foreknowledge that Adam would disobey Him, but He gave Adam the free will to make that decision himself.

It is important to remember that man's destiny of Heaven or Hell is determined by his sin.  If a person chooses to pay for his own sin in Hell, God will honor his decision.  If one chooses to go to Heaven, then he has the right by trusting God's payment for his sin, which is Jesus Christ.  But the choice is theirs. Since everyone has inherited the old sin nature from Adam, God has concluded in Romans 3:23 :

"For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." In other words, we do not become a sinner because we sin--we sin because we are born a sinner! Therefore, we fall short of being as righteous as God Himself.

God deals with all mankind on the basis of sin.  In Romans 6:23 God has concluded that "the wages of sin is death."  This is why every person born into this world is in a condemned state.  Notice in John 3:17 :

"For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved."

We are all condemned because of sin.  Notice carefully that justification for eternal life would then be on the basis of God dealing with the sin problem and not because of anything else.  When Christ came into the world, the world was already condemned.  He did not come to condemn it.  But now we see the will of God revealed when He states "that the world through him might be saved."  God sent Christ to pay for the sins of the world; therefore, any person who wishes may come to Christ and be saved.

God leaves no shroud of darkness surrounding His purpose and His will concerning man.  God very simply tells us why we are condemned and how we can be justified through our faith in Christ.  If God would elect some to be saved, and not others, He would then be a respecter of persons and would contradict His own word as found in Acts 10:34 :

"Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons."

I would like to continue along on this same line of thought.  Notice Jesus' Words in John 14:6 :

"...I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." In Romans 3:9-11 we find out the indictment of man concerning sin, as this is the basis for God's dealings with mankind. Notice Romans 3:9-11 :

"What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin. (9) As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: (10) There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God."(11) Notice again Romans 3:23 :

"For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God."

Now we would like for you to look at Romans 5:12...

"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."

Let us look in the Old Testament at the book of Isaiah in 64:6...

"But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousness are as filthy rags; and we all do fade a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away."

Ecclesiastes 7:20 is in perfect harmony with these verses:

"For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not."

Psalms 51:5 speaks concerning David:

"Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me." In 2 Chronicles 6:36 we are told that...

"If they sin against thee, (for there is no man which sinneth not)."