Page 39 - Ecclesiology Textbook Masters

and death through sin, and in this way, death came to all men because all sinned” (NIV). This also
rendered all creation corrupt and imperfect. (Romans 8:19-22).

What is Sin?
“Sin is described in the Bible as transgression of the law of God (1 John 3:4) and rebellion against God
(Deut. 9:7, Joshua 1:18)”. God is holy. Not only does he hate sin, but He, in His justice also does not let it
go unpunished. Because man is sinful, he falls short of the glory of God. Sinful man does not meet the
standards of a holy God. All that man considers to be a good deed is actually tainted with the sin nature
before God. As far as man and his efforts are concerned, the sin barrier is impenetrable. On the other
hand, humanity is liable to God’s judgment and punishment for sin. This is a hopeless situation for
humanity; they are unable to save their own self, that is, not able to do anything that could satisfy the
justice of God (propitiation), as well as cover the sin problem and be reconciled to God (atonement).

The Consequence of Sin
The result of sin is death as seen in Romans 5:12, and as Romans 6:23 puts it, “For the wages of sin is
death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ.” Since this verse contrasts death with the gift of
eternal life in Jesus, which is spiritual, it can (should) be concluded that this death is spiritual, though
physical death is clearly also a result of sin. This means that positionally, all humanity is lost and
separated from God (Isaiah 53:5-6, 59:2) as a result of sin. Jesus clearly stated that his purpose for
coming was to save that which was lost (Luke 19:10).

The Human Condition
All humanity is sinful, that is, they have an inherited sin nature or “propensity” to sin and continued to
rebel against God by choosing to disobey and reject Him. The condition of humankind is the same
everywhere; fallen and separated from God. …Jews and gentiles alike are under sin (Rom 3:9). “For all
have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom 3:23) NIV. This wall or chasm of sin separates
mankind from God. Currently all spiritually dead people (unsaved) are separated from God (Ephesians
2:1, 5, 11-14, 4:17-18). And in the future unbelievers will be separated from God forever (Matthew
25:46, Revelation 20:14).

The extent of human sinfulness
The extent of mankind’s sinfulness or what others call the depravity of humanity should be understood
as to mean that “though both Christians and non-Christians can do much good, no part of any man’s
(being body, mind, soul, or spirit) and nothing he does (including very moral, heroic, or religious acts)
are free from the corruption of sin. It means that although there may be all kinds of progress in history,
man himself stays monotonously the same. The entire being of sinful humans is tainted with self-
interest. The root of sin is selfishness.”

Who saves us?
Sin was introduced to the world by Adam’s choosing to disobey God as discussed before. “Therefore,
just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way, death came to all
men, because all sinned” (Romans 5:12). Through Adam as our ancestor or representative, we inherit
the sin nature (Romans 5:12,16). Romans 5 is a contrast of two persons, one who introduces sin and
death to the world and another through whom life comes. Through Adam sin and condemnation
entered the world. Through Jesus Christ God’s forgiveness and cleansing is offered (justification and
righteousness) to mankind (Romans 5:12-19). Christ died for us while we were still sinners. (Romans
5:8). Christ’s death on the cross and his resurrection provide the full payment (atonement) for our sin
and fully satisfy God’s wrath (propitiation). (1Cor. 15:16-17, 2Cor. 5:21, Eph. 2:16). This act and offer of

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