Thoughts from The Bible

Thoughts from the Bible

Wednesday, 01 May 2024 09:18

Sin is Lawlessness
by Sarah Wootten Corinth Missionary Baptist Church

They ate a piece of fruit from a tree that they were commanded not to eat from. It’s not like they killed someone. They didn’t tell a lie, cheat on each other, or steal money. They ate a piece of fruit. And yet, their one moment of disobedience led to corruption of the whole world and all of humanity. We see the effects of this corruption everyday. From natural disasters and famines that leave millions homeless, starving and dead, to our own selfish and evil thoughts, corruption is all around us. Murders, strife within families, corrupt governments, anger towards those we love – sin is a part of every area of our lives. We would know none of this evil if Adam and Eve hadn’t disobeyed God. Perhaps, eating a piece of fruit was a bigger deal than we often realize.

As we continue in 1 John 3:4, John describes sin as lawlessness. What is lawlessness? It means to live as if there is no law. Think of an outlaw in the wild west. These were individuals who did as they pleased with no regard to the law. They stole from whomever they liked, murdered those who got in their way, and lived in all sorts of drunkenness and immorality. They lived in lawlessness. According to God’s Word, we are no better off. John describes sin in the same way. We are outlaws. We ignore God’s law and do as we please.

The problem is we don’t see the seriousness of our sin. We think, “What’s the big problem with eating a piece of fruit?” The problem is that sin is rebellion against the holy God. Anytime we go against God’s law and live according to our own ways, we are acting like outlaws, living according to our own rules. We don’t like to think of ourselves in this way. We prefer to point fingers at people who are “worse” than us and be blind to our own sin. We’re like the people in Jeremiah 16 who said, “What have I done to deserve God’s punishment?” The answer was obvious. For starters, they had followed after other gods, which breaks the first of the 10 commandments. And yet, they threw up their hands in disbelief that God would punish them.

Without the grace of God, we will never understand the seriousness of our sin before Him. We’re blind to it. We too often think our motives are pure and our hearts are good. But even if we don’t understand our guilt, it doesn’t make us any less guilty. God is the ultimate judge, and He is a far more righteous judge than any man. He looks into our hearts and sees where we have been guilty of murder because of our anger with someone (Matthew 5:21-16). He knows the sins we commit in secret, away from the eyes of anyone in the world (Psalm 139:1-4). God knows every time we disobey His law – even if that is as “small” as eating a piece of fruit. But there are no small sins because all sin shows a heart of rebellion against the holy God and His rule.

I can do nothing about my sinful condition. Humans are born as sinners (Psalm 51:5) and as slaves to sin (John 8:34). We are all under the wrath of God (Ephesians 2:3) and fully deserving of death (Romans 6:23). Jeremiah even realized that his own heart was deceitful and couldn’t be trusted (Jeremiah 17:9). We all live in lawlessness, as outlaws, ignoring the law of the Lord and following after our own desires.Being fully obedient to God’s law is required to enjoy eternal life with God. Unfortunately, we’re outlaws. We haven’t obeyed God’s word, and the wrath of God awaits all sinners. Thankfully, there is One who obeyed God’s law, and He came to remove sins (1 John 3:5).