"Just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned…" - Romans 5:12
“The Bible does not say that God punished the human race for one man’s sin, but that the nature of sin, namely, my claim to my right to myself, entered into the human race through one man. But it also says that another Man took upon Himself the sin of the human race and put it away— an infinitely more profound revelation (see Hebrews 9:26). The nature of sin is not immorality and wrongdoing, but the nature of self-realization which leads us to say, “I am my own god.” This nature may exhibit itself in proper morality or in improper immorality, but it always has a common basis— my claim to my right to myself. When our Lord faced either people with all the forces of evil in them, or people who were clean-living, moral, and upright, He paid no attention to the moral degradation of one, nor any attention to the moral attainment of the other. He looked at something we do not see, namely, the nature of man (see John 2:25).
Sin is something I am born with and cannot touch— only God touches sin through redemption. It is through the Cross of Christ that God redeemed the entire human race from the possibility of damnation through the heredity of sin. God nowhere holds a person responsible for having the heredity of sin, and does not condemn anyone because of it. Condemnation comes when I realize that Jesus Christ came to deliver me from this heredity of sin, and yet I refuse to let Him do so." - Oswald Chambers, My Utmost For His Highest
“This is the condemnation [and the critical moment], that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light…” - John 3:19
Normally I try to find a few nuggets of spiritual truth in the Chamber’s devotion as a segue into an elaboration on those spiritual truths. And then there are times when the devotion is so rich with truth, I quote the entire devotion. Today is such a day. The essence is this. Man chose to go his own way in the Garden in response to Satan’s question “Did God really say you will surely die?” In other words, “What does God know?” After all, you know what is best for you, you don’t need God telling you what to do. “You can be your own god.” Adam and Eve chose to believe Satan and sin entered in. The eating the fruit was not the evil thing, it was disobedience that was evil. Humans are capable of doing much good and much evil. Many would like to think that the good people have a shot of getting into heaven. But ... the only way to Heaven is to be born again (John 3) by faith in Jesus (John 14) and not by trying harder (Ephesians 2). Your desire to be your own god will haunt you until the day you see Jesus face to face. (Romans 7) You can only be successful in this new life by trusting in Jesus and keeping yours eyes on Him and your heart devoted to God. That, my friend, doesn’t just happen, it requires a determined effort on your part. It is important to understand your old nature and understand your new nature. They are incompatible. Your can’t do both.
“A double minded man is unstable in all his ways” - James 1:8
It’s up to you what you do with it. In your new life, you are called to be single minded and to love God with your whole heart.
Think about it – Pray about it – Believe it – Walk in it. Let your light shine and give God the glory.
By Faith Alone By His Grace Alone And For His Glory Alone
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