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In the last couple of units, we talked about the Old and New Testaments. We explained how God gave us the law and its real purpose. We also discussed how the New Testament provides freedom from the penalty of breaking that law.

It’s really very simple: we all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. So, we should all be thrilled to receive salvation through Jesus. But not everyone sees it that way.

All Have Fallen Short

Romans 5:12

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:

Romans 3:9-10

9 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; 10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:

Romans 3:23

23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

Christians are sometimes called hypocrites because we preach about righteousness, yet we sin. We desire to follow God and do what is right, but we don’t always succeed.

When we point a finger, there are three other fingers pointing back at us. Does that really make us hypocrites? It would if we tried to pretend we were innocent of those things ourselves. But we are not, nor should we pretend otherwise.

There is only one man who has ever lived a sinless life. Other than Jesus, everyone who reaches the age to know right from wrong has committed sin. Even Christians, who try to walk as closely to God as they can, still sin.

This means that when we preach repentance from sin, we should not be lifting ourselves up as if we were the moral standard to attain. No, we need Jesus too.

Why Preach Repentance

Why do we preach repentance from sin? Why do we tell people they are in sin and must repent when we also still sin? It’s because the only way for both them and us to be saved is by walking with God.

Amos 3:3

3 Can two walk together, except they be agreed?

God says the law is good and holy. It is His word. Can we walk with Him if we disagree with that? The Bible says we cannot.

Here’s the reality: if we want to walk with Jesus, we have to admit that the law is good. We also have to admit that we break the law. We must agree with Him.

The problem is that if we agree with Him, we must acknowledge our own sins. We can’t pretend to be righteous. And when we admit the law is good, it means we must obey it. In short, we have to confess our sin and submit to the authority of God.

This is why Christians preach repentance from sin. We know all have sinned. It’s not about making others do what is right. It’s about showing them their need for Jesus and then bringing them to Him. It’s about giving them a chance to repent and be saved.

The Saved and the Lost

This divides humanity into two groups. As the Bible says, Jesus will separate the sheep from the goats. The sheep are those who agree with Him, trust Him, confess their need, and follow Him. The goats are those who disagree with Him, do not trust Him, try to hide their sin, and refuse to obey.

One group wants to obey the law because they agree with it. The other wants to reject the law because it disagrees with them. But the bottom line is that both groups still sin. Both groups need Jesus.

Isaiah 64:6

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

There is no amount of good we can do to cancel out the bad. The sweetest person you’ve ever known still isn’t innocent of sin. And the biggest reason people won’t come to Jesus to be saved is that they don’t want to submit to God’s authority.

People try to fool themselves into thinking it’s not about avoiding submission. They try to be the best person possible, hoping that God will forgive them because they were “good” overall. Yet even that sweet little old lady who “loves everyone” has sins she has committed.

The Penalty Is Death

There is only one end result of sin: death. The Bible is very clear about this.

Romans 5:12

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:

1 Corinthians 15:56

56 The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.

Ezekiel 18:4

4 Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die.

The result of sin has always been death. It only took one sin, and death flooded the earth. We are all guilty before God.

In 1 Corinthians 15:56, we see that sin is like the arm of an executioner. It is empowered by the law to strike with the blade of death. None of us is safe from it because one sin is all it takes.

Hebrews 9:27

27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:

Have you noticed that everyone dies? We all fall under the blade of death. This is part of the consequences of one simple sin. All of us are guilty before God. It doesn’t matter how good we try to be; we are all called sinners because we all commit sin.

Matthew 19:25-26

25 When his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved? 26 But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.

It is impossible for any of us to be saved through our own righteousness! There is no exception to this rule, other than Jesus Himself!

You may ask, But what about children? What about those who are just babies? Why do they die?

The consequences of one man’s sin can be felt throughout the entire world. That one sin had a ripple effect. Because of that sin, others—even if they have not yet committed sin—suffer. This suffering came because of sin and its effects on the world, not because of God.

Some believe we are born and are immediately seen as guilty. This is not what the Bible says. If it were true that all humans are guilty of sin even before they take their first breath, then there would be no hope of salvation—because Jesus was human too.

But sadly your sin has an effect on my life. My sin has an effect on your life. That is why children die. They aren’t being punished. They are suffering the effects of our own actions. We will discuss this further in the next study.

Continue To Unit 2:7 – What Is Original Sin – Are We Born Guilty? OR

Return To Christianity 101 Unit 2 – Sin and Eternal Judgment

Comments (6)

  1. carmine d'agostino

    Reply

    Praise and Glory and Worship to Our Lord and Savior Christ Jesus

  2. pamela mcdonald

    Reply

    Just a side note unborn babies as well as infants and small children that die, though they have a sin nature through the blood “seed of man” they are not judged as sinners because they do not know what sin is until they reach the age where the law will be their schoolmaster teaching them what sin is.

    • Jason Evans

      Reply

      I’m glad you have been enjoying the site. I understand that the concept of “Original Sin” is one that many people struggle with. In fact, it’s the most controversial post I have made on this site among the church. I would suggest going on to the next unit (link is at the bottom of this study) where you will find the reasons I say what I do on the subject.

      I don’t mind if you disagree. But I do believe I would be doing you a disservice if I didn’t at least address the things you mention about the blood. Therefore, please let me explain the problems I see with your statement.

      The Bible does say he became a living soul when God breathed into him. But what you seem to imply here is that the guilt of a person is also in the blood. That, however, would require guilt to be a physical thing rather than what it is (a status). A person is pronounced guilty if they commit a crime. A person is pronounced innocent if they do not. Guilt is a result, not a feature.

      Adam may have had red hair. So his son may have red hair. Adam ate from the tree. But the ACTION of a person is different than the physical features of someone. You can not pass down an action. You only pass down traits.

      I see that you are willing to say that children have a nature to sin (nature, or put another way, temptation in itself is not a sin). This applies to us all. We have a nature (temptation) to sin. Even Jesus had this (He was tempted in all points like us). But being tempted does not make one guilty.

  3. pamela mcdonald

    Reply

    I have been enjoying this very very much, but I must disagree that we are not born with “sin”. We inherited this through Adam let me explain and you can look this up to confirm. The “life” is in the blood, and without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sin. Adams flesh came from the dust of the earth but his blood came when God breathed into his nostrils and he became a living soul. (life in the blood). Now when a woman is pregnant her blood NEVER mingles with the unborn child if it does that is a death sentence possibly to both mother and child. The blood comes through the “seed” of man i.e. the sperm. Jesus did not have an earthly “seed” His seed came from God the Father therefore His blood was HOLY HOLY HOLY every person born has inherited the sinful blood from Adam except for Christ this is why His blood could wash away our sins, this is why His blood was perfect. This is also why there are two genealogies in the Gospels, one through Joseph who was not Christ Father but showed His right to the Kingly Throne, and the other through Mary which gave Him the earthly right to the Throne through the flesh. But His blood came from God Himself the same as Adams blood was perfect yet through Adam all have sinned and those who are born again become sinless by the blood of Jesus.

    please search this out for yourself God Bless!

  4. Glenn V Lynch

    Reply

    So does this mean that the difference between the infant Christ and other infants is that Jesus was born with a different condition of spirit…spiritually “alive” rather than spiritually “dead” like the rest of humankind? Could that be why ALL humans other than Jesus would…with sufficient life experience…succumb to temptation and become lifelong sinners?

    • Jason Evans

      Reply

      No, the issue with that is a false assumption that infants are “spiritually dead.” There was no difference between the infant Jesus and the other infants in the world. The reason I say that is because death comes by sin. Infants have not sinned and while their body may die due to the effect sin has had on this world they are not “spiritually dead.” It isn’t until they commit sin that this takes place. As Paul said, “I was alive once without the law but when the law came sin revived and I died.”

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