Unpacking, Outlining, and Explicating the Loci of the Variegated yet Perspicuously Cohesive Word of the Immutable Triune

God
i n t r o d u c t i o n t o s y s t e m a t i c t h e o l o g y

sin
o f r i g h t e o u s n e s s r e b e l s a n d

sin
What it is Where it originated What are its implications? Application

sin: what it is
The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. (Gen 6:5) Transgression speaks to the wicked deep in his heart; there is no fear of God before his eyes. For he atters himself in his own eyes that his iniquity cannot be found out and hated. The words of his mouth are trouble and deceit; he has ceased to act wisely and do good. He plots trouble while on his bed; he sets himself in a way that is not good; he does not reject evil. (Psa 36:1-4) Thus says the Lord: Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes esh his strength, whose heart turns away from the Lord. He is like a shrub in the desert and shall not see any good come. He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land. The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? (Jer 17:5-6, 9)

sin: what it is
Not doing what God commands Doing what God forbids

sin: what it is
The rejection of God the Creator--who he is in all his perfections Turning toward and adoration of the creature

sin: what it is
WLC Q.24. What is sin? A. Sin is any want of conformity unto, or transgression of, any law of God, given as a rule to the reasonable creature. God's law is the ultimate moral standard to which his creatures are accountable We violate Gods law by what we do (actions), what we think (heart-attitude), and because of who we are (sinful nature)

sin: what it is
Irrationality in the midst of rationality Hand on the stove analogy Deliberately, willfully, and actively pushing away the truth despite being confronted at all points by truth itself Consider Satan: Had direct access to God and knowledge of his attributes, yet sought to replace him as Lord; extremely intelligent, yet incredibly irrational And since they did not see t to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. They were lled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Though they know God's decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them. (Romans 1:28-32 ESV)

sin: where it originated

Sin is not something that caught God by surprise In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will (Ephesians 1:11 ESV) All things surely includes sin Although God decreed that sin be, he does not commit or commend sin

sin: where it originated

God has a specic, holy, and good purpose for sin As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today. (Gen. 50:20) [T]his Jesus, delivered up according to the denite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucied and killed by the hands of lawless men. (Acts 2:23) [F]or truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place. (Acts 4:27-28) Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump done vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use? What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory(Romans 9:22-23)

sin: where it originated

The Fall Gods command was given to Adam And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.(Gen. 2:16-17) Eve put herself in the place of judging between the Word of God and the lie of the serpent Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the eld that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, Did God actually say, You shall not eat of any tree in the garden? And the woman said to the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die. But the serpent said to the woman, You will not surely die. (Gen. 3:1-4) Adam abdicated his responsibility as Gods faithful steward So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. (Gen. 3:6) Since Adam was our representative, when he sinned, his sin was then counted as our sin (imputation)Romans 5:12-19

sin: its implications

Genesis 3:8ff Note immediate effects of sin Heard God and hid Fear and shame Blame-shifting

sin: its implications

Immediate spiritual death Eventual physical death Finally, eternal spiritual and physical death They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might (Thess 1:9) And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. (Matt 10:28) Broken relationships With God With one another Creation itself is affected: Romans 8:20-22

sin: its implications

Romans 1:18-25. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. Ephesians 2:1-3. And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience among whom we all once lived in the passions of our esh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

sin: its implications

Because there is a law such as gravity, the Universe can and will create itself from nothing. Spontaneous creation is the reason there is something rather than nothing, why the Universe exists, why we exist. It is not necessary to invoke God to light the blue touch paper [a reference to lighting fireworks] and set the Universe going. Stephen Hawking, The Grand Design

sin: application
We must be on our guard against sin If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it. Gen 4:7 Slaves to sin or slaves to righteousness Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the pstandard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.(Rom 6:16ff)

sin: application
Why should we take sin seriously? Gods Word tells us Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called today, that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original condence rm to the end. (Heb 3:12-14) Our own conscience tells us For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them (Rom 2:14-15)

sin: application
What are some reasons sin is not considered to be serious (or not considered at all)? High view of man Low view of God Since the Fall, all people have had a mancentered view of God, rather than a Godcentered view of man.

sin: application
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sin: application
How are we to battle against sin? Hiding the Word of God in our hearts (Psalm 119:9-16) Gods Word will protect us (Prov 3:21-26; 6:20-24) Gods Word is the Sword of the Spirit (weapon) Walking (being led) by the Spirit (Gal 5:16, 25) The Spirit works through His Word Prayer Petitioning the Holy Spirit for help (Matt 26:41; Eph 6:18)

sin: application
How are we to battle against sin? (cont.) Fellowship (The church) We are the body of Christ (1 Cor 12:27) We dont do life in isolation (Heb 10:24-25) Ask for, receive, and give help Gal 6:2; 1 Thess 5:14

sin: application
Concluding thoughts Romans 8 No condemnation The same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead dwells in us as Christians vv. 29-30 v. 39 Phil 1:6