The Fact of Sin--Part 2

In looking ahead to our study of the whole Bible in relation to the book of Romans, I got to thinking about the Pentateuch—Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. This is a section of Scripture that must be studied. Very few churches attempt a study of these books. In the book of Genesis, God has spoken. God literally has spoken through His servants in the past: (1) from the burning bush (Ex. 3), (2) from Sinai (Ex. 19), (3) from the tabernacle (book of Lev.), (4) by His Son (Heb. 1), and (5) through His assembly (I Tim. 3).

In the first five chapters of Leviticus, we have the offerings: (1) The burnt offering (Lev. 1) represents acceptance. It gave the Israelites acceptance into God’s presence in speaking to Moses, their leader. (2) The meal or grain offering (bloodless offering) (Lev. 2) denotes the perfect obedience of the heart (the perfect life of Christ). (3) The peace offering (Lev. 3) shows the fellowship of the worshipper with the Lord. (4) The sin offering (Lev. 4) is a humbling discovery of what is in every worshipper of God. It refers to what Christ did for the nature of sin. (5) The trespass offering (Lev. 5) deals with the fruit of sin (sins of nature). Along with the sin offering, it is the humbling discovery of what is in worshippers.

Today’s message continues the topic “The Fact of Sin.” The Scripture lesson is found in Romans 1:18-32.

Isaiah gives a fourfold aspect of the Infinite God. God is the one and only incomparable Being. To attempt to vindicate eternal providence and justify the ways of God to men is no easy task. It is much easier to criticize than to construct. God alone can produce both questions and answers that will reveal Himself to both sheep and goats. Therefore, when the Word of God is handled properly, there will be, to the enlightened mind and heart, an undistorted view of God or His ways with man. Depraved men raise many questions with God concerning themselves, even though they know it is unlawful to quarrel with their Creator. Man sins responsibly.

Truth always involves more than what appears on the surface. To form a plan and then to alter it, or to have a plan and fail in it, is one of the sad imperfections of humanity. In the case of the first, some new information was revealed which was not evident before. In the second some difficulties arise which were unforeseen, thus making it impossible to carry out the plan. But who can suppose any of this in the God of the Bible? Isaiah said, “With whom did He consult and who gave Him understanding? And who taught Him in the path of justice and taught Him knowledge and informed Him of the way of understanding? Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket, and are regarded as a speck of dust on the scales; Behold, He lifts up the islands like fine dust. Even Lebanon is not enough to burn, nor its beasts enough for a burnt offering. All the nations are as nothing before Him. They are regarded by Him as less than nothing and meaningless” (Is. 40:14-17).

For God to decree an action so that it shall be sinful is not the same as God decreeing an action as sinful. God decreed that actions shall be sinful, for the sake of the good that He causes to arise from the sinfulness thereof. Two indisputable examples are the brethren of Joseph and those who crucified Christ. Joseph said, “God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant in the earth, and to keep you alive by a great deliverance. Now, therefore, it was not you who sent me here, but God; and He has made me a father to Pharaoh and lord of all his household and ruler over all the land of Egypt. Hurry and go up to my father, and say to him, Thus says your son Joseph, God has made me lord of all Egypt; come down to me, do not delay. You shall live in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near me, you and your children and your children’s children and your flocks and your herds and all that you have” (Gen. 45:7-10). “Joseph said to them. Do not be afraid, for am I in God’s place? As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive. So therefore, do not be afraid; I will provide for you and your little ones” (Gen. 50:19-21).

Decreeing to permit sin and decreeing to bring it and all of its train of consequences within the framework of a plan is a wholly different matter from decreeing sin. God did not make man for the purpose of damning him. Such an argument benefits only the scoffer.

The relation between God and man’s sin must be considered in the light of the context. Consider the context as you read Isaiah 45:7—“The One forming light and creating darkness, Causing well-being and creating calamity; I am the LORD who does all these.” He forms light and creates darkness. He forms the light of nature and rational understanding. Every person who comes into the world, according to the apostle John, possesses “some light.” “There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man” (John 1:9). According to John, God also forms some understanding of natural light. Natural darkness results from absence of the sun. Deprivation of Divine light is spiritual darkness. Judicial darkness results in the blackness of darkness forever.

Look back to Isaiah’s context, “I am the LORD, and there is no other” (Is. 45:6). He was announcing that when Jesus Christ comes as King of Kings and Lord of lords, He will make universal peace. The Lord was announcing that He would remove the peace the Israelites had been enjoying and send them the evil of punishment, calamity. This does not contradict Matthew 10:32-39. It is impossible for truth and error, light and darkness, righteousness and unrighteousness, and love and hate to co-exist in harmony. Are Satan, the world, and the flesh getting better?

Read Matthew 10:16-11:6, and listen to what Christ said to His disciples. David had a clear view of an age to intervene between the ascension of the Messiah and His final triumph in glory. David saw all three Messianic periods: (1) the birth of Christ as the Son of David (II Sam. 7:12); (2) His death, resurrection, and ascension (II Sam. 7:16; Ps. 16:8-11; Acts 2:31); and (3) the waiting period (Ps. 110:1). There will be victory in the Kingdom and the subduing of the enemies of Jesus Christ.

We must not forget human responsibility (Acts 17:30-31). There were two main schools of philosophy in Athens during Paul’s time there (Acts 17:22-34). The statement by Christ in Matthew 10:32 is profound. He said, “…everyone who confesses Me before men, I will confess him before My Father who is in heaven.” Coming to Christ involves a recognition of need, a thirst for righteousness. A resignation of oneself to Christ is the outgoing of the whole soul to faith in Christ.

Doctrine is a statement of Christian experience. Since there is always more in Christ than one has experienced, one’s doctrine can never be adequate or final. Christians can always improve their knowledge of doctrine. In this life, they never finalize any great doctrine.

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The NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE—UPDATED EDITION is the source of all Scripture quotations in this message, unless otherwise noted.