God's Work with Planet Earth

In the previous post we looked at three purposes of Christ being born as a human. Now we will zero in on why this was necessary. We’ve covered the Biblical definition of “sin” in previous posts, but here it is again:

“Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness.” 1 John 3:4

Sin is breaking divine law (God’s Law), and the English dictionary will tell you the same thing. We’ve also covered previously that God’s Law, as laid out in the Ten Commandments, is for the benefit of God’s created beings, rather than for His own benefit. It’s called the “law of liberty”, and people are “blessed” when they follow it. (James 1:25)

God gave humans the freedom of will and the power of choice, and we are called on to use that power and freedom (Deuteronomy 30:19-20). To follow through on this idea of God’s law resulting in liberty and freedom, many examples in the Old Testament demonstrate this:

• When the people followed God and His ways, they had a just and profitable society where people cared about and respected each other.
• When people followed the false gods (demons), the justice and fairness in their society took a nosedive, and they began engaging in self-destructive behaviors, like human sacrifice. Murder and deception became the norm.

Think about how drastically different this world would be if violence and murder never happened. What if every person you met showed you respect, and you knew no one would ever lie to you? What would it be like to have everyone you met looking out for your best interests (rather than thinking how to take advantage of you)? (Philippians 2:3-5, 1 Corinthians 10:24)

So instead demanding worship and offering temporary perks as Satan does (Matthew 4:9), God is telling His created humans, “I am your Designer and Creator. I know what it takes for you to be happy and fulfilled. Please follow My laws.” They’re not for Him, they’re for our benefit. And He is offering eternal life, not temporary pleasures.

Sin brings forth Death

When Jesus healed people, He told them:

“…go and sin no more.” John 8:11

Why would He say this, and what’s the big problem with sin anyway?

“Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death. Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren.” James 1:13-16

Let’s break down the ideas stated in this passage:

• God does not tempt or lead people into sin
• Humans, having a fallen nature, are “enticed” or “drawn away” by things like greed, lust, passion, impulses
• These desires lead to acts of sin
• When one fully follows through on sin, it brings death and destruction
• If we think otherwise, we are deluded and deceived

According to God’s law, adultery is a sin. King David was called a man after God’s own heart. But because he did not control and “rule over” (Genesis 4:7) his lust for the wife of his loyal soldier, he committed adultery with her. But it didn’t end there, because she became pregnant while her husband was away at war. So David attempted deception, and when that failed, he resorted to orchestrated murder (2 Samuel 11). These actions violated the 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, and 10th Commandments.

And so, exactly as James wrote, when sin was “full-grown”, it “brought forth death”. Immediate death for Uriah, but eternal death for David, if he had not repented of those sins. In this historical example, it unjustly killed Uriah, it deprived Bathsheba of her husband, it brought guilt and shame on David, and contributed to tragedies with/for his sons and grandsons after him.

So hopefully it’s clear how sin is a destroyer, of good conscience and character, and of life itself. If this is freedom, as Satan claims, it’s not the kind of freedom you and I want!

“While they promise them liberty, they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by whom a person is overcome, by him also he is brought into bondage.” 2 Peter 2:19

• There is an illusion of liberty and freedom, but these things make you “slaves of corruption” and bring you “into bondage”.
• “…For you are a slave to whatever controls you” – New Living Translation

Atheists will say that humans don’t need God to be moral or good. But that is the opposite of what God’s Word tells us.

“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; Who can know it?” Jeremiah 17:9

“There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.” Proverbs 14:12

Humans don’t like to admit this, but here’s a quote from a 16th century Japanese sword master, who was Buddhist:

“The truth is not what you want it to be. It is what it is, and you must bend to its power, or live a lie.” – Miyamoto Musashi

Musashi was talking about objective truth in a vague, impersonal way, but admitting that the truth does not match your belief is like submitting your will to God. Once you do that, God can guide you.

Jesus’ True Mission

An angel told Joseph, the fiancé of Mary:

“…you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins” Matthew 1:21

Did the angel say Jesus would save people from the consequences of sin, or from sin itself? When God treats the disease, the symptoms are no longer a problem. You can prevent the spread of disease by killing all the infected hosts, but can you extract the disease and save the host as God does with humans?

“For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” 2 Corinthians 5:21

“who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness–by whose stripes you were healed.” 1 Peter 2:24

Most Christians are familiar with the first parts of these passages – that Jesus Christ sacrificed Himself for the sins of humans. But how many of us understand what it means that we “die to sins” and “become the righteousness of God”? If that doesn’t make you uncomfortable, what about these statements?

“Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.” Matthew 5:48

“but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct,” 1 Peter 1:15

That seems like a tall order for humans infected by sin and living in a world surrounded by temptation. Seriously? Yes, and this brings us back to Jesus’ real mission:

“by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” 2 Peter 1:4

“Partaking” is like eating. The nutrients in the food you eat, become part of who you are. We are absorbing a “divine nature”, and this allows us to escape the corruption of the world.

How does this work?

“Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.” 2 Corinthians 3:17-18

The way God relates to us humans right now is spiritual. It’s not face to face like Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden before they fell in to sin. Let’s pull out the key statements of this verse:

• The Spirit brings liberty – He frees us from entanglement with sin
  • Freedom from natural consequences if we are truly free from sin
  • Freedom from eternal consequences because Jesus died so we could be forgiven
• The way we are “transformed” is the work of the Holy Spirit.
• “from glory to glory” suggests that this is a process over time
• We are beholding Christ, not in person, but “as in a mirror”, or a reflection

“For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.” 1 Corinthians 13:12

Our understanding and knowledge is very limited right now because of everything we can’t see. This is why faith in God and relying on His direction and protection is so vital right now. We must trust that:

“…He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;” Philippians 1:6

This “good work” which God begins is not something we do ourselves. The Holy Spirit works in our hearts (with our permission) and we start to be able to see things spiritually (1 Corinthians 2:13-14). Our hearts and minds begin this transformation which facilitates our escape from the corruption of the world.

I know God can do this, because He has softened my hard heart, strengthened my weak faith, and in the process, desires that I struggled with in the past have faded. I’m not perfect or holy, but I can see that God is doing a “good work” on my character, and I’m so thankful to know personally that this transformation the Bible talks about is very real and true.

We will get deeper into “Sanctification” and how it differs from “Justification” and “Glorification” in future posts. For now, it seems clear that Jesus’ mission is to save people out of sin, so that we are transformed and no longer slaves of sin. God’s Work is to reconcile this world back to Him. Once again, it will be a world with freedom from deception and death.