The greatest of all our problems is that although God is our primary need, we are faced with this seemingly impossible dilemma which is stated in the second principle. Sin separates us from the pleasure of God’s company and all the resulting benefits. The results of sin can be seen everywhere. I worked in a hospital at one point. I saw health problems that resulted from sin. Gun shot victims in the Emergency Room. Murder, rape, selfishness and many other things are all around us to point to the fact that man is sinful.
So, even though we want to enjoy God’s light, we have this problem that blocks us from that goal. The problem is sin. That is the bad news. There are many scriptures in the Bible and the Qur’an that deal with this sin problem.
From the Towrah:
Isaiah 59:2--Your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.
Zabur
Psalm 66:18—If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.
Injeel
I John 1:10—If we claim we have not sinned, we make him (God) out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.
Qur’an
Cow 2:81—“Whoso earns evil, and is encompassed by his transgression—those are the inhabitants of the fire; there they shall dwell forever.”
Cow 2:81 is very similar to a passage in the Injeel, Romans 6:23, The wages of sin is death. By sinning, we earn or get paid out just “wages” of evil consequences. Cow2:81 says a sinner is surrounded and overcome by his sin. So he goes to hell forever. Man was created to enjoy a continuous, close relationship with God. But he stubbornly abandoned Him to go his own, independent way. The Bible calls such rebellion or passive indifference toward God by several names, including sin, disobedience, and breaking God’s law.
What is the difference between active rebellion and passive indifference toward God? Why do you think, passive indifference is also counted as sin? Which in your opinion is more common: active rebellion or passive indifference toward God?
Sin is not only bad news—it is the worst possible news. Why? Because it separates us from God forever!!! As a result of that separation, we have feelings of fear, frustration, emptiness, guilt, lack of purpose, lack of peace, and unhappiness. If we actively pursue sin, it shows that we are addicted to it and leads to self-destruction. But even if we simply passively ignore God, we set ourselves up as our own gods, that is, as the ultimate judges of what is right and wrong.
Zabur
Psalm 51:5—Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
Psalm 130:3—If you, O Lord, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand?
Psalm 143:2—Do not bring your servant into judgment for no one living is righteous before You (God).
Injeel
Romans 3:10—“There is no one righteous, not even one.”
Romans 3:23—All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
Galatians 6:7—Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.
I John 1:8—If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.
Qur’an
Winds 51:59-60—The evildoers shall have their portion, like the portion of their fellows; so let them not hasten Me (God) ! So woe to the unbelievers, for that day of theirs that they are promised.
Spider 29:40—Each (person) We (God) seized for his sin; and of them against some We loosed a squall of pebbles and some were seized by the Cry (plague), and some We made the earth to swallow, and some We drowned; God would never wrong them, but they wronged themselves.
The Winds and the Spider Qur’anic passages have much to say about the progression from sin to judgment. Winds 51: indicates that those who are evil and do evil will get their punishment. But Don’t rush God to punish them, because it will be a terrible day for them when God starts giving them their punishment. In Spider 29 we see that God catches each person for all the sins that person commits. Some of the people referred to in this verse were stoned and others were seized by a plague. Some were swallowed up by the earth, and some were drowned. The point here is that God deals with sin. Everyone is dead in his sins. God does not wrong them when He punishes them, but they wrong themselves by sinning, which inevitably bears the fruit of the punishment.
Some people say there is no sense of sin in the Qur’an. But these Quran verses clearly show differently. They stress the consequences of sin.
SIN DEFINED
When we think of sin many times we think only of robbery, murder, adultery, etc. The Bible tells us that sin is anything that doesn't please God or is a transgression of his law. Anything we do that we shouldn't, like losing our temper or stealing - these are sins of commission. Anything we should do but don't, like failing to pray or read the Bible or to truly love our neighbor - these are sins of omission. There are not only sins in deed, but also sins in word and thought like lying, cursing, lust, pride, and hatred. The Bible says these are all sins.
THREE SINS A DAY
Suppose I sinned only ten times a day, or even five, or even just three. Why, I would be practically a walking angel. Imagine if no more than three times a day did I think unkind thoughts, or lose my temper, or fail to do what I ought towards God and man - I would be a pretty fine person, would I not?
Even if I were this good, I would still have over 1,000 transgressions a year! If I lived to be the age of 70, I would have 70,000 violations of the law of God on my record. .Think what would happen to an habitual offender in a criminal court with 70,000 transgressions on his record.
This illustrates that not only am I a sinner, but also that my sin is a very serious issue.
What do you think this means? Please comment by clicking the comment link below. Or, email me at jpound777 (at) yahoo.com if you want to comment that way or have a question.
Video God has a Plan for you -- Part 2
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