TEACHING NOTES Introduction In the modern Christian culture, many churches are no longer talking about sin. A large portion of sermons preached today are about life skills and reaching your fullest potential in the world. However, the Bible is filled with stories and teaching about sin and its effects on humanity and the creation itself. Therefore, we must understand what sin is, what God is doing about sin, and what God expects us to do with our sin. ‌ Let’s start at the beginning of the story... ‌ Genesis 3:1 ESV 1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field 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’?” ‌ Did God really say? = The serpent’s strategy is to get Eve to doubt or modify what God has said. This is still the devil’s strategy today and many pastors are doubting and modifying God’s word to fit modern viewpoints. ‌ When we start asking “Did God really say?” sin is close at hand. ‌ Genesis 3:2–3 ESV 2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, 3 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.’ ” ‌ Lest you die = God told Adam that in the moment he breaks God’s command he will begin a death sentence. Sin leads to death without exception. ‌ The Effects of Sin (from Gen. 3:14-24): ‌- The serpent is cursed to live in enmity with humanity and be will defeated by one specific human (Gen. 3:15). ‌- Man and woman will have a constant relational struggle for control (Gen. 3:16). ‌- The ground is cursed so that survival becomes a struggle (Gen. 3:17-19). ‌- Humanity is exiled from the garden and lose access to the tree of eternal life, which enslaves them to mortality/death (Gen. 3:22-24). ‌ You purchase sin with your life. ‌Sin enslaves us to death. ‌ Genesis 4:6–7 ESV 6 The Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? 7 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 contrary to you, but you must rule over it.” ‌ You must rule over it = Sin (described by God like a coiled snake) wants to rule over Cain. God commands Cain to rule over sin. However, Cain decides to let sin rule over him and it leads him to kill his own brother. ‌ Old Testament Words for Evil: Just as the serpent enticed Eve to break God’s command, the serpent is doing the same to Cain. Therefore, sin is a power or force outside of us that is enticing us to become sinners. Once we let sin rule over us, we are enslaved by it and begin to practice sin, transgression, and iniquity. ‌ Sin: Heb. hattah - The power or force that leads us to failure. The root of hattah means failure to meet the standard, to miss the mark or fall short. The Torah makes a distinction between intentional and unintentional sins. Intentional sins are often described as transgression or iniquity. ‌ Transgression: Heb. pesha - rebellion against another leading to a violation of relationship. This word can also mean “to break away from” which carries the idea of relational separation. ‌ Iniquity: Heb. awon - intentional or premeditated wickedness. In the Torah laws there are no sacrifices for intentional wickedness. Israelites who practiced iniquity were either cut off from among the people or executed. ‌ New Testament Words for Evil: The New Testament continues the Hebrew concept of evil, but explains its effect on humanity with greater clarity. Paul describes sin as a power that has enslaved humanity and has become its ruler. Humanity was helpless to overcome this ruler and needed to be freed from slavery to sin. ‌ Sin: Grk. hamartia - The power or force working in the world to enslave creation. ‌ Sins: Grk. hamartema - failure to meet the standard, missing the mark or falling short of what is expected. ‌ Trespass/Transgression: Grk. paraptoma/parabasis - deviation from an established boundary or overstepping a boundary. ‌ Evil: Grk. poneria - intentional wickedness, malice. ‌ The Storyline from Adam to Jesus Reading the Bible in bits and pieces causes us to miss the big picture. Reading the Bible as a unified story helps us to see God’s love for humanity and His desire to rescue humanity from the power of sin. ‌ Adam and Eve disobey God, are exiled from eternal life, and everyone after them are consigned to death. Death is the only way out of a sinful life. ‌ Humanity gets progressively worse until the need arises to restart the project with the flood. ‌ After the flood, humanity continues to reject God’s rule and submits to the rule of sin. This culminates at the Tower of Babel where humanity is dispersed and allowed to be ruled by other gods they had chosen. ‌ God chooses Abraham to start a new nation that will be under God’s rule. Abraham’s descendants become the nation of Israel, who God promises to use to reclaim all nations. ‌ God rescues Israel from slavery in Egypt to prove His power the other gods and to prove His faithfulness to humanity. ‌ God gives Israel the Torah laws to teach them how to love God and each other, to teach them about sin, and to give them a way to manage and rule over sin. However, the Torah provided no solution to death. ‌ Israel is sometimes faithful, but continually breaks God’s covenant and allows sin to rule them for 1,500 years. ‌ Jesus arrives to finish what the Torah was meant to do—defeat the power of sin and give humanity freedom from death. ‌ Romans 5:12 ESV 12 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned— ‌ Romans 5:18–19 ESV 18 Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. 19 For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous. ‌ Romans 5:20–21 ESV 20 Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, 21 so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. ‌ Romans 6:1–2 ESV 1 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? ‌ Romans 6:3–4 ESV 3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. ‌ Romans 6:5–6 ESV 5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. ‌ Romans 6:7–9 ESV 7 For one who has died has been set free from sin. 8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. ‌ Romans 6:10–11 ESV 10 For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. 11 So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. ‌ You must consider yourselves dead to sin = The Greek word for “consider” here is logizomai, which means to keep mental record or to continually tell yourself something. Paul is saying that since our old self has died, we must continually tell ourselves that we are dead to the power of sin and alive to God. ‌ Our defense against sin is a continual declaration that we will not be ruled by sin, but will be ruled by Christ. ‌ Romans 6:12 ESV 12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. ‌ Romans 6:13 ESV 13 Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. ‌ Romans 6:14 ESV 14 For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace. ‌ Sin and death ruled from the beginning, but Jesus defeated sin and death to become our new Ruler and King. ‌ Conclusion ‌Today we worship Jesus as our Ruler and King. We take Communion as a sign of our allegiance to King Jesus who forgives our sins and gives us the power to rule over sin.