Original Sinners

“There is none righteous, no, not one;
¹¹ There is none who understands;
There is none who seeks after God.
¹² They have all turned aside~ Romans 3:10-12

Just as their is nothing adult about adultery,  there is nothing original about sin.

We have been sinning from the beginning,  and no one,  since Adam has escaped the flawed nature passed down to us,  so generously by our ancestors.

All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God~ Romans 3:23 

Whether our sin amounts to murder or molestation,  or whether it consists of lies and lusts, it counts against us.

And we are in a sinful state,  as a race.  A child takes to sin like a fish to water.

We are in trouble on both counts.  We are part of this fallen race,  and so separated from God on that count and we have also deliberately and wilfully sinned.

I believe in original sin,  but I see it as a tainting of what God has made rather than a condemnation of the whole race as evil.

We fall short.  We don't achieve God's best for us.  We fail to be grateful or to give him praise as we ought.

But good things come from sinners too.  The creator's kindness and compassion is still reflected in his creation. Mankind is good and yet it is intrinsically sinful too.

The wheat and the weeds grow together,  and are inseparable until harvest.

Call me silly but I like to take comfort from that.

We have all turned aside.

This state I am in,  although I must live with it,  I do not bear full responsibility for it.  I am not a freak.  I am normal,  and this is a normal and practical problem that God has given a solution to.

We are told elsewhere that 'no temptation has seized you except that wich is common to all.'

In other words,. Don't be precious about it. Don't beat yourself up. Just deal with it.

Of course there is a personal and emotional side to our response to sin and it's solution.

But at times as a parent,  when my kid has fallen in something nasty,  he is upset enough.  I don't need to chastise him.  I just need to clean him up.  And as I do so,  my heart goes out to him. In my best moments,  my annoyance goes right out of the window.

And sometimes I think we are just too precious about our sin.

Our heavenly Father just wants to get us cleaned up and wipe away the tears.

Jesus too,  we are told is not without sympathy because he was 'tempted in every way,  just as we are'.

And though the passage makes it clear to us that none of us get away unscathed by sin, there is a parallel passage in the 53rd chapter of Isaiah which tell us the same thing.

All we like sheep have gone astray,
We have turned,  each one, to our own way,
And the LORD has laid on Him,
The sin of us all.

He took all our sin and shame, as the song has it, when he died and rose again. And so the sting of it is gone.  You are free.

You sin?

Well here is the solution.

And if we move with supreme confidence into the benefit of this sacrifice. We will realise that it is not about us.

That is a sinful mind set.

Salvation is a factory reset.

It rightfully robs us of our centrality and it places our Father God back into the heart of our affections and interests.

And John says,

If any of you have sinned,  you should confess it to God who is 'faithful and just to forgive'. And he will 'cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

What a divine exchange.  Our sins for his righteousness,  and grace to return for help whenever you need it.

God bless you,

This days,

And all days,

Amen.