The Problem of Sin

MEMORY VERSE: “But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” —Matthew 9:13

GENESIS 3:1-15

HAVING created man with the ability to reason, and to know good from evil, it was logical that the Creator should give him a law, which he did. God had planted in Eden what is described as “the tree of the knowledge of good and evil,” and instructed Adam that he was not to eat of this tree on pain of death: “In the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” (Gen. 2:17) God did net explain to Adam what would be wrong about eating the fruit of this particular tree. This was not necessary, for Adam should have trusted his Creator even though he did not understand.

Evidently Adam must have communicated this information to Eve, for when Eve was approached by the “serpent,” who asked if God had really laid down this restriction concerning the fruit of “the tree of the knowledge of good and evil,” she confirmed the matter, saying, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.”

The “serpent,” who in reality was a spokesman for the Devil, was quick to reply, and he said, “Ye shall not surely die.” Here we have Satan denying the truthfulness of what God had said. Concerning “that old serpent, which is the Devil,” (Rev. 20:2) Jesus said, “He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.”—John 8:44

Here Jesus takes us back to the events in Eden. He states that Satan was actually a murderer, for it was under his influence that our first parents transgressed God’s law, and this resulted in their death. Our Lord further identifies Satan’s treachery in Eden by saying that he was “a liar, and the father of it.” Yes, it was Satan who fathered the sin of lying, his first lie being his statement to Eve, “Ye shall not surely die.”

Not only was Satan successful in deceiving Eve on the point, but he has successfully carried on his campaign of deception ever since, with the result that only a few throughout the ages have believed God on the subject of death. The vast majority have unwittingly believed Satan, and have insisted that “there is no death.” This work of deception will be allowed to continue until the time in God’s plan when Satan will be bound, “that he should deceive the nations no more.” (Rev. 20:3) He will be bound for a thousand years, and then destroyed.

The fact that the human race began to die despite Satan’s assertion, “Ye shall not surely die,” proved that he was a liar. But Satan did not propose to allow the fact of death to prove that he was wrong in implying that “there is no death.” Soon the theory began to develop, nurtured no doubt by the great deceiver, that after all it is only the body that dies. It began to be claimed that within each human, as an entity separate from the body, there is a “soul,” which never dies.

Various theories developed throughout the ages concerning what happens to the “soul” when the body dies, among them the eternal torture dogma, purgatory, transmigration of souls, and various others. We do not have the space here to discuss these theories, but suggest that those interested read the booklet, “Hope Beyond the Grave.”

Our memory verse reminds us of the times when the scribes and Pharisees were surprised to note Jesus’ display of mercy and forgiveness. Throughout the ages, and in essentially all parts of the earth, religionists have thought of their gods as vengeful and cruel. Fear has been utilized to induce men and women to repent and believe in order to escape the terrible fate of eternal torture in a fiery hell.

But this does not reflect the true spirit of Christianity. Our Heavenly Father himself is loving and kind, and Jesus, who reflected the image of his Father during his early ministry, was compassionate and forgiving. These are our examples, and the divine plan reflects the great truth that “God is love.”

QUESTIONS

Relate the circumstances concerning man’s fall into sin and death.

What is the lesson of our memory verse?

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