Bob Cassell, Messenger
From a deplorable and helpless position, we may look up and see the greatness and wonders of God’s so great Salvation. These wonders are more clearly seen as they are viewed from the depths and awfulness of our sin.
Are you aware that sin originated in heaven? Lucifer, son of the morning, the covering cherub, sat upon the holy mountain of God. He was one of God’s greatest creatures and was selected to be nearest him. Although created by the perfect hand of God he refused to be subject to Him. He rebelled against God and said, “I will be like the Highest” (Isa:14:12-14 and Ezek. 28:14). He wanted to be all that God was and is but failed miserably. He knew he was beholding a power, dimension, and person who was responsible for all that he was for the whole of his created life.
Can you imagine, he constantly beheld inexpressible, unlimited, and incomprehensible glory? Then he looked at himself and wondered. “Just how did I get here? It appears God has always been here, and he without doubt is in full charge of everything. He is my creator, and He is responsible for all that I can see. I wouldn’t be here without him but I want more than I have”.
Think with me about something that will enlighten your mental horizons. There is substantial support from the scriptures and a certain amount of deductive reasoning for the thought that as a result of Lucifer’s sin the earth, which was evidently his domain, was struck by a cataclysmic event, and the so-called days of creation were actually days of restoration of the original earth.
On the sixth day (Gen. 1:26,27) God created man, an entirely new kind of being that had not previously existed. Male and female created He them and gave to them dominion over the restored earth in place of Lucifer.
Man, as created in the image of God (Gen. 1:26) was perfect, but Lucifer in the form of a serpent came to God’s new creature and influenced him to commit a grievous sin.
What is the essential nature of sin? To understand the depth of its awfulness it is important to see what is behind the outward manifestations of sin.
I have mentioned that God created man, and to create meant to bring forth out of nothing. The Hebrew word is ‘bara’ (something from nothing). God formed man ‘asah’ (something from something) out of the dust of the ground (Gen. 2:7). All that was in man, that is more than a clod of dirt, was brought forth out of nothing. For God to create man out of nothing was no problem for God! He had already created the beautiful earth out of nothing. Therefore, all that man is and has been of God. He is indebted and dependent on God for everything. God caused him to be here and grants to him permission for every heartbeat and breath.
He who out of nothing could bring forth man, can also out of nothing, bring forth all that man needs. So, it is clear God can provide all that man might need. By creating man God assigned responsibility for a certain maintenance of His new creation.
By preparing a garden for him (Gen. 2:8) God showed his purpose to care for man’s needs. It follows then that the only rightful attitude for man toward God is one of complete dependence upon and submission to Him. But the rebellious and miracle of creation did not long maintain the attitude of complete dependence upon God, and therein is the beginning of man’s sorrows. The history of man’s first sin, by which sin entered the human race (Rom.5:12), is told in the first seven verses of the third chapter of Genesis. The serpent, i.e., Satan (Rev 12:9, 20:2), said to the woman: “Yea, hath God said, ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?” Within this question is a shadowy suggestion to doubt God’s goodness in His provision for man. God had commanded man not to eat of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil (Gen. 2:17). There was plenty left and man had no need to look beyond what God had provided, in grace.
Satan implied that in this single prohibition God was withholding some good thing from man.
The purpose behind the question was to break down man’s perfect confidence and dependence upon the God who created him. And that is exactly what happened. Instead of trusting God, Eve began to question and reason about His prohibitive command and went further by adding five words to it; “Neither shall you touch it.” These added words made God’s command seem unreasonable to naive Eve. She no longer implicitly believed God’s word. She adopted a distorted rationalism instead of a believing faith. Eve looked to herself for guidance. This inevitable end will be the unfortunate result whenever or wherever the validity of God’s word is questioned.
Eve was already leaning in the direction of the serpent, and sadly her head turned. Now only one additional prompting was needed. Lucifer contradicted God’s statement that “the day they ate of the fruit they should surely die” but then added, that by eating they should become “as God, knowing good and evil.”
The temptation to be as God and not to depend upon Him could not be resisted. Independence appealed to her, and she took of the fruit and ate and gave to her husband and he ate. By that simple disobedient act, the creature had rebelled against God and departed from his state of dependence upon him. In that one act man expressed a compelling desire to maintain an existence independent of God.
To believe that anyone can do without God, or even the absence of a need of God, and to live without taking God into consideration is a gross and ill-advised sin. This statement is valid whether a person is well refined or at the lowest level of behavior. Please understand though, the conduct of a person is not the determining factor. It is the attitude toward God that is meaningful. To sin is essentially to set aside and ignore God by taking unto self-HIS rightful place. It becomes your way and not HIS way. How is that working for you?
To depend upon self and refuse to depend upon God alone is to refuse to honor and glorify Him as Sovereign God. The resulting end is to attempt to glorify self by human efforts. Let’s look at a bible account of self-glory as was demonstrated by Nebuchadnezzar. As he walked in his palace one day he boasted, “Is not the great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honor of my majesty?” (Dan. 4:30).
How shortsighted and foolish! He lost his head and forgot who gave him his very breath and the ability to take the next step.
Man has perpetuated this spirit since the first sin was committed and constantly seeks to glory in his own achievements. Man fails to acknowledge that all he is and has and is able to do is from God.
For man to refuse to remain in full dependence upon God is to reject His will as the controlling priority in life and to replace it with his own vacillating and limited human will. This is nothing less than to depend upon one’s own wisdom instead of the infinite wisdom of God. We are admonished to do the opposite… notice the sheer wisdom in only two scriptures in the word of God… there are many more.
“Happy is the man that finds wisdom, and the man that gets understanding” (Proverbs 3:13).
“Through thy precepts I get understanding: therefore, I despise every false way” (Psalm 119:104).
The very essence of sin is to exercise independence from God and dependence upon self. This unwise process results in a failure to glorify God and to glorify self. This is man living according to his own will instead of being guided by the will of God.
The first sin was an act of disobedience and theft as man took that which was not his and which was strictly forbidden. However, this was only an outward expression of the new attitude of independence from God. It is reasonable to see that all acts of sin are but the expression and evidence of an inward nature that acts independently of God.
Notice how the Apostle Paul dogmatically states that all manner of sins are due to a failure on the part of man to maintain his rightful attitude toward God.
“Because that, when they knew God, they glorified Him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imagination, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they become fools. Vs 28, And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not fitting. Vs 32, Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of wrath, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them” (Romans 1:21-22,28,32).
These awful sins are the outward manifestations of man’s failure to maintain a rightful attitude of complete dependence upon God, and to glorify him as creator and remain subject to His will. For clarity, the bible confirms the aforementioned explanation of the nature of sin. It is, “Whatsoever is not of faith is sin” (Romans 14:23). Faith here, means dependence upon God, and all that is not in dependence upon HIM is sin. Occasionally things that may seem to be good might be sin. Many think only of immorality or revelry as sin. That is not true. The strongest fortress against sin is not in opposing vice or gross sins. It is in fleeing from all self-righteousness. In the place of vice or sins there may be a greater sense of need or dependence on God. The self-righteous feel no such need of God because they think they are sufficient in themselves and are proud of their human good and are therefore far away from God although they may be highly cultured, sincere, refined, religious, and moral.
Christ said to the chief priests and self-righteous religious elders during his earthly ministry:
“The publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you” (Matt. 21:31).
Scripture makes it clear; sin is a rebellion of the creature against the Creator. It is the desire to be independent of God, to become like God Himself, to take all glory unto self and disregard the will of God. This problem is serious indeed and is addressed distinctly in his word.
“This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am Chief” (1 Timothy 1:15).
Only the amazing love of God could think of providing salvation, at the great cost of the life of His Own Son, for such a rebellious and undeserving creature as man. God’s amazing love and the offer of salvation becomes extremely impressive when it is realized that salvation not only provides a restoration of that which was lost through sin and those who are saved during the present age are to become conformed to the very image of the Son of God (Romans 8:29). They are to be holy and without blame before God throughout all eternity (Eph 1:4).
They are to be one with God the Father and God the Son even as they are one (John 17:21). They shall be “like God”.
Amazingly, they shall become that which was offered to man by the serpent, and which in rebellion, man tried to accomplish by himself.
Their place before God shall be that which was occupied by Lucifer before sin entered into his heart. But they will be of an infinitely higher order than the high position which was taken away from Lucifer.
Salvation that forgives man’s rebellion and does for him that which he tried to do for himself, but could not, is most worthy of the stupendous name “So Great Salvation” (Hebrews 2:3). How can anyone not be impressed with who and what God is and the fact that he is full of Grace and truth and extends that grace, love, and truth to humankind as a free unencumbered gift of eternal life through none other than The LORD JESUS CHRIST.
How shall we escape, if we neglect SO GREAT SALVATION (Hebrews 2:3).
For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ, our wonderful Lord (Romans 6:23).
“Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is IN CHRIST JESUS (Romans 3:24).
For by Grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God; not of works, lest any man should boast (Ephesians 2:8,9).
Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not (Jeremiah 33:3).
For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved (Romans 10:13). Do not neglect, call on him in this sacred moment of time where life is passing so quickly, and you can receive the gift of eternal life.
But as many as received him, to them gave the power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name (John 1:12).
You are encouraged to receive Christ as your Savior just after reading this message. You simply believe in Christ and embrace him as your only way to heaven. He will hear you and he will surely save you.
