The Mystery of Sin

 

The Mystery of Sin

Let's take a look at that story about Adam and Eve and the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Everything was fine until they ate that fruit, and then they hid from God because they were naked, and they perceived their nakedness as sin, and punishable by God. But they were naked before they ate of the fruit, and God was okay with that; but somehow eating the fruit caused the nakedness to become a sin. Eating the fruit didn't cause them to sin. It caused their nakedness to be perceived as a sin. What really happened? The answer apparently lies in the question that God asks, “Who told you that you were naked?” The source of that revelation was the serpent, a surrogate for Satan, and the revelation was false because, according to Jesus, “there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks according to his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies”. Of course, we are free to consider the whole story simple folk lore, a myth, or an allegory to teach us a lesson. But if the story has any kind of meaning, it represents a master stroke by Satan. Not only does he invent sin, he also instills fear of God in Adam and Eve. They hide from God to escape His wrath.

So, from the very beginning, this fear of God has been a major stumbling block in the path of those who would otherwise seek Him. Just look at what Job says (Ch.23:vs. 15-16): 

"Therefore I am terrified at His presence;

when I consider, I am in dread of Him.

God has made my heart faint;

the Almighty has terrified me".

Job finds a certain wisdom in this fear. In Chapter 28, which is beautifully written, he speaks of the arduous search for wisdom, comparing it to prospecting for gems and precious minerals. Man finds a way to mine these things, but only God understands the way to wisdom. Job thinks that God is telling him, "Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding". Job qualifies on both counts - he fears the Lord, and he has departed from evil - and therefore, according to this verse, he has both wisdom and understanding.

It is ironic that, of all the book of Job, this verse is the one most frequently quoted, even though the subsequent unfolding of events seems to imply that Job is completely wrong on this crucial matter. But Job's question is a crucial one. Even if God is indifferent to sin (as may be indicated by the story of Eden), He actually seems to favor the wicked. In Chapter 21, Job says:

“Look at me, and be appalled,
and lay your hand upon your mouth.
When I think of it I am dismayed,
and shuddering seizes my flesh.
Why do the wicked live on

reach old age, and grow mighty in power?
Their children are established in their presence,
and their offspring before their eyes.
Their houses are safe from fear,
and no rod of God is upon them.”

Ecclesiastes makes the same point:

“There is a vanity which is done upon the earth that there be just men, unto whom it happeneth according to the work of the wicked; again, there be wicked men, to whom it happeneth according to the work of the righteous: I said that this also is vanity.” ( Eccl. 8:14)

Even Jesus says that God does not discriminate against the wicked.:

“. . . . he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous” (Matt. 5:4).

And Paul says, ”I know, and am persuaded by the Lord Jesus, that there is nothing unclean of itself: but to him that esteemeth any thing to be unclean, to him it is unclean”.

But now, let's return to Job, and study Elihu's reply to Job's complaints. He says that it's not just his personal opinion, but also that of the truly wise, that Job lacks wisdom:

"Men of understanding will say to me, and the wise man who hears me will say, 'Job speaks without knowledge, and his words are without insight.' " And God, who speaks after Elihu, says to Job, "Who is this that darkens counsel without knowledge?" So, we can discount Job's opinions about fearing God and criticizing God's fairness.

Next, Elihu attempts to explain this enigmatic attitude of God toward the evil and the righteous. In chapter 31, he says:

"If you have sinned, what do you accomplish against Him?

And if your transgressions are multiplied, what do you do to Him?

If you are righteous, what do you give to Him;

or what does He receive from your hand?

Your wickedness concerns a man like yourself,

and your righteousness a son of man".

In view of what most of us have been taught throughout our church-going lives, it just doesn't seem right or reasonable, that God should be indifferent to sin. But if we accept the argument in previous posts that God the Father doesn't recognize anything lower than complete peace, joy, beauty, and love, then we realize that it can only be this way. When Elihu says, “Your wickedness concerns a man like yourself, and your righteousness a son of man", he is explaining that good and evil are matters of the false material world, and do not exist in the true world of spirit – that world in which each of us was created. The man who harbors brutality in his heart and commits murder is loved by God just as much He loves the kindest of us, because God doesn't recognize that part of him. He only recognizes the original creation.

It may be difficult, almost impossible, to accept, but its truth will be supported by subsequent posts.

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