What is
Sin = Doing anything that is out of line with the perfect character, law, and direction of God.
The beginning of sin
Sin had its beginning with lucifer. Not content with his position, he desired to be higher than God, and that was his downfall, the beginning of sin (Isaiah 14:12-15).
Renamed satan (devil), he brought sin to the human race in the Garden of Eden, where he tempted Adam and Eve with the same enticement, “you shall be like God.” Genesis 3 describes Adam and Eve’s rebellion against God and against His command.
Since that time, sin has been passed down through all the generations of mankind and we, Adam’s descendants, have inherited sin from him.
Every one of us have sinned
The consequence or payment for that sin is death or eternal separation from God. Why? Because God and sin can’t coexist – sin goes against His very nature.
Since we have all sinned, we all deserve to be separated from God forever but God had a plan of redemption. Jesus was God's plan for us, and He came to earth to pay the price of our sin. He took the punishment we deserve on himself. He was beaten, bruised, nailed to a cross and killed on our behalf.
In doing this, Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament prophecies about the one who would suffer on behalf of humanity. Jesus paid it all, dying the death that we deserve and rose from the grave so that we could receive eternal life.
How did Jesus overcome sin?
Jesus came into the world, faced all the same temptations that we do, yet never sinned. His innocence made him worthy to be the perfect sacrifice. If Jesus didn’t live a perfect, sinless life, there would be no sacrifice to pay the debt that separated us from God. Because of Jesus’ blood that was shed for us, all of our sins, past, present, and future, are forgiven.
But Jesus did not only die on the cross, he conquered death by coming back to life. After three days in the grave, he resurrected from the dead. Jesus defied all the power and logic of death, making a way for you to live eternally.
Can I earn it?
NOPE!!!
The truth is, we are saved because of Jesus’ actions, not our own. In fact, there is nothing you could ever do to earn your salvation. Even on your best days, you still sin. We needed a perfect savior to die on our behalf and grant us salvation as a gift, because we could never have earned it on our own.
No matter how often you attend church, how many days you read your Bible, or how nice you are to people, those things will never get you into Heaven.
Your salvation is secured because of Jesus and Jesus alone.
There is nothing that you could ever do that will make God love you more, and there is nothing that you have ever done that has made God love you any less.
Once you are saved you become a child of God, and when God the Father looks at you He doesn’t see your sin or mistakes, He sees Jesus. Because of God’s grace you have been saved, and there is no sin that is too much for God to forgive. He has already forgiven all sins because of Jesus.
