UNDERSTANDING GOD (Part 3: Did God Create Sin Just to Condemn Humanity With It?)

Some see God as a mean kid on an ant hill with a magnifying glass, a tyrant that demands praise and love. If God created all things (Eph. 3:9), then did He create sin? If He created sin, does this mean that God condemns mankind for accepting what he created for them? If sinfulness generates all the suffering in the world, why would God allow such a source of evil to exist? Thinking right about God means that a person understands God’s nature, his relationship to His creation, and how the relationship between man and God has developed.

The world God created for man, the manifestation of His love and nature was heaven in material form, the Garden of Eden. Day and night sang with the melodies of nature. Adam and Eve came forth from the heart of God, bearing the impression of divinity upon their brows and the stamp of God’s image upon their hearts. A place of perfect communion with God satiated the human spirit; ceaseless songs and sights of exquisite beauty flooded the physical senses, and two hearts beat as one in radiant marital bliss. God and His creations existed together in harmony, God and man lived jointly in great happiness at the beginning of their relationship, but the selfish desires of humanity, and the humans’ ability to create their own path from their freedom of choice proved an overwhelming temptation.

Sin ruined everything. It severed man from God, veiled the soul with darkness, and displaced the heart of man (Isa. 59:1-3). Humanity’s separation from God battered the mind with guilt and pierced the soul with death. James depicted the nature of sin when he said, “Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death” (James 1:13-15). Adam and Eve wanted to pass the blame and guilt of sin to God and others (the serpent) (Gen. 3:6-13). Nevertheless, what is the true source of sin?

God was not the source of sin. Adam and Eve made the conscience choice to ignore the warnings of danger God had given to them (Gen. 2:16,17). Knowing the consequences of their actions, they allowed themselves to be deceived, and they transgressed the law of God (Gen. 3:16-19). With something so dangerous as sin, why did God allow this avenue of destruction to exist? Take away evil and what does the world have? Good. Only good. With only one path of behavior available to humanity, freedom of choice would vanish. Good and evil existed as a natural consequence of freedom of choice. If God wanted humanity to choose Him freely and sincerely, sin was inevitable.

Likewise, the origin of sin in man laid not with Satan. Satan showed what mankind could do with their freedom of choice and the desires of their heart, but Satan did not force Adam and Eve to sin (1 Thess. 3:5; 2 Cor. 11:3). Furthermore, heredity is not the wellspring of sin. Sin is a personal choice, not a preprogramed judgment for all people (Ez. 18:20; 2 Cor. 10:5). Additionally, the basis of sin is not one’s environment. A world of iniquity may make faithfulness difficult but not impossible (Gen. 6:5).

The source of sin exists within humanity. “But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed” (James 1:14). Jesus declares, “For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies” (Matt. 15:19). Mankind creates the path of sin. God creates the pieces of all that exists, but people have the ability to put those pieces together in a wicked way. God bestows humanity with the ability to construct tools and machines of complexity and engineer cities of intricacy unparalleled by any other creature on earth (this being part of the God element inside humanity). There exist no element in creation that cannot be used for good, but when mankind chooses to manipulate God’s elements for evil, they bring destruction upon themselves.

However, God in His infinite love and mercy offers mankind a plan of redemption through His Son, Jesus the Christ (John 3:16,17). Humanity doesn’t deserve God’s redemption because all humans at one point in their lives make the conscious decision to violate God’s law (Rom. 3:23). God always provides mankind with an outlet to His existence, will, and law, so they are without excuse (Rom. 1:19-20). In spite of man’s haughty attitude, God extends His hand of grace to the penitent seeking a humble return to their Heavenly Father (Matt. 7:7).            

Man’s problem is sin. God’s solution is Christ and Calvary. Through hearing the gospel (Rom. 10:17), believing the gospel (Heb. 11:6), repenting of wickedness (Acts 2:38), confessing the truth in Christ (Rom. 10:9), and being baptized into Christ (1 Peter 3:21), mankind may be redeemed from their sins (Rom. 3:24). 

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