Born a Slave to Sin

Born A Slave To Sin – The Origin Of Sin

Born A Slave To Sin

Introduction

The Doctrine of Sin

The primary purpose of my writing this booklet is to help its reader become well acquainted with what the Bible, God’s Word, has to say about sin.

The study of sin is known in Bible Doctrines as “Hamartiology” which means “the knowledge of sin.” This is only one of many great Bible doctrines and is no less important than any of the other.

This study does not contain all the Scripture references on the subject. The words sin, sins, sinned, sinful, sinners, sinnest, sinneth and sinner are found no less than 580 times in the Old Testament, and no less than 289 times in the New Testament. Therefore, I will not attempt to use them all.

There are six main points that I will deal with in this study:

The Origin of Sin – The Reality of Sin – The Nature of Sin – The Extent of Sin – The Realm of Sin – The Penalty of Sin

As we study further in this booklet, you will see modern society has a very lax view of sin. It is looked upon by many as indiscretion, ignorance, etc. But it was the terrible reality of sin that cost God His only begotten Son. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). It is sin that has broken the fellowship between man and God, and because of sin, all creation is dying. “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed, upon all men, for that all have sinned” (Romans 5:12).

As you begin this study, I urge you to please take your Bible and look up all the Scripture verses given. Read and study them prayerfully.

If you are a Christian, ask the Lord to give you a Godly hate for sin. If you are not a Christian, I prayerfully trust this study will help you understand the terrible reality and penalty of sin, and that you will bow your head right where you are. Confess to God that you are a sinner, and by faith receive the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Savior. He loves you.

May God, the Holy Spirit, speak to you as you study.

In Christ’s Dear Name,

Dr. Gene Hooker

(Former) Vice–President

Rock of Ages Ministries

All Scripture quotations are from the King James Version Bible.

Dedication

This booklet is dedicated especially to those behind prison bars, to whom God has chosen me to minister.

I am grateful that our Lord was willing to use me as a full–time volunteer chaplain in this almost forgotten mission field. My prayer is that many will come to know the Lord Jesus Christ as their personal Saviour from reading this booklet, and that many Christians will be strengthened by it.

I am also grateful to the two great men, who taught me in Bible Doctrines, without their dedication, this booklet would not be possible, and to my wife, Bessie and to Bro. Steve and Roxanne Adkins, for their tremendous help in proofreading and typesetting this booklet.

Forward

It is with great pleasure and a deep sense of gratitude to my dear brother in the ministry, Chaplain Gene Hooker, that I write this introduction. I am sure the writer has spent many long, hard hours and burning the midnight oil to have written a book such as this.

This book on The Doctrine of Sin comes from the heart of one who deals daily with men who understand what sin really is. The writer has poured out his heart and soul to share with us, and I pray that we will all be stronger Christians and workers for the Lord as a result of reading this book. It should drive us to our knees to thank God for what we have been delivered from. May our Lord bless this writer for this great work that is such a powerful and pungent issue.

Lamar Ingle, D.D.

Rocky Face, Georgia

The Origin of Sin

Where did sin have its beginning? Was it in the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve as some believe and teach? Or, was it long before the first man and woman, that sin had its origin?

The true answer to this question can only be found in the Word of God – the Bible.

Illiterate and intellectual men alike have asked, “Can the Bible be trusted? How can we know the Scripture is the Word of God, and not just another book written by man?”

There are many infallible proofs that the Bible is God’s living Word, and can be trusted. For lack of space and time, I will give three proofs.

First, human reasoning tells us the Bible is not just the writings of men. The Bible was written by forty men over a period of fifteen hundred years. Most of these men never met, yet they agree completely without error or contradiction.

Secondly, the Bible is the only book that has never become obsolete. Every few years, the books of our learning institutions become outdated but the Bible has never changed. War, famine, flood, life and death have only proven its reliability. It has been cursed, burned, despised, but it is still more up-to-date than today’s paper. “For ever, O Lord, thy word is settled in heaven” (Psalms 119:89).

Thirdly, the Bible itself tells us it is the Word of God.

“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness” (II Timothy 3:16).

The word inspiration here means “God breathed.” The Bible was not written from the thought of its human writers. These men wrote as they were spoken to by the Holy Spirit.

“Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost” (II Peter 1:20, 21).

We will now look to the Scripture to find the true answer to where sin had its origin.

The Unfallen State of Satan

The unfallen state of Satan is described in Ezekiel 28:12-15: “Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord God; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty. Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created. Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.”

The language here goes far beyond the King of Tyre, to Satan, the unseen ruler of all such pomp and pride of that of Tyre.

God did not create a devil; he created “The anointed cherub” (angel). He was full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty (verse 12). He had been in Eden the garden of God. Every precious stone was his covering (verse 13). He was upon the holy mountain of God; and walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire (verse 14).

This is a beautiful description of the glory that was Satan’s before his fall. “Then iniquity was found in him” (verse 15).

The Entrance of Sin into the Universe

“By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee. Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffick; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee” (Ezekiel 28:16-18).

“How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit” (Isaiah 14:12-15).

These tremendous passages make it clear beyond doubt that sin had its beginning in the universe with Satan, who at that time was called Lucifer. God had given him power and position above all the other angels. He was next to God in superiority. There was no other angel like him. Then iniquity was found in him as we read in Ezekiel 28:16-17. He was cast out of the mountain of God as being profane. (He had become irreverent toward God, blasphemous, polluted and vulgar). His beauty (pride) caused his heart to be lifted up. His wisdom was corrupted by reason of his brightness and he was cast to the ground.

In Isaiah 14:12-15, “Lucifer” can be none other than Satan. When Lucifer said, “I will,” sin began. Look at his prideful statements of “I will.”

I will ascend into heaven (I will be greater than God in person).

I will exalt my throne above the stars of God (I will be greater than God in power).

I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation in the sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds (I will be greater than God in position).

But listen to the voice of God as He speaks to the prideful, boasting Lucifer in Isaiah 14:15, “Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.”

At that time, Lucifer lost his place and position in heaven. He, and one third of heaven’s angels that followed him, were cast out. Not only did he deceive his followers and bring them to certain destruction, but also he is busy now deceiving and destroying all who follow him.

“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour” (I Peter 5:8).

The devil will use every device possible to deceive anyone by telling them the answer to life’s problems is found in drugs, alcohol, sex, crime, and rebellion. These are only a few of the lies he uses to ruin lives.

His number one device of destruction is to make people believe they will have plenty of time for God later. He says, “Go on, have a good time. Live it up! You have only one life, live it. When you have reached old age, then you can become a Christian.”

God tells us in His Word that we have no promise of another day. “Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth” (Proverbs 27:1).

“For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (II Corinthians 6:2).

As previously stated, God did not create a devil. Before the fall of Satan, he stood before God with power and position greater than any other of heaven’s angelic host. Through sin he lost his position, but he remains a very powerful being. He is not omnipotent (all powerful); God is The Omnipotent One.

Satan’s diabolical scheme was to overthrow God’s throne and become king of the universe, but God would not allow evil to prevail, so Satan was cast out to become “the prince of the power of the air.”

“Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience” (Ephesians 2:2).

A prince is not the ruler. He is under the authority of the king. Therefore, Satan’s power is limited to the sovereign will of God.

Satan is not omnipresent (everywhere present at the same time); but God is. “The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good” (Proverbs 15:3).

The devil can only be in one place at a time, but there are millions of his cohorts (demons) under his authority to assist in his evil tasks. In Mark 5:1-20 we read of a man who was possessed with 6,000 demons. In verse 9, when Jesus asked this man, “What is thy name? And he answered, saying, My name is Legion: for we are many” (A legion is 6,000).

The Introduction of Sin into the Human Race

“Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, 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. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons” (Genesis 3:1-7).

“And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression” (I Timothy 2:14).

All creation was spoken into existence. God simply said, “Let there be and there was.” At the voice of the Almighty God, light and darkness were separated and dry land appeared with grass, herbs and trees bearing fruit.

The sun, moon and stars were set in the sky hanging on nothing, but kept in perfect unity by the power of God. The sea and earth brought forth all their creatures at the voice of God, and to all God had created He “saw that it was good.”

“And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them” (Genesis 1:26-27).

As previously stated when God said, “Let there be,” the ground brought forth its creatures. But when it came to man, God formed him from the earth in His own likeness and image.

“And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul” (Genesis 2:7).

None other of God’s creation possessed the breath of God except man. When all other living creatures die they cease to be. But every person will one-day face God to give an account for their lives. Man is the only creature God created with an eternal soul.

God created everything male and female with reproducing seed after their own kind. But Adam was alone. “And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him” (Genesis 2:18).

“And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from the man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man” (Genesis 2:21-22).

We know they lived in perfect peace with each other and had beautiful fellowship with their creator. They walked together in perfect harmony. The animal kingdom was at peace with man. There was no sin and, therefore, no fear between them.

God had only set one limit upon them. Before God created Eve He gave Adam a command. “But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die” (Genesis 2:17).

All creation was at their disposal, except this one tree. It was God’s desire for man to love Him supremely, not because he was forced to, but because he wanted to and he could show his love only by being in complete obedience to God. Supreme love can only be manifested through a willing heart.

There was only one way Eve could have known about the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Adam had to tell her about the tree. God had commanded Adam not to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil before Eve was created. The devil knew (and still knows) it is easier for him to deceive a person with second hand information than the person to whom God has spoken.

God no longer speaks to us in an audible voice. He speaks to us through His Word. The Bible is God’s voice in print. Therefore, we must read and study the Bible ourselves, allowing God to speak to us personally.

In verse 3 when Eve miss quoted what God had said, no doubt Satan then knew he had found his target. God never said anything about them not touching the tree. At this point Satan began to put doubt in the mind of Eve and to discredit the Word of God.

“And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die” (Genesis 3:4). Here, Eve is faced with making her first decision. Who was she to believe?

God, her creator, had said, “But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die” (Genesis 2:17). And the serpent said, “Ye shall not surely die.” Who was telling her the truth? One of them had to be wrong.

Instead of fleeing from the presence of the serpent and with her husband falling at the feet of their creator for guidance and strength, she looked at the tree. Not only had she met with her first decision, she just made her first mistake. “And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat” (Genesis 3:6).

Every person the devil has ever deceived, he has done so by using one or more of the things he used to deceive Eve. “The lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life.” She looked, she desired and she yielded.

“For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world” (I John 2:16).

Eve committed the sin of unbelief, and evidently she did not believe they would die as God had said. She believed they would not die as Satan had said.

(May I stop here and say, it is not drinking, cursing, stealing and committing adultery that dooms the soul to hell, it is the sin of unbelief.)

When she took the fruit to Adam he did also eat with her. It was Eve that was deceived, not Adam. “And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression” (I Timothy 2:14).

Adam ate the forbidden fruit at the bidding of his wife, knowing well, what God had said, therefore, Adam sinned against revealed light. Adam knew disobeying God would bring certain death, and they would be separated from God both spiritually and physically.

Here Adam was faced with making his first choice. The Bible doesn’t say this but I believe he knew his wife would die because of her disobedience and he would be alone for eternity. No doubt, he thought back to the time before God gave him Eve, and how terribly lonely he was. So, he chose to also disobey God and die with his bride rather than face eternity alone.

Adam’s disobedience to God brought death upon all creation, and plunged all mankind into a sinful, dying race. “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned” (Romans 5:12).

Upon eating the forbidden fruit their eyes were opened, and they knew they were naked and they attempted to hide their sinful, naked bodies under aprons of fig leaves.

“And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons” (Genesis 3:7).

In the cool of the day, God came walking in the garden. When Adam and Eve heard His voice, they attempted to hide themselves among the trees. “And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?” (Genesis 3:9).

As Adam and Eve stepped before God, with their entire being pierced with fear, shame and disgrace, God looked upon their fig leaf aprons and beheld their partially nude bodies and how they were attempting to hide their sin by the work of their own hands, and He was displeased.

Upon the confession of their sin, God killed an animal and clothed them with its skin. “Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed them” (Genesis 3:21).

In this act of God we can see the innocent dying for the guilty, a clear picture of Calvary and its sacrifice, the innocent Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, who died for man’s sins. “For as by one man’s disobedience (Adam) many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one (Christ) shall many be made righteous” (Romans 5:19).

When God had clothed Adam and Eve, He could no longer allow them to live in their paradise home. This was not a source of punishment, but an act of mercy. If they were allowed to continue there and partake of the tree of life, they would live forever with a body of disease, pain, sorrow and heartache. “And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever: Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken” (Genesis 3:22-23).

In conclusion to point number one, the origin of sin, the Scripture makes it clear that sin had its origin in the universe with Satan’s rebellion against God, and was passed on to the human race by Adam’s disobedience (rebellion) against God. His disobedience brought forth upon man sin and death (separation) both spiritually and physically. Fellowship was broken and no longer would God come down and walk with man. But God had a plan to restore the fellowship that had been broken. Some four thousand years later, God sent His Son to redeem fallen man. “But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons” (Galatians 4:4-5).

“And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel” (Genesis 3:15). When God’s Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, the seed of the woman, had walked among men for thirty-three years, then He made His way to a hill called Calvary just outside the walls of old Jerusalem, and there on the old rugged cross, His heel bruised the serpent’s head.

The death of Christ on the cross was a crushing blow to Satan. He was buried and three days later resurrected. Then forty days after His death, He ascended back to His Father and sat down by His side, bringing complete victory over death, hell and the grave.

By the finished work of Calvary our spiritual fellowship with God has been restored. One day in the near future Christ will return and gather together unto Himself all those who have placed their trust in Him, and have been cleansed from sin by His shed blood. On that day we will receive the adoption of sons and the fellowship between man and God will be restored.

“For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known” (I Corinthians 13:12).

Are you prepared for His return?