The Invasive Power of Sin

How sin has affected humans:

In the beginning, before the fall of man, God created the heavens and the earth. Vegetation and all creatures. Then, he made man in his likeness and gave him control over every living thing. Because God didn't want man to be lonely, he took one of his ribs and made woman, Eve. They were the first people.

In Genesis chapter 3, the Bible narrates how the serpent deceived the woman and she ate the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that God had warned them against eating. Not only did she eat it, she gave some to her husband, Adam. Angry and disappointed, God laid a curse on man and banished him from the Garden of Eden.

Sin, in Christianity means to go against the command of God. And against the law (especially in the old testament). From the story of Noah and the flood to the people of Sodom and Gomorrah, sin has brought about suffering, pain and death into the world. Causing division and conflict and affecting human relationship. 

By the sin of the first man, all humans were made sinners. Rom. 5:12 says, "Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned" 

Because of the sin of the first man, people can do nothing – on their own terms – to save themselves. Gen. 3:17 says, "cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life". 

Sin has affected every aspect of humanity, the mind, will and emotions. Isaiah 64:6a says, "All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like shrivel rags".

When God saw that all of his creations suffered greatly from sin, he sent his son, to come and die on the cross that by this act all of humanity can be saved. 

How does sin dominate the spirit of the believer if not conscious?

Jesus Christ came and died as an atonement for our sin. "If you confess that Jesus is Lord and believe that God raised him from death, you will be saved" Rom. 10:9 

But this doesn't mean that there will be no more sin. Infact sin seeks to dominate the spirit of believers. Taking control of their thoughts, actions and behavior to take them away from God's will. 

That's why Romans 8:9 tells us; "But you do not live as your human nature tells you to; instead, you live as the Spirit tells you to---if, in fact, God's Spirit lives in you. Whoever does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him".

By the death and resurrection of Jesus, the law was no longer an enabler, but grace. "Now, however, we are free from the Law, because we died to that which once held us prisoners. No longer do we serve in the old way of a written law, but in the new way of the Spirit". Rom. 7:6

In Jesus Christ believers can receive forgiveness and freedom from sin's bondage. As believers, you are to be conscious of sin's presence and resist its temptations. Not by any physical power but by the Holy Spirit. When Jesus was on Earth he told the people that he would not leave them alone, he will send them a comforter, the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:17: ''This is what I will do in the last days, God says: I will pour out my Spirit on everyone. Your sons and daughters will proclaim my message; your young men will see visions, and your old men will have dreams".

Conclusion: God is merciful and through the blood of Jesus Christ we can ask for mercy when we wrong him, "but shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?" Rom 6:1-2