Sin by my definition is stepping out of the plan of God or separating oneself from the plan of God. The first time that the actual word "sin" is used in the Bible it is the Hebrew word "chatta'ah" which simply means sin. It is from the root word "chata" meaning "to miss the mark" or "wander from the way". So sin can fairly be described as missing or wandering from the plan that God has for you.
Now when Adam and Eve sinned it effected everything that they had dominion over. The same is true when we sin today. So what do we have dominion over? Ps 8:6 "You made him [man] ruler over the works of your hands; you put everything under his feet." So man has dominion over all creation, all humanity, the devil, and himself. Yes God is still sovereign and all powerful and could preempt this dominion at anytime. But he also out of love chose to have relationship with us and co-rule this earth with Him. God is the emperor and we are the ruler.
So every time that someone sins whether it be in the Bible or now; it effects that which we have dominion over and in turn separates it from God. Creation separates from God, humanity in general separates from God and we personally separate from God. Concerning the devil it gets interesting. The devil has already made his own free will choice to separate from God. But since we have dominion over the devil (he is a work of God's hand) our sin further separates the devil from God. Well this is exactly what the devil wants. So now our sin has crossed us over from the will of God to the will of the devil. We give allegiance in his separation. We glorify the will of the devil instead of the will of God.
Now listen guys and gals I want to make something very clear before I move on. This is something that I have struggled with in my own life. How does my personal sin effect that which I have dominion over? There is no doubt with talking about sin and punishment that your own history will come to mind. We need to be very careful not to attach certain events after we have made a mistake as punishment to us personally. Let me explain.
Say you go out tonight and drink two fifths of tequila and end up kissing your best friends husband. We can safely assume this is stepping out of God's plan for you. So in effect you have sinned. The next morning you wake up with vomit all over your jacket, you feel like crap, hangover is an understatement! You try to call your best friend and she hangs up on you because her husband has told her what happened between the two of you. Basically you are screwed. Two days later you get a call from your best friend saying that her husband has just been diagnosed with cancer. So is the sin you committed the cause for the husband's cancer? NO!
When we sin (and I am talking post Jesus modern times) there is a direct effect from the cause. You drank too much therefore you made a dumb choice, you puked all over yourself, and feel like crap in the morning. This is how our sin has effected us personally. Along with stepping out of the will of God. This is the short term effect or punishment. Now since we have dominion over humanity and creation our sin effects these things progressively and in the long term. Five thousand years of this has resulted in disease, deformity, natural disasters, global decay and death etc. So when you sin personally the immediate result is never a long term effect. Get it? You friend's husband getting cancer is NOT a result of the sin that you committed. A tsunami is not the wrath of God on a certain town. A couple that has a "special needs" baby is not being punished. These are all long term progressive effects of sin on creation and humanity. But do keep in mind some sin has the immediate result of death and disease but only when it is in direct correlation with your sin. For example...if you shoot someone in the head with a gun they will die. If you eat poorly and lack exercise you may develop type 2 diabetes. Do you see the difference?
The good news is that no matter what the sin or the effect we have Jesus. By His blood we are forgiven. The record of our sin is cast away. But Jesus is only applicable to those who choose Him. We still live in a fallen creation and fallen humanity. Therefore the long term effects of sin are still in effect. They will still have an effect on you even if you have a personal relationship with Jesus. So it is most important that you do not think that the long term effects sin are punishment on you personally. This world and humanity will continue to die and decay until Jesus returns. This is simply a result of the sin, not God's punishment.
In the meantime the best thing that we can do is use our dominion to glorify God. Make choices that correlate to His will. The less that we step out of the will of God, the less we contribute to the fall of humanity and creation. The less we pledge allegiance to the devil. Moreover the more people that we lead to Jesus the less the world and humanity are effected by their sin. Really we are all in this together to the end. This is the order of things that has been in play since the garden because of our choice to sin and step out of God's plan. When the end finally comes we have hope in knowing that God will "wipe the tear from every eye. There will be no more death or mourning or crying, for the old order of things has passed away." Rev. 21:4
Now when Adam and Eve sinned it effected everything that they had dominion over. The same is true when we sin today. So what do we have dominion over? Ps 8:6 "You made him [man] ruler over the works of your hands; you put everything under his feet." So man has dominion over all creation, all humanity, the devil, and himself. Yes God is still sovereign and all powerful and could preempt this dominion at anytime. But he also out of love chose to have relationship with us and co-rule this earth with Him. God is the emperor and we are the ruler.
So every time that someone sins whether it be in the Bible or now; it effects that which we have dominion over and in turn separates it from God. Creation separates from God, humanity in general separates from God and we personally separate from God. Concerning the devil it gets interesting. The devil has already made his own free will choice to separate from God. But since we have dominion over the devil (he is a work of God's hand) our sin further separates the devil from God. Well this is exactly what the devil wants. So now our sin has crossed us over from the will of God to the will of the devil. We give allegiance in his separation. We glorify the will of the devil instead of the will of God.
Now listen guys and gals I want to make something very clear before I move on. This is something that I have struggled with in my own life. How does my personal sin effect that which I have dominion over? There is no doubt with talking about sin and punishment that your own history will come to mind. We need to be very careful not to attach certain events after we have made a mistake as punishment to us personally. Let me explain.
Say you go out tonight and drink two fifths of tequila and end up kissing your best friends husband. We can safely assume this is stepping out of God's plan for you. So in effect you have sinned. The next morning you wake up with vomit all over your jacket, you feel like crap, hangover is an understatement! You try to call your best friend and she hangs up on you because her husband has told her what happened between the two of you. Basically you are screwed. Two days later you get a call from your best friend saying that her husband has just been diagnosed with cancer. So is the sin you committed the cause for the husband's cancer? NO!
When we sin (and I am talking post Jesus modern times) there is a direct effect from the cause. You drank too much therefore you made a dumb choice, you puked all over yourself, and feel like crap in the morning. This is how our sin has effected us personally. Along with stepping out of the will of God. This is the short term effect or punishment. Now since we have dominion over humanity and creation our sin effects these things progressively and in the long term. Five thousand years of this has resulted in disease, deformity, natural disasters, global decay and death etc. So when you sin personally the immediate result is never a long term effect. Get it? You friend's husband getting cancer is NOT a result of the sin that you committed. A tsunami is not the wrath of God on a certain town. A couple that has a "special needs" baby is not being punished. These are all long term progressive effects of sin on creation and humanity. But do keep in mind some sin has the immediate result of death and disease but only when it is in direct correlation with your sin. For example...if you shoot someone in the head with a gun they will die. If you eat poorly and lack exercise you may develop type 2 diabetes. Do you see the difference?
The good news is that no matter what the sin or the effect we have Jesus. By His blood we are forgiven. The record of our sin is cast away. But Jesus is only applicable to those who choose Him. We still live in a fallen creation and fallen humanity. Therefore the long term effects of sin are still in effect. They will still have an effect on you even if you have a personal relationship with Jesus. So it is most important that you do not think that the long term effects sin are punishment on you personally. This world and humanity will continue to die and decay until Jesus returns. This is simply a result of the sin, not God's punishment.
In the meantime the best thing that we can do is use our dominion to glorify God. Make choices that correlate to His will. The less that we step out of the will of God, the less we contribute to the fall of humanity and creation. The less we pledge allegiance to the devil. Moreover the more people that we lead to Jesus the less the world and humanity are effected by their sin. Really we are all in this together to the end. This is the order of things that has been in play since the garden because of our choice to sin and step out of God's plan. When the end finally comes we have hope in knowing that God will "wipe the tear from every eye. There will be no more death or mourning or crying, for the old order of things has passed away." Rev. 21:4
OK... so that "point" took a little longer than expected to make! Ah well...more tomorrow!
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