Understanding God's Perspective on Sin and Life
Life through Jesus offers something far greater than what our old life of sin and death could provide. While we may sometimes feel pulled back toward old habits and desires, they ultimately leave us empty and unfulfilled compared to the joy and peace found in Christ.
Can God Create a Rock So Big He Can't Lift It?
This question attempts to create a paradox to disprove God's unlimited nature. However, the question itself is flawed because it tries to put limits on a limitless God. Scripture tells us that "with God all things are possible" (Matthew 19:26) and that His understanding has no limits (Psalm 147:5).
To illustrate the difference between a million and a billion, we talked about in terms we might understand. A million seconds works out to a little over 11 days. A billion seconds is….over 30 years! And a trillion seconds? It would take 1,000 generations to experience 1 trillion seconds. Our human minds struggle to comprehend true infinity - whether in terms of space, time, or power. The vastness of the universe, with its billions of galaxies, gives us just a glimpse of God's unlimited nature. He exists outside of our limited understanding of time and space. This perspective on God set’s up our next question.
Are There Different Levels of Sin?
From our human perspective, we often try to categorize sins as "worse" or "better." However, God's perspective is different. Romans 6:23 tells us "the wages of sin is death" - all sin leads to death and separation from God. While there may be different earthly consequences for various sins, God's primary concern is whether we are spiritually dead in sin or alive in Christ.
How Do We Receive New Life?
The path to life comes through:
Faith in Jesus Christ
Believing in His death and resurrection
Accepting His gift of righteousness
Being justified through faith
Experiencing baptism as a symbol of dying to sin and rising to new life
Life Application
This week, instead of comparing sins or trying to justify behavior, focus on this core question: Are you living in death or in life? Consider:
Do you truly believe Jesus loves you and offers new life?
Are you still finding satisfaction in things that lead to death?
What areas of your life need to be surrendered to experience more of Christ's life?
How can you pursue things that lead to life rather than death?
The challenge is to stop playing the comparison game with sin and instead embrace the new life Jesus offers - a life that finds no satisfaction in the empty promises of sin but finds complete fulfillment in Christ. We spent a lot of time in Romans this week. It’s so full of this language and helps us understand how we move from dead to sin to alive in Christ. Take some time this week to read Romans.